2013 winds down with a great dog walk

A wonderful dog extravaganza was enjoyed by the girls and I and our wonderful friends today at Thetis Lake — a terrific way to end the year, being outdoors and meeting lots of other dog-walkers and their friendly owners. Above are Jan who owns Macy (beautiful golden retriever) and Sarah (owner of the two pictured sniffing black labs, Charlie Girl and Tarka). Thanks, ladies and girls, for another great year of adventure walking with our dogs. I think this is a neat shot of the mossy trees along the path.

Funny, Cindy and I had not been out to Thetis Lake for a walk for probably over a year and somehow she must have remembered that she likes posing on this log! Jan, Sarah and I can remember the same log being one Cindy likes.

And of course a walk around a lake could never be complete for Macy (and Charlie Girl, too) without a few Frisbee throws and retrievals. This photo shows Macy in the foreground and a chocolate lab we met named Guinness in the distance swimming out for his Frisbee. Brrrrr . . . but they don’t seem to mind.

This was Midge’s first time at Thetis Lake — and of course, she enjoyed it tremendously. Here is a shot of her (in action, that is why she is a little blurball!) in pursuit of a squirrel. Um, no, Squirrel Girl did not secure the prey!

A final shot of the beauty of the morning walk we had — and a chance for me to thank all of my terrific dog-walking friends (I know, a couple of you don’t have dogs, but you understand my dog-centered soul): Bev, Colleen, Gisela, Jan, Jeannie, Maryanne, Sarah — oh, and Allen, too! I am really so lucky to be able to call you my friends and I look forward to another year of exploring and enjoying the gratifying activity of a good dog walk. Happy 2014 tomorrow!

Midge isn’t into arranged playdates

Cindy, Midge and I had a lovely walk today in Centennial Park with Bev (who was dog-sitting little Amalie) and Desi. Well, as you can see from this photo, Midge just isn’t into all arranged playdates! I am not sure whether it was because Amalie had to stay on her leash or if it was because the little yorkie gave Midge a run for her money in the cuteness department, but Midge was totally not into making besties with Amalie! As you will see below, Desi, the typical lone male in the pack was more into playing with his stick than getting in the middle of any drama! Smart fella!

The yin-yang of Cindy and Midge

Allen took this photo after noticing our two girls in the motorhome seat in a perfect yin-yang configuration. A perfect time to reflect on this past year and be thankful for the interconnectedness that brought little Midge into our pack (last April). Actually, she pretty well fits like a glove; the yin-yang symbol is representative of the Chinese philosophy/belief that the whole (of our pack) is greater than the parts. Right on!

Merry Christmas morning

Best wishes for a happy and festive Christmas day, with love from Cindy, Midge, Glynis and Allen

Mama Timber + 2 puppies + 8 orphans!

I know everyone’s hustling and bustling these days with Christmas fast approaching, but I hope you will have a chance to check out this streamed video link to a beautiful dog named Timber with her 8 puppies. Only 2 of these pups are actually Timber’s own litter; she has graciously adopted 8 other pups found in a box at 7 or 8 days old. Timber and her litter are living at the Langley Animal Protection Society and will be available for adoption in early 2014. Here is the website where you can read about Timber:

http://www.lapsbc.ca/blog/timber-and-puppies-faq/

Or, you can also connect to her live streaming video; gotta love Timber! What a heart-melting story of dog love — Timber, you are a great mother!

http://new.livestream.com/tinykittens/bob

Dog and cat tree . . . and a mouse

I love the caption inside this card — Wishing you merry on top of merry on top of merry! Happy Holidays!

Snowdrops in December

Had to take Midge’s photo today beside a little cluster of snowdrops — imagine, in December! It was a cold and bright day, perfect for a walk through Centennial Park.

Festive girl power

Sarah, Jan and I enjoyed a lovely walk at Beaver Lake today with our girls — as you can see above, they were all sporting festive necklace-collars (purchased at a local Dollarama) so we had plenty of nice comments as we met up with other walkers and their pets. Quite a few people also wondered what Tarka was wearing around her head, and in case you are wondering, it is a special bandage to keep her from scratching her ear (where she had a little “cosmetic surgery” to remove a wart). It does look kind of funny, but Tarka is such a good sport and just kept on truckin’ (although she did have to stay on leash) with Sarah stopping once in a while to straighten it on her head. You will see from the photo below that, in fact, she did have one ear free of the bandage. Hey, she just looked like she had some sort of crazy headband on (a la Lillian VanderZalm! — do any of you remember her?!) — you are such a funny girl, Tarka!

Another great holiday dog card

This is a funny card I received a few days ago in the mail — gotta love those dog cards! I love the funny expression on these dogs’ faces; I’m wondering what it is they hope to receive in their Christmas cracker. Judging from the foreground, they do not care for the purple crown from another cracker. Hey, did you know those colorful crowns go back to Roman times when it was popular to wear festive hats when dining?! In our home, we always have Christmas crackers at each table setting for the big dinner — BUT, there are always a couple of party poopers who won’t wear their crowns!!! Bah humbug to ya!

The eagle has landed–with an adorable elf

What a couple of crazy sweaters — it’s Lance and Michelle “dressed up” for their friends’ annual Tacky (Christmas) Sweater Party. Michelle’s looks like someone did a nice job of hand knitting it, and Lance’s, well . . . it even has a leather eagle appliqued onto it–crazy 70’s men’s fashion or something like that!

We enjoyed a lovely pre-Christmas visit yesterday with Lance and Michelle. It was a crisp, clear afternoon so we all went for a little gander around Tulista Park, then home for dinner and even a gift exchange. You will notice that Midge, who is not usually drawn to men, is gaga over Lance–who can blame her?!