Spring is in the little things...

A friend sent me a little piece of writing this morning called The Journey which captures the ways dogs enrich our lives. And I particularly loved this part about enjoying the outdoors with a dog...

"If you spend much time outside, you will be taught how to truly experience
every element, for no rock, leaf, or log will go unexamined, no rustling bush
will be overlooked, and even the very air will be inhaled, pondered, and noted as being full of valuable information. Your pace may be slower --except when heading home to the food dish -- but you will become a better naturalist,having been taught by an expert in the field."

We began our walk lingering by the large lake, enjoying a perfect day and all the hungry trout enjoying life beyond the ice of winter.

The big ones from years past and the new little guys from last fall and even a brown trout here and there.

It was just one of those beautiful lazy days that both the dogs and I love so much.

While we chatted, the dogs explored everything, including checking out the boat as if verifying that winter had returned everything.

We were off on a walk then, with the slightest hints that the forest will soon be changing quickly.

Buds appearing right before my eyes.

Everything geared up for that mad explosion that spring will be shortly.

Soon the ragged edges of winter will be a memory. The forest is already full of activity, insects and birds.

And Domino is beside himself with happiness lying in his favorite mud hole. He actually wags his tail when he sees it, like greeting a favorite friend!

I can give no great account of the jesters I share my life with...

"Too many times we hike on automatic pilot, our goal being to complete the
trail rather than enjoy the journey. We miss the details -- the colorful
mushrooms on the rotting log, the honeycomb in the old maple snag, the hawk feather caught on a twig. Once we walk as a dog does, we discover a whole new world. We stop; we browse the landscape, we kick over leaves, peek in tree holes, look up, down, all around. And we learn what any dog knows: that nature has created a marvelously complex world that is full of surprises, that each cycle of the seasons bring ever changing wonders, each day an essence all its own."

For those who wish dogs could talk, I would have to say on days like today, that would be a sad thing. I think dogs do just fine looking at the world the way they do, noting everything, judging nothing.

We wandered, pausing often to note the water striders emerging on the lake, the silk of spiders busy at work in their endless quest to span the entire lake, and the birds busy building their nests in the cliffs along the lake. A pair of wood ducks took flight as we walked and their cries were eerie through the trees. The pair of trout who make the lake their home sunned on the surface but were soon a flash as soon as they saw our movement.

As always in the spring, the light changes often depending on where we are.

And the tiniest clues give us an excuse to pause.

And sometimes my photos are mere memos of how the light hit a certain thing.

Personal scratches that have no meaning to anyone but me.

But it is said of Thoreau that he documented Walden so well that scientists can now look back and see how the flora and fauna have changed. I think Thoreau might have understood my shorthand very well.

Its just about being so familar with a place that every little thing is noted along the way.

Which makes everything ever changing.

After exploring along the trail, we perched high on the rocks and sat for a very long while, reluctant to move away from the sun. Every now and then Domino would dash down below to lounge in the water, tail wagging.

Dashing back up the trail to join us in the sun until he got too warm again.

With all the snow and ice gone, we are back to using the rockier trail and every rock is another great perch to enjoy the sun and view.

With bees buzzing in full force and even a few mosquitoes stopping by to see how we tasted, summer seems like a breath away.

As the afternoon hummed on into early evening, we all reluctantly hit the trail home.

About as pleased with a day well spent as anyone can be on a day when time was spent on nothing in particular.

"It does not matter that there is no objective in this; the point is in the doing, in not letting life's most important details slip by."

Excerpts from The Journey by Crystal Ward Kent

Shelter Dogs: Hidden Treasures

My brother and I have this conversation on a regular basis, about how people are always asking about where we got our dogs. In his case, it usually goes something like "what a cute dog, where did you get him?" Our conversation usually ends up with my brother saying something to the effect that they can find a dog like his exactly where he did, in a rescue or a shelter.

My brother has rescued several jack russells over the years. Buddy had been rehomed many times and always returned for behavior issues... too active. Buddy has long since ceased being a dog and has been referred to as a "kid" for some time. Someone's behavior problem is another's treasure.

My brother's point is whether it is a dog someone gave up on or in the case of Petey, a dog so filthy and pitiful looking that he had to visit the groomer on the trip home, there are treasures in the shelter. All you have to do is polish them up a bit.

In my case, I am always writing about the adventures of my dogs. Like Charm. Stories of swimming or her feats on the agility course. But once upon a time she was just a picture on petfinder like millions of other dogs. Her name was Ruby then and it always tears at my heart to see a reminder of the days before she was my dog.

"Well...." I've heard people say. "What happens if I adopt a dog and I don't know anything about its past and it has problems?" I have taken that leap of faith and adopted a dog I had never met when I adopted Domino.

Another smiing face on petfinder who came with no guarantees and was welcomed with my willingness to make it work. That's all it really takes, a look inside yourself to discover what you are capable of. I never second guessed my decision or my determination.

I never asked the important questions; are they housebroken, do they bark nonstop? When I asked if Charm had an issue with cats, they opened the door to the cat room for a moment, let her poke her head in and said "Nope...no problem with cats." I followed my heart and my heart was right.

My honest belief is that when it comes to dogs, it is the human in charge who determines behavior. My dogs were both housebroken within a week, boundaries were established in regards to the cats and my senior dog...and we moved forward to establish a happy home with no regrets over my decisions. There's no chewing, no nonstop barking, no issues aside from two highly exuberant dogs.

I don't propose you don't do your homework. I have a lot of experience with dogs and am confident in my ability to handle powerful breeds. My point being that there are no bad dogs really. There are just inexperienced owners. And there are a lot of truly great dogs with great potential sitting in a shelter waiting for someone to give them a chance to shine.

These days there is so much a shelter or rescue can do to match someone up to the perfect dog for them. Temperament testing, exposure to other animals and people and even options to introduce existing pets to a potential match. And with the advent of so many accessible training options, none of the misconceptions which used to exist about shelter dogs holds much water.

For all of us who make the choice to adopt, there is an added bonus that only adopters experience...shelter and rescue dogs seem to know that you saved them, and they bring with them a boundless love and gratitude and a willingness to please. They never seem to forget that you chose them, even though I suspect that in some ways, they choose us.

Every day I spend some time on petfinder, and I know each and every one of those faces is an undiscovered treasure just waiting for the right person to come along. For every one fortunate to find that someone, I hope someone is stopping them on their walks and saying "What a great dog, where did you get him?" And their human can just smile and think, I found this treasure at the shelter.

Some dogs may have long pedigrees and distinguished bloodlines, but my dogs have papers too...adoption papers, and I think those are the best kind. I am proud to say all of the dogs in my family have the same papers...that's the sort of pedigree I can be proud of!

I love when the pits bloom in the spring

Maybe it's my imagination...but sometimes it seems like on the nicest days, the dogs wake up with that "why aren't we out enjoying the weather?" look and then the guilt on my part just builds from there.

Work was set aside so we could enjoy a gorgeous day during which jackets were left behind.

Tiny plants popping up all over and a flock of turkeys taking flight as we started our walk....too quick to snap a picture.

The bird songs finally have come home to the forest and the first insects emerging, the fine lines of spider webs drifting across the trail.

We all paused in wonder at the lake, now completely free of ice.

Domino interrupted our walk many times to dash back and enjoy a cool wade in the lake.

All my cares were soon just forgotten puffs carried off by the wind.

I stopped for long breaks along the way, enjoying the sun, while the dogs backtracked to the water in between their explores.

The forest seemed like it was awake at last even with bare branches still in abundance.

What was green seemed a little more green.

At the top, bird feathers were scattered among the branches and I wondered if some bird had met its demise or merely left tufts of feathers behind.

Looking down from the top, all the trees had that halo that buds bring.

Soaking wet dogs were able to dry off in the sun, though Charm watched as Domino continued to backtrack for a brief dip in the water.

We stopped to check the lilac trees that grow along the top and sure enough, new buds were coming out.

And Charm looked alarmed at the first bees buzzing by her. Though she and Domino were very intent on exploring the cliffs.

I am not sure why they have become so absorbed in rock climbing this year, first it was Domino and now Charm has joined with the rock climbing.

Though Charm enjoys the view more than anything.

Domino kept stopping to see what I was doing perched on the rocks, wondering if I saw anything interesting.

He was very happy to linger a long while, enjoying the warmth and exploring every blade of grass.

It was hard to drag ourselves away from the sun and head home. But we stopped to give Domino some final wading time.

And Charm a chance for one last swim.

While I just enjoyed the miracle of green things appearing again.

The only negative thing from the whole day wasn't until we got home and Domino sat on a yellowjacket in my kitchen...so I had to rescue him. He ended up with a nasty knot on his butt...poor Domino...if there is a bee he will find it.

Open Waters

At long last the water is finally opening up on the upper lake and today we surprised a pair of wood ducks taking advantage of it.

Before I knew it, Charm also had taken advantage of the receding ice and was emerging from her first swim of the year, with Domino plunging in behind for some wading.

Charm before swimming begins for the year and Charm after swimming begins...two different dogs. Her batteries were charged to the maximum and after rolling in the dirt to dry off, she was one non-stop zoom through the woods.

So both of them were covered in mud with no sign of true sun to dry them off.

Plants were coming up everywhere and even some blades of grass appearing, and every twig suddenly showing signs that leaves were not far behind.

Of course Domino seemed to be stuck in fourth gear!

So its back to the all too familiar smell of soaking wet dogs in the car and their collars will soon need replacing every month from being constantly wet.

I had hoped Domino might take a plunge and swim, with ducks safe out of reach, but instead he circled the entire lake wondering if they might walk out...he learned today that ducks fly. But he certainly did his share of Domino wading.

April continues to roar...

Evidently March forgot the part about "going out like a lamb" because I think one and all are tired of chilly days and blustery winds here in small town Wisconsin.

It's been a hectic week with lots to do, but I managed to sneak in a walk every day pretty much between errands and commitments. Our walks were pretty much camera free, but today we managed to take a little more time.

Today was just one of those days where ambitions are dormant and motivation is lacking, but the dogs never suffer from that state of mind.

The biting wind never seems to fray their resolve to be out snuffling through the leaves.

For me its a chance to let the wind carry away the whirlwinds of the week.

And watch those negative thoughts scatter through the trees, leaving behind a somewhat refreshed spirit.

The water on the lower lake is all open, but the upper lake still embraces winter in its shadows.

It is sometimes like winter lingers where the activity is the slowest. As much as one becomes accustomed to the seasons, it is hard not to be impatient for warmer weather and green, growing things.

All in good time I suppose. Even traveling to Milwaukee yesterday I could not see spring creeping slowly northward as would be expected and forecasts do not promise any instant gratification.

I guess the good part is that the ticks and mosquitoes have not put in an appearance yet, which I am sure is a great relief to the animals who make the forest their home.

Here and there on the top of the cliff, there are a few wild flowers just beginning to come up and the gnats seem to be the only signs that the weather is breaking.

If you venture even a few feet from the cliff's edge however, even the tamaracks are brown and dead looking.

It is always well worth bundling up and shivering a bit to see the dogs so happy to be out in the weather. If the chill bothers them, I have yet to see any evidence of it.

Its an odd thing about dogs, they may be reluctant to go out in bad weather, but they are willing to go for a hike in the middle of a rainstorm or blizzard. Maybe its just the forest.

Whatever the case, I am very fortunate to have a place for them to enjoy and explore their wild side. Its sometimes hard to imagine that couch potatoes have a wild side. But just skip a day or two and no more couch potatoes!

I sometimes wonder if either one remembers life in a shelter, especially Domino who was in rescue for so long? I sometimes wonder what kind of lives they had before that? Did they have homes before becoming strays? Because sometimes I think, when they look at me, that they always knew that this would be their life. Perhaps to shelter dogs who are rescued, they just look at it as all the things they had to go through to get home. I hope so.