After the storm, signs of spring...

After running errands we took advantage of the calm after all the wind and rain, walking through a forest which looked like a demolition zone with fallen trees and branches and the bark literally stripped from trees and hanging here and there throughout the forest.

Cardinals flitted here and there and a woodpecker followed along with us on our walk.

Puffy clouds lingered and from one moment to the next the weather was unpredictable.

The tiger lilies now will be unscathed by anything nature throws at them.

The trail was flooded and of course that meant that Charm and Domino had to race through that for quite some time, being thrilled to kick up water and mud. There is nothing Domino loves more than mud!

The light had that odd polarized feel that always means that spring has indeed checked the calendar.

When the ice truly starts to go, it goes fast and what is here today may be a memory tomorrow.

The ice appears with fall leaves and leaves with fall leaves.

And the emerging water creates optical illusions which confuse one as to which is the real rock and which is the reflection.

If I did not have places I had to be I might have lingered for quite some time, watching the shifting light.

I have always been fascinated by the water surfaces through the seasons and the best shots are those that you stay for a long while, but even a quick detour was worthwhile.

Of course we had to climb to relish the view for a few moments.

And Domino decided that it might be interesting to explore the cliff a bit and do some rock climbing.

Perhaps that is one thing no one ever mentions about pitbulls...they are really great rock climbers, if they can get a small toehold they can pull themselves up anything. I have watched them in more heart stopping positions than mountain goats and they are very competent climbers.

Coming back the pale sun peeked through and lit the forest in the most unusual way.

A bit like fall colored with the clear light of spring. But we were soon on our way to finish up our walk.

After stopping to watch the trout feeding, dogs and I were off to finish a multitude of errands.

Nala and Alfred Looking for Homes

Here's a couple of great Wisconsin dogs looking for forever homes:

Meet Nala! Nala is a 5-year-old, female, husky mix.

Hi! My name is Nala and I am as charming as my name implies. I would like nothing better than to celebrate spring in my new forever home. I am spayed and housebroken. I am looking for a special person to help me come out of my shell. I'm a rather quiet girl most of the time. I'm not much for playing but take me on a walk and I am as happy and bouncy as can be. I don't care for dogs or cats so a home with just my own special person would be perfect. Treat me sweet and I will blossom and deliver a lifetime of love.

I am at Sheboygan County Humane Society in Sheboygan, WI, call 920 - 45 8- 2012 or contact: info@myschs.com

Meet Alfred! Alfred was adopted before Christmas but he was returned because they said he kept running away...hmmm, and they had a fenced in yard...oh well. Alfred is a Tree Walking Coonhound.

My name is Alfred and everyone says I am the most handsome boy at the shelter. I am 8 months old and neutered. I'm a typical hound and would probably like going to dog school. I am very playful and should have a home with no small children who might get knocked over when I'm playing. I like dogs and cats, but I play a little too rough with cats.

I am at Sheboygan County Humane Society in Sheboygan, WI, call 920 - 45 8- 2012 or contact: info@myschs.com

Exploring at the end of the day...

As the dogs watched the shadows fall and had resigned themselves to the thought of no walk today, I surprised them both with the promise of an outing. Domino paces until I am equipped with all the necessities and no amount of reprimands can stop his anxiety that I may let the light fade completely.

He's been a bit more demanding lately which is good for a dog who is sure that if something goes wrong he must be at fault somehow. Domino is the biggest worrier I have ever known and sometimes I have to tell him that no, he is not going to die because I didn't give him my sandwich. He is prone to twitching when he concentrates on something and the thought that he may not get something can send him into tremors. So it is good to see him a bit more confident lately.

There's been several times that I almost took him into the vet for an emergency upon seeing him racked by a bout of shaking, only to discover the cause is something as simple as Charm absconding with his favorite bone. Somewhere along the line Domino has learned this is a good strategy. I think maybe he should be an actor because it is a pretty pathetic looking ploy.

So we wandered here and there, in the approaching twilight. Drawn off the trail by little sights along the way. The tiger lilies are emerging in the old clearing left over from the quarry days, I suppose. It is an odd place where little else grows.

As though something toxic had once poisoned this place and the ruins of the old days still lie, with time not touching them very much.

Old railway ties make easy steps up the slope on one side, so we took an off trail route which called for many detours due to fallen trees.

While the dogs searched among jumbles of rocks for anything of interest, I enjoyed the view.

The wind caught anything I focused on, flipping it out of lens view as if by intent.

In places the shadows caught us and the forest was quiet and comforting in spite of the shadows.

Overhead the air was filled with the honks of passing geese, hurrying to their night roosts somewhere to the north.

Sometimes heard and not seen and others quick glimpses of V-shaped formations through the trees.

We might usually cut our walk short due to failing light, but not today.

The light had a misty quality to it and the trail just called us ahead.

Such stark contrasts between the gray of the forest and the colors of the rocks...as though roles were reversed and the stone was the only living thing to be seen.

Where the forest seems to be somewhat barren, the rocks provided anchors for lichens.

Reaching the top, the light washed out everything below us.

Charm and Domino happily bounding back looking expectantly for treats every few minutes.

While they engaged in dizzying wrestling matches along the cliff's edge which I have grown much accustomed to, I continued my own explore.

Catching tiny pools of light where I could.

They often stop to admire the view themselves and I sometimes wonder what they make of it?

Because they seem just as intent on the visual as on the smells carried on the wind.

Today at least the smell of skunk which has lingered here the past week has passed. I love this old willow on the lake's edge...so old I can't imagine.

As always seems to be the case, the surprises wait until the end of our walk as we head home. This time it is a groundhog who has sought refuge in a tree until the dogs pass by. They often seek refuge in the trees and I wonder if this is perhaps why the forest is so devoid of squirrels?

I am not sure what type of omen tree-dwelling groundhogs are, they are definitely not concerned with shadows.

Is it summer yet?

Just getting my schedule for agility all in place and looking back at last summer and working with my baby girl, Charm.

Love my Charm!!!

Some days are for oblivion...

Nothing short of the weatherman announcing that temperatures would be dropping back into the teens tomorrow would have budged me today...as it was, one has to enjoy the weather while they can. Today the dogs were in the same sort of subdued mood as I was, sniffing carefully along the trail as though totally engrossed in the details. A pair of robins were fluttering through the trees.

The trail was mostly clear of the last remnants of snow and green leaves poked up in numerous places looking a little frostbitten in the slightly nippy air.

I stopped mesmerized by a sound that for a moment I couldn't place, only to realize it was the sound of a different sort of wind rustling in the tree tops, sounding very much like a chorus of whispers. I have heard the wind in a million different voices but this one had an edginess to it.

There was just an odd sort of feeling in the forest and the dogs stayed unusually close and I never did determine the cause of our unease.

As beautiful as the sunshine was, there was a chill in the air again and I regretted many times having left my gloves behind and spent less time snapping pictures and more time warming my hands...which brought Domino running back many times to see if I had perhaps found a treat in my pockets.

I sometimes think when I am engrossed in a particular season in the forest that I have memorized every detail. Things indeed are familiar but I forget the actual experience.

Charm stopped to sniff the chewed off ends of all the tender branches along the trail. When she noticed me watching her she wagged her tail. It seems a long time ago we left words behind when on walks and smiles have become the only communication.

Today the climb seemed harder than usual, the cold wind becoming stronger as we climbed.

Lone seagulls passed by overhead and a crow flew low through the trees and just the soft rustle of the wind and the jingle of dog tags could be heard.

I have never stopped to think about how the loudest sound in the forest is usually the dog tags. I think I listen for it so unconsciously, tracking the dogs through the brush and trees while I am shooting.

We've just always been in a quiet sync, and perhaps today there seemed to be one jingle missing...or perhaps one jingle that just lingered out of earshot. Some days I still miss Ripley following in my footsteps. New bonds form and grow and life winds on.

It's been almost a year since Domino arrived from New York. I am not sure at what point exactly that he really began to believe he was home for good...but these days he is always by my side. It still awes me that these dogs go through so much and are still so sound mentally. And what a tremendous bond Charm and Domino have with each other.

From rowdy playtime through the most touching tenderness...I don't think I could have found two dogs better suited for each other.

There have been years when the forest was a place to escape, and times when it was a place to think, and times when it was a place to just be alone. I think today it was an affirmation of the rightness of choices made, paths chosen and destinations arrived at.

It's all about a person, a camera, some dogs and a forest.

As simple as that is, its been the most profound of things.

There are times we don't even see the drama in our lives until it is gone and you stop and listen for a moment and all you can hear is the jingle of dog tags.

Maybe in some ways that is what we all seek, in different ways...a place of stillness and quiet within ourselves.

It may be a lot of things to a lot of people, but to me, it is the jingle that makes me smile.