Stalagmites

On our walk the other morning during our arctic blast, I noticed these weird ice "growths" in one of the tunnels that lets rain run-off channel into our neighborhood lake. Always on the look-out for new photo-ops, I thought these qualified! Another cell phone pic so not the greatest but better than nothing! The weather has since warmed up so they are probably melted away.

Also seen on a walk recently, and posted on FaceBook, was this cute little fox. I took a couple steps closer so I could steady the camera on a tree and off he went, taking no chances that I was a threat.

Just a Dusting

This was taken a couple of weeks back, and with my crappy cell phone camera. But I liked the scene so cell phone it was! There was just the slightest bit of snow and it painted our trails white for a short while.

We have been having quite the cold spell lately and we will all be happy for the milder weather coming these next few days! Last night we had an ice storm that has made walking on pavement impossible. Just to get the boys out for a quick potty break, I had to lay towels down wherever we needed to cross cement. It was still very slippery this morning and to reach our usual walking trail that is gravel, I had to cross the paved section first. I actually sat down and scooted across on my butt! I may have looked silly, but better that than a broken wrist or hip! The sun is out so hopefully the ice will be gone soon!

Blue Sky Day

Wilson Went Walking in the Wintry Weather on Wordless Wednesday

Wilson's Walk Went One Way on Wordless Wednesday

Black and White Sunday: Hurry Up!

It Was Woodsy Where We Walked With Wilson on Wordless Wednesday

Wilson's Walk Was Wet on Wordless Wednesday

PS If you need a laugh, don't miss yesterday's video!

If You're Talking, We're Not Walking!!!

When the boys and I are out for a walk and my cell phone rings, the guys go on strike! They refuse to walk while I talk on the cell phone. They plop right down and wait it out! My friend's Lab does the same thing. He hates her to be on the cell. But if the two of us walk together and talk, the dogs have no issue. What is it about the cell phone conversations?

How about your dogs? Have you ever noticed that they don't like cell phones?

Hang up or we won't budge!

Have a great weekend, Everyone!

We're Bored! (and maybe boring, too!)

We live in a neighborhood of sidewalks, paved walking trails, and as you've seen many times, the W&OD linear park. Well, there's only so many times you can walk the same route and not start to feel a bit of ennui. It also doesn't help that the W&OD is fairly overgrown right now and is a horrible hotbed of ticks!

So this morning, I threw Jimmy and Wilson in the car and drove to another of our man-made lakes. This one is completely surrounded with houses, townhomes and condos. The paved trail circles the whole lake and is probably at least a mile around. With so much housing nearby, it is also a busy trail. Joggers, walkers, a few bikes and of course lots of dogs. I had hoped to make it all the way around, but the lure of P-mail was much too strong!  The boys had to sniff just about every blade of grass, lamp pole, you-name-it, so we made no progress whatsoever! Of course, needing to respond to all that P-Mail, both guys had empty bladders in no time! So, a much shorter than desired (by me) walk didn't really matter....

Here are a couple of shots from the walk.......

We need to do something new and exciting soon, or I fear a blogging break is imminent! Of course there are still a few old headers to share......

Over the River and Through the Woods......

With the extra free time during the long holiday weekends, we spent lots of time trying to burn off all of the excess calories that were consumed. While I doubt the scales are tipped all the way back in my favor yet, we did get in lots of outdoor time. Nothing makes the boys happier than an off-leash run in the woods. For this walk, we chose a less developed stretch of trees with a large stream. It's amazing that living in a heavily populated suburban area, I can walk through this little patch of woods and never see another person enjoying it. All the better for us, of course!

As soon as we entered the woods, Jim went straight into high alert! So many smells, so little time.

Can you see what Wilson sees? Click to enlarge.

Jimmy: Why does she always post the pictures where my ass looks big!?

A little sip of sparkling water

Alas, the boys were always on the wrong side of the water when they spotted the deer.

Scanning...Scanning...Drat! Nothing!

Here's a close-up of the tree to Wilson's right in the picture above. I guess the beaver got too tired and gave up on this tree! Is that where the expression "Bit off more than I can chew" came from :-) I am surprised it is still standing with such a diminished base.

The Last Big Walk of the Year

December 2011 has been an exceptionally mild month here in the Northern Virginia / DC Metro area. The vast majority of the days have made it up into the 50's and we've even cracked 60 once or twice. The nights have rarely dipped into the 30's with even fewer in the 20's. All in all, it's been very pleasant weather (if you are not a skier, that is :-) And I am definitely not!)

I woke up early today and after a nice cuppa joe, headed out with the boys on a long walk......

Any temps over freezing is fair game to Wilson. He LOVES the water and fetching sticks.



The Over-Achiever Retriever!



The Ripple Effect



I can walk on water!

This next one has a neat little rainbow happening thanks to the morning mist and rising sun. I didn't even notice until I loaded the pictures to my PC.

Wilson's pot of gold: An underwater stick!

And saving my favorite for last, Jimmy enjoying his rope swing once again. I love how the light worked in this shot and how you can see the cloud of Jimmy's breath rising.

Like an elephant, Jimmy NEVER forgets where the rope swing is!

The Rope Swing

One of our favorite walks is along a stream bed through several neighborhoods. I am sure it is considered a floodplain so the developers preserved the trees, put in a nice paved trail, and cute wooden bridges here and there. It runs for miles and is mainly shaded so it is a good place to walk the dogs. Of course their favorite feature is the stream. On one journey, we found a spot where the local kids had put up a rope swing complete with a wooden seat. Now the water is definitely not deep enough to jump off, but I am sure the kids still have alot of fun with it. For some reason, the swing triggered something in Jimmy's brain. It's movement just had to be controlled. It was a true frenzy! When we first found it, I did not have my camera along. Yesterday, I made a point of bringing it (and, yes, Joanna, I brought the good camera :-))

Here we see Jimmy striding over to check it out again....


Give me that thing!

OK, I've got it now!

I'm not letting go! No way!

Still have it, it won't get away!

Jaws of steel!

Our Walk This Morning

The boys cracked me up! I must have taken ten pictures sitting here, and they would NOT look at me. Biscuit, treat, wanna eat, looky, none of those would get them looking at the camera! But this profile shot is pretty funny, it looks like they are trying to strike the same pose.

This one too, mimicking each other.......

How often do you get to pose your dogs on a snowy sofa? There were definitely critters residing inside as the boys buried their noses deep into the edges.

A new day full of possibility.......