Dog's Day Out

Riding in the Car

Silver Water Runs Through It

Snow on High

Frog-Hopping

King of the Campfire Ring

Leaping King

The Chase is On

Around and Around

Water Break

River rocks and dog romps are just what we need today. When our energies are all pent up like caged hounds, it's best to let go and play. The Blue Goose has a flat tire, so we load up the dogs, Bobo and Grendel, in the car and head up the Pack River.

Silver water winds through a canyon on the western side of the ridge beyond Elmira Pond. The pines seem at their darkest green, the perfect contrast against the other trees and shrubs turning into autumn metallics of rust, bronze and gold. It's not exactly sunny, but neither is it raining.

While mumbling about the mist hunkering over the mountains and dumping rain all week, it seems that the peaks of the Selkirks have received their first dusting of snow. When I see this, I am thankful to live on the valley floor, beyond the reach of fall snow. But it is coming. Time to haul wood.

As the dogs remind us, this moment is about busting out the play energy. What could be better than a giant sandbox for games of chase? Not only is it too chilly to sit along the water's edge to read, most of my reading rocks are now surrounded by the rain-swollen water that swiftly flows past this long sand bar. So I watch the dog drama unfold.

Fine, pale sand of river-crushed quartz must feel good to Bobo who gallops across it in bounding leaps. We call her gait, frog-hopping. Grendel joins her at the fire ring and they have a stand-off. His massive paw claims a rock and I recognize the game--king of the hill. The two dogs stare out each other until Grendel leaps across the burned log and debris of the cold campfire. Bobo goes in for the chase.

Around and around the ring they go, sand airborne around pounding paws. They snarl and yip like children hollering in the height of an intense game of knights and dragons. Bobo sounds like the dragon, making throaty growls. Play can get serious after a week of being pent up in the house. The dogs like sunshine and snow, but are reluctant to tip-toe outside in the rain. They run as if to say, take that rain clouds!

Slowly, the chase winds down, two dogs low on batteries. Each trots down to the river for a drink and the romp is over. It was what we all needed--a dog's day out!