For the past few days we've enjoyed temps in the high 30's to low 40's - absolute pleasure for the beginning of January in Wisconsin! It's been like a breath of spring. We've taken advantage of the warmer weather with a long Friday night walk, a sunny Saturday afternoon urban hike with Alan and a solo hike with just me and the dogs this afternoon.
During our urban hike with Alan, the dogs came across some open water near the trail and insisted on taking a dip. I'll never understand why dogs want to go swimming in the winter! But since both dogs have some Labrador Retriever in them, it's impossible to keep them out of water if it's available. And once Charlie was in, Jake had to go in too.
Soaking up the warmth, sunshine and mild breeze has been so invigorating for all of us. I think it's a special gift from Mother Nature when you get a chance to enjoy the outdoors with a break from the cold, dark days of deep winter.
Tonight we're forecast to get 3-6" of wet snow, so for this weekend we took advantage of the current minimal snow cover on the ground and enjoyed some great hiking. By next weekend, we could be using our snowshoes!
I'm also experimenting with my Canon DSLR camera and researching a new lens purchase. My current lens is a normal lens and I'm dying to get a wide angle lens so I can get some better photos. In the meantime (while I'm researching which lens to buy - and how much to spend), I'm learning my camera's settings and getting comfortable using manual and auto settings so that once I have my new lens, I'll be ready to rock and roll!
On our hike today, I was surprised that we had the trail all to ourselves. I was sure with the warmer weather that we'd run into some other hikers or horse-back riders, but we lucked out. The dogs fully enjoyed their off-leash time today.
It was apparent that horses had been using this trail recently due to the sporadic piles of manure. Unfortunately, both dogs decided that these piles were placed there just for them to enjoy and were continuously sneaking bites of this decadence. After a while I gave up trying to shoo them away from their snack... I remember reading somewhere that people and dogs (throughout history) have "reset" their digestive systems by eating poop. Hopefully the doggos were getting something they needed from these treats, and even though they get a monthly de-wormer which should prevent anything icky happening internally, they won't be giving me kisses anytime soon.
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| Jake indulging in "horse snacks" |
We took a couple of short breaks during our hike. I sat on a log or a rock and just watched these two hilarious dogs playing in the woods; teasing each other with stolen sticks or prized pieces of wood for a game of chase. I get so much joy from just observing their silly dog behavior.
The rest of our weekend will be spent at home, cleaning the house, watching some t.v. and resting up before we have to shovel snow tomorrow. It was a very good weekend. We hope you got to enjoy some outdoor time with your pups this weekend!
VIDEOS (click links):
Sharing sticks on a hiking break:
Taking a break to eat wood:
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