Soooooo Frustrating!

Feb. 2 and although we actually don't have the normal amount of snow or extreme cold temps. it is frustrating to continually hear that further south there is basically NO snow and my tracking friends are all out working. I'm dying to go tracking. Even our walks are completely curtailed right now. I just can't seem to give the dogs enough exercise in limited space either due to deep snow or ice.

We have two distinct snow layers. There is an icy crust on top and in this photo, Kira is standing down on the first layer. The depth out here is about 1 1/2 ft. but they break through the top and stand on the bottom...mostly...but occasionally go through. It's very difficult for them, they can't run through it.Blast is coming back the way he went in as it's easier. He leaps from hole to hole.You can clearly see this in this picture. If the top crust gets thicker and harder than it is now, they can be hurt going out on it. At times you would stay on top, and then suddenly break through. But the driveway is solid ice and very slippery.Blast has two balls in his mouth as Tank was out with us, and he wouldn't let Tank have one of the balls...stingy and possessive, Blast is.

After taking these pictures, we heard the wolves running behind the house, and I thought it best we head up the driveway and go inside....it was 3 p.m., very unusual for them to be out running deer in the middle of the day....a bit eerie.

I'm driving towards town tomorrow and looking for a couple of areas to try and track. There is less snow north of us. Keeping fingers crossed!

Close Call with Deer

This afternoon I took Tank and Trust for a short walk down the driveway in some sunshine...a nice surprise that was. An unevenful walk...the best kind! Plan was Kira next, same walk down driveway and we had the large purple ball to play with.

We did a number of throws out into deep snow, and here she is 'taunting' me with the ball. She sets it up in front of me, backs up a few steps, hoping I will rush in to get it, and she pounces on it. A little game of her creation, I've never beat her, so she wins each time we do this.I was able to get a quick sit and quick picture by pulling out "my hidden ball" in my pocket! Unfortantely, our 'nice' walk changed when we went up behind the house. She spotted a close squirrel running and raced after it with the purple ball still in her mouth. Suddenly, a deer I hadn't noticed, flagged and raced off in front of them, with her in hot pursuit. She was already 'gone' before I had a chance to call. And still had the ball in her mouth. Talk about fast! When she did hear me and began to come back, I saw her circling. Somewhere she had dropped the ball, and there was no way she would leave a ball behind before coming back. Not this one. Not with all her ball training. I finally tried to walk down a deer track hoping to spot it if she hadn't. She was running ragged and one swoop past me, she was tiring and I reached out and managed to grab her. I took her back to the house, I've never felt the need to pull her off a search before, but with the deer out there, I wanted her back. I decided to let Blasts' walk go and instead bring him out to search for the ball. I knew it wouldn't take him long.

He made a number of circles over the deer paths, and then went down in behind and under some spruce trees near the fence, coming out with the ball . What a good boy.His reward was to go back and play on the snow piles, which he loves to do. He's just coming up from the back and over this one.He pushed the ball down to me, and lay down on top to wait for me to get it and toss up to him. These dogs are all smarter than me!!! Loves, loves, loves to jump!

Trusts' 10th Birthday Party!

Today Trust turned ten years old. Hard to believe. If anything, this past year she seems to have become 'younger' and more silly and active. As we have done for years, with all our dogs, we had a birthday party. For years we had eightdogs in the pictures, all calmly waiting while hats were adjusted, candles lit, and pictures taken. Those eight together were 'easier' than today.

Trust was a good girl..she knows the routine well. Look, and act, like a princess, and she did. Tank had some issue with the elastic in his hat...never been a problem in the past...but he was going through contortions trying to get it off, the rest of the time looking annoyed. And Blast! Well, he just wants to kiss Trust all over and wants to flip in front of her, thinking he somehow is appealing...so we actually did these pics. pretty quickly.Tank is now rolling his eyeballs, David was on the sofa with cookies, and Blast was now interested in those. Trust is still "perfect". David finally had to hold Blast, now with his hat askew. Carrot muffins still intact!The birthday princess is always patient and ignores the riff-raff on each side of her. We moved to the kitchen for the feast!Trust took her muffin whole, and turned and ran off to the carpet and dumped it upside down (icing downward) on the carpet. I only got a picture of her with them as Tank was next and all you saw was the icing all over his face as if he hit it at 90 miles an hour. Blast took his, and promptly spit it on the floor. Gave him a cookie.

What a change when the dogs are not "the same old". It was fun (well somewhat) but miss the parties of old with the calm, well-behaved, and patient dogs.

And Kira was not invited to the party as it would have been total chaos. She was in her crate with a chewie and happy with that.

But since she missed the birthday party, she got an extra walk down the driveway and played ball with David. David and I got the "extra" goodies, so we all ended up doing ok.

Only the Dogs love this much snow!!!

This is Blast up on a snowpile where we usually turn around and park beside the house.And Kira leaping and pushing through the snow in the field.Blast retrieving a ball in the front field. He is very tall, long legs, but bogged down here.Kira retrieves a snowball I threw out in the field. Don't you wonder how she finds it?!She is standing here. She's giving me her 'annoyed' look, as her head was buried looking for 'my' snowball when I called her. She found it!Today, up on a plowed pile of snow, I have Blast and Tank catching snowballs, both have turned toward my lousy throw here.Trust decides to climb up snow mountain also. She doesn't want to catch, just nosy.Kira just off the driveway this afternoon. A lovely sunny afternoon after yesterdays' horrid storm.I took Kira out front on Tanks' and Blasts' snowpiles when we came back. She's just about to leap for the block of snow coming at her.A perfect catch...splattered all over....just the way she likes it!!!

Our Little Herd

While I put these pictures on, there are nine deer behind the house, having just come out of the forest. While we don't really want them here, they seem determined to stay. Because they were eating all our bird food, we finally bought deer feed as it's much cheaper than what we are spending on the bird seed. We put the deer food out behind the house, behind the fenced in area for the dogs. At times, they do jump the fence and clean up the bird seed. The buck (first picture) is the most 'tame'.

Here, he stares at me in the living room window, inside the fence where he should not be.Three does walking up the paths they've made to the corn. Taken from bedroom window.This one I refer to as the 'baby' - the smallest - it sees me in the window.Barely dawn two mornings ago, some have already arrived looking for food. A little disagreement between two of them.Yesterday morning, before the snowstorm. Baby and sibling and mom. After the storm, they did not come out last night for food, and we late coming today. As much as we wish they weren't here, we worry about them when they aren't.

Wolves, and last night -28 C with heavy, new and very deep snow now.No-one in sight this morning. I finished with the dog outings and went out to leave the feed expecting them to come soon. Suddenly, the buck came out of the bush and watched me. I began to talk softly to him and he continued to approach. I turned and went to another area and he continued to follow me up towards the house.I went up the stairs to the deck and he flinched when I opened the door, but stayed. I got the camera and went back out and stood on the deck, continuing to talk to him and took these pictures. It took only seconds for him to put his head down and begin to eat.He looks quite relaxed here, chewing away. He has the most beautiful eyes. It wasn't until this afternoon, that the rest of the little herd came up for food.

I think with the easy winter we had early on, they did not move to their normal winter deer yards and then got stuck, left behind. Now, we seem to be 'stuck' with them, as I don't imagine they will leave now.

If we can't track...we'll search!!!

A few days ago, I took Kira with me to an appointment, and went into a shopping mall with her. Rotten weather, so guess a lot of people touring the mall, which was great for us. We 'met' lots of people, and Kira was polite with them all..she especially enjoyed a very young child in a stroller who kept offering her toy to Kira and Kira would kiss the toy, not trying to take it, then the child, over and over. I had a few items with me, and was able to hide them in interesting places our first trip through, and luckily, when we back to 'find' them, they were still there. We had fun tug rewards and a good time.

We've not been getting the normal amount of activity and exercise being somewhat snowbound, and for a change here tonight, we did an off leash search in the house.

I had hidden five items, briefly scented, briefly aged. Being able to stand back and watch her, I could take pics. Most amazingly, she would ignore her very special two balls, as she was "working"...very impressive...

Here she has found a 2" square of flat leather in the magazines.She's just turned back to me with a glove I had shoved under a scatter mat by the back door.And here we have a small cloth article shoved down inside the boot.Another 1/2 glove in the black bag on the chair, she is just pulling it out.Toughest one. There was a small white, plastic 'gift card' tucked inside the opening of the bottom kitchen drawer which holds the cooking herbs/spices. When I opened the drawer for her, she picked it up and backed up with it.

Keen little search dog, she is. We then played with the ball she had ignored. Always happy, this busy little girl.

Real Winter Finally Arrived..

And I'm not too overjoyed. No walking trails, and we now have six deer coming regularly to the bird feeders. Very difficult getting dogs out for walks, having to check windows all around house, and make sure it's "safe" to go...The dogs are happy with the snow, but not happy about not going out into the fields, and now not the forest either because of the deer....sure don't need them running after the deer!

Amazing noses at work again! Out in the middle of nowhere in the deep snow, Trust has detected (I imagine) rodents travelling under the snow. She was very intent trying to pinpoint them.Blast clued in and came over to inspect the area also. I called them both away shortly and we moved back into the plowed area around the house to play ball.Trust doesn't play ball, but Tank was also out with us and it's a mad scramble between Blast and Tank...I have three balls going, and usually Blast manages to confiscate all three. After I put Tank and Trust inside, Blast scrambled up one of the plowed snowpiles hoping he could stay out longer. He always thinks that if he lies down and stays still, I won't 'see' him...It was pretty cold, a windchill of -24, so I just threw a few balls and back in we went.A little later, Kira and I went out the back. I was shovelling snow off the deck and she waits below to "catch" each shovel load I toss over. Spook used to do this. Kira is just more intense and jumps higher. She gets in this springloaded position ready to leap.We attempted a little walk along the deer paths, it was actually helpful to walk through the snow. She's running back to me, I had just called her off trying to rip a live/attached branch off a tree!

Switching to a ball, I was tossing them as far as I could into deep snow and down into trees. It's really neat to watch her scent these out, following the scent down the branches. I figure running through deep snow will tire her out...ha.ha.ha. Wishful thinking. She just has so much fun.What?! Go back inside?! Are you serious?! One more throw, one more throw...just one!? Please!!!!! Meanwhile, my fingers were so cold they could hardly hold the ball to throw it, let alone the camera. So, ok, TWO more throws and in we went.