Pics from a brighter day

I know we have nothing to complain about, and we actually needed the rain, but we are heading into our second day of rain this morning; the dogs and I are over it. The cooler temperatures are nice, although they are too nice to last for long this time of year.

I'm probably going to do some cooking since we are stuck inside again today, but here's some pictures from a walk with Maya and TJ and an outing from last Wednesday.

Maya is the best trail dog I've had since Emmylou. She knows we are out there to walk and look for wildlife and she knows the trails. She has learned to let me choose the route when we come to fork in the trail and responds to a verbal "left" or "right." She's not fussed by horses, bikers, or other dogs. When we encounter other people she drops back and lets me handle the situation.

TJ is quite a bit older and doesn't have Maya's stamina, but he would never admit it. He's got the enthusiasm to carry him along farther than he really needs to go and I have to be the one to limit his activity in the heat. He's like Sparky in that regard. Sparky is the dog who really got me started hiking on a regular basis several years ago when I was needing exercise to fix my back and leg pain. Sparky will still go if I ask him, but he really likes the comfort of a bed in one of the crates in my office. It's the canine equivalent of an old man in a rocking chair on the porch.




































Maya has turned out to be a dog who can go anywhere. She's a little shy in new situations and around new people, but that's a good thing. She sticks close to me and trusts me. These are pictures from a trip to James River Brewery in Scottsville on Wednesday evening. Clay and I had a beer and caught up on the small town gossip and drama. Someone could write a television series about the people in that town, sort of like "Murder She Wrote" but without the death.

Maya got love and biscuits from the bartender.