Enchanted forest-Westwood Plateau trails

Enchanted forest trail -back again today....it's raining out so tucking ourselves into a forest trail keeps us dry.

What's that I hear?

Fingers attacking a fern.

George skipping.

Hairy arms

I love this about nature...recycling at it's finest, a tree growing within an old trunk.
A couple hours later, we're almost out of the forest.

Just in time, it's clearing up!

wow-little skater

Creepy tree monster

Creepy tree monster.

Hiking in the thick of the forest can be a Zen moment, you hear nothing but nature; makes you think philosophical thoughts, contemplate life and excess, makes you feel fresh and full of life.

It can also be an exhilarating, and heart pounding adventure. Dogs racing mach speed on the scent of something big and scary, or little, squirmy and icky (George tracks salamanders and garden variety snakes or anything dead and gooey).

Whatever it is..they're all pumped up to "get'm". Thankfully they love to think brave thoughts... until it stops them dead in their tracks...sometimes stopping so quickly it has a domino effect :)

If whatever they've tracked is too close for even their liking, they'll curl their tails under their body and come racing back to me, which is my cue to retreat in the opposite direction Monty Python style. We're brave but not stupid.

Today thick in the trails, out of the corner of my eye, I caught the sight of this creepy tree monster that looked like it's scrawny arms, dripping with green goo, were going to grab me!

I actually let out a gasp...how embarrassing. I didn't expect that in my old age, "tree monster", would be the first thing that came to mind. Then again, it could have something to do with my "rebels without a clue" crew and their over active imagination rubbing off on me :)

I wonder what will be in store for us tomorrow.

Maren the great!

I have the rest of the week off from work......Ahhh, sooooo happy!!!!
A beautiful day for a hike in Maren's neck of the woods, near Quest University. Daizy, Keegan and I joined her gang (dogs that hang out with her during the day) and hiked the winding mountain bike trails, conjuring up fun ways of teaching a bullet recall and walking politely on leash for wk 2 of puppy class. This afternoon, while Daizy and Keegan snooze, I get to take George and Taiki out along the river trail.
Clear cut view of snow capped mountain beyond.
Time for checking in and treats!
Daizy play'n.
Dog roadblock.
Glowing Maren :)

Keegan, no time to rest!

Pleeeeeease play with me?

Paw in hand - first puppy class!

Time flies when you're having fun! We survived our first Preschool puppy class!

I can't believe I forgot to get a pic, will do next week. A friend of mine Maren has a dog walking, private consultation service (Paw in Hand). She has been competitive in Agility, Flyball, Rally-O for the last 20yrs. She lives breaths dog stuff, is certified CPDT and has attended so many seminars/workshops that her resume was pretty much a full page of rubbing shoulders with my all time hero's in positive reinforcement training. She's all about mixing up fun, treats, life rewards...so she's a hoot to boot!

I was beside myself happy that she was ready to take the plunge and I got to be her side kick! It was an exciting couple of weeks helping her with spreadsheet, curriculum, training tips list, and then in class as her assistant (reinforcing what she taught, and demo'n, elaborating on some points as well). The class was hopping, eyes glued on what was said, and the follow up was very positive (after class I asked people if they learnt something in class that was helpful, which I thought was a good touch, so you know for next class if you need to kick things up a notch)

Everyone said they learnt something useful and were eager to try it out this week. A true compliment to all the worry & brainstorming to ensure the class would be a success. We'll see how things go next week with the feedback. If everyone does their homework...we should see some smiling and proud faces next week.

I've attached the flyer as an addition to this online scrapbook, it's nothing that will be of interest to anyone, but it will bring back a flood of good memories for me in time.

Mamquam trail- maple leaf n zoomies

Mamquam trail just off the golf course, luckily situated about 5 min drive from Home Depot. Perfect for gals like me! Darrell caught the "home improvement" bug so while he and the guys hung out and figured out how to replumb a bathroom...I ducked in for a quick hour long hike :)
Keegan had the zoomies the whole time we were out!  I love his running style, it's gone from goofy, uncoordinated, looking like he was running on a pair of stilts, to now,  at times he'll throw in a "wow" graceful gazelle stride. He's been awesome at agility lately understanding the difference in what his body needs to do for short jumps and will automatically extend fully for long jumps.  We're working in very short spirts from a 6 in to the floor bar, to make sure we are gentle on his growing body.  Working so he gets the feel for strides and body coordination rather than height.
Keegan in for the sneak attack on the unsuspecting Taiki
In the background of the sneak attack shot, there was a single maple leaf that caught my eye.

It was soooo huge!
I couldn't resist taking a pic of cutie little putie Taiki to give you an idea of scale of this leaf.

We cut off the path to the river, where there was this little island of sand surrounded by river rocks.
Again, Keegan was full of beans and bugged Taiki until he'd chase him.  Around,
and around, 

and around they went!

A brand new day- Nov 4/2008 Obama won!

Exciting times ahead.  Picture of Taiki ,  me and my Barack & Roll t-shirt that I wore to work :)

Keegan-praying

Nexus beach- Keegan praying for more sunny days like this one to enjoy before we are rained out until next spring.