Dahlias

The trio.

Looking dreamy and sweet

Tiny terror in the flowers

Flight is lucky he is so cute. 

An Afternoon on the River

We spent Saturday afternoon on the SUP, with my mom and grandma in kayaks. Koira stayed at home, because she is loud and pushy and not super fun to have along for most people (though I love how much she enjoys it).

Flight is finally getting more used to the SUP and getting pretty confident on it. He even jumped off on purpose twice, to go visit my mom in her kayak.

There were a ton of birds on the river. We saw many blue herons, and osprey, as well as king fishers and some other birds. And ducks, of course, which Ptera really wanted to go chase, but she restrained herself.

The day was beautiful, warm enough to be fun, but not hot. There was a bit of smoke, but not nearly as bad as what was here last week, so we enjoyed ourselves quite a bit.

The water sports season is fast coming to an end, and, like every year, I am realizing we didn't get out nearly enough.

Being Cute

Just a few shots of the dogs being cute on a warm summer day.

Hammock time

We Challenge You

We challenge you to a watermelon eating contest.

Dis mine.

For your dogs, of course!

Flight is my most enthusiastic watermelon eater, but his favorite thing to do is snatch it up and run away with it (well, that is his favorite with all treats, really).



Ptera is a little more dainty, but overall a big fan of watermelon.



What are you waiting for? Grab your dog, grab a watermelon, and dig in.

Nummy watermelon 

SUP on the 4th

Every year, I like to hit the water with the dogs on the 4th. I find that tired dogs are less likely to be freaked out by fireworks, and more likely to have medication work well if medication is needed.

This was Flight's third trip on the SUP, and by far his longest. The first trip was just a quick paddle around a local pond, while the second trip was a water parade for the solstice, which happened after dark.

He doesn't seem to totally love it yet, but then, Ptera didn't for a while at first either, and now she is hard to keep off the board.

Koira of course had a blast. She spent most of the hour and a half we were there in the water swimming. She wears a life jacket for exactly that reason- I don't want her getting excessively tired, and she will keep swimming until I make her stop.

Ptera and Flight also did some swimming, but mostly hung out on the paddleboard. Koira just took occasional breaks on the board.

Overall, all the dogs had a lot of fun, even if it wasn't as warm and sunny as years past.

Happy 4th

I mostly am using the 4th as an excuse to get some cute themed photos of the pups.

Our plans for the day include heading out to the lake for some SUP/kayaking with lots of dog swimming. Tired dogs tend to be less anxious when the big booms start.

Ptera did really well with fireworks last year. Koira generally is terrified from the first boom, but does better here in the country than in town where they go off for hours. This is Flight's first year here for the 4th, so I am not sure how he will do.

After playing on the water and tiring the dogs out well, the plan is to hunker down inside with a movie (probably the Star Wars one that just hit Netflix). All of the dogs are microchipped, and will all be wearing collars and tags just in case.

Composure (by Vetriscience) is what I give all of the dogs to start with, early in the evening. Koira will also get Pet Releaf treats with CBD oil. I have prescription meds for Koira as well, but I don't think we'll need them here this year.

And of course, the car has leashes and treats stocked in case I run into any loose dogs in the next day or two. I have found more stray dogs in the week around the 4th than any other time of year.

Here's to a good 4th.

July/August Hiking Goals

I skipped the July update of our hiking goals for the year. We didn't actually go hiking at all in July. I know. Pretty bad, considering we have so few dry months here.

My favorite SUP selfie so far this summer

In July, I did make it out on the paddleboard and kayak a few times. I went to a small, local lake with my mom a few times.

Playing with the GoPro at the local lake

"Docking" the SUP and going for the dismount

I also went camping at the coast for a few days with a friend and her family. We took out the paddleboard and some kayaks to Beaver Creek on the coast. I mostly stuck to the SUP, but did take a spin in the kayak. We camped at South Beach State Park, which was a lot of fun, but I didn't get a single photo of our campsite (we were in yurts) or of the beach. Or of the beach at Pacific City when we went there at the end of the week.

Kayaking a little at Beaver Creek

The first week of August, I slammed my week full of water trips. I started with a trip to Olalla lake with a friend who has never kayaked. I helped her put a big, super fun check mark on her bucket list, and had the opportunity myself to get out and have a great time.

The next day, I headed down to a reservoir near Eugene with a friend, where we spent a very smokey day out on the water. The Willamette Valley has been in smoke almost all summer, it feels like, from wildfires in Oregon, Washington, and even some smoke coming all the way from the big BC wildfires.

In a reservoir near Eugene- it wasn't overcast at all, that haze is all smoke

Then, I headed to the Silverton lake the next day to meet up with another friend and enjoy yet another day on the water. I was exhausted, but it was an amazingly fun week. It wasn't quite planned to be like that, rather, I made plans with three people and kept forgetting that I had plans. But somehow it all worked out, and I had an awesome week.

Still a smoky day, but much clearer in Silverton than in Eugene the day before

I went whitewater rafting with our flyball team boxloader and his friends/family, which was pretty awesome. I got exactly zero photos, and didn't have a dog with me, and didn't know anyone except the one person, but it was an absolute blast. So much fun.

I also had a chance to hit the beach once in August, even though I rarely do the beach in Oregon in the summer.

Posing on the beach

And went back to an old favorite hike, Drift Creek Falls. There was actually a tree down across the road and a few people had parked and hiked in the last mile to the trailhead. But, with teamwork between three carloads of people, we managed to move the tree out of the road with zero tools. That kind of eclipsed the hike, to be honest. It felt awesome to come together with a team of strangers and get something done that would have been impossible alone.

Classic sign photo

Having a tiny dog willing to balance on things is pretty fun sometimes

Trailhead mileage sign

I just love the suspension bridge at Drift Creek Falls. It scares me, but I have been slowly tackling my fear of heights (remember that I went ziplining in the Redwoods in California?). This is a solid bridge in good condition, but narrow enough with open looking sides to be scary, but with chainlink and solid boards, so you can use it to conquer fears.

Drift Creek suspension bridge

What have you been doing in the great outdoors this summer? Any fun plans before summer ends? I'm hoping to get some more hiking in this month, and at least a few more SUP trips as well.

WW: Drift Creek Falls

Hiking down to the falls

Good dogs

Ptera spotted a squirrel

Koira isn't a fan of heights, but posed on the suspension bridge for a photo with the falls

The dogs with Drift Creek Falls

Drift Creek Falls, with the suspension bridge on the right

The falls from above

Ptera's view from the bridge. 

Under The Water

A few favorite photos from last week.

Stay Cool This Weekend

We're headed out for another weekend of dog sports. Hope you all stay cool!

Wordless Wednesday: Pretty Girls

My pretty little girls.