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Flashy Friday Week 2!

Flashy Friday! Week 2 -  "Spin" Whew! A whole week between posts, sorry guys! Like I've mentioned before we're pr...

Friday, September 12, 2014

Beauty All Around Us.

Time To De-Stress 

I think the fading summer is making me crazy...or it could be that this is FINALLY my last year before I graduate with my Bachelor's of Science Degree...or maybe the fact that my puppy's toenail is still healing (that story HERE), maybe its that my 2 dog/cat house sitters are gone (my sister is in France my neighbor joined the Air Force)...my husband is fixing to transition to a new career **hopefully fingers crossed**...really i'm feeling crazy? Yup. I'm going insane.
I'm finding myself just under a lot of stress. So far i'm holding out, but it's beginning to feel like a mountain. School is never going to end. 

My Dog Barry wrote a great post - Happy Go Lucky Dog, and she's right! Looking at my dogs makes me happy. I love playing, walking, training, and spending time around their forever happy faces. Nothing gets them down. I need to learn from their example I think.

Part of my schedule being so wacky, I haven't been able to make it to the gym. And if you know me, this is a BIG DEAL. My gym time has kept me sane for years! I love exercise. Normally my gym time is Tuesday's and Thursday's, I drop the pups off at grandma's house for playtime after I get home from work, hit the gym, and grab them when i'm done, and then we go play/train some more!  Well grandma is out of town...and I don't feel right running home, letting them out to potty, and then turning around and leaving again. So yesterday I had a near meltdown of "the going crazies!"  So on a whim and needing to keep my butt in shape, we went for a 6 mile hike!

Our 6 Mile Hike

A short drive from our home is an old abandoned logging road, from start to finish the first stretch is 6 miles (12 if you go down and back). The road then continues for more miles on the second stretch, and eventually turns into a dirt road.

"Mom said to find the beauty...is it in here? What's beauty? Don't worry mom, i'll find it!"


It was hot, about 85*F. But their was plenty of shade to walk in and I was sure to test the pavement to ensure Dante and Ziva wouldn't burn their paws.  The dogs loved it! The road is paved for the first section, and fenced on each side. One of the sides is pasture area and so we got to see cows! Something Dante and Ziva were plenty curious about.

Part of our hike/walk
All in total, we went about 6 miles. Until I was feeling the weight lift off my back, and the dogs tongues were happily hanging out. They were soo good they even go to go off leash and we practiced their recall, as well as "leave it" commands for the quail and other birds we ran into.

At one point we turned a bend in the road to discover a mama & papa quail with about six little babies!! They were adorable! As we saw them they also noticed us! Papa ran off to the left, Mama ran off the road to the right and the kidlets scattered in both directions. One little baby was so confused about which way to go that he ran back and forth across the road several times before decided to go with papa.

Ziva and Dante of course watched this little scene playout with their attention fully fixed on the little birds. I only had to remind them a couple times to "leave it". And as we walked past where the birds had been they were good to not run into the brush and try to find them.

"Quails? I thought they were fuzzy tennis balls with legs!"

"Feeling better mom?"

6 miles later we were all happy and tired. It was a great dog day with lots of fun things to smell and pee on, and mom had a great time looking at all of the beautiful colors.
It's that time of year again and the trees are changing!
This will be our first fall and holiday season with Ziva!

Snug as a bug! Ziva sleeping in daddy's arms.
An exercised dog is a happy dog!
This Moment See beautiful Blog Hop


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11 comments:

  1. A six miler is a good hike - I bet you all felt a lot better at the end of that! Thanks for joining the Hop.

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  2. That looks like a great place to hike. It is definitely beautiful.

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  3. That's a great "leave it" command you've taught them. I'm not sure Laika would have passed that one. A six mile hike can be so nice; it's a great way to take your mind off things and enjoy the simple pleasures.

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    1. Sometimes they make a break for it, but the "leave it" works a lot of the time. :-) We practice it all the time and in different scenarios. I'm hoping someday they'll have it down even better!

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  4. WOW! 6 miles but its a Beautiful Hike. Happy Seeing Beauty. Golden Woofs

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  5. What a nice long hike and what a lovely area to hike in. We are very impressed that Dante and Ziva didn't chase the quail.

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    1. It wasn't easy! I could practically hear them begging to be released! :-)

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  6. Wow you have a lot going on! And you are very brave for taking a 6 mile hike in 85 degrees, there were lots of tongues hanging out. The dogs looked like they had a great time though! Love Dolly

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  7. Thanks guys! @Dolly @ Sugar We had a wonderful time. I think we'll do it again starting at the opposite end.

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  8. It sounds like you had a wonderful walk. Pretty pictures. Good thing brown dawgs did not discover the quail...lol. We don't really see them where we venture though. :)

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  9. I can relate to the feelings you described. I could certainly use a nice 6-miler in the country with the dogs. I'm more than bored with the Florida landscape so we are looking forward to some trips north. Life keeps me in one spot most of the time, though (kids, school, etc) so right now I'm dreaming of getting out and seeing something different with some nice Fall weather. And you're right, we should try to take life as the dogs do. :-)

    Ziva snuggling with her dad was so cute! She looked so peaceful!

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Barks & Howls are always welcome!!

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