Our weather is warming but we are having our winter rains. I don't mind the rain...I don't like the snow.

And of course the dog doesn't care if we have both..she just wants to go on her daily walk-abouts.

We encountered another Blue Heron not far from the house today.

As long as the dog keeps moving along the trail the bird doesn't move a feather. And because of his stillness, I don't believe that the dog is even aware of him.

Now, the ducks and the large Canadian Geese...that's another story. As soon as either of them see us coming along the path, they all launch into a loud chorus that half the city can hear.

And of course she is going to go running their way to see what all the commotion is about.

Dumb birds!

Smart dog!

I "borrowed" this post from my other blog..thought you might enjoy it.

WEIRD WEATHER ON OUR WALK

Mother Nature was playing games with us today while we were on our walk.

M.O.M., and I were both enjoying the brilliant sunshine when suddenly it started to pour rain!!

And boy it sure rained hard!!

But this rain didn't stop us from going on our wonderful long walk.  And of course in just a few moments the rain had stopped and the beautiful sun continued to shine on us.

If you click on the picture to enlarge it you may seem more of the rain.

OH MY GOSH..ANOTHER WALK!!

M.O.M.  and  I went on another hour long walk today.  Gosh, that's 3 this week.  And I am loving it!

M.O.M. said I must tell you that this is the path we walked on but this is an old photo.  No, she didn't commit the ultimate crime by forgetting her camera.  But she did forget to bring fresh batteries!  So no new pictures today.

But of course I really never notice when she does take all those pictures but I must admit I did hear some strange words when she discovered she could not take any photo's today.

But I had a very good day today with the walk and several puppy naps.

ONE AWESOME WALK!

I heard M.O.M. putting on her walking shoes today so I got real excited hoping I was going to get to go with her.  Yes, I usually make sure I am at the door and ready to go when she gets to the front door!

Of course she always let's me go with her.

And I must say it was one of the best walks we have been on in a long time.

We headed down the street and I got real excited when I realized we were going to walk on the harbor trail.

As we approached the end of the street I realized that M.O.M. was letting me go on this walk without my leash!  Oh boy!  This is going to be the best walk ever!

We walked farther around the harbor on our trail than we had ever walked before.  And we saw many new sites too.  M.O.M. was real excited when 2 American Bald Eagles flew very close to us and she was able to get a few pictures of them before they flew on with their journey.

Of course I ran and ran exploring everything everywhere. So many new smells and sites. We came to a fork in the road and at first took the trail to the left. But several yards down the trail we came to a bridge. Unfortunately the bridge surface was made of a type of grating and it frightened me when I approached it.  And M.O.M. didn't want to have to carry me over this rather long bridge so we went back and took the trail to the right.

This new trail went on forever and ever!  But because we were on this new trail all by ourselves, M.O.M. decided that we should turn around and head back because we were already more than a half hour from our street. She said we will come back here when M.O.D. is with us and see where this long straight trails actually goes and see if it has an end.

So off I went running everywhere...as usual. 

I am sure M.O.M. noticed that as we approached the beginning of our street, that I wasn't running any more. But walking along the side of the street heading home.

So M.O.M. wasn't surprised to walk into the living room not long after we returned home to find me asleep in the middle of the room.  Just moments before this picture was taken I had been very busy chewing on the rawhide that you can see in the picture.

Yes, this is a embarrassing photo of myself as I didn't know I feel asleep with my little leg straight up in the air!!

But gosh, I am soooo tired!

A WET RAINY WALK IN THE FOREST

M.O.M. and I joined her walking group today for a walk in the woods. It was not raining when we started out at the trail head.

But after walking for about 20 minutes it did start raining...a few drops at first then more and more.

Of course I didn't care that it was raining and M.O.M. and the ladies didn't seemed to mind either.

I did my usual running everywhere thing and loved every minute of it.  We did have to cross 2 rather deep creeks but as you might guess I just trotted on across. But I did notice that a few of the ladies were having a bit of a hard time.

I forgot to mention that 2 other dogs joined us on this walk...Jasper and Buster.  On the walk up the trail Buster's mom kept him on his leash.  But about an hour and a half into the walk/hike, Buster's mom said she was going to turn back and would meet us back at the vehicles at the trail head.  M.O.M. then told her we would join her. (We didn't want her walking out in these woods by herself. We did find Wolf scat on the trail earlier.)

After crossing the first deep creek she let Buster of his leash and he and I ran up an down the trail having so much fun.  In the above photo you can see me with Buster in hot pursuit!  He is a beautiful Boxer that has gone on many of our walks/hikes over the last 3 years.  Yes, I know I have been on the hikes only a year and 1/2 but M.O.M. told me about that.

As you can guess, both Buster and myself were very wet by the time we arrived back at the parking lot....so was M.O.M. and her hiking friend.  But none of us really minded cause I heard M.O.M. and her friend doing a lot of giggling and laughing in the front seat.  And we had to wait just about 20 minutes for the rest of the group to join us. 

Buster and I both fell asleep on the way home.  But before we did I did have to make sure that he had to stay on his own side of the car.  Gosh, It was easier than I thought to make him understand what I mean when I curled my lip and made a little angry noise.  I could see that M.O.M. was kind of proud of me for finally standing up for myself. 

Hmmm,  I think I grew up a bit today!

A WONDERFUL DAY IN THE WOODS!

M.O.M. and I joined her walking group for the final walk of the semester on Wednesday. And because it was the last walk with the group until next fall, they held a very fun Bar-B-Que at our favorite campground in Montana.

Everyone brought lot's of food and I even got to sample a Hot dog for the first time.  Yummy!

I did have to stay tied up to a real tall tree while everyone was eating...all 5 of us dogs had to.  M.O.M. said it was because there were so many people and too many dogs and someone might get hurt.

That was okay with me cause she tied me as near as she could so I could watch everything that was going on.  And of course she brought along my water bowl and even my usual lunch time snack.

They have all been so kind to M.O.M. and even me. They didn't mind me coming along on their walks or hikes when I was just a pup and didn't know the etiquette of the trails. M.O.M. always said that their kindness and patience towards me helped me learn how to act on the trail real fast.



M.O.M. and I are sad that this will be our last group walk with our Montana walking friends.   M.O.M. came to Montana not knowing anyone other than step daughter and her family.  And it was a fabulous day when she hooked up with all of these wonderful, active, fun loving people...and dogs!  I am sure it will be hard on her when we leave here for the last time. But I did hear her tell M.O.D. that she is thankful for the Internet so she can keep in touch with all her Montana friends and share lot's of pictures with them of our new life by the sea.

When the ladies in the walking group heard we were leaving the got together and made M.O.M. a beautiful quilt with scenes of Montana on it. And two other ladies each made me my own blankets...1 to use in my house bed and 1 to use in the bed in the car!!  Wow! Isn't that Great?!!!

And she is very happy that all of her blogger friends will still get to read about all of my adventures during my new life by the sea.  This blog thing is the most amazing communication tool!  M.O.M knows she would never have become friends with most of you if she hadn't allowed me to write my story and all of you have faithfully followed as I grew into a happy, healthy rescued dog.  We love you all!!

Hugs and Wags to all my dog and cat friends and their humans!!,  Mistaya

YOU WON'T BELEIVE THIS!

Yes, that is me! Look!!! I am driving the car!!!  I finally have real hands!!

Well, okay, that isn't really me driving...it's M.O.D. behind the wheel. But M.O.M. really laughed when she saw this picture and said "Mistaya! What are you doing driving the car???"  Well, I wish I could drive the car. Then I would drive to the forest everyday for a super fast run on the hiking trails, chasing all the squirrels and chipmunks I could find.  "Now see Mistaya?" M.O.M. said, "That's just why we won't let you drive, you would never stay home, and besides, you have no way to pay for all that gas!!"  "And no! animal pelts are money!!"

Okay, it must be time for a nap...again.

SOMETIMES I AM SUCH A SMART PUP!

Most of you know that M.O.M. has taught me to sit down and wait while a car is passing us on our dirt road while she and I are out for our daily walk. 

She has noticed that I even sit down even while I am running in the woods if I hear a car coming by.  And of course my hearing is excellent so I always hear the car.

But M.O.M. was a bit surprised today on our walk when she heard a car coming and look over to see where I was.

There I was sitting quietly atop the pile of logs I had been playing on, waiting for the car to go by and for M.O.M. to then 'release' me.  When she did I immediately returned to my play as if I had never stopped.

M.O.M.  says she is very pleased that I remember all of my training as she always feels that I am very safe out on our walks.

  We walked with her walking group yesterday and I was running ahead of everyone as usual and as I neared a corner up the hill I sat down beside the road and waited. Several of the ladies asked why I was sitting because they didn't hear any cars way up here in the woods.

Just then a large pickup came slowly around the corner  (probably because the driver wondered why a little black dog was sitting by itself along the road in the forest.)

Everyone was so surprised that I had known the truck was coming.  But of course they would have known it too if they had hearing like us dogs do.

WALKIN' ,RUNNIN', WALKIN', MORE RUNNIN'!

This is a picture of the expression on my face this morning when M.O.M. asked me if I wanted to go on a walk with all the ladies in her walking group.
If you can read dog body language my expression says..."What are you waiting for???"

Because there were lot's of walkers and a young dog that wasn't allowed to run off leash for awhile, I had to wear my leash. I wasn't too happy at first but I knew sometime along the way M.O.M. was going to let me run.

I think she was real happy that I did have my leash on when we crossed this bridge high above the mountain creek. I did hear a gasp from a few of the ladies but I never really had any plans to actually jump down into the water. M.O.M. remembered to bring a bottle of water for me so I wasn't thirsty enough to jump!

I did get off the leash and I had so much fun running everywhere. Of course I always try to be real careful of the ladies and not run into one of them and knock them down. I imagine if I did that I wouldn't be allowed to join them on the walks anymore.

If you look real hard at the picture above you can see me just at the edge of the water...that black looking thing that blends into the black sand like stuff. The water was ice cold and tasted so good.

I had a lot of fun today and look forward to joining the walking group again soon. I sure hope we can find a walking group at our new home. If not maybe M.O.M. can start one for us!

Early this morning M.O.M. put my collar on me so I immediately knew we were going for walk.

M.O.M. told me that we had been invited to go on the group walk with her friends so I stationed myself in front of one of the windows so I could see when her friend pulled in our driveway. I am so excited cause I love to go on these hour and a half walks with everybody!
So I waited, getting a bit excited every time a car came down our road.

And I waited....

And I waited some more.

After 30 minutes of waiting M.O.M. came to me and said she was afraid that we had been forgotten. But I continued to wait at the window, but by now I was lying down and watching and the excitement and fun were starting to disappear for me.

M.O.M. noticed that I was still holding my post by the front window and she came to me and said that we were not going on the group walk today. She held me close...cause I think she was a bit sad and disappointed too...and she whispered in my ear..."Why don't you and I go on our own walk together?" Of course I was up and running in a flash and got to the front door before she could even get up off her knee's!!!

We walked our usual walk down the road but on our way home M.O.M. and I wandered off the road into the forest and we had the best walk we have had in weeks. I guess sometimes you just have to make you own joy in this world and today we did just that. Thank you so much M.O.M. It was a wonderful day after all!

LOOK AT ME...LOOK AT ME!

I could hear M.O.M. saying "Now, just how are you going to get down from there???"

And I thought...Just watch me!!!

Here I go!!

See, I told you I could get down...and I even found what I was looking for.....

Oops, I can't seem to find my water supply that is usually here. Well, I will just have to lick some of this snow to wet my tongue. Yum!!

Even without my fresh water to drink I still had a very fun time on my walk with M.O.M. today.

A MESSAGE FROM M.O.M.

Hi everyone, my M.O.M. wanted me to let all of you know that M.O.M. and M.O.D. are real busy right now trying to get our home ready to sell. They do take time during each day to throw my favorite ball for me or take me for a short walk. But for now we just can't get onto my blog site to post for awhile. We all hope all of you understand and we will post as often as we can in between painting, packing and sleeping!!

Thank you for understanding our absence. Hugs and wags to all my blogger friends, Mistaya

TOO MUCH PUPPY FUN FOR THIS PUP

M.O.M. and I went on two speed walks today and by my dinner time I was so tired that M.O.M. put my food dish on the carpet and I laid down in front of my bowl and slowly ate my dinner.
But of course, no matter how tired I am, I would still go on another walk with her right now! I just can't help it...I just love to run! Of course M.O.M. never makes me wear a leash or collar when we do our speed walking. And I am so glad cause when we get into the forest I get to run like the wind. And since I am not wearing a collar and leash, I don't have to worry that I may get snagged on a limb or stump anywhere. Thank you for trusting me M.O.M.

STRANGE PICTURES FROM MY PUPPY WALK

M.O.M. took some very strange photo's on our walk today. The first photo shows 4 sets of tracks in this one spot. Can you guess them all??
Okay, let us try to help you...starting from the left, in the center of the pic are some very tiny tracks...we think those are from the squirrels that chirp loudly at me as we go by...the second set...in the center top...those are mine! and the ones to the very right are M.O.M.'s. But I bet you can't guess the fourth set...the one that is to the right of mine and the left of M.O.M.'s.....no it's not my tail...and no it isn't a walking stick M.O.M. sometimes carries...try figuring it out from the next picture.......

These are my little footprints but what is that strange mark in the middle? Well okay, it is just like the one in the top photo...it is actually my little tongue dragging along the ground trying to lap up as much liquid as I can. Yes, M.O.M. always brings a bottle of water for me but I really don't like to have to stop and stand still long enough to get a drink. So as I am running I just put my head sown and try to scoop up as much snow as I can and still keep running like crazy. Yeah, M.O.M. thinks I should stop once in a while and drink from the bottle too but I don't want to!!!

So as you can see we are still going on wonderful walks even though everyone seems to still be to tired from eating all the Turkey this holiday. But M.O.M. seemed very happy to go on a walk with me today. Thank you M.O.M., I always have so much fun!

OUR ADVENTURE THIS WEEK

M.O.M. and I headed out for another fun walking adventure. But this time she put my backpack on me and put 2 bottles of drinking water in the pouches.

At first I thought I wouldn't be able to walk at all and then as we were walking down the road I realized she had balanced the pack very well and it really wasn't that heavy.

So off I went and I had such a good time. There was a lot of sunshine and so many places to explore. And when we arrived in the forest M.O.M. took off my backpack so I could run like the wind without risking getting myself caught on a downed tree limb or stick.

When we headed back home I noticed that M.O.M. had my backpack hung over her shoulder and she never did make me wear it all the way back home. Ahhh, life is so good!