Duffy, Foxtails & a rainy day, 4-8-11

[E1 & Zuiko 18-180mm lens]

One of my many worries about Duffy has been how he will handle the foxtails.  Ginger and Sage have stood above them, but Duffy isn’t tall enough as you can see below.  Furthermore, he loves to wallow in them.  At one point they were so plastered to him that I almost despaired.  I kept his eyes, nose & ears clear and hoped for the best.  He shook himself furiously as he ran along.  And then he buried himself in the sand and wriggled around in it.  After we got home I took him into the backyard to brush and comb him expecting the worst, but he had somehow gotten rid of virtually all of the foxtails.  I found four and none was in a dangerous place. 

About half way through our hike, the sky darkened, and I had just put my camera away (my lens today wasn’t waterproof) when it began to rain.  We walked a good long while in it.  I was reminded of walking post in Korea.

Photos from a rainy day, 4-6-11

[E1 & Zuiko 14-54mm lens]

I used near-extreme settings on the camera to make use of very-little light.  At some point the clouds dropped lower and it began to rain.  The camera and lens were both water-proofed and so, it seemed, were we.

We encountered a field biologist early in our hike.  She checks the birds at the river every few weeks.  She is especially concerned about a small songbird whose name I can’t recall that she thinks is more prevalent than was first though and may soon come off the endangered species list.  Then, further on we encountered a couple, Dale and Nancy, with a Karelian Bear Dog.  With a description like that you’d think it would be fairly fierce . . . maybe if we were bears . . . .

 

The girls & Duffy on a cloudy morning, 4-2-11

[E1 & 18-125mm Sigma]

Mostly-Cloudy morning, 4-2-11

[E1 & Sigma 18-125mm]