Just in case you are feeling overwhelmed with holiday preparations, situations, or the assorted craziness/drama/blues that can happen – especially at this time of year – take a couple of minutes to rest your eyes on this little guy.
This has been a Bowser-approved PSA.
Rock on,
The WB
Bowser is becoming more and more of a cuddlebug the more he matures. I’m not complaining – I much prefer this to when he was a velociraptor wild fanged beast puppy. He only had 2 modes then – off and bitey. Remember the Thunderdome Days? Oh boy, I do!
We have apparently entered a new era.
We hope you get some scritches this weekend too.
Rock on,
The WB
My daughter complained that there was not enough Bowser on last week’s post. Probably some of you feel the same way. She sent me many cute photos to use. Here are some of the best!
You’re welcome.
Rock on,
The WB
What with all the salmon activity happening down at the creek, it’s no surprise that the bears want in on the action. (Why should the eagles, crows and ravens have all the fun?!) What was surprising was that I never saw a bear at the creek – in fact, I’ve never seen a bear on the trail, period. Up until a week or so ago, that is! And he/she was far from the creek, when I came to a “crossroad” and saw him. (Luckily Bowser was nosing in the brush on the other side of the trail, and didn’t notice the bear.)
Once I realized he was walking away from us, I got out my phone camera to take a few shots (like any good blogger would 😉).
Then we headed on our shaken but merry way, in another direction. Of course (!!!), I had forgotten my bear bell and bear horn for that walk, so I had no choice but to make up a song to sing, to warn that bear or any others of our presence! 😉 🎶
Rock on,
The WB
The whole family went down to the creek to watch for salmon one day. There had been even more rain and the creek was flowing quite fast. We did see some salmon (jumping, even) but the waters were too rough to get good video of them. Daddy walked across part of the creek to get to another section and You-Know-Who HAD to run swim after him. My daughter and I stood on the shore looking on in amazement at what this little dog was doing. Luckily I got over the shock and got my camera out to capture the journey back to us.
May you always make to the other side.
Rock on,
The WB
Now that Bowser has discovered the creek can contain these interesting creatures, he’s on a mission to find more.
I managed to get a close-up on the salmon without interference from You-Know-Who. My son-in-law tells me these are pink salmon.
Sometimes he roams a bit too far into the creek (heading for the deeper portions), than I’d like!
But he always manages to make it back to shore…uh…so far!
We hope you always manage to come back from your adventures too.
Rock on,
The WB
The previous Autumn, I had been told by someone I met on the trail that the Haslam Creek is part of the annual fall salmon run here on the island. I had found that hard to believe, standing in the inch of water that made up a large part of the creek that I visit on a daily basis. How could any salmon navigate these shallow waters to the spawning grounds that they were born in?
Cue the recent atmospheric river event that dumped tons of water on the island, and the flood of fresh water flowing in the mouths of these waterways also cueing the salmon waiting in the ocean bays to start heading “home”, to spawn and die.
Now our shallow little creek is running fast with feet of water – not inches, and previously dry ancillary streams are flowing again.
Bowser took off like a shot to investigate one of these little streams and I quickly found out why. I was astonished to see a dorsal fin and tail wiggling down this tiny flow (and so was Bowser!).
We followed the fish further up the stream so I could get a closer look:
Despite Bowser proving very adept at chasing and chewing and shaking the living daylights out of his toys, he doesn’t quite know what to do with a living creature. According to my experience with previous dogs, a dog needs to witness a kill in order to know “the next step”. Usually this is learned from their mother or other dogs. They have the instinct to chase but need to witness a kill in order to finish the job. At least that is how it’s worked with the other schnauzers I have had in my life. My Maxx did not know what to do with a groundhog until he saw my parents’ dog grab one and shake it to death. Then something clicked for him and no groundhogs were safe on our property after that! My Lucy never saw a kill and thus she never killed anything. Chased everything but never killed. Even when a squirrel (her nemesis!) fell out of a tree and landed right in front of her nose and just laid there, stunned.
Or maybe Bowser is just too well-fed 😉. Anyways, I’m happy to keep him ignorant of that final step in chasing down prey.
Rock on,
The WB
Photos taken the same weekend as last Sunday’s post.
The rain just kept on coming – non-stop for 3 days! We were lucky to not have to go anywhere and to not experience any flooding. Unfortunately, a lot of people on the mainland were flooded out by the atmospheric river.
But for us, it was a couch potato weekend, for sure. My daughter sent me these photos of their Sunday morning with Bowser.
Hopefully you have drier weather where you are and can get off the couch!
Rock on,
The WB
Last weekend we experienced an atmospheric river. Did that stop us from heading out for walkies? Not on your nelly! Did we get drenched? Absolutely. Did we have fun? Absolutely. Did Bowser need to be wrapped up and snuggled, post-drenching? Absolutely!
May The Force be with you!
Rock on,
The WB
Last weekend was Thanksgiving weekend in Canada, and it was a glorious weekend for walking along our usual routes. Many leaves had fallen due to recent wind and rain events, and our walks were a feast for the senses. The crunch of the leaves, the fresh smells of the earth and the vegetation, the feel of the sun warming up our bodies – it was everything to be expected from October walks in the woods.
I’m linking up this post with Dawn’s for her 2024 Walktober.
We hope you are having a great weekend wherever you are, and that you are able to enjoy being outside.
Rock on,
The WB
