Snow! Snow! Snow!

Over the last week, we've gotten enough snow to safely cover the trails. On Sat and Sun, DL and I decided took the ladies to do some reconnaissance snowshoe hikes to see whether we could ski yet. Signs looked good! The creeks were frozen, the muddy spots were frozen, and the slicks of standing water were safely covered with sofft, fluffy stuff. Autumn wobbled out on shaky legs, took one look at all of the fresh, white, fluff, and bounded down the hill to the trail like a puppy! We did our full 3-mile neighborhood loop both days, and she had no lameness either day (although Monday morning was a rough one... but I think it's worth it to blow all your oomph on the weekends when it's daytime and you're off-leash and running free. Running with headlamps and dodging commuters is much less fun, and much more acceptable to miss.)

Three happy dawgs!


DL bringing up the rear:


Starbuck loves to plow through the snow and come up with a snowse. Autumn hangs in the background like a ghost:

This photo made my heart catch a bit when I saw it, because I'm pretty sure that between my two elderly ladies, Autumn will be the first to leave us. When she goes, she'll take half my heart with her. I wouldn't mind if she "visited" from time to time.

Starbuck can run like hell and stop on a dime! She has the best brakes I have ever seen on a dog:


The leaders lead the way:


The snow was so warm and fresh that it stuck in Starbuck's toes. Fortunately, she is self-cleaning:


Up, up, up, climbing through the birch forest:


My favorite neighborhood landmark:


Above the snag is the "experimental forest". We have nonnative trees, like these two pines:




So good to see my sweet little old lady out bouncing around and smiling!


When we stopped for a water break, I noticed that the girls were splaying their toes, making natural snowshoes:


Starbuck sez, "Me! Me! Photograph MY paws!"


"Hold my paw":


The lower ridge:


Someone's been logging:

"Rrrrrooo? Whoooo has been cutting trees in our playground?" Given the heavy equipment involved, I'm sure that this is done with a permit (that'd be a mighty big operation to happen illegally!), but I hope it won't go too far. It's a good reminder that state land is, after all, not necessarily set aside for conservation.

The leaders lookin' alert: