Dogs, Frogs, and Blogs

Sadie B, Eddie, Gail and I went up the southern end of Maple Mountain on Thursday, starting at the east side  of Escarpment Way.  My local dog friends refer to this as "The Pond Walk" as all the swimming dogs head straight for a small but fairly deep pond not far along the trail.  This was Sadie B's first time on this walk, and she found the pond in no time:

Bliss!

Eddie doesn't have much use for water, so moseyed about while Sadie B swam.  And Eddie doesn't do fetch, so ignored the sticks that Sadie B kept bringing back for 'just one more throw, pleeeeease":

Sadie B's favourite pasttime

Apparently, neither Eddie nor Sadie B do frogs, because both of them completely ignored this little guy who afforded me many opportunities to photograph him, even after Sadie B danced right on his head:

Excuse me - could you keep that dog off my head?

Swim time over (though Sadie B would have opted to stay there all day, as long as someone would keep throwing her stick), we continued up the wide trail which ascends at a gentle slope in dappled sunlight:

Happy Eddie on the trail

Hurry Up!  There could be another pond ahead!

About an hour later we reached an area from which we could see Quamichan Lake below.

Quamichan Lake from the south side of Maple Mountain

I had company arriving in the afternoon, so that seemed as good a point as any to turn back.  The dogs had a good run, we had a nice hike, and Sadie B had a great swim.

I've been falling behind in blogging, reading and commenting on cyberfriends' blogs, and sorting and editing thousands of photos.  This week the drainage and patio guys were here, and now I can add "water newly seeded area three times a day" to my to-do list as well as "edit photos and blog about back yard transformation" to my growing list of things to blog about.

I have been feeling over-extended lately, though it isn't so much the volume of work as the timing of it - balancing my Sadie's frequent meals and between-meal meds, with Petey's needs, with Eddie's walks, with other tasks that need to be done for the upcoming kitchen renos, with trying (in vain) to get the flowers and veggie seeds in, with meeting writing deadlines, with ........oh, maybe it is the volume of work.

Anyway, I decided to clear my calendar of all but the essentials - taking a couple of months off from a few of my regular, non-dog-related activities in order to have more time for me. I really want to be gardening, reading, and most of all learning how to use my new camera equipment (the above photos were all taken with my old point-and-shoot) - and these are solo activities that don't mesh well with clock-watching, preparing for meetings, getting to places on time. This might also give me a bit more time and energy to blog and to respond to some of the truly wonderful blogs I like to read.

Or not.  Kitchen renos begin June 25th.  Life may get crazier before it gets calmer.