Just Do It

You know how, sometimes, when there is a big messy job to do, you just put it off and put it off because you don't know where to start?  Well, that's what my month of blogging has been like.  I've been going on hikes and walks (beyond our usual daily walks around town and on the seawalk) several times a week for the past several weeks.  Different people.  Different dogs.  Different places. Most times I take the camera.  Most times I come home too tired to do anything more than post a few photos on facebook.  And then I stare at computer as the days and days of photos pile up and think "How the heck am I going to weave these into a decent blog post?"

Well, sometimes you have to scrap the big picture and just do one tiny piece.  So, instead of going with my original plan to integrate a bunch of hikes, I'm just going to start where I'm at right now - and maybe we'll get back to the others and maybe we wont.  Sometimes ya gotta "Just Do It".

Yeah, mom, cuz your readers wanna see my HAPPY face!

So... today Pat and the poms and Maggie and me did an easy walk at the Cowichan Bay estuary - a flat trail of a little over a kilometer each way, dogs allowed on leash only (most obeyed, though we did see a handful of people who sadly hadn't learned how to read the many signs).  It is a refuge for birds, and there were many there this sunny day.  The first to welcome us were the redwinged blackbirds - harbingers of spring, vocal chatterboxes, calling for their mates.

Then there were various ducks and geese, swallows and kingfishers, and of course the pretty little hummingbirds that stay on our island year round:

Maggie is quite a serious little dog, so it always thrills me when I capture her happy face, and I did that twice today - the photo that started this entry, and this one which caused me to laugh when it came up on the screen.  I swear we must have been sharing a wonderful joke!

Didya hear the one about the sheltie and the two poms who went into a bar?
Ha ha ha ha ha ha.  Just wait......
Darn, I forgot the punch line!

I always love walking near water - creeks, rivers, the ocean - any kind of water - as the magic of nature is echoed in the reflections on its surface.  Today was no different, with  blue sky and fluffy clouds both above us and below us:

It was a lovely day for a walk with the dogs, a beautiful day on my beautiful island.  I hope you find some time this week to enjoy the great outdoors.
Till next time....