Two hikes, two days, two friends

Excitable Annoying Eddie is  much easier to live with when he gets lots of off-leash time even though, at eleven years of age, he is starting to slow down in both speed and distance traveled.  The maxim  "A tired dog is a good dog" certainly applies to Eddie, whose irritating behaviours around the house are completely eradicated after a good hike.  No barking, no begging, no stepping on my heels as I head to the kitchen, when he's fast asleep!

Eddie:  Just look at this face!
Do you really think I have ANY annoying habits???

On Saturday, we headed to Fuller Woods with our friend Pat and her puppy Cosmo.  (Actually, we headed to Grace Road Park, but the barrage of  gun shots from the shooting range across the canyon forced us to rethink our destination the minute we got to the parking area). Cosmo, at five months, is an Energizer Bunny who can go-go-go for two hours of hiking and then come back to my place to play-play-play for another hour.

Bunny?  I'm no bunny!
I'm a dog, Auntie Jean!
And a darn cute one too. 

Num num num I found a stick!

Eddie wasn't too keen on him the first time they met, but now they get along just fine - Cosmo knows not to jump on Mr. Eddie, and mostly they just ignore each other - except, of course, if there are treats to be had.

Whoa - TREATS!

You'll notice which dog is sitting nicely
and which dog totally ignored the command! 

Today, Sunday, Eddie and I headed to Chemainus Lake with Margaret and Rajah, to do the 2.5 km trail loop trail that encircles the lake.  Eddie used to try to bolt at the little metal and grid iron bridge a few minutes in from the parking lot, but with Rajah in the lead, then me, then Eddie, then Margaret, we have gradually perfected the art of getting Eddie across.  And after each crossing we throw a party with lots of dried liver treats, which I'm sure has improved his attitude toward metal bridge decks.  What a delight to see him march right across without a moment's hesitation today!

I'm such a smarty-pants!

I took lots of photos today, but sadly most came out blurry - not sure what that was about - perhaps a weak battery that no longer fully charges and doesn't have the power to auto focus properly.  As my larger camera had a little accident a few weeks ago (as in, falling from the tripod to the concrete patio), it looks like I may soon need to replace both my pocket one I use for hiking and my bigger one.  Ouch.

But, to continue our walk around the lake, a few photos escaped the Blur Monster:

Mom?  I need a treat! Mom? Mom?

Chemainus Lake through trees and mist

Rajah decided to play "Where's Waldo Rajah?"

Reflections in the lake

On the far side of the lake, significant improvements have been made to the trail, widening it  and providing a firm navijack surface where mud and mulch used to be.  A little harder on tender paws, according to Eddie, but a more durable trail given the many people and dogs who use this off-leash park.

Hey, lookit this new trail surface!

Tomorrow we'll be back to walking about town for a day or two, and then....weather permitting.....a third hike with a third friend.

The Foggy Foggy Dew

When I was a bachelor, I liv'd all alone

I worked at the weaver's trade

And the only, only thing that I ever did wrong

Was to woo a fair young maid.

I wooed her in the wintertime

And in the summer, too

And the only, only thing that I did that was wrong

Was to keep her from the foggy, foggy dew.

(Old English folk song, circa 1815)

Now I'm no fair young maid for sure, but there isn't a bachelor on earth who could keep me from the foggy, foggy dew.  Those  foggy morning walks with Shiloh are some of my favourites - like walking while cocooned in a cotton puff, noises muffled, peaceful solitude, beautiful photo ops as the rising sun tries its hardest to shine through the mists.  I can stand on the shore gazing through my camera's lens for hours.  As much as I love crisp sunny mornings, I think I love the foggy ones even more.  These shots are from this morning's walk:

7:45  AM

8:15 AM

8:30 AM

Barrow's Goldeneye

8:45 AM

Fog lifting on Maple Mountain

"What's she babbling on about?"
"I dunno - just ignore her! "

My world in black and white

Back in November, a friend on Facebook asked me to participate in a five day challenge, publishing on facebook one black and white photograph each day for five days.  The rules allowed for the photographer to take a colour photo and change it to black and white, which is what I did.  The hardest part of the challenge was deciding which five photos to post.  I knew I'd have no problem finding five photos of dogs which would look great in black and white,  but decided to challenge myself at another level by deliberately choosing photos from different categories. As it happens, I ended up starting and finishing the challenge with dog ones, but diversifying for the second, third, and fourth photos.  These are the five I ended up posting:  

Day 1:  This was a photo I took for Bully Buddies rescue several ago. I call it "I'll be your Best Friend". 

I'll Be Your Best Friend
(c) Jean Ballard 2009

Day 2:  One of my favourite photography subjects, second only to dogs, is the elderly. In this photo, my friend Pearl is having a great laugh over some silliness we got up to.

Laughter is the best medicine
(c) Jean Ballard 2013

Day 3:  As one who avoids big cities like the plague, I seldom do urban photography, but I took this shot on a rare visit to downtown Vancouver BC last fall.

The Urban Jungle
(c) Jean Ballard 2014

Day 4:  Day four's contribution contrasts sharply with Day three's urban shot - a young First Nation's man spearfishing at Swallowfield, one of my favourite hiking spots near Crofton BC. 

Spearfisher at Swallowfield
(c) Jean Ballard 2010

Day 5: I had trouble deciding what to post for the last day of the challenge, but decided to return to the subject of dogs as I love how removing the colour from this photo makes it look like a pencil line drawing. It is my favourite of the black and whites I'd selected for this challenge: 

Little Dog with Big Bark
(c) Jean Ballard 2013

I thought of this challenge again today when I looked at some photos I took on this morning's walk with Shiloh.  It was just after daybreak on a somewhat foggy morn.  I took the photos in colour, but when I downloaded them to the computer, I realized this morning's world was actually black and white - no photo editing required:  

Osborne Bay on a Foggy Morn
(c) Jean Ballard 2015

I do enjoy black and white photographs, but prefer my real world to have more colour.  Thankfully, as I opened the gate to my backyard, colour emerged - in the form of this little orange cat who has taken to visiting my garden a couple of times a day:  

The Visitor
(c) Jean Ballard 2015

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas...

On the twelfth day of Christmas, your blogger posts for thee.....

Twelve dogs all posing, 

Eleven scenes of beauty, 

Ten suns a rising,

Nine foggy mornings, 

Eight pretty blossoms,

Seven island birdies,

Six happy piggies,

Five.... Gold...en... Flowers

Four happy kids,

Three kitties,

Two yellow ducks, 

And a sheltie by an evergreen tree!  

Can I go now?

And now Christmas is officially over and we are well into the New Year.  I don't make resolutions, but if I did it would be to get my stories better organized, write some new ones, and blog at least once a week.  I hope you've enjoyed these twelve days of blogging. Please come back soon. 
Jean.

All photos copyright Jean Ballard 2014

What to do on a cold winter's day?

Why, curl up with a good book and a few good dogs, of course!  Or with a good dog and a few good books. It's the perfect way to spend this eleventh day of Christmas.

Around here, I have multiples of both - good dogs and good books.  Not only do I have lots of books, I have a whole shelf  full of books that have been written by my friends, or to which my friends have contributed a story and/or a series of illustrations.  Memoirs,  novels, recipe books, children's books, and - yes - books about animals.  

A few of the books my friends have
written or to which they have contributed

Some of the titles have been self-published, some have been selected and published by companies that choose manuscripts from among the thousands that are submitted to them every month.  Some - such as Tillie and Maude by Sylvia Holt, or Journey by Carol Anne Lawry , or any of the Chicken Soup books - are available on Amazon.  Others are not, and are sold through websites or word of mouth or at local craft fairs and flea markets.

Robyn Gerland and Sylvia Holt
selling their books in Chemainus

Liz Maxwell Forbes at a book signing in Crofton,
autographing  a Chicken Soup book
in which she is piublished

Some books are small enough to fit in your purse, others are heavy enough to need some muscle to hold it up while reading. The majority are very light reading, perfect for a rainy day when your energy level is low and concentration isn't your strong suit.  They may not be modern renditions of War and Peace, but they all are pleasant reads.

The newest of the batch is a recipe book by my friend Lorelei Rondeau .  Called The Gutsy Cookbook:  Recipes for digestive health, it was released just before Christmas, and will soon be available through a website which is currently under development.  The recipes, developed by Lorelei after ulcerative colitis led her to modify family favourites,  look and sound tasty and down-to-earth.  Having eaten at her place on several occasions, and having been the recipient of many of the healthy treats she has baked, I just know this is one recipe book that I will enjoy.

Yum!

And then there is one book that will be of particular interest to those who come to my blog to read about animals:   In the Company of Animals:  Stories of Extraordinary Encounters, edited by Pam Chamberlain and published by Nimbus Publishing. It is an anthology of true stories about animals, written by Canadian authors, including Farley Mowat, Anny Scoones, David Adams Richards, Linda Johns, and....oh yes....yours truly. You may recall I was being interviewed on CBC Radio recently about my story in this book (you'll find the link for the podcast of that interview in this blog post ).

  You'll find my story right at the beginning of the book - the first one.

And, yes, the book is available on Amazon as well as in many bookstores across the country.  Go buy it - you'll be glad you did!