Stress Relief = Dogs & Rivers

Wednesday is the bump of the week, I hope this funny photo of two silly dogs helps see you through the madness of work and life.  My first homework assignment for graduate school is due today and in that honor, I want to send good positive vibes out into the universe.  What's your happy place when life gets stressful?

MOOSE!

All weekend we sat on the porch of the Grand Lake cabin and waited.  We watched hummingbirds dance, golden-mantled squirrels play, and we continued to wait and watch for The Moose.  On our last day there, our Moose stepped out across the river.  We were elated!

Then the Moose turned and walked across the river.  We decided to get in the car and dare a little closer, still keeping a good distance.  The Moose walked towards us as we waited.

As it neared we marveled at the enormity of this beast, the huge rack, the bell, and the slow saunter as it walked right in front of us.  Then it did something we didn't expect.

We turned the car around to go back to the cabin and guess who was peeking around the corner of the house.  The Moose again!  But it paid us no attention.  It slowly walked off into the trees after 15 minutes or so and even though it's such a large animal, we lost it only 50-60 feet away.

This wasn't my first Moose but it was the biggest, the closest, and the most gentle one I've experienced yet.  And the best part, my Mom visiting from South Carolina was standing on that back porch, only 10 feet away as it peeked around the house.

Thank you big Moose.  I hope we meet again.

Daisy Dog

Daisy is a sweet name and we are so lucky to have such a sweet pup.  She has a little tick-tock tail, just a stub but it shows so much joy.  Her muscled body allows her to jump to fairly decent heights and she runs circles in the backyard like its her job.  On her morning walk by Troutman Park, she pulls me towards Horsetooth Mountain with vigor but with a firm call, she looks at my shyly and slows down.  Her favorite place to be is Grand Lake, where at the cabin she roams the flowery meadows, runs full-speed down the dirt loop road, and jumps in the nearby stream.  She's a handful at times, as most shelter pups can be but I can't imagine life without her now.  Daisy, you are the sweetest flower.

Hummingbirds Like It Rough

One of my favorite parts about going up to the family's Grand Lake cabin is watching the hummingbirds in the summer.  As the summer days have faded and my first Colorado winter approaches, I decided to show you a little bit of the action seen from the cabin deck back in August.  The feeders were lively and these little red devils gave me a sneak peak at what all the fuss was about.

If you look at that next to last photo again, you'll see the feathers ruffled as the male pokes his beak into the back of her head.  This happened again and again as he frantically mated with her.  It was quite the dance and all the time she ignored him and continued feeding.  Only after numerous jabs, she finally set off like a bullet and he returned to his nearby perch, standing guard to run interference with rival males or take advantage of feeding females.