Mirror Lake

Today is my Blogiversary! Two whole years and what a fun couple of years it’s been. There have been good times (rolling in the mud, for one…) and there have been some bad (my poor Toby—I do miss him), but with the help of all of you, it’s been worth every minute.  My Aunt Sally came to visit all the way from Texas and Mom said “Let’s go hiking!” There’s no better way to commemorate my blogiversary, at least that’s what I say.

Off we went. We stopped at the Ranger Station near Mt. Hood and got some trail maps (are more hikes up there in my future?). Mirror Lake was our destination and is a fairly easy hike off the highway. We started here…a raging river coming out of the forest. I wasn’t allowed to go into it, but I really didn’t want to.

We hiked into a gorgeous forest. It was a little eerie with the fog hanging almost right over us. We saw lots of downed trees that are composting in the forest. Mom says it’s food for the soil. I practiced my agility and did a little rock sitting.

And walking over a bog bridge.

We found a stream where I got my furs wet, even though it’s not hot (maybe 60 degrees F. (15 degrees C.))We finally got to the lake. The fog was really low.

We walked around it and came to a spot where I could go swimming for a bit. The fog was even rising off the lake! If it hadn’t been so foggy, this is what we’d have seen. That’s Mt. Hood. Mom says we’ll just have to go back…

We did see some pretty flowers. We weren’t sure what this was, but this lily was stunning!Mirror Lake is a glacial lake at the foot of Tom Dick and Harry Mountain. That’s it in the distance. Beyond the fog….there’s 3 peaks that are part of a 2-mile long volcanic mountain and is only about 5,066 feet tall. Because of this, it’s considered a foothill of Mt. Hood. On the way back, I checked out a hollowed-out stump. There were lots of stumps in the forest, but this one was particularly interesting. Maybe there was a treat inside!

We finally got back to our car and took off. I thought we were through, but Mom turned off onto another road.  What’s next?

Check back for the next installment of our blogiversary hike.

A Corral

For one whole solid month, I didn’t go on one hike. Not one! But we made up for it today. Mom took me to my favoritest place of all–1000 Acres AND my buds Caly and Tucker were there. They came just to play with me. So, here we go (I was in the lead this time). I was in HEAVEN. We ran and ran and chased and ran some more. Then we found an old corral. Once, a long time ago (before me) there were cows here. And this was an old cattle corral.I wonder what it was like to be in one of these things? Do you think the cows liked it? I thought it was pretty neat (and the grass tasted good).Then we found a fence. I think this was pretty new, but there was some good grass there. Caly, Tucker and I pretended we were cows and ate some.We took off on a deer trail and ended up in some really tall grass–it was as tall as Mom! I was the trail-blazer–I think that was a good plan, right?We thought we were going to have to back-track, but Mom said “let’s go that way”. She was pretty smart and we got back on the real trail. And there it was–a wooly caterpillar. Mom says it’s suppose to tell us how bad our winter will be. I think it’s just a funny bug. What do you think?It was a really nice day! We could even see Mt. Hood. There’s quite a bit of snow up there already. Maybe Mr. Wooly knows something we don’t!

We Hike For Awards!

Ha, I bet you wonder what that’s all about? To start, I’ve been honored, and I mean honored, to be the recipient of several awards in the past week. Eddie and Cassie over at What Dogs Do awarded us with an Inspiration Award! Thank you, guys, for thinking I’m an inspiration! I wonder if they have mud in the UK? I’m on it, guys! I’m suppose to pass this on to other bloggers and let me tell you, you ALL inspire me! But my biggest inspiration is my Toby, Sir Pantsalot of the Round Bowl. He’s been practicing a lot with his sword this week. The special vet went to a conference this week to pick up the magic powder he’s going to sprinkle on Toby’s sword. He said the fight will begin next week and wants to be nearby in case Sir Pantsalot needs some help. I told him I’d help sharpen his sword or carry his armor or do anything to help him, ’cause he’s my inspiration. I know he’s going to win, I just know it. And, all of you bloggers out there, please know that you inspire me a lot too. That’s what keeps us going!

Miss Stella over at Just Ramblin’ awarded me with a Genuine Blogger Award. And there are no rules or blogs to forward this to or anything! I was so happy that if there was a mud puddle nearby, I’d dive in–except they’re all drying up…… So, I’ll just say thanks to Miss Stella for thinking of me. THANKS MISS STELLA!!Then, would you believe it, Oscar  sent me the Versatile Blogger Award. I try to be versatile, but there’s only so many mud-puddles. Trust me, if there’s one around, I’ll find it–just ask Mom.  Oscar, you are the BEST!

 

After all that heady stuff, Mom and I went for a long hike at Powell Butte with my friends Caly and Tucker. Toby didn’t go–Mom said it was getting a bit warm and we were going to be gone for a while. He needs to conserve his energy for the big battle.

Remember, we’ve been to Powell Butte before, but Caly’s Mom knew all the best trails. We stayed mainly in the forest–I love running up and down all those hills. Of course, I had to be on-leash part of the time (you know, rules…..).But I had time to show you some of the neat scenics (as my friend Shawnee would say). Here’s a hollowed out tree stump. Pretty big, huh? I was doing my best sit/stay. Mom says I have to focus. Focus pocus, that’s what I say.I practiced my agility and jumped up on this big moss-covered rock. Don’t you think I look like an explorer–looking for the next trail? Check out my feet–see the mud? I found some even here!
Caly and I waited on this fallen tree trunk for water. We were pretty parched! Mom, you need to bring LOTS of water. Don’t you know anything?How do you like this boulder? I don’t think I’d like it rolling down on me! I just decided to look pretty here (and practice focus stuff. (Gee, Mom. You’re no fun.))At the very end of our hike, we met a man who was taking pictures of this butterfly. He said it was rare and only lives on thistle. If I had to live on thistle, I’d be rare too! OUCH. And, guess what, we saw several of them, so we stopped and watch them flit around. One even landed on Mom’s head! He told us what it was called (sounded like satyrangua), but Mom couldn’t find it on the Internet. She found a Comma Butterfly that’s rare and looks like this one, but we aren’t butterfly experts. So, here it is to enjoy, whatever it’s called…..

Powered by Linky Tools

Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…

The Sun was OUT!

And so was I!! I promised you we were going on a hike yesterday, and so we did. Remember when we went to Powell Butte? That’s where we went! And guess what we saw as we were driving into the park? 3 deer! Yes! Deer. But, Mom didn’t take a picture–she was driving. She could have stopped, but…..

We decided to go to the woods this time. There’s some pretty nice trails back in there and everything was so green! Not that we’ve had a lot of water this year or anything. I found some really good sniffs–probably this was a mouse-hole. Mom said I was lucky it didn’t jump out at me.

You notice the trail is pretty dry. Don’t worry, there was still some mud, but I behaved myself. Can you believe it?There was a big tree trunk in the middle of the trail. I’ve been practicing my jumps in agility, so this was a piece of cake. Toby hopped right over too. Even at his age, he can show us some moves!

The meadow was full of wild lupines. They were all over the place! Mom thought they were pretty. She told me she tried to grow them when they lived in Colorado, but they were puny compared to these. We hope everyone had a good Memorial Day! We sure did.