Where The Wind Takes Us... One Doggie Field After Another

2012-01-16T13:55:00.002-05:00

Had a bit of exciement. Ginger was chewing on a bone we had given the dogs for christmas, and all of a sudden we realized she was stressing. She somehow managed to get the bone stuck on her lower jaw:

At first we could not just slip it back off since it was over her lower fangs, but with both of us holding her we were able to twist back and forth, and pull it back off... What a talented dog!

I don't know what the plan would have been had it not come off. eek

2012-01-15T18:17:00.014-05:00

We got aproximately 8in of snow in the past 24 hours, still snowing.
Here is a video of the snow falling.

The pets all seemed to be having fun...

except Bailey, she was scared of the branches in the woods falling under the weight of the snow...

Since Bailey was scared, Gator took over the fetching duties... hard work!

Seems the cats are staying especially close to the house... This is Natasha:

Ginger was getting high centered, but was insistant on plowing thru a bit of snow:

Sammie was in her bliss:

2011-12-30T15:27:00.002-05:00

We recently took Gator and Bailey to Money Creek Campground up US Hwy 2.

The campground was closed, as it always is in the off season.
The pups had a blast running thru all the puddles, and Gator found a snowball that she played with until it crumbled. It was fun watching them romp!

2011-12-29T16:18:00.007-05:00

Just an update on the old gals.

They are both doing much better since we started giving them lactated ringers. We use an 18 gage needle and just put it under the skin in her back. We call it being tanked.

They are both on Hills Rx KD formula dog food. Both wet and dry.

Also, they each have a harness that has a handle on their back to assist when necessary. The harness was created originally to assist rescue dogs over rough terrain. They work good, there are 2 straps one across the chest and the other across the belly. Plus a strap across the front under the colar. The straps are all padded. I can actually pick Ginger up by hers.

Samantha has a cancer that she is bleeding internally. Probably a tumor that started on her spleen. We did not want to put her thru surgery or anything, figured at her age it would be too much. She was falling down alot with her front legs, but since we got a handle on the fluids and food she is walking good again.

Suzi takes her on walks around the property.

It it funny to watch Suzi and Sam take their walks, Both Louis and Natasha cats follow along. Evidently Natasha talks the whole way, and shows off her climbing skills. Sam seems quite pleased with these walks.

I was going to take Samantha for a walk, but evidently I don't rate. She chose to stay near the house and watch the cats and I take the walk down the driveway and back.

Ginger is also doing better now that we have the fluids regulated. She has a different type of cancer. It is a type of Luekemia. We also discovered she had ecoli and I think the meds for that helped clear up some of the other infections she had going on.
Someone needs to explain to her that she is frail! When you go outside she lunges down the stairs, and crashes. She lunged one time and I hurt my rotor cuff by grabbing her harness. I think I got hurt because she is so low to the ground that my elbow was straight causing my shoulder to take the brunt of the pull. Due to this and the fact that I am now running the geriatric pet unit the deck is on super duper slow/ hold.

One time Ginger got hurt and could hardly walk, but still wanted to walk in circles while I got her food out. I started attaching her to the coffee table at dinner time to give her a chance to heal. This is working, she is barely limping today. She does get tired quick. But seems to enjoy food and dog bones still.

She has been fighting chronic dairrhea so I trimmed her rear to help with cleaning up easier. I got a bit carried away, and oopsed. Now she looks like a lioness. FYI I do not recommend doggie diapers on a dog with dairrhea, it is more messy than just cleaning the floor...

She also is getting what she considers a special treat: Peppermint flavored Kaopectate mmmmmm nummy!

2011-12-28T11:41:00.003-05:00

I got a weather station for christmas. I have it hooked to my computer and have figured out how to post it on the blog. It will be on the right side of this blog. If you click on the weather area it will open a new window showing more details from the station in our yard. Having fun...

2011-12-27T19:46:00.002-05:00

Just a slide show of Joe and Carisha's kids (pets) this past year.

note it is a video, so if you got this via email go to
http://gingerthebrave.blogspot.com/

2011-12-14T00:16:00.002-05:00

Louis cat brought another live bird into the house. The little bird found a hiding place on a shelf under our wii board. The video is the bird being released.

For those on email alerts, go to the blog to see the video
www.gingerthebrave.blogspot.com

2011-12-05T11:54:00.001-05:00

Saw this fisher king at Marymoore.
Suprisingly, I don't know that I have ever seen one there before.

2011-12-05T11:38:00.003-05:00

We are running quiet the geriatric dog unit now.

Samantha is sick now also. Her labs say she is anemic, bad liver, bad kidneys, and bad pancreas... she was staggering and falling on her face all of a sudden. She is much better now, but we still have to carry her up the stairs, but at least she waits at the bottom of the stairs for us to come help.

Ginger on the other hand will attempt the stairs if we are not right there, some times she makes it, sometimes she gets stuck on the stairs, and sometimes she flips over and tumbles back down the stairs eek. Ginger has a harness so we can grab the handle on her back to assist her. Ginger is still hanging in, good moments/ bad moments. found out she has e-coli now in addition to the cancer. Her immune system is messed up aslo, but I still cannot keep up with her!

They are both on lactated ringers 2x per day. and pills.

Gator, Bailey, Natasha, and Louis are all doing well.

2011-11-11T18:15:00.005-05:00

Suzi took a quick trip to Palm Springs to see family this past weekend.
She used her cell phone to take this great shot of Mt Rainier from the plane on the way down.

These humming birds are sure enjoying the oasis of Palm Springs, CA!

Suzi's parents took her for a hike thru Indian Canyons. The following shots were taken by a combination of Suzi's cell phone, and Mikes.

She was glad she went, but is glad to be home now...

2011-10-27T19:44:00.000-04:00

I went out to mow, and found the deer in the field I WAS going to mow.

Even though I kept passing by in the field across the driveway, the 2 yearlings settled in. So I gave up on the idea of mowing where they were... maybe another day.

2011-10-26T19:43:00.002-04:00

Another great sunrise:

Photo taken 10/26/11

2011-10-26T17:42:00.000-04:00

Our little tenacious Ginger dog still rules the roost:

We did get some news that she probably has cancer. We could have shelled out over $300 for confromatino, but we are just going to do symptomatic comfort care. She is on thyroid meds, steroids to help the iflamation, and antibiotics. What hit me was when the vet and his assistant we go to kept going on and on about how frail she looks. She is still keeping us in order though she has deligated some functions to the puppies.

2011-10-11T19:23:00.000-04:00

We were watching a football game this past Sunday, and all of a sudden a bird hit the window. I went out to check it out and 1. See if the bird was still alive, and 2. If it was keep the cats away from it. Well, I could not find the bird.
Upon coming back into the house I noticed Bailey dog sniffing something under the window. It was a Flicker Woodpecker. A young one. It was still breathing, so I tried to pick it up to put it in a bucket and the poor thing went crazy! All I could think about was the holes those woodpeckers drill in the trees eek! It climbed under the couch cover and I put the bucket over it trapping it against the front of the couch. Whew, once we got the lid on the bucket Suzi carried it outside for the big release. Below is the video of the successful release.

2011-10-08T11:35:00.000-04:00

There must be something living down in the stump. The cats spend hours at a time just staring.

Below is a video of Louis taking a dirt bath.

2011-10-07T09:00:00.000-04:00

Gator was having fun running up the hills of beauty bark staged at the Marymoor dog park.
Seems like I see at least one great blue heron each time I go to Marymoor.

2011-10-05T22:34:00.008-04:00

Tripod, our 3 footed deer was head butting his twin brother.

Tripod's horns are just little bumps,

but his brother's horns look like wicked spikes.

below is a video of them playing.

Meanwhile, their mom found that the center roof (1 out of 3) was off the garden. She got into the garden and went under the chickenwire roof.

at least she is on the side of the garden with all the weeds. The other side is strawberry plants...

below is a video:

2011-10-04T20:59:00.000-04:00

Sunrise taken from the end of our driveway.

2011-10-03T20:51:00.003-04:00

Natasha was beeing cute posing on the truck hood.

Last month we got a call telling us our fence had some rotting. I went to check it out. that top board was a 2x4.

I only needed to replace 2x4's (top and bottom) on the deck. All done.

2011-09-09T19:57:00.006-04:00

It is the season for tree removal. We had several issues. One was some trees along the power line, we had some birch trees that were blackened from brushing the power lines, so the power company came out and removed them.
Looks like the bucket arm is a bit close to the power line to me… (the top wire is live)

They sure did a good job of clearing my view of the neighbors house.
While the guys were here, they mentioned we should consider cutting down our 75’ hemlock tree. (they would not do it since it would not land on the power line, just my house.)

We have heard this before from a couple of different sources, so… we hired Rudy from Top Notch tree service to cut it down.

They limbed it as far as possible with the bucket,

then decided to limb it the rest of the way climbing the tree.

Below is a video of the tree having it‘s limbs cut off:

I missed the cutting of the top 1/3rd (batteries died in camera)

Then he cut the middle section.
Below is a video:

Followed by the bottom of the tree.
Below is a video:

Now we have lots of firewood for warmth this winter. :)

2011-08-10T09:54:00.003-04:00

We saw this osprey on a telephone pole in Monroe the other day. It was so bright out we knew he had something, but did not realize it was a fish until I came home and took the time to look at my pics.

Sushi anyone???

Had I taken the time to look at what he had while there, I probably would have taken some video, and thought more about my focus settings... oh well someting to keep in mind, and look forward to since I know he lives on the cell phone tower in town.

2011-08-06T05:22:00.000-04:00

Local bunny with a cute white mark on his forehead.

2011-08-05T05:28:00.000-04:00

Dragonfly.

For some reason there were a ton of these dragonflies, but just on one day last week. At first I thought it was 2, but then I realized they were just bi-planes.

2011-08-04T05:35:00.000-04:00

Tripod: This young buck was last years baby, he is missing a foot.
He seems to get around ok, when he moves slowly he actually steps on his stump.
see video below:

I did get a chance to see him run, and he does just fine on 3 legs.

2011-08-03T15:20:00.001-04:00

We took a little drive up the Sky Valley (US Hwy 2)

2011-07-27T09:29:00.001-04:00

Louis and his new friends:

2011-07-26T15:49:00.001-04:00

Suzi's Weeping Willow Tree just after sunrise.

2011-07-20T05:25:00.000-04:00

Our Calla Lily is in bloom:

2011-07-19T12:20:00.002-04:00

Been getting daily strawberries lately. Gator likes them, but when I gave her a green one, she thought it was just a play toy and spent along time tossing it thru the air.
This is how she carried it around:

Meanwhile, Ginger had the right idea:

2011-07-02T04:12:00.000-04:00

This is Harlo, she is a rottweiler that is visiting next door.

Gator and Bailey really like it when she comes to visit. Yes, Bailey is licking her in the face, somewhere along the way she decided this was the appropriate way to greet new dogs... it is amazing that none of the dogs she has greeted this way seem to mind much. And she does geet alot of dogs frequenting the off leash dog parks and all.

Anyway, Harlo is actually Gator's bliss, check out the video of them running below.

2011-07-01T16:53:00.001-04:00

Just Sammy looking real cute after getting her nails trimmed.

2011-07-01T04:31:00.003-04:00

The dogs were ready to go find a spot to run. We saw potential camp sites along the way. So we headed back down the road.

We found an area where it looked like it was 3-4 campsites, but was empty, so we pulled in.
I was getting level when a couple and their 2 dogs showed up. They had parked where they cannot be seen from the road, and wanted to make sure we did not block their way out. Gator had a blast playing chase with the 3 year old dogs. Ok, Bailey had fun too, but it was Gator's bliss.

We woke up early, (just after 5 am) and Suzi opened the curtains to be greeted by a 2 point buck by the back door. It was cold so I took a look at the temp. 32F... brrrrr... glad we were not tent camping! We decided to head out. The light was just starting to hit the high mountains when we left. We saw no traffic all the way down, but we did see numerous deer along the way.

2011-06-30T05:48:00.008-04:00

We left Keechelus Lake and decided to check out some place new. We heard Teanaway River road was pretty with camping along the way.

We ended up on the Teanaway Road North Fork. The road was narrow for the camper, but it was a smooth ride with tons of spots to pull over.

It seemed like around every corner was another beautiful view.

We reached the end of the road at Gabriel trail head. There were 3 trails. and the view was breathtaking.

2011-06-29T05:43:00.001-04:00

We went camping this past weekend. We started out at keechelus lake on Snoqualmie Pass.

As expected the lake was high.

Sunrise

2011-06-28T10:32:00.004-04:00

Suzi had a company picnic to go to a couple of weeks ago. It was nice on Friday, and Monday, but rained the weekend of the picnic. Very few showed up. Here is a shot of the group.

We had fun, the kids started up a baseball game which we (the adults) joined in.

The ducks seemed to enjoy the weather.

This heron even made an appearance.

The puppies were exhausted by the end of the day.

2011-06-22T10:22:00.004-04:00

Last night we saw this little bear just down the block from our house.

Looking close at this shot the bear has a tag on it's ear.

The neighbors 2 little dogs came running and barking and the bear scrambled into the bushes, which was nice to see they affected the bear that way.

2011-06-19T21:24:00.004-04:00

We went and checked out the Great Blue Heron nests at the Kenmore Park and ride a couple of weeks ago.

We were surprised to see babies still in the nest. Looks real crowded they are so big.

Here is a video of one flying.

2011-06-15T05:11:00.001-04:00

On a side note from the graduation. You may have noticed little Ginger in some of the shots.
This shot is Shandi and her step sisters with Ginger whom I brought as an only dog.

Well, Suzi had to work in Bellevue getting off at 5pm, the graduation was at 7pm in Bellingham. No problem, it is about 1½ hour drive. I would pick up Suzi at work with dinner in hand. We chose Thai food with Medium spice from Crossroads.

Suzi ate about 1/2 of her dinner on the way. I figured I would eat when we got there... well, since it was rush hour, or as the guys on the radio like to say "the drive" we acually got there at 6:59pm thank goodness for carpool lanes or it would have been worse. We raced in and got seated just in time... well, upon sitting I remembered the food... my thought was I sure hope when Suzi was in the trunk that she put dinner in there... oops, I figured it was probably already too late if it was out.

After the graduation we went out to the car, and sure enough, that little Ginger dog cleaned every last grain of rice, noodle and drop of sauce! Leaving only the packaging (some of which I think may have been missing). I don't know how she did it, that was ALOT of food! But, she looked happy.

That night she smelled interesting and kept me awake with threats of throwing up, although it was all false alarms.

In the morning Ginger acted like she was old and hung over, too much fun!

She looks much chippier this morning!

2011-06-14T05:45:00.008-04:00

Congratulations Shandi!
She graduated from the Bellingham High School Red Raiders this past weekend.

I circled Shandi in the shot below for easy reference on the videos. She was easy to find, very few blondes, and in the middle of the graduating class.

Below is a video of Shandi walking across the stage:

The video below is of The Bellingham, WA Red Raiders Chant, tassel move, and cap toss.

Here is a Video slide show of family shots after the graduation.

2011-06-13T10:53:00.003-04:00

I heard there were twin fawns hanging around, and I finnaly got to see them.

I think they don't spend as much time in our yard since we got the puppies.

Here is a video of the fawns following their mom.

2011-06-12T05:21:00.004-04:00

I have been procrastinating on mowing the back yard because the non fruit bearing apple tree needed to be pruned. Before we went to Montana, I was able to ride the mower under it. Thankfully the pruning troups showed up.

At first I did not recognize the boy, but it is one of the twins from last year. His bald spot on his side is growing back in. He is the one dancing in the tree. Must be a good leaf!

here is a video of the pruning. The bottom of the tree was uniform all the way around just a couple of weeks ago.

2011-06-11T05:50:00.000-04:00

It was good to get home.
below: left: Bailey Right: Gator

I mowed the yard the day before we left, as you can see behind the dogs, the yard was in need of a mow when we got back. Grass sure grows fast around here! In some spots the previously mowed grass was up to my knee!

2011-06-10T05:54:00.006-04:00

We stopped at the overlook just before Vantage, WA.

It is across the freeway from the Wild Horses Monument that we stopped at on the way East.

Even saw some wildlife.

There are more flowers than just a week ago.

2011-06-09T05:09:00.001-04:00

We went looking for the off leash doggie area at State Line.
We are not sure if we were in the exact spot, but it worked great for us!

Gator and Bailey took a much needed run.

This little young barn swallow even greeted us back at our truck when we were done.

2011-06-07T23:52:00.000-04:00

My nephew Justin recently joined the punk rock band Scatterbox.

Scatterbox was playing the same night that Zoe broke her arm, and just down the block from the hospital.
We decided to check it out.

Justin is on the far right.

Click here to see a recent article in the local COEUR d'ALENE, ID newspaper.

The mosh pit was interesting. The guys took it over, and just pushed eachother around.

At one point Suzi fell on her face in the middle of the floor. Sorry, I did not get a shot, Myrna and I were busy peeling her off of the floor. I found if you put out a sharp elbow, they avoid you quite nicely.

Suzi, Myrna (Justin's mom), and Tasheena(Justin's wife)

2011-06-07T19:52:00.000-04:00

We thought we would stop by for a quick lunch with Ken in ID. While we were there Apryl called (My neice) her daughter Zoe who is 2 had broke her arm and was in the hospital.
April with Zoe and Dominic.

Dominic (7) was very upset that his little sister was broken. Zoe had broke her arm just above the elbow. The doctor said it was above the growth plate. Zoe needed surgery to put a pin in. Turned out she needed 2 pins which they will remove in a couple of weeks. They originally were going to keep Zoe in the hospital over night, but she was doing so well after surgery that they sent her home.

What happened was Zoe was playing with a little boy about her age, but much bigger than her. She climbed ontop of the coffee table, and the boy shoved her off.

Here is the dreaded coffee table, which evidently was the culprit of another toddler accident not long ago.

Looks like great kindling for a bon fire to me.

2011-06-06T15:00:00.000-04:00

Cataldo Mission: Cataldo, ID

Suzi took the tour while I fed the dogs.

Ginger got to go for a quick walk after dinner.

The grave yard there has lots of unmarked graves that at one time had little wood buildings around each one.

2011-06-06T05:14:00.004-04:00

We ended up leaving early. We saw in the weather report that there was a high wind warning for several days. I have been there during a high wind, and it is hard to even stand. So we packed up and left in the morning just hours before the strong winds started.

It was a foggy morning

We got to Eureka Reservoir and noticed the mountains were hidden.

We first spotted a pheasant, which scurried away upon our truck pulling in.

Then we saw some geese with their babies in the lake. This is more impressive here than Seattle, since they do not spend the winters in Montana as opposed to the year round pests in the Puget Sound area.
As like the pheasant, the geese moved on upon us pulling in.

As we approached Choteau, MT, we came across this herd of Elk.

We next stopped at Freeze out lake in Fairfield MT for 2nd breakfast.

We headed towards Simms and got this great shot of one of the Butte’s on the horizon.

We had some snow flurries going over Rogers Pass, it was pretty, but did not stick to the road.
We next stopped at Clearwater Junction for lunch and a nap. It felt windy, but nobody seemed to be struggling to stand, so it was not that bad. I got concerned when I saw trailer after trailer coming in, thinking the wind was so bad they needed to stop, but then I looked, they were dumping their sewage tanks. The wind was a non issue. I called and found it was good we moved on.
We parked in the same spot we had slept in on the way over.

2011-06-05T05:25:00.003-04:00

Natasha had a fun time in the house. I was surprised when she hopped on the stove top. I guess it had cooled off enough.

But then I was REALLY surprised when she jumped from the stove top to the beam up above!

I was worried she would climb the curtains she was eying, (note the deer behind her) she decided to hop on the window sill instead…

Oops, what is this, she noticed the deer head on the other side of the window.

After she backed away, she slowly went across the beam to the balcony often checking on the deer behind her.

All the while Louis was laying low sight unseen, except occasionally seen army crawling quickly across the living room floor.

Here they are back in the safety of their camper.

2011-06-04T05:12:00.000-04:00

There were alot more deer than we normally see.
Even the animals agree that spring is late. They normally head for the high country by now.

The birds were even scarce, the only birds at the bird feeder were these brown headed black birds.

This young buck was curious about the little birds around the bird feeder.

On our last day, this cute little chipmunk did grace us with a visit. It even did a couple of quick poses before it scurried off.

2011-06-03T05:06:00.003-04:00

Ear Mountain:

The cloud ceiling was real low. From the look of the snow pack in the mountains, I hate to see what happens if they have a sudden hot spell... they are already saturated from the spring rains with the rivers at or above flood level down stream.

The Teton River does not look too bad, probably the least dirty river we have seen yet on this trip.

Note the river is headed towards me, It hits the entrance to the bridge before going under the bridge. 2 years ago when we were here it washed away and they closed the bridge. Looks like it will happen again.
Here is the bridge in relation to where the water is hitting before going under the bridge.

On a side note, I called 511 for road reports upon entering Montana, and was surprised to hear in the main message that I90 was closed at the Wyoming border due to flooding with no detour at this time. Granted that is the other side of the state from where we were, but it just kind of goes to show how the flooding is in Eastern Montana. They are expecting flooding also in Western Montana upon the snow melting. Maybe they will be wrong, and it will stay cool, so the snow can melt slowly... hopefully!

2011-06-02T06:03:00.000-04:00

We stopped by Eureka Lake to get rid of some pent up energy.

Gator had a blast!

Sam even found her inner puppy and played chase with Gator.

It was the longest romp Sam has done in a long time. it was fun to see...

I love the way the water was whipping off of Gator's tail here...

Bailey swam numerous times out for her fisbee:

Sometimes Gator helped her bring in back in.

I was surprised at Ginger's energy level even with lots of wading!

2011-06-01T15:53:00.003-04:00

We stopped by Russel Gates Campground along the way. We spent the night at the rest area since I don't like to sleep by raging rivers with flood alerts all over the state.

Turned out it was good we stopped. The campground was closed for renovations.

Hi Granma!

2011-06-01T05:26:00.000-04:00

We stopped by Idaho to see family, and got to meet George the cat:
I love his beard

He has a cool tail also.

This poppy flower was in bloom the morning we left.

2011-05-30T22:10:00.004-04:00

We took our annual trip to Montana due to the snow pack in the mountains we first stopped at Wild Horses Monument, Vantage, WA

The puppies had alot of pent up energy to burn off, so we played a little frisbee:

and some Gator ball:

Ginger was happy just wondering and sniffing.

There were very few spring flowers.

2011-05-23T03:38:00.000-04:00

We decided we are tired of the cats bringing in live birds, so we got rid of the bird feeder, and got this spinner to go into it's place.

hmmm even the birds like it:

Be careful little birdie!

2011-05-22T05:33:00.000-04:00

Natasha was posing on top of the old maple stump in the backyard.

Then she decided to pose in the window in the living room for a great silhouette shot.

2011-05-21T05:46:00.001-04:00

Got this shot of a duck swimming by at Marymoor Park.

Caught snacking on the way by.

2011-05-19T14:22:00.002-04:00

This is what Bailey often looks like before bed at night. Often both her and Gator get muddy playing fetch etc. It has been a wet spring.

But this is what I wake up to... All Clean!

It sure is a nice feature having self cleaning dogs. These 2 actually bath like cats.

2011-05-14T18:21:00.003-04:00

Samantha was going thru her spring time molting, so I took her to the doggie spa.
One place wanted to shave her, but another said sometimes the hair does not come back in and the result is bald spots. They thought they could get out all the matted hair, so...

For comparison, Remember this recent shot of Samantha looking quite regal:

She looks like she lost weight. I did not realize how skinny she really is. One lady at the dog park thought I got another new dog...eek

The princess of the ball:

2011-05-02T19:54:00.000-04:00

Got this shot of the deer just after sunrise yesterday.

2011-04-29T05:51:00.001-04:00

Sluggie aka, "Wildlife of the great Northwest!"

2011-04-28T05:28:00.001-04:00

Goose at Marymoor

I am used to seeing geese flying, and waddling in the fields at Marymoor, but this was a special treat seeing one floating down stream.

2011-04-27T05:36:00.001-04:00

Took 3 dogs for a romp.
Bailey really enjoyed her swim.

Gator prefers to stay on land.

Samantha was looking quite regal.

Meanwile Ginger enjoyed a bone at home...

2011-04-26T05:24:00.000-04:00

Been seeing alot of Robin's lately, does that mean spring might really be here??

2011-04-24T11:04:00.001-04:00

We spotted this little frog in our seasonal creek (drainage ditch) yesterday.

2011-04-21T14:22:00.000-04:00

Hawk waiting for Costco to open.

2011-04-18T23:06:00.001-04:00

Bald Eagle at Marymoor park.

2011-04-07T19:48:00.001-04:00

Took the old girls down to the river.

Ginger seemed especially pleased.

2011-04-05T06:08:00.001-04:00

Saw this Pheasant hanging out by the soccer fields at Marymoor park. I had never seen a pheasant hanging around there before, what a treat!

2011-04-03T23:04:00.002-04:00

Been really downpouring here lately, with the usual flooding down in the valley.

We got really excited when the sun finally came out! WOW shadows!

2011-03-30T05:55:00.001-04:00

Natasha and Louis helping out with construction... do they think it is just a big cat post special for them??

Ok, last year we decided to replace our rotting old deck out back. We are finally getting around to building a new one... which progress can be seen here

I posted a link on the right side of this web page called 'our deck project' to make it easy to check our progress.

Here is a sketch of what our deck should kind of look like when done:

I used Google Sketchup to draw this version of our new deck. I never finished it, but it gives the idea of the project as a whole.

Don't worry, it will take us a loooooonnnngggg time... our goal is to finish before the decade is out... so 2020 hopefully?? Feeling ahead of schedule already since I thought the concrete would not get done until summer... :)

2011-03-29T05:53:00.000-04:00

Just another shot of Bailey catching a frisbee with Gator on her heels.

2011-03-28T06:50:00.000-04:00

Suzi got these flowers at work last year. We put them in the garage for the winter. Recently we put them on the portch and they seem real happy now!

2011-03-27T18:43:00.002-04:00

This sunrise at home is one of the best we have seen yet.

2011-03-14T18:32:00.002-04:00

Suzi found out some of her co-workers were participating in Gospel Fest and she decided she wanted to join in.

She only made the last 2 rehearsals before the concert. Suzi is in the front row, 2nd from the right.

2011-03-11T21:24:00.000-05:00

The crocus are up, spring must be coming!

2011-03-06T13:23:00.000-05:00

Edmonds Ferries with the Olympic Mts in the distance.

I was

2011-02-28T20:33:00.003-05:00

Got this shot of a Great Blue Heron.

Here is a zoomed in shot of the eye...

As usual, the Geese were also very active that day...

2011-02-28T20:30:00.002-05:00

This Totem is at the main entrance to Marymoor Park.

I liked how the snow brought out the details of the totem.

2011-02-28T20:03:00.004-05:00

Why Gator and Bailey enjoy Marymoor dog park sooo much:
They often play with the golden retriever playing in the following shots:

In the shot below, Bailey is in the rear...

Below, Gator is the inside dog:

Below: Gator is on the left, Bailey on Right.

We have found Gator is much less distructive after she plays with her friends...

2011-02-28T18:14:00.005-05:00

We parked at Joe's house during the latest NW cold blast.

I spent alot of time at Marymoor dog park. (Ginger spent most of her time in the warm camper with the 2 cats)

In the chase scene below, that is Samantha getting a scritch from the other dog's owner. I got a kick out of how the other dog was scooping up snow for a drink along the way. They had run several laps of being cased before I even got out the camera...

2011-02-17T21:00:00.001-05:00

Marymoor Dog Park swim.

2011-02-14T23:11:00.000-05:00

The weather was ever changing today.

2011-02-14T23:09:00.001-05:00

Louis was hanging out with this buck that was born this year. I wonder if it is the same one he sat with at the picknic table??

2011-02-04T14:13:00.001-05:00

Saw this Eagle at the Marymoor dog park yesterday.

2011-02-04T14:10:00.000-05:00

Had a great sunrise here the other day.

2011-01-28T14:08:00.002-05:00

I was noticing this doe looks like it has been injured on it's rear end.

2011-01-23T20:44:00.003-05:00

Eagles: We went for a short drive down Ben Howard road today and came across these 3 eagles in a tree.

We were pondering the 2 on the left are bald eagles.

The one on the right had a dark head, so we think it is a young one, but it is larger than the other 2. We checked with a knowlegeable source and this is common due to the extra body fat of the young one... (makes more sence than a gold eagle in the same tree as 2 bald eagles :))

2011-01-20T20:26:00.007-05:00

I was taking Shandi home to Bellingham this past weekend and we came across these swans near Burlington.

2011-01-14T10:19:00.002-05:00

Mt. Baker:

This shot was taken from the walk bridge over I-405 in Kirkland a couple of days ago.

2011-01-14T10:16:00.001-05:00

Our snow is all gone now that the warm rain has been pounding us.

The deer on the left is one of the babies from this year.

Bear had his head on Joe's shoulder the whole 1 hour ride...

2011-01-11T16:56:00.004-05:00

Ducks at Marymoore dog park.

2010-12-11T01:03:00.002-05:00

Been a bit soggy here lately, this deer was enjoying a rest in a short sunbreak.

This shot does not do the rainbow justice! It really felt like it was looming.

2010-11-26T16:44:00.012-05:00

Well, we survived the most recent snow/ ice storm. Seemed kind of early for around here.
That is Loius passing by.

One thing that occurred to me is we like that the puppies are light colored for when it is dark/ or dusk out. They are a lot easier to see. Not so much so in the snow…
Below: Bailey

Suzi was at work planning on taking the bus home when the storm hit. I got an email cancelling the bus to Monroe that she was planning on taking. (bus turned out to be a victim of the icy roads in Seattle) So I put the camper on the truck and went to town…
This is what the house looked like when I left.

This is the driveway…

This is the drive to Monroe…

Overall it was an uneventful trip to Bellevue. We spent 2 nights in Joe’s driveway with our camper.

Joe did not fair so well. Every one is ok. But he was taking Carisha home from work down in Factoria, and even though Carisha and I told him not to go up Kamber road, he did… just as he was almost up the steepest part, The police car he passed turned on his blue lights. Joe thought he was being pulled over, took his foot off the gas, realized he would never get up the hill, so he hit the gas, oops he lost it, and did doughnuts all the way back down the hill… he pushed a suv that was in the street off of the street a bit, continued down, barely missed the cop car, and hit the curb with such force it is not drivable. Joe called me right away, and as the cop arrived at the van I heard him say “sir your vehicle is totaled” eeek
Runs good still, Washer fluid container was the only fluid victim. Door and hood still work. Soo…

Below: The white vehicle in the distance is the suv he hit.

On a side note, when Joe saw the suv in the morning he was shocked, it evidently got hit again after he had hit it. Too bad we did not think to have him take some pics…

2010-10-03T17:01:00.000-04:00

It has been an interesting week. Joe wanted to get a car, so we figured his budget out, $500, yes, five hundred. We called uncle Ken who is a mechanic and went thru the Craigslist want adds. We found a 1996 Plymouth Voyager with 208,000 miles. It is a 5 door 7 passenger van.

It did not run. I went out to look at it and the guy said it ran yesterday, but today it did not run. He thought it was the fuel pump, but he had just replaced it 3 mos ago. He did not have time to mess with it, so that is why so cheap. He has done a lot of stuff to it, like tires, breaks, transmission flush etc. Ken said it was a crap shoot, but we had a feeling, so I got it. Ken came out yesterday to look at it. Since there was no pressure for the fuel, but the gage said over ¼ of a tank. We put some gas into it, and voila it worked, the van started right up. Runs great, handles great, passenger window has issues opening and closing, but hey…. $500 bucks a tank of gas and Joe is on the road… He lives a charmed life!

2010-09-06T10:23:00.001-04:00

Natasha is enjoying the flowers the neighbor gave her... ;)

2010-09-02T20:26:00.004-04:00

Looks like the beginning of fall is just about here… the Vaux’s Swifts are back at Frank Wagner Elementary School in Monroe, Washington. I don't think I have ever noticed them this early... but maybe it is just me...

The nest is supposed to be the second largest nest in the nation.

Here is a video of the swifts leaving the chimney in the morning. At dusk they return.

Monroe Swift Night Out will be September 11, 2010 4 p.m. to Dusk complete with a spaghetti feed. For more information http://monroeswifts.org/swift-night-out-2010/
I noticed a camera added to the top of the chimney, it would be neat if it was on the web...

2010-08-09T16:01:00.002-04:00

Justin (my nephew) and Tasheena had a beautiful wedding on the lake in Coeur d'Alene Idaho, On Friday August 6, 2010.

Click here For some pics I took over the day.

Congrats Tasheena and Justin!

2010-08-03T14:22:00.001-04:00

Found this Osprey nest complete with babies on the edge of downtown Bellevue, WA.