Red Robin

The warmer weather have brought the birds back.  Walking the dog to their chirping.

What I have learned about Golden Retrievers

I grew up with German Shepherds (and still love the breed).  Moving to Seattle, we decided to get a golden.  Personality-wise, they are quite different.  We have learned some things as Binks has grown older. 
One:  They have huge tongues.

Somehow, that tongue never seems to fit in his mouth. 

Two: Learn to brace.

They will use you as cover when chasing each other.  Binks especially doesn’t quite get the concept of momentum yet and can’t turn quite as fast as his smaller friend.  So we keep our feet apart and knees bent, they might just come sliding into you.

Three: they love chasing balls or sticks or even better, each other.

Four: Goldens have a unique way of playing with other goldens, different to how they play with other breeds.

They will wrestle each other mercilessly.  They also like to tease, holding a ball or a stick just out of reach, taunting the other to get it.

Five:  They can entertain themselves really well.

They will hold a ball on a slope, let it go to roll down, then pounce.  They sometimes even throw it up in the air and try to catch it (that goes for sticks and even gloves too).

We are having great fun with our puppy.  Being able to socialise with other pups in the neighbourhood makes it even more special.

Megan and Co

This neighbourhood has lots of golden retrievers.  On walks, we regularly get to meet up with them.  Megan is a gorgeous girl 15 years old, still going for walks every day. 

She was sad for a while when her sister passed away, but is really cheerful since her ‘sister’ Bailey joined her.  Bailey has boundless energy (as in she doesn’t run, she bounds and bounces everywhere!).    She and Binks, our dog, would chase each other all day if they could.

During play, Binks will go check on Megan regularly.  She is really patient and sweet.  She will sit by you all day if you give her a scratch behind the ears!

The Road to Yelm

We found a great butcher, but they are a few hours away.  I took some photos through the window as we were driving. (Hubby isn’t so patient any more with stopping so I can get a shot.  I would triple our time!)

I kept reading this sign as Military Vehicle X-Wing.  Funny how the mind works

Things had been chaos here over Christmas with the builders rushing against time to try to finish the house.  We were promised everything would be done by Thanksgiving.  After losing my temper, they finished painting the inside of the house two days before Christmas.  It is amazing to have space again.  The quiet will come much later as they are still hammering on the outside of the house and repairing the neighbour’s place.

A puppy coloured for Fall

He camouflages really well in the fall!

 

Autumn Fairy

One of our neighbours recommended Stevens Pass as one of the best places to see the fall colours, so I was really excited when we had the opportunity to visit up there.  We did not get much notice, so I had to put together a costume real quick.  I was glad I had been planning for a while.

We put together a headdress from autumn leaves and cream flowers.  (ps glue gun + haste = burnt fingers) I had wanted to experiment with a black swan dress I had had for a while.   I roped in my husband to play assistant.  It rained intermittently, so we made use of the first break of the clouds.  The clouds created awesome soft light.

 

 

 

A weekend away

We are still living in a house that is part construction site.  We had to get out for the weekend on short notice as they had to smoke-seal the ceilings. (Unhealthy fumes and all that.)  Found a lovely cabin up in the mountains (Stevens Pass) to go stay at.  It was beautiful up there with all the autumn / fall colours. 

There was even a river nearby we could walk to.

We spent the rainy hours playing board games, a great way to relax (especially for me since I won most of them! I usually play as teammate for my youngest. )  Our puppy loved the outdoors and slept the rest of the time.  He seems to prefer the cold tiles. 

The misty mornings were so beautiful, everything would glow from the dew.  It felt like we were walking around in a fairytale, with cabins peaking out between the trees and moss growing everywhere.

 

I even had a chance to take some photos for a photo shoot I had planned for a while.  We took these right outside the cabin.  Some blue skies peeked through the clouds and I roped in the family to help. I had a puppy who loved photo bombing!

I’ll post more on the fall photo shoot soon…