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The trees that line the shoreline of the lake create a shadowed world under their branches. A perceived motion caught with peripheral vision causes one to snap the head in that direction and scan the darkened brush and bushes for the outline of some animal. I watched closely as the golden form moved silently through and over the undergrowth at speed. Not a sound. He appeared running from my left; arching his body up and over a fallen log without a moments hesitation and passed thirty yards in front of me.
He was silhouetted by the lake on his left and trees between us which prevented full view of him; only glances as he vaulted by. And still not a sound.
He was at that moment a golden ribbon, bending over and around the natural obsticals that confronted him. He is gorgeous in the wild elements. My heart hurts to know he is lying on the floor day and night while I work just waiting for these few hours of bliss out here. I do what I can. But he is magnificent today.
Shade, on the other hand, is like a freight train moving through the brush and down the trails. Where Douglas seems to make decisions about things that resemble thought processes; of course it isn't so. Shade seems to simply react to problems and crashes through the issues with, so far, ogreat success. Douglass choices are more logical. Is it a breed thing? I don't know. Goldens are smart. Black Labs are too. Between Shade and Douglas I believe the cards are stacked in Douglass favor. Shade is smart, but chooses to ignore commands at times and leaves an impression of "no one home upstairs." But how quickly she listens when a dog bone is presented as prize for obedience! Who can figure dogs?
There are no perfect dogs. There are no perfect anything, for that matter. But these two compliment each other and are companions. They make each other happy and they make me happy.
When it comes to energy there's nothing as fast as Lightning Sigh. Shes an old hound with bullet speed and energy enough to go around to ten wolf puppies. Well, I exaggerate a little bit. OK; a whole lot.
Old Sigh is a rescue dog from years ago. She almost died of starvation. But care and good food brought her back. Now she is an overweight hound dog that is content laying about the yard in the sun. Sigh loves these hikes in the woods and will on occasion join Douglas and Shade for a swim in he lake. She is very old but keeps up with us fine. I will not take her in the heat of summer. She will be content to lay in the shade of the bushes that line the yard.
Today we are hiking the East Coast Tellico Lake Trail that borders Tellico Lake on one end. It is a warm fifty degrees but the wind is picking up fast. Rain is supposed to blow in tonight and change to snow tomorrow at some point. I thought it a great time to get the guys out in the woods for exercise. I spent Thursday and Friday satisfying my own glut for adventure by taking the canoe up some unknown streams and investigating the old Alcoa Club House across Chillhowee Lake by canoe. Today was dedicated to the dogs. If one is going to have dogs in ones care then one must act responsible for their well being by assuring they get exercise and the opportunity to satisify their seeking desires. Yes seeking. Dogs are nomadic by nature and they seek things. Food, adventure, new surroundings, new smells as well as old and each walk they go on helps satisify that need. Short walk or long walk. All day or a few hours; dogs don't care. They are masters of the moment. They live for now and they don't care about time. But they do need the experience of diversity in their lives. I try.
I am still fascinated by these silos out in the water of Tellico Lake. I have photo's of them on this blog elseware. But they stand alone out in the water as a reminder of what this lake covered up. A peaceful, quiet farm along the banks of the Little Tennessee River had been handed down through generations; now flooded in the name of progress and for the betterment of the majority. I find it interesting.
I've got some really super adventures figured out for the motorcycle, gheenoe and the canoe. Three day camp outs using each of them. The weather is starting to mellow and the lake conditions will soon be much better for tent camping. The warmer weather will make all night motorcycling easy. All night driving is the only way to cover a lot of territory when one has a limited amount of time.
So, stay tuned in. Summer's just around the corner.
The trees that line the shoreline of the lake create a shadowed world under their branches. A perceived motion caught with peripheral vision causes one to snap the head in that direction and scan the darkened brush and bushes for the outline of some animal. I watched closely as the golden form moved silently through and over the undergrowth at speed. Not a sound. He appeared running from my left; arching his body up and over a fallen log without a moments hesitation and passed thirty yards in front of me.
He was silhouetted by the lake on his left and trees between us which prevented full view of him; only glances as he vaulted by. And still not a sound.
He was at that moment a golden ribbon, bending over and around the natural obsticals that confronted him. He is gorgeous in the wild elements. My heart hurts to know he is lying on the floor day and night while I work just waiting for these few hours of bliss out here. I do what I can. But he is magnificent today.
Shade, on the other hand, is like a freight train moving through the brush and down the trails. Where Douglas seems to make decisions about things that resemble thought processes; of course it isn't so. Shade seems to simply react to problems and crashes through the issues with, so far, ogreat success. Douglass choices are more logical. Is it a breed thing? I don't know. Goldens are smart. Black Labs are too. Between Shade and Douglas I believe the cards are stacked in Douglass favor. Shade is smart, but chooses to ignore commands at times and leaves an impression of "no one home upstairs." But how quickly she listens when a dog bone is presented as prize for obedience! Who can figure dogs?
There are no perfect dogs. There are no perfect anything, for that matter. But these two compliment each other and are companions. They make each other happy and they make me happy.
When it comes to energy there's nothing as fast as Lightning Sigh. Shes an old hound with bullet speed and energy enough to go around to ten wolf puppies. Well, I exaggerate a little bit. OK; a whole lot.
Old Sigh is a rescue dog from years ago. She almost died of starvation. But care and good food brought her back. Now she is an overweight hound dog that is content laying about the yard in the sun. Sigh loves these hikes in the woods and will on occasion join Douglas and Shade for a swim in he lake. She is very old but keeps up with us fine. I will not take her in the heat of summer. She will be content to lay in the shade of the bushes that line the yard.
Today we are hiking the East Coast Tellico Lake Trail that borders Tellico Lake on one end. It is a warm fifty degrees but the wind is picking up fast. Rain is supposed to blow in tonight and change to snow tomorrow at some point. I thought it a great time to get the guys out in the woods for exercise. I spent Thursday and Friday satisfying my own glut for adventure by taking the canoe up some unknown streams and investigating the old Alcoa Club House across Chillhowee Lake by canoe. Today was dedicated to the dogs. If one is going to have dogs in ones care then one must act responsible for their well being by assuring they get exercise and the opportunity to satisify their seeking desires. Yes seeking. Dogs are nomadic by nature and they seek things. Food, adventure, new surroundings, new smells as well as old and each walk they go on helps satisify that need. Short walk or long walk. All day or a few hours; dogs don't care. They are masters of the moment. They live for now and they don't care about time. But they do need the experience of diversity in their lives. I try.
I am still fascinated by these silos out in the water of Tellico Lake. I have photo's of them on this blog elseware. But they stand alone out in the water as a reminder of what this lake covered up. A peaceful, quiet farm along the banks of the Little Tennessee River had been handed down through generations; now flooded in the name of progress and for the betterment of the majority. I find it interesting.
I've got some really super adventures figured out for the motorcycle, gheenoe and the canoe. Three day camp outs using each of them. The weather is starting to mellow and the lake conditions will soon be much better for tent camping. The warmer weather will make all night motorcycling easy. All night driving is the only way to cover a lot of territory when one has a limited amount of time.
So, stay tuned in. Summer's just around the corner.
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