Spring is Trying

I took the girls up into the forest for a hike this morning. I kept Meadow on leash to prevent her from tweaking her left knee again. She improves daily, but had a minor setback while Widgeon was visiting. This morning Meadow begged me to come outside and toss the ball. She romped through the yard, playing fetch, as if she'd never been injured.

Dressed in their vests, we headed up. Today was a gorgeous, sunny, sort-of Spring day (it was only 35F). Most of the snow is gone at the level of my house, but just a quarter mile up the hill and in the forest, much remains in the shaded spots and on the main road.

These photos were taken about a mile up the road, where we've been playing all winter long. South-facing hillsides are bare and greening up with what will soon become a riot of wildflower color. The girls and I alternated from snow to dirt and gravel road, although the higher we climbed, the thicker the layer of snow remaining on the road. The landscape looks so different than just a month ago. In the third photo, you can see how the valley floor is free of snow, but the surrounding hillsides still have quite a bit.

Meadow handled our hike of a bit over two miles just fine. I kept the pace slow. I miss having her run with us. Yesterday Maia and I ran the Rapid River trail without her. We missed Meadow. Runs just aren't as entertaining without my clown dog. I hope she's back into running shape very soon.