Birthday celebration

Today is my birthday. And - because I don't know Finn's true birthday, plus I'm awful at remembering dates - I decided when I rescued Finn that he should celebrate his birthday on the same day as mine. He's now three.

No better way to celebrate than to go trail running! We met Mike and his dog Alice at Cougar Mountain at 8 AM. It was snowing sideways, and a high wind storm that blew through last night put lots of new trees and limbs down across the trails. Shortly after we started, though, the snow stopped and the wind eased. The sun even made a few shy appearances. It was a terrific morning for a run.


Mike took these photos (using my iPhone) at Coal Creek Falls. Clearly the water is flowing high and fast; in summer, the falls go dry. Moss and ferns abound. It's a lovely spot.

After the run, Tracy met me in the parking lot, and she, Finn and I hiked another couple of hours. Tracy would have run with us earlier, except she had an emergency appendectomy just over a week ago!

Early this evening - after I had a nap, and after some rain showers moved through - the girls and I took a nice walk around the neighborhood.

I'm sure many think I'm nuts, but this is exactly how I would wish to spend every birthday. With my dogs, and my closest friends, running in the forest or just strolling around town.