Sharing the Forest Love

My dogs and I love showing friends - human and canine - our favorite trails. Recently, Meadow and I met a friend and her two dogs at Cougar Mountain for an afternoon walk. Despite living in the area for many years, she'd never been to Cougar. 

I left Finn home with Maia, whose knee wouldn't tolerate the three or so miles we would be covering. Finn wasn't happy about being left behind, but I wanted to focus on Meadow, who I would be keeping on leash so that she wouldn't tweak her knee. One tweaked knee per household is more than enough.

Loki and Macie waiting for a treat, Meadow (ears visible) wondering if she gets one, too.

Meadow was so happy to be out in the woods again. Even better, Loki is her oldest boy toy, and she hadn't seen him since dog camp last summer. When she was a pup, and Maia just two, they would team up and maul Loki, who loved the attention. Lots of gentle chewing on necks, dodging and darting, accented by Loki's unique bark/howl.

Amazingly, the Cougar Mountain park employees clear leaves from most of the trails, making footing easy. I'm told that removing the leaves keeps the trails in better condition over time. Hmm. I rather enjoy walking and running on fallen leaves. Finn, however, appreciates the effort park employees put into removing them; he can sometimes be a little fussy about where he steps. For example, he won't step on sewer covers, heating grates or any other metal cover/plate on sidewalks; he veers around them at the last minute.

Two days earlier Finn and I were at Cougar for a run. It's December, and there are few leaves still clinging to tree branches, allowing the low morning sun to nearly blind me whenever the trail meandered toward the south.

Nothing so refreshing as wild water.