Fall Returns

It was a beautiful day today and we are expecting another tomorrow. We spent most of the day outside doing yard work and mostly just enjoying the sunshine and the joy of being outdoors. Fall has returned to our little corner of the world. It was the first nice weather since our long weekend in northern Wisconsin.

Several weeks ago we loaded up our crew of 4 misfit dogs and spent a long weekend at a house on the lake. Our 3.5 hour drive turned into a 5 hour trip due to the joy of road construction and a detour because the University of Wisconsin shut down the highway to have a homecoming parade. Of course we can never leave on time and the dogs were a bit restless at first, but generally they ride pretty well. My boys like to sleep in the backseat and then come check out our progress from time-to-time. Disclaimer: I unsafely took this picture blind while driving 80mph.

The old man rides in the front between A and I on a pillow I place over the console.

The friends we went to visit know the lady who owns this small resort consisting of three houses on Iron Lake. We rented the smaller house; a two bedroom with a full kitchen, living and dining room. The bonus was the other two houses were not rented for the weekend so we had the entire place to ourselves.
Nice and private, but privacy also means isolation and the freak in me has seen one too many horror movies. We survived though-no maniac wearing a hockey mask in the northwoods.

A hanging out on the deck overlooking the lake. We stayed in The Acorn cabin.

The downfall to this cabin was the small beds. A climbed into this full size bed with four dogs and it quickly became apparent there was no room for me in there too. We managed to maneuver around and sleep together at least part of the night; until one of us got too hot or cramped up from laying in one spot too long and moved to another bed. Of course then one or two dogs would follow.
On Saturday we rented ATVs and spent six hours riding the trails and pissing off the bear hunters. They call it hunting, but using dogs to run a bear up a tree and then shooting it out is not very sportsman like to me. Personally I enjoyed pissing off the bear hunters and we had a couple try to run us off the trail with their trucks while we were on ATVs. Ignorant assholes!!

My favorite part of the trip was the quiet mornings A and I had together walking along the lake and through the woods with the dogs. I am so proud of the progress my crew has made. I'll have to write about that in the future, but basically they are puppy-mill survivors who came to us unsocialized, fearful, and one nearly feral. They overcame their fear and trauma and walked along the lake and through the woods proudly; tails up and confident. It was their first overnight away from their home since they came through our door 3 years ago. They made us both so proud.

I love these last two pictures of A walking along the lake and through the woods with the old man. He is truly her dog. Have you ever taken pictures while running with a dog leash in one hand and a camera in the other? You get a lot of blurry pictures but a few priceless ones too.