Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens...

If my dogs could write about a few of their favorite things, they would write about this past weekend, where they got to have all the fun a bearded collie can have!  Along with my beardie BFF Shannon, we took our four dogs (the boys are also pretty much BFFs) to Nevada for a weekend of herding and fun.

One minute, you're in the flat central valley, the next you are in the foothills.

 One minute you're in the foothills, the next you are clearly in the Sierras! (I <3 the Sierras, how they smell how they look everything!)  The poor dogs, however, were then convinced we were going backpacking and not happy that we kept driving.

 Last bit of the Sierras before we dropped into Nevada where it was flat and dry!

We arrived late morning on Saturday and started right off with some (mostly goat) herding.  It was 90 degrees out and the boys got hot fast.  Stanley jumped right in the stock tank and completely submerged himself to cool down.  Hmm, not what I had in mind as far as getting dirty this early in the trip but it sure made him happy.

After that, we headed to our friend's house to see her 6-week-old beardie puppies!  The boys - Stanley and Max and their BFFs Loki and Beckham - played for hours in the yard with the beardie girls of the house while we soaked up the puppy breath.

So tired, I fell asleep face down.



On Sunday I was up just before dawn to run 2:10 up and down the main drag in Carson City.  It was not the MOST fun place to knock out my long run of the week but I did better than expected for running at elevation.  And then we were back to herding again, which Stanley clearly enjoyed more at a slightly lower temperature.



 I swear he touched the ground somewhere in here...


That'll do, pig.

As if all that fun weren't enough already, we decided to stop in the mountains and hike the boys on the way home.  Any time I cross the Sierras on Highway 88, I have to stop at the Lake Margaret trailhead, even if only for a few minutes - it leads to the lake where Jeff and I got engaged!  So it was the perfect place to take the boys for a romp, as I knew we could hike down to a meadow and big stream for them to play.

The trail beardies moved as a pack!  And silently!

All bets were off once we got to water though.

Synchronized shaking - Stanley on the right and his cousin Beckham

What scenery!

At least they are washing the goat poop off

And then the loud mouthing REALLY begins.

You don't believe me?


Are you all tired now (please?)?

We got at least one day of quieter dogs out of this trip, though when my alarm went off at 4:45am for masters on Monday, Stanley was right there at my side chirping about his walk. *sigh*

13 comments:

Meredith said...

They are so funny! Is that a Beardie trait, the barking? They crack me up.

Molly said...

Oh yes, it sure is.

Betsy said...

OMG. That list picture is the cutest thing ever. I'm trying to convince the BF that we need 4 dogs...a goldendoodle, an airedale, a bernese mt dog and perhaps a bearded collie! We'd be like the Jolie-Pitt clan!

Katie said...

I love them, especially the herding! I wish mine would herd.

Larissa said...

Beautiful! where is the hiking spot? i'll have to check it out sometime :) The beast loves water!

Molly said...

The Lake Margaret trailhead. Hwy 88 JUST (less than 1/4mi) west of Caples Lake.

heather said...

Now you are going to have to get some goats or chickens to keep them entertained.

donna said...

I want to be able to sleep like a puppy :-)

Melissa said...

Love all the pics and the video! They are a mound bunch in the water, do happy to be swimming. Those puppies are so cute!

Melissa said...

Did my comment work? Love all the pics! Looks like a great time.

Fat for a Triathlete said...

I just loved that they all sat together for the photo at the end!!! My dogs won't sit still long enough for photos let alone trying to organise one of the two of them together lol.

Elayne said...

Puppies! SO cute.

Clarese said...

I love the video! Those are some happy, happy dogs :)