Nice day to...

Today was a nice day to... smell the hydrangeas!

Ashley with blue hydrangeas

 
Babu and I took Tahoe and Ashley out for a walk at 5:30pm. Along the way, we passed several beautiful hydrangea bushes. We also saw a family of geese at the lake - a momma goose, a papa goose, and three little goslings.

Mr. & Mrs. Goose with babies

Ashley looking on

Brian headed to New York City this morning for work. Here is a picture that he took in Manhattan this afternoon.

The Big Apple

Little Miss Toadlegs

Yesterday evening, we took Tahoe and Ashley out for a walk around the lake and through the woods. It was 8:30pm and showers had just passed through the area and cooled things off a bit. It was starting to get dark and I had a difficult time seeing what was ahead of me on the black asphalt trail. Tahoe and Ashley had a bit of an advantage as they're always looking down and sniffing at the ground. As we entered the woods, I began to hear a familiar croak... remember when I wrote about the frog pond?

Well, it appears that all of the toads in my neighborhood get together at night and congregate on the trail in the woods and the nearby park.  It's like they're having a little toad convention. As we walked, all I could see were hundreds of these little "black spots" that would quickly move away as we approached. Tahoe doesn't like the toads. I think he once squished one with his nose and it made his nose itchy - he didn't like the squishy texture or smell. Ashley, on the other hand, likes toads.

Last night though, I learned that Ashley doesn't like toads... she LOVES toads. She loves them so much, she wants to collect them all in her belly! Yep, Miss Ashley ate a toad. In fact, I think she ate two toads. It was dark and hard to see but both times it happened a "black spot" jumped in front of Ashley and then it vanished. I believe that the "black spots" went into Ashley's mouth because soon after she was foamy at the mouth and she would shake her head a few times, as if trying to help herself swallow something that was still moving.

Then, today I came across this old story from NPR. I think I'll be avoiding the woods at dusk for a while... don't want Ashley to turn into a drug addict.

Dog vs. Toad

Happy Saturday

Happy Saturday!

Saturday morning flowers

This morning I went for a run around 8:00am. It was cool (76 degrees) but the humidity was 70% - yuck! After only 10 min of running I was sweating like a pig - lovely image, I know. After the run, I returned home, showered, made myself breakfast, and fired up my laptop.  As I was in the kitchen, preparing a pitcher of iced tea, I looked over at my breakfast and saw Ashley - eyeballing me and my breakfast. Unfortunately for her, I had already consumed my breakfast sausage.

Ashley sneaking up on my breakfast

Scorching Heat

This week has been a hot one - too hot to blog, in fact. (O.k., so it hasn't been too hot to blog but temps. have made me and the pups tired.)  Yesterday, temperatures reach up to 101 degrees! As a result, I have been walking Tahoe and Ashley in the evening (after 8:00 p.m.) when it's cooler. The sun has been setting around 8:45pm so there is still some light during our jaunts around the lake and neighborhood.

Today we walked by the lake and gave Ashley another opportunity for an off-leash walk.

Ashley off-leash

The sun setting over the lake

Ashley was good... up until she noticed the geese close to shore. She ran off the trail and down into the water. Silly girl!

Geese in the lake

 

 

Ashley on the trail of geese

Ashley emerging from the water

In the end, Ashley finally made her way back up to the trail and into her "daddy's" arms.

Come to daddy!

A Stroll Around Old Town

Today, Brian and I took Tahoe and Ashley to Old Town Alexandria.  It was another perfect day - weather wise - and we had a great time walking by the water and past the shops and restaurants. We walked through crowds of people and past several dogs... both Tahoe and Ashley were pretty well-behaved. As we walked, we were stopped several times by people wanting to know what kind of dogs they were (including one heavily inebriated fella). "Why good sir" I responded, "they're weimaraners of course!"

Ashley riding in the car, on the way to Old Town

Walking by the water

Tahoe by the dock, in front of the Cherry Blossom

Ashley noticing how "bike friendly" Old Town is

Tahoe hoping to find a treat in the harp lady's basket

Brian and Ashley resting in the park

Sleepy dogs in the car ride home

Nodding off

The Pool is Open

Well, Tahoe and Ashley agree that it's officially summer (almost)! Today on our walk, we passed a swimming pool that was busy with swimmers and pool patrons.

Tahoe daydreaming of swimming

Ashley - ready to keep on walking

Tahoe and Ashley will have to wait patiently until Labor Day to take a swim in the pool. (Labor Day, aka last day of the pool season, is when the pool welcomes it's four-legged friends to jump in and take a swim).  Until then, Tahoe and Ashley will have to settle with occasional swims in the lake.

Perfect weather

Today was a beautiful day! Thanks to yesterday's rain and a cold front this morning, the humidity was low and the sun was shining this afternoon - perfect weather for walking Tahoe and Ashley.

I realize that it's been a while since I've taken pictures while walking the dogs on a weekday. This is partly due to the fact that the weather is warmer and I'm not walking around with a jacket that has pockets to help me carry my camera. (My hands are always full when walking Tahoe and Ashley. First, there's Tahoe and Ashley - they're a handful in and of themselves! Then there are the bags for picking up poopies and the full poopie bags that I have to carry around once I've picked up after Tahoe and Ashley. So, carrying a camera to document our walks is not always that easy.)

Maybe I'll get a doggy pack for Ashley - so she can help me carry my belongings while were walking.

An afternoon by the lake

Ashley with the wind in her ears

Ashley on the trail

Happy Tahoe