Walking softly and carrying a big stick

You never know who you'll run into on the trail. Here's one of our favorite Labs showing off a new found stick. Casey can't quite see the infatuation. He's going to fetch that thing?

Extrasensory perception

Huh, what.  OK, maybe not ESP, but Casey has a sixth sense for a camera being sighted and focused his way, REM sleep or not.

Solstice tree

Daylight seemed to be sliding away with every bend of the interurban when Casey and I reached our objective, what we like to call our Winter Solstice tree. Seems every year a mystery hiker or hikers keep this tradition going, and while it might not meet department store standards, it's a Yuletide standout for us.




On this shortest day of the year our glitzy spruce will soon succumb to the solstice gloaming, but we'll be back. It's especially impressive after a snowfall and we'll even have a few more seconds of sunshine with each visit to take it all in.

Last of the first snow

A week of snow off and on, Frisbee tosses in the white stuff, snowploughs and Snoopy rolls, ended way too soon for the kid as the temperatures rose from the teens to the balmy 30s.

Last night, when a melting blanket of snow on the backyard deck became a forgone conclusion, the very least we could do is give Casey a little extra time before we turned in. 

Looks here like he had a clue that this was going to be it until the next cold snap.

Birthday burger boy

Well, it's that time of year and Casey can't believe it. A Boomer's burger served up for his ninth birthday in a new Jawz Frisbee - a veritable feast for the eyes...and nose. Don't worry. The waffle fries are there just for visual effect. We finished those off.

The look on Birthday Boy's face when he realizes that this dinner setting is for real is priceless. And to his credit he didn't move a muscle until his Mom said it was OK, then served it up to him piece by piece. 

Good boy. And many happy returns.