Desert Boy Rides Henry

I came across this charming scene a couple days ago, Desert Boy trying to ride Henry, holding tight onto his collar.

Desert Boy seems to be trying to get Henry to go; Henry doesn't seem to be enjoying it much. But like a faithful dog, he just hangs out.

Then Desert Boy bails. What is he up to now?

He decided he should get a stick for Henry. Henry's not too impressed.

With his gift rejected, Desert Boy is ready to ride Henry again. But Henry has had enough and gets up and wanders away. Desert Boy will have to try again another day.

A Bike Ride

Tonight and tomorrow we're supposed to get a big winter storm, so I figured I better post these photos right quick. (Okay, I know 'right quick' isn't proper grammar, but it is accepted local lingo and sometimes it just feels right to ignore grammar conventions. And because I can.)

Last weekend my husband fixed up our bikes, which had been lingering in the garage with various quandries. We have this odd-looking bike seat for Desert Boy. He loves it, but it sort of gets in the way of our pedaling.

Henry came along, happy to have a chance to go exploring. He loves to run along the fencelines, sniffing for something interesting.

We went far enough for a little exercise, but not far enough to satisfy Desert Boy. He would have been happy spending an hour or two going for a ride. He might change his mind a little when he has to do some of the pedaling!

Henry got some of his puppy energy out. On the way back we stopped at the pond and he went swimming. He's got the making of a triathlete. I'll leave Desert Boy to train him how to do the bicycling part.

How Much Do You Want to See?

Yesterday we took Henry to be neutered. I had my camera with and the vet said it was fine to take pictures, so I took photos of the whole procedure. At first I thought there was no way I was going to put them on the blog, but then my husband said I should ask you, my readers, if you wanted to see the photos. Do you want to know step by step how a dog is neutered? Or would you rather not? 

The photo above is Henry four hours after the surgery. He spent the day pretty groggy and with definitely a lot less energy, but he didn't want to lay around the whole time. The vet said that was good, movement will help with the healing. The vet was glad we had brought him in; he said that unless dogs are going to be used for breeding, it's best to get them neutered or spayed early on. They get along better with their owners and don't add to the high number of unwanted animals. 

Don't forget to leave your vote! 

Desert Boy and Henry Play

Desert Boy and Henry headed into the yard to enjoy some of the beautiful autumn weather a few days ago. Desert Boy really likes being pushed on his little bike. He also sometimes shuffles it along--his legs still aren't quite long enough to reach the pedals. Here he is with one of those fun expressions. 

Then he discovers a ball and heads over to it. "Ball" is another one of his first words, and he keeps repeating it over and over whenever he sees anything that remotely resembles a ball.

Henry is also fascinated with balls, so as soon as Desert Boy has it, Henry wants it. Desert Boy isn't intimidated by Henry, despite being heftily outweighed by him, and tries to keep it away. Is he successful?

Not quite, but at least he finds another ball to play with.

He throws the ball to Mama and comes to get it. Please note what Henry is doing in the background: destroying the swing! It only took him all summer to gnaw off a part of the board. If only I can train him to eat all the leaves that will be soon covering the yard.

Curious Cows

Yesterday afternoon we went for a little walk behind our house. The cows were out in the pasture and, as cows often are, were eager for a little entertainment. Not the Hollywood type of entertainment, but just something to make their day a little more interesting. Like a visit from Henry and Desert Boy.

Sometimes Henry chases cows, despite my attempts to make him stop, so I wasn't too certain how he'd act when he started approaching the cows. He paused and looked like he was going to be calmer. Maybe that's because I made him run two miles, chasing the truck to the babysitters and back. Perhaps I'll start running again soon, but in the meantime, I find the current exercise program for Henry very easy for me!

Back to the scene at hand. Henry and the lead cow assess each other.

They cautiously approach.

They reassess. I can only wonder what's going through their minds right now.

Henry takes a few more steps forward. The cow stares.

Henry makes a final few steps and then retreats. He's no working cow dog, after all.

Now we have the attention of the small herd, and they start approaching us as a whole. It takes a little getting used to to stare down a few tons of beef cattle.

Especially when they have some belligerent faces.

And drool. 

And give you a mean, intimidating stare. But I know better, these cows are just looking for some fun, and it is a little hard to take a cow seriously when she has hay hanging out of her mouth.

Still, though, when they lower their heads and take a few more steps closer, I have to take a deep breath and remember that with a shout and stomp of my feet I can make them all scattter.

Desert Boy stays pretty close to Mama, but he's very interested in these beefy bovines.

Hey, Ma, this is cool. Thanks for letting me take a walk!

And then Henry reappears, and Desert Boy gets distracted, as you can see in the video below. Notice how the cows just watch the whole thing. It's a good life.

An Early Morning Walk

The other morning I wanted to go out for a walk just as the sun was rising. Henry was happy to join me as we walked across the pasture to the fenceline. 

We crunched on the frosty grass and admired the snow up high. The snow on the mountains always makes them seem so much taller.

We disrupted a raven who had been hanging out on the fencepost. We heard many Canada geese flying off in the distance, along with some sandhill cranes and ducks. 

And then, off in the distance, I saw a small form. Henry stopped and sniffed the air. A coyote watched us, and then another one off in the distance started howling. It was so cool!

The coyote we were watching didn't seem to be bothered at all by us and eventually sauntered out of view. 

Meanwhile, Henry had fun running all over the meadow, letting his puppy energy loose. I think he likes going out on early morning walks as much as me!

Henry

I feel like I've neglected Henry lately. Okay, not in the sense that he's not getting spoiled rotten, because who can resist a cute puppy.  But he's been neglected in the sense that he's been just a shadow in the blog lately. So today here are a few photos of how our little puppy is growing up quicker than a slug crossing a sidewalk. 

Henry loves playing with other puppies, and there happen to be quite a few in town. Here he is romping with Bean. They even take turns going to each other's houses, but they never bother to ask if they can go.

Sometimes the playing appears to be quite rough, but they never seem to tire of it. I love some of their expressions as they tumble and plow into each other.

Okay, maybe they do get tired. Here's Henry after running, playing, and running some more. I've found out that he can run over 20 mph. He thinks it's a pretty good game to run alongside the truck when I drive down to the babysitter's (where he can play with another puppy!).

I'm just not used to seeing Henry look so calm and relaxed, so I had to snap a few photos. You can see that his paws are a little muddy--he is always getting wet and did several laps in the pond this morning to fetch sticks.

Finally he perks up a little. He wants to know what's going on, and if it's worth his bother to get up.

Photo Caption Contest-We Have a Winner

This is how Henry drinks. I wonder if it will work for me.

Our winner is Germaine S! Congrats! I will get you the packet of beautiful wildflower seeds this week.

It was a hoot reading the entries, thanks to everyone who entered. Below are a couple more pictures of Desert Boy slurping from puddles. I think he really was trying to be like Henry. Or maybe he's just a little strange. Just a little.

I don't think he could have gotten closer if he wanted to. I'm just glad it was a semi-warm day and he could dry out quickly.

One of Desert Boy's chores (yep, have to start them early!) is to feed Henry. Often he doesn't quite get the dog food to Henry's bowl. This isn't much of a surprise, because Desert Boy has a hidden agenda for enjoying his chore.

He 'helps' Henry by picking up the dog food to try to get it back into the container. And it just so happens that he slips a piece of dog food into his mouth in between photos.

"Ooh, did anyone catch me?"

Desert Boy Throws Rocks

When we see water in the desert, it's hard to pass it up. Desert Boy, Henry, and I were heading out for a hike and somehow ended up on a little detour to this lake by the side of the road. During part of the year, it's a reservoir with a dam holding the water back. This time of year, the water level is down so much that the water doesn't even touch the dam, so it's a lake with big beaches full of cockleburs.

Henry, a labrador retriever, absolutely loves the water and didn't hesitate at all getting in the water.

Desert Boy, a fearless toddler, decided to follow Henry. 

Mom said, "No, you already got your other pair of shoes wet this morning and you don't have any more. Stay out of the water." 

What a mean mom.

Desert Boy keeps on heading down the rocky shoreline to the water's edge.

Before he gets to the water, he realizes that these rocks would be really good for throwing.

The best place to throw rocks is into the water. Sometimes the water and mud even splash so he can get wet without getting into the water. He's already figured out how to technically obey his mother but still get what he wants!

One rock is too big and as he pulls his arm back to throw it, he loses his balance and sits down.

He doesn't let that stop him for long, but keeps on throwing more rocks.

Some folks in an inflatable canoe decide to check out the fun. The lake is so shallow Henry can nearly run right out to them. Do you like the mountains in the background? They created a bit of their own weather, and those thunderheads you see building even produced a little rain a few hours later. Desert Boy and Henry had another chance to get wet, so it was a good day.