Fawnie's Office

Fawn has taken up residence in her office and refuses to come out unless she feels like it! 

Here she is-- under the deck! 

St. Patrick's Day Snow

 Just look at this face!!! What's not to love? 

 We had an overnight snow and so all the schools are closed (the benefit of working in education), so I had a chance to play in the snow with my Fawnie girl (in between doing work and dissertation work) and here's what she looked like with snow on her snout. 

It was a heavy snow, but just powdery enough for Fawn to enjoy!

Winter's Walk With Fawnie- dog

It's one of those crisp winter mornings- perfect for taking Fawn for a nice, long walk in the park!

Delaware's Highpoint

My outdoorsy daughter is interested in state highpoints-- and apparently, some hikers or climbers put forth a lot of effort to visit a state's highpint. Well, we decided to visit  Delaware's highpoint last summer...

 You can see from the sign that Delaware's highpoint is a whopping 447 feet above sea level!!!

 Sophia and Fawn at Delaware's highpoint! What an accomplishment!!! :)

Single Serving Haagen Dazs

Did Haagen Dazs make this single serving ice cream especially for Fawn? She thinks so! Fawnie girl LOVES ice cream and eats so neatly from a spoon! Ed and I just couldn't have our gelato for desert without also feeding Fawn her ice cream. She thinks this is normal for dogs.

Cold March Sunday

It's St. Patrick's Day and cold! For all my Irish friends-- wishing you a special day! For Fawn and I, we went searching for Spring in the neighborhood, but everything still looked a bit dreary...

A Fawnie Walk

Spring has sprung and Fawnie took me for a walk. Of course, the walk is on her terms, and we have to stop and sniff whenever she wants to! She's definitely a leader when walking, and I have to just follow. Guess that's the result of her breed as a seeing eye dog.

Days Between...

The days between Christmas and New Years are always a blur... they go by all too quickly, and yet each day is so long, and I savor the time of doing nothing... and while I can remember the date of the day, for some reason I lose track of which day of the week it is. I chalk this up to just total relaxation! We watch a lot of movies, and I usually read a lot of books which I never finish (either because I get bored with them quickly, or because by the time I'm in Chapter 3 I already know what the rest is about). It's also a time to take the dog on some leisurely walks...

... a few days ago we had our first real snow, and it too, caused the world to stand still for a few hours...

...I love those few days between as they help me to renew my strength to tackle all those things waiting for me in the new year. Happy New Year and Best Wishes for a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous 2013!

Coming Down the Mountain

What goes up must come down, and you'd think coming down would be soooo much easier! But it really wasn't. It's hard work to stop yourself from running down the mountain and risk getting hurt. I had to also work hard to keep an eye on my humans to make sure they were OK.

It's hard work keeping track of them all. Here we are-- our last night of camping out. My bones were weary and I was looking forward to going home.

Looking out the car window it was amazing to think I'd climbed that mountain! The humans are talking about doing this again-- but I'm not so sure. I think Big Momma and Daddy are lonely without me.
And that's the end of my Great Mountain Hiking Adventure!!!

PS: I'd like to thank my personal photographer for making me look so good in the pictures :)

On Top of the Mountain

I didn’t quite know what to make of being on top of a mountain! It was hard climbing up, but I did OK and climbed over all sorts of big boulders and up that steep, rocky slope and only got stuck once. That was scary and I cried and my humans had to help me get unstuck.

But here I am on top of the mountain!

It’s very strange because I’d never been on mountains before and couldn’t figure out how this works—when you sit at the edge of the mountain it’s very far “down there”…

I was exploring the top of the mountain when the park ranger walked up checking up on all the humans and making sure I was leashed—guess he didn’t know I climbed all the way up this thing unleashed—after all, how can you expect anyone to do what I did on a leash? Can you see how proud my humans are of me?

Finally, I just really needed a water break and take in the view…

Fawnie on Fawn's Hiking Adventure

Let me tell you about the hike from my perspective-- I love my humans, I really do... but they can be a challenge to manage! I first had to ride in the car for many hours, and then when we started the hike they made me wear this weird coat. My little momma said it was to keep me cool, but all I know is I had to wear something I'd never worn before while climbing over rocks, crossing water on these rickety plank bridges, and walking forever and on and on. My goodness, don't these humans understand I'm 7 years old and I've never done this?

So as my humans tell stories about this "adventure" they poke fun of my napping-- honestly! Can't a girl take a little nap after walking up and down hill for miles on end?

While these humans bounced around from rock to rock there were times I could barely lift my bones to keep on going-- but I never complained!

You can see this mountain was not small-- you'd never think about it but New York has some big mountains-- and this one was the BIGGEST one in the whooole state! Did I tell you that I'm 7 years old and I've never done this before?

I get tired just telling you all about this! Time to take a nap. More later.

Fawn's Great Adirondack Hiking Adventure

Fawnie-dog had a great outdoor adventure this weekend! She took her 3 humans out hiking in the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York.

This was a 3-day hike on trails in the High Peaks Wilderness in Adirondack Park. Fawn led the expedition by taking her humans all the way to the top of Mount Marcy, the high point of New York state.

She clambered over boulders, tentatively walked over wooden bridges, and hopped from rock to rock crossing running streams.

Whenever she could, she stopped to take a quick nap, because she had never done so much hiking in her life!

She guarded her humans by letting out low growls and loud barks at night when she sensed danger, because the Adirondacks are full of bears! Fawn also experienced sleeping in a tent at night and wearing a special jacket to keep her cool and protected during the day.

While her humans carried her food and water, along with all the camping gear, Fawn scampered up and down the mountain trails like she’d been doing it all her life. She did her job well on this trip and brought her humans home safe and sound. And after she ran into the house, kissed her Momma and Daddy, drank a full bowl full of water, and sniffed out and marked the entire back yard, she collapsed into a deep sleep—just content to be back at home.

Gentle Summer Days

Gentle Summer Days-- The temperatures hovered near 100 degrees last week, but this week we've had the most perfect week of gentle, cool summer evenings that we all long for in the depth of winter. Phillip has been working in the yard-- trimming trees, tending to his vegetable gardens, and cleaning up the front yard flower beds. The yard has never looked so good! Fawn has benefited by spending more time outside than she ever has :).

How nice to be able to enjoy summer naps in fresh grass! The life of a dog... the life of perfect summer days... we have so few of them as it's usually too hot, too humid, or there are too many mosquitos-- we'll enjoy this while we can!

Snowy Days

This winter we've had several snowstorms and and last week was no exception. It's almost become a snow storm every week! Fawn loves it though- she loves to frolick in the yard, and is good at getting Phil to play ball with her.

Hiking At the Nature Preserve

Today was a dreary, gloomy weather day. Grey skies and the smell of rain in the air made for a lethargic mood. Even though the ground is wet and somewhat muddy from the melting snow, Phil and I took Fawn for a walk at the nature preserve nearby. The girls had done this last week and marveled at how nice the trails were and how close this was to our home. Somehow we wound up on the Tree Top Trail, going up and downhill which amounted to good exercise for all!

Ice Cream & Contented Cows

Tonight was one of those wonderful, perfect summer evenings that we remember and long for in the dead of winter. While the day was hot and humid, the temperature dropped when the sun went down leaving that faint glow of daylight and summer day warmth. It was a perfect summer evening to go for an ice cream at Woodside Farms, a local ice creamery situated on a historic farm. Next to the historic farm house is a small ice cream house where customers line up to get their favorite ice creams. Mine is always the same: coconut and cappuchino crunch. I've tried other flavors, but these two are my favorites!

Fawn always loves going for an ice cream—and banana is her favorite! As soon as we ask "Do you want to go get an ice cream?" she bolts out the door and waits by the car. When we cross over onto Brackenville Road, and then over Limestone Road, she hangs her head out the window sniffing the air as if to follow the trail to the ice cream farm.

Tonight was a special treat because the cows were out in the field, and Fawn got up close to see them. After a thoughtful close look and sniff, she was ready to wait in line for her ice cream.