Christmas weekend, definitely worth barking about

Well, here we are in the granite state. As I type this, a blizzard blows clouds of snow outside in Maine, but on Christmas morning in New Hampshire we could still rustle through the leaves on the ground and hear squirrels scamper up the trees.

Sylvia needed a little help with her present...

Christmas dog

Sylvia and Sunny barked up a storm, wore each other out

 While Sylvia wrestled with her new toy, Sunny watched from a safe spot. Not exactly sure who was in charge, both dogs barked to match the other.

(seen Santa anyone?)

 See the marina by the water there, behind Sylvia?

It was used in a movie a long time ago, "On Golden Pond". Summer is bustling, but the off-season is most beautiful. Sylvia seemed curious and happy to trot around, even in spite of the windy cold.                                                      

 Sylvia liked this road a lot. We got in more exercise than we had originally planned, but it was probably a good thing. How else were we going to burn off all those holiday treats?

 These New Hampshirites are funny. I thinck we'll have to come back.

travel down boot lane

We got close to six inches of snow, which Sylvia gleefully leaped through first thing this morning.

 The snow was powdery and she didn't seem to have any problem trotting through it, though her belly brushed the surface in the deeper spots.

 We also explored along the Sheepscot River late in the day, as the pale sun dipped below the horizon.

 She found some interesting sniffs along the river bank, but quickly hopped back into the car. It was getting cold.

 The day was partly sunny. Sylvia and I explored boot lane and sniffed around there for a bit. We met some dogs, briefly, and hung out with friends.

Tomorrow we will travel to the wilds of New Hampshire. More sniffs, sights and experiences await for a Christmas on "Golden Pond".

Explorations near and far

Sylvia at the recycle center with her friend, Meghan

 Dog is my co-pilot.

Sylvia and I checked out this park overlooking Portland harbor after seeing Meghan off on her flight back home.

 In the background you can see the buildings of Portland's West End.

There were lots of interesting sniffs in Portland.

 Sylvia wagged her tail and seemed to be in doggie bliss as she trotted ahead of Meghan and I during a leisurely walk along an old rail track bed in the woods of Alna.

vet visit

 Sylvia is fascinated by our prickly friend here. Fortunately, she hasn't been able to get too close.

 Heading up the road, Sylvia ran off her nervousness after a visit to the vet's office.

 Our four-legged heroine was very nervous at the vet's office, but turned out fine in the end. She happily gobbled down the liver-flavored biscotti offered by the friendly staff at At Home Veterinary Care.

Chomping wood, among other things

Sylvia stood by as look-out for neighbor Frank Small who was splitting firewood for his stove.

 Frank and Sylvia got to know each other a little bit better the other day. She was happy to play tug-of-war with him.

 Hey Sylvie, come on back!

"Well, are we ready to go home now?"

Dashing through the snow

  We took a brief walk down the road the other day while it was still snowing. Sylvia kept shaking her torso to try and loosen the jacket. She seemed to like the walk, otherwise.                                                 

And she loved running through the newly fallen snow. Sylvia couldn't wait to get that jacket off and as soon as it stopped spitting snow, she did. She seemed quite relieved!

 

vet visits, horse visits, and eating grass

Sylvia and I were blessed with a four legged visitor yesterday. The horse, who stops by on occasion, likes the grass here. She (?) leaves behind a gift or two before trotting back up the road to her home.

Sylvia, of course, was very excited and desperately wanted to meet the horse. She satisfied herself by barking "hello" from inside the shop.  Sylvia also likes to munch on grass. Here she is on our walk yesterday morning:

Even though she was frightened while visiting the vet's office, Sylvia quickly recovered and was back to her exuberant self.