The Happy Duo

This post will be short but show you some of our adventures from past day. I think that I'm going to have difficulty finding time to blog over the next week so don't worry if this site goes silent for a little while.

Both halves of the Duo have responded to their antibiotics remarkably. Oh, how I wish that I had the resilience of R. This morning, he ate his breakfast at breakneck speed after a week of barely eating. That transformation happened after only two doses of two different antibiotics. K's recovery hasn't been quite as miraculous (she might need an even stronger antibiotic) but I think that we're going in the right direction.

Last night, we did an on-leash exploratory hike. We visited an area that K and explored extensively just after my neck surgery last winter. I haven't been back since the snow melted. On this visit, thunder storms rumbled over the Divide and the forest was dark even though sunset was still far away.
We found the most smooth and heavily packed animal trail that I've ever seen. The Duo went on high alert while we walked on it, telling me that wildlife scent emanated from it. When I found a bear den last January, it was next to a hard-packed animal trail almost like this one. R was looking along the trail in the photo below.
I hoped to find a bear den as the habitat generally seemed perfect for one. However, we didn't find a single rocky cavern that looked appropriate for a den. The best part of these fruitless searches is that I learn more about our forest on every single outing. About two weeks ago, before the berries ripened, I had no idea where the bears were foraging. Well, now I have no doubt that they were deep in the pine forest flipping rocks, ripping up stumps, and digging up anthills to get to one of their favorite foods, ant pupae (baby ants). They left signs all over the forest, including scat filled with dead ants.

When we finally headed to home, we emerged into a secret nirvana - a lush aspen grove filled with wildflowers and never visited by people. In the fading light, I had to use a flash to photograph the Duo but here they are among the purple haze of Horsemint.
This morning, both halves of the Duo came mountain biking with me. During the ride, I knew that R was on the mend. I felt like the eye of a hurricane with a black lab whirling in circles around me.
Both dogs and I had a fabulous time, feeling full of energy and happiness.