Sleepy but fun Saturday

It was a sleepy start to the day here in Colorado. We've reached the time of year when the morning sun shines in our bedroom like an intense spotlight so there's no sleeping late. The dogs tried anyway.

A very sleepy R tried to lift his head.

I took both halves of the Duo for a mountain bike ride. Having R with us made me realize that I've slowed my pace for K since her toe amputation. We stop and relax much more often than we used to. Needless to say, a leisurely pace and stopping to relax do not suit R's style.

I don't know why he was jumping in the photo below. R doesn't need a reason, aside from his amazing joy over everything!

For parts of our ride, K went at R's pace, showing me that she's capable of more than I thought.

But, at times, riding with R feels like trying to control a runaway train. To help him learn self-control and to give K rests, we practiced sit-stays.

And, down-stays...

From my perspective, these "stay" breaks seem to bring R's excitement down a notch. He seemed noticeably calmer after them so I think that I'll continue this practice when both dogs join me for mountain bike rides.

While the dogs did one of their down-stays, I photographed a developing catkin. I think that it was on a willow tree but I'm not certain of the tree species. It's a gorgeous composite of many tiny flowers. I've read that catkins are a popular food with bears, like the bear sow who I highlighted yesterday, at this time of year.

When I was home in the afternoon, our Abert's Squirrel came for a visit. I'll never get over how much I love his punk ears!

"Hey, who are you looking at?", he seemed to say.

He posed with his ears profiled against the forest light.

He's an amazing little animal. I'm surprised that he doesn't flee as soon as I come out the door. The first Abert's Squirrel that I ever saw was in the jaws of a bobcat as he sauntered past our living room windows. Today, as I inched ever closer to the squirrel for photos, I began to understand how a bobcat might be able to stalk and pounce on an Abert's Squirrel. It almost seemed as if the Abert's Squirrel didn't notice me but I'm sure that's not true. I hope that this squirrel survives to reproduce and bring us more Abert's Squirrels near our house!

Enjoy your weekend!