A Joyous Sunset Hike

The other afternoon, the Duo and I had one of my favorite afternoon hikes. Both dogs were full of zip and joyousness. R ran with abandon.

And the setting sun cast a warm hue on all of us. Unlike one day recently, there were no moose occupying our favorite sunset spot so we could play there. We now have two pairs of mothers and their calves in our neck of the woods but they've been docile and nearly invisible recently.

We played recall races. For some reason, Shyla has decided to let R win every time. I tried changing the starting set-up in different ways but, if they were at all close together at the start, Shyla hung back.

I suspect that R's intensity about these races has intimidated her a little bit. He tends to bump her and then cut her off at the start if I let them start too close together. There's no doubt that she's the faster runner of the Duo now so it's not speed that's winning these recall races.

As the sun set, I could tell that the clouds hanging over the Divide were going to light up beautifully. I snapped one more photo of the handsome Prince before heading to a rocky promontory where we can see the setting sun most clearly.

And, the sunset did not disappoint us. It was one of those evenings that it was worth standing out in the cold after the sun had set, just to see nature's light show above our ski area.

Now, we are about to be hit by a big snow storm. One forecast says it will be the biggest storm in the past five years. Only time will tell. As winter wears on and I start to wish for spring, I remind myself that our big snowstorms feed those wildflowers that I love so much.