A little while ago, I shared a video of Mohawk with her cub "Teeny Tiny". They were in a water hole, and Teeny Tiny wanted to play. Since he doesn't have siblings, he turned to his mom. She enthusiastically participated. It was heart-warming to see.
Close to Lab Valley, I found a water hole that bears love. A mother bear brought her two cubs to cool off. One appeared to try to get her mom to play. Please check out the video to see what happened. It was different from any mother-cub interaction that I've seen before.
It's been a long time since the last Hachi update. Since then, we took an almost 3 week trip in our LabMobile with him and Shyla.
We finally realized that Hachi has a history of become very stressed during our trips. It's been hard to see that pattern because the trips have fairly long breaks between them. This time, we were ready to carefully manage him to avoid having him take out his anxiety on Shyla. We did things like making sure that the dogs were far apart when a stressor happened like a bicycle going by our campsite. Another example was keeping Hachi well under control when Shyla was retrieving balls from a lake. Although Hachi doesn't want to dive into the water to get balls, he realizes that balls are valuable objects and he can snark (snarl/bark) at Shyla due to wanting to take the ball that she just retrieved.
These issues have become so much better during our normal life at home that it's rare that Hachi will react to them. However, when you add the stress of being away from home, he reverts to his old ways.
The great news was that our management worked. There were very few (and very minor) incidents. Hachi seemed to relax into the trip. By the last day, we were parked next to a forest road, and ATVs started going by. Hachi didn't react to them at all. That showed us how far he'd come due to our counterconditioning every time one went by throughout the trip.
Hachi had some fun too. The Runner and I played with him in our campsite around sunset some evenings. He loves to run - and does so with amazing intensity. We love that we know of campsites that are far enough off the beaten path that even Hachi can do some off-leash running!
We are lucky to have Hachi in our life. Sometimes he acts like a punk but he's *our* punk. We love him.
Our Black Dog was with us in spirit on our summer trip as we visited places that he'd loved. Because he was on my mind so much, I made a collage of some of my favorite photos of him. The one on the left was from the lake where Shyla joyfully swam this summer. She learned how to seize every single day from her sweet brother.
While we were away, we passed the one year anniversary of our Black Dog's death. Very soon, I'm going to change the format of Black Dog Sunday posts - so that it's less about specific memories of our Black Dog and more about the joy for life that he had. I'll write about sights or events from the previous week that reminded me of his amazing spirit. Believe me, I am reminded of his spirit every single day when I see beauty or happiness.
I haven't figured out what to call the posts yet - perhaps something like "Black Dog Joy on Sunday". Do you have suggestions?
Around mid-July, I headed out on my bike in search of a new-to-me trail that I'd seen on maps. I knew roughly where to find it. As I got close to it, I noticed a well-worn path heading in the right direction. I blindly turned onto it. It was not the correct turn but it was a LUCKY mistake. I found myself in a sweet oasis in the midst of a pine forest.
I immediately noticed the "stomp" indents in the dirt made by bears who were scent marking. That sight stopped me in my tracks. I dropped my bike in excitement and started exploring.
I noticed that a spring comes up from the ground there, creating a small pool of water in the midst of the dry forest. As I explored, I also found several bear marking trees. I knew that I'd hit the jackpot. If I'd had time, I would've put trail cams up on that very day. Alas, I didn't have time so I did it the next day.
Within the first week of putting up the cams, four bears visited the area. That was at the tail-end of mating season so I was thrilled to see them. After that, the bears didn't visit as often because they'd headed down in elevation to find food for their late summer fattening phase. However, lots of other animals did visit.
As you watch, imagine this spot as cool in the midst of a dry and hot forest. Imagine the nearby pine needles crackling under your feet as you approach because they are bone dry. Then, you come upon a pool surrounded with green grass! It's an amazing spot. Enjoy the video!
During this blog's break, our pack took a trip to the southwest of Colorado. We packed up the LabMobile and visited some of our favorite places up high in the mountains. It was wonderful to be outdoors under the stars for a few weeks. The sky was dark but the stars were somewhat obscured by smoke. Nonetheless, it was glorious.
Occasionally, the smoke lifted to let bright colors shine through.
I am going to be trying to take it easier on myself in the coming months. We still have a lot of construction going on. Today, it was a "three ring circus" with three different contractors working on our new place. I know how fortunate we are to be able to have this work done but it's still stressful - very stressful! Moreover, my Dad's cancer is back, and the doctors say that there's nothing more that can be done for it. I know that journey is only going to get harder.
But, through it all, I am so thankful that we have a pack that makes me so happy. And we have the amazing mountains that never cease to astound me with their beauty.
We are back after a lengthy break. I think that it was the longest break that I've taken in more than a decade. I'll tell you more about it in future posts.
On Tuesdays, I usually tell you a wildlife story. This one includes a huge variety of wildlife. Earlier this summer, I was riding through the forest, and I noticed a faint path going off to the left. I stashed my bike, and I followed it. It was an animal trail and not a human trail.
Along the path, I found a towering Ponderosa Pine. I noticed that the area at the base of the pine was trampled to the point that the plants and grasses were dead. That led me to look closely at the bark to see if bears had been marking it. Indeed, there was black fur stuck in the bark!
I returned the following day with a trail cam, and I discovered that the tree hosted a fun menagerie of wildlife. Check out the short video, and especially notice the fun climbing by the bear cubs.
Teeny Tiny, our bear cub, played with his mom in the water. I think that it's hard work for a sow having a single cub because the cub needs someone to play with. On this day, mom took a bath while Teeny Tiny milled around the water hole. He eventually decided to join his mom and also challenge her to some play fighting. Check out the video!
We're going to take a break to slow down and enjoy summer. We'll be back! I hope that you all have some relaxation time too!
Teeny Tiny, a local bear cub who is probably Tiny's, took his first bath! He hadn't gone in the water prior to this. When he and his mom arrived at the water hole, he amused himself while his mom took a bath. Then, almost on a whim, he sprinted back to take his first bath. And he was CUTE!
It was a rough week for Hachi. The work on the house got louder and more intrusive. I twice found him having what looked almost like a panic attack. He was startling at each loud bang, and he was panting as if he'd just run a very hard sprint. The good news is that he was very receptive to his humans comforting him. Moreover, his anti-anxiety meds helped a lot. The poor little guy is wired so tightly - I wish that he could learn that we'll keep him safe.
He had fun this week too. He did a great run with the Runner, up to the top of one of the mountains behind him in this photo.
He also was always friendly toward Shyla even when he was trigger-stacked by the noise. We'd take them out for a romp after the workers departed, and he hung out with his sister just like usual. I haven't been getting any photos of them playing because the meadow grass is too high for us to even see them! This photo is from a different meadow.
I often write about our Black Dog's exuberance and wild joy. But he had another side. He could turn off his high energy side and quietly relax. He loved relaxing on his dog bed that was often bathed in sunshine. His brown warm eyes calmly watched the room and invited others over to snuggle with him. Neither Shyla nor I could resist a Black Dog snuggle when he looked like this.
I hope that you have a peaceful day, like our Black Dog knew how to do.
