Working Off the Ya-Yas

Despite the smoke, the girls had a great time being outside.  We got them up to Icicle Creek, where they hopefully wore-off their ya-yas for a little while.

It was good to get out of town.

Fires are still raging.  It's still dry out there.

Murphy's Day.

Ok, So...Heading to Nahahum?

That's all the girls have been asking: can we go to Nahahum Canyon and chase deer????

Hopefully.

Many many thanks to all the brave fire fighters.  It's a long long struggle.

We'll let you know on Monday what we end up doing, but three weekends in the city???

Murphy's Day.

Early Adaptor

There is this theory in marketing about different segments of "buyers."  All those folks who ordered their iPhones the minute it was introduced are considered "early adaptors."  People who adapt to change quickly and want the latest and greatest next best thing.

I am not an early adaptor.  Nor are any of my girls.  We fit into a marketing category defined by curmudgeon.  Content, no, really set in our ways.  If it hasn't been around since we were born, we don't want to try it.  I swear, I am the last person in America to finally buy a HDTV.

So, what did we do this past weekend (clearly way too much time on our hands).  We went from flip open phone to iPhone 5!  Holy cow!

It's so amazing, I have to settle back into my curmudgeon mode just to figure it out.

But, Annie is excited because the phone takes videos!  Problem is, she never holds still long enough for me to "capture" her!

Murphy's Day.

Stick in the Middle with You

All you  young people out there won't remember this song, but there was a really stupid song with a terribly catchy tune called: Stuck in the Middle with You.

So, it has now become Annie's theme song: labs to the left, labs to the right, here I am, stuck in the middle with you!

Murphy's Day.

Sweetness

I simply love this picture of Annie.  I think it shows her sweetness.

I rarely have a camera with me, however, when she is in mischief mode...running up the alley, stealing shoes, carrying around my socks....I have to remind myself that she is still sweet, just enjoying the attention.

Annie Oakley.  Sweet Annie.

Murphy's Day.

Productive Weekend

While it may not appear that way from this photo, we had a productive weekend.  The fires continue to rage near Nahahum Canyon, so we stayed away, worried about smoke and all of our lungs.  Plus, it's best to "stay out of the way" while the amazing fire crews work on Blewett Pass...so we hung around Seattle (this is probably the greatest amount of time we have spent here in years).

Last week was a construction project around the house, which required the girls to be out of the way, so much of the beginning of the week we were vagabonds, going from one park to another, then coming home to see incredible improvements (plus, the workmen loved the girls...who doesn't?).  So, it was nice to be home, enjoy the new windows, and do some work to make it look like someone actually lives here.

Needless to say, Willa spend half the time looking out the windows for deer!

Hopefully we get to go back to Nahahum Canyon next weekend.  Certainly the deer need a black lab barking at them, right?

Murphy's Day.

Toys

Do not ever tell me these girls are not spoiled.

Exhibit A: the toy basket.  Pottery Barn does not make a basket big enough for all their toys.

Murphy's Day.

Are We Ever Going to Do Something?

Ok so really, the patience of labs only goes so far.

Murphy's Day.

Hanging Out

So, as I said, the weekend was at home.  Fortunately the weather was delightful.  And Sage hung out in the yard while I manically cleaned.

She seemed content and in fact when her "sisal carpet" in the kitchen was put back down, she did her little Sage dance...all was well with her world.

I think we actually enjoyed hanging out and not being in all the smoke from the fires in North Central Washington.

Murphy's Day.

I Simply Love Her

In Saturday we ran into a woman who had a black lab.  Siri ("I named her before the Apple phone").  Sweet sweet black lab.  And Siri's mom told us that Siri had been in training to be a guide dog, but the trainer was "going through many life changes" and Siri became too docile, to afraid to assert herself.

That is Annie.  Annie's puppyhood was essentially in the back of my Pilot, either in the parking lot of my parent's home, or at a hospital.  She never got the romping and stomping that Sage really got, and that Willa is getting now.

So Annie became sweet.  Through that whole time of caregiving for my parents, she sensed my stress and she is so very attuned to me now...

I simply love her and her sweetness.

Murphy's Day.

Patience of a Lab

This was a "in Seattle" weekend, getting prepared for much much needed deferred maintenance work.  Things being cleaned, packed away, ditched.

The girls got some exercise, but not as much if they were in Nahahum Canyon.

So, they practiced patience.  Not considered a "virtue" for a lab.

Murphy's Day.

Girls Just Wanna' Have Fun

These two rarely, if ever, slow down.  They love playing, love yammering on each other, love romping.  In fact, on Sunday, while we were walking back to the truck from fishing, they knocked me flat on my butt....never stopping to see why I was flat on the ground!

These girls just want to have fun!  Can't blame them.

Murphy's Day.

In the Bed

Willa, not to be out done by Annie, leapt into the bed of the truck and then gave me all sorts of love...

She is always in the center of everything.  Such a lab.

Murphy's Day.

Attack of the Yellow Lab!

So, here I was, trying to enjoy the truck bed.  Figuring out whether, in a pinch, could I sleep there....ok, I was really laying in the sun taking a nap after a long night of comforting labs anxious labs during a very long lightening and thunder storm...

Alas, I was discovered by Annie Oakley, and she decided she needed to give me some love.

Attack of the Yellow Lab!

I didn't mind the alarm from my nap.  No snooze button, though.

Murphy's Day.

September 11

Eleven years.

Murphy's Day.

Need an Oil Change?

Ever since she came into my life, Sage has had a car mechanic in her.  I remember the first day, in Annapolis, she crawled under the rental car.  Then, several days into her being in Seattle, she crawled under the van I owned at the time.

So, with the high rise on the truck, it isn't surprising that she crawls under it!  I think, aside from the shade, she has always enjoyed her crate, and underneath the car reminds her of the "crate-lab cave."

In fact, the night before this picture was taken, we had an amazing lightening storm in Nahahum Canyon.  I still have Sage's soft crate up, and she crawled right in when the noise and light became too much for her.

There is safety in small spaces.  I keep wondering, though, whether she could also change the oil while she is there.

Murphy's Day.

Cooling Off

So after a slog up hill, which didn't seem to phase Willa or Annie (Sage, like me, took her time), some cooling off seemed in order.

There is nothing better than a dip in a high alpine lake.

Murphy's Day.

Lake Minotaur

Mythic, for sure.  Now protected by three labs...

1900 feet elevation gain in slightly less than 2 miles.

View was worth it.

Murphy's Day.

Sage Sacked Out

I just love this picture.  Sage hiked, she swam, she romped, she did everything and finally, she sacked out.

It's a dog's life.

Murphy's Day.

Rewards at the End of Uphill Hikes

So, on Saturday, we embarked on an epic hike.  1,900 feet in elevation gain over a mere 2 miles.  I;ve done high alpine climbs that were easier.

Needless to say, the lake at the end of the hike?

Priceless.

Sage hung in there, Annie and Willa had energy to burn by the time, 4 miles later and one huge blister, we got back to the car.

Murphy's Day.