i've been spending a lot of time
close to home
using tools in my garden, and my garden as a tool
this is part one.

I just re-found this group of images - like so many photos, they were sitting on my hard drive, edited, but not shared. 
Does that mean they existed?

They were taken in May 2019, and I believe Heather holding her hands up in the first photo is illustrating that she dropped Chester's leash and let him walk without tether... although his leash was still attached to his collar... just in case.
I realized there are more photos of Saru the Shiba, Chester's brother, than the other dogs. Going beyond his photogenic-ness, maybe I was trying to show him some extra attention as we were all so smitten with Chester and his ability to figure out jumping logs (it took him a few moments to figure out what to do!) and the fact he didn't run away.  
There's even more of Saru than my own dogs, Mister Coco + Bella Boo.

Whatever. 

It was a peaceful walk with four very different dogs all at various stages of their lives, just getting to be dogs.
Thanks gang. 
xo

the wild - an not so wild - life, including tall trees, rough seas, an eagle, a mink,
some geese + their goslings, a couple silly dogs,
​ and one very busy heron

Photographing the same subject for so many years - adventure walks with my sleddie friends - has made me want to try different ways to share my experiences. I usually pick my favourite photos in the hopes that you will get the same feelings I did while I was on the excursions. So this time I've decided to share a few successions of photos so you can hopefully get more of a sense of not just one moment in time, but a few moments. To give you a sense of the movements of the dogs bodies - their ears, tails, legs, eyes - taking treats and the gong show that is the self-timered group photo.

The last photo is a photobomb featuring ChiChi. I was crouched down readying to get a shot of Tica zooming back to the group and Chich appeared... to know her is to know this is very like her. She will appear seemingly out of nowhere with those expectant big eyes, convincing me to give her all the treats in my pocket. If I had any this day, I would've.

Sleddie roll call: ChiChi, Jasper, MaryKate, Niv, Roo along with their buddies, Tica and Saru.

The commercial and sport dog sledding industries are alive and well in Canada. And as long as they exist, their cast offs - dogs like ChiChi, Jasper, MaryKate, Niv and Roo - will need homes. Please visit I Was A Sled Dog to learn more about dogs leftover from this industry.

If you're looking to adopt a sleddie, both MaryKate and Roo are awaiting their perfect match through the Victoria Humane Society!

For more information and to get involved:
Sled Dogs film
Humane Mushing

Spring is on its way, and the dogs are feelin' full of beans!
With sleddie Kismet in town from the interior, visiting with his mom to participate in my project, I Was a Sled Dog, we met up with the gang at Francis King park for some forest bathing... only Santana didn't get the 'forest part' - she just bathed... and some other silly dogs followed suit.
Here's Niv + Cedar, Knik, Boomer + Jinx (the low rider), Saru (the Shiba), Santana, Jasper, Daisy, Mary Kate + Roo and Kismet!
p.s. Mary Kate and Roo are available for adoption through the Victoria Humane Society!

I've been neglecting my backyard for the last year or so, so it looks best at night or in the frost. 
Last year I posted 'in the night garden'. 
Here's 'in the frozen garden'.