Frog Legs....

...are handy when carrying a frog.

I did a little night hunting with the DH and brought home a friend to show Hootie. The Girl wasn't so happy, protested and in the end convinced her dad I should let it go. She needs to stay INSIDE when I bring my treasures home at night. At least The Boy said "Good job!" I like his attitude.

~W

Speaking of Smelly...

Look what I spotted today!

If only this darn wood wasn't in my way.

Can you see where I tried to sniff him out

and drool all over him?

Hootie thinks I am lucky he didn't

have much room in which to maneuver.

She is of the opinion I should let a sleeping skunk be.

Not much fun in that!

~W

Opinions

Sniff, sniff, sniff...

"You smell

like wet dog

and fish!

Have you been

in the lake again?"

a recent conversation between the Queen, Lily and Winston

Ssssssss

Hootie is a little freaked out tonight. She IDed this snake we saw today at the lake. It is a Copperhead and it is venomous. The good thing is, of all the poisonous snakes in her area, it's the least venomous.

~W

Trail Maintenance

ANNOYING!

See this plant in front of me?

It's some kind of wild rose type wildflower.

Hootie says it's annoying when it scrapes against her bare legs

when she wears her shorts as we walk.

I'll tell you what's annoying...when she stops every five feet on a walk, whips out her handy-dandy plant clippers and chop, chop, chops the vines or plants hanging over the path! Seriously, if she'd just quit shaving her legs she wouldn't have a problem.

Am I right?

~W

Bird-Dog

Man am I quick!

Caught this while I was on my leash too.

~W

Size Doesn't Matter!

Real hunters don't measure size!

It's a vole, in case you were wondering.

~W

One of the Family!

Aww!

They

love

me!

~W

On Pointe!

On a beautiful warm and sunny Saturday afternoon...

... thirteen butterflies gather on the muddy bank of the stream.

Hootie and I are on a walk and I stop and get On Pointe (well, the girl is at ballet class and I thought I'd use her spelling of this word. You know, for me, my hunting is an art form; just like ballet!)

Ever so slowly I creep up on my unsuspecting prey...and then...

ATTACK!!!

Hootie's yelling, "Stop! Stop!" didn't phase me.

That's what she gets for trusting me,

stepping back to take her dumb picture

and thinking I will forever just point!

Silly human.

~W

Dog Days All Ready!

Whew! It's been hot in my neck of the woods!

Any chance I get to jump in the water I take.

I think Hootie may buy me my own pool this summer.

Wouldn't that be the cats meow!

Here I am laying in about 6 inches of water in one of the streams...

...hunting the geese...

...and just plain looking adorable!

~W

It's a Guy Thing!

At least once in their youth

 a guy must try writing their name in the snow.  

~W

Between Walks

I continue to test the waters with Hootie...what's a dog to do when they aren't outside? 

I use my cuteness to try sitting at the window seat while I hunt.  

Who doesn't like a nice cushy place to rest their tush?  

Look who is awake from their winter rest.

Someday I will catch that little chipmunk...I can just tell!  

~W

My Favorite Thing...Hunting!

A good hunter never limits his field.  

Clues are everywhere.   

One must look high...

...and low.  

Sometimes a good hunter needs to follow his nose.  

BINGO!  

I found a mouse under the snow!  

I found a dead Carolina Chickadee over the hill!  

And this morning I found...an opossum!  

I tested whether it was playing opossum by hitting it with my paw.  

I even picked it up and flipped it around with my mouth.  

A good hunter is NEVER afraid of getting dirty, or snowy!  

~W

When You Give a Dog...

a Hole to Dig in...

he's gonna need a bath!  

Okay, so Hootie and I have this little trust issue going on too.  

I want to run.  

She doesn't want me to runaway.  

***

She will barely let me off the leash!  

***

For several days in a row last week, she was letting me run around the backyard with the retractable leash out to it's fullest.  Kind of a pain as it bounced around after me.  I would freeze up thinking that bulky part was going to hit me.  Finally, she switched to the short leash.  That is easier to run with...if I don't step on it!  It's not a lot of fun chocking myself!  

***

By Saturday I had her convinced she should prove to DH that I am worthy of being unleashed!  After our morning walk, she proudly unhooked me and walked around the yard.  Well, I did stay nearby for awhile.  I couldn't help myself though.  DH was watching through the window.  Hootie was being all smuggish and I thought I'd just see how far she'd let me go.  I kept 30 or so feet away from her, not daring to go back towards the house.  Needless to say, once she caught up with me (which I totally gave in and dropped on my side so she could come near) she wasn't too happy.  Then she had to go home and say, "You were right" to DH.  

***

My point is, when you see these pictures of me bouncing about and having fun, note the leash I get to drag with me.  I guess I need to keep reminding myself this family is a keeper and they are kind of possessive of me.  Could be worse I suppose.  

Hootie found this great patch of burr-free grass for me to run in.  

It was awesome!!!  I was about done running when I smelled something and had to investigate...

Hootie didn't let me dig long enough for my liking.  I never did find what I was looking for either.  On the walk home Hootie mentioned something about the reason we went to the grassy area was so I could keep relatively clean and NOT need another bath.   

It was a fun walk!  :)

~W

My First Check Up and Playing in the Snow, Again!

Yesterday I had a check up at the vet.  My new family has been trying to fatten me up since I was about 10 pounds under weight when they adopted me.  They are feeding me well here and I have gained four pounds in the past two months.  I LOVE to go out and hunt!  Hootie takes her camera and hunts too.  

Today the kids had a 2 hour delay to their start of the school day.  Hootie and I got to go out early for our big walk since she didn't have to go to school herself!  First we saw this group of deer. 

The snow last night was resting on every branch....

...and leaf.  This is a holly bush.  

Later, on our walk, I saw more deer lying in the woods.  

The streams were still flowing too.

Here's the Chief of the woods...  

...hail to the Chief!

~W