Late this afternoon we took the dogs down to the dyke. There was a bit of an ulterior motive.
Luna was pretty grungy. Her tail and feathers were full of mud and grit, and since she really hates that long hair to be brushed, well we'd just get her to swim.
Makes sense doesn't it. Easier for us, less stressful for the dogs and we all get exercise in the process. Bathing Luna this time of the year would be a waste of time and effort. The next run through the bush would make her filthy again.
Don't all dog owners take their dogs to a freezing cold creek when they get dirty?
The dogs didn't care.
The sun had been out earlier, after it had poured rain in the morning, but by the time we made it to the dyke it had clouded over again.
It did look pretty though when the far hillside got lit up by the setting sun.
Some Canada Geese flew over
And then there were these two ducks. I've never seen them before. I'm guessing they were a pair
(sorry for the lousy photos)
They have bright red bills and legs.
I did some Googling but wasn't able to figure out what they were.
Anyone know?
I think I told you before that the vet said it was too cold for them to go in "WHEN THEY WON'T GO IN".
ReplyDeleteI am losing the muddy dog battle. I don't have a place to take my dog to swim/bathe. I am stuck putting him in the tub.
ReplyDeleteThat photo of the sky over the cornfield is really nice.
Luna has been in our tub twice in two years, and than is all is has taken to get her worried if Larry or I are running water in that bathroom:(
ReplyDeleteThat is a blueberry field:)
I think those are common mergansers. My bird book says they're commonly observed along rivers & dykes in the coastal BC. I've seen some have a fair bit of that grey as opposed to the black that they're often pictured with...
ReplyDeleteDaisy only goes up to her ankles. If her bff Zyra is there, she'll forget herself and go in farther - she even swam in the ocean for a few seconds last year - but mostly she eschews getting wet. Wish I could bathe her like this. Mind you when she comes out of water, her undercoat is usually still totally dry. It's a lot of work to get her wet to the skin.
I can bathe Darwin in the kitchen sink. :-)
As for Bear - he had a total meltdown when a groomer tried to bathe him when he first came down from up north. I mostly rely on rain & lots of brushing.
now that is a nice spa you got there
ReplyDeleteBenny & Lily
Thanks hornblower, you are right. Funny, when I was trying to figure out what they were, I googled 'ducks of North America' The common mergansers that came up looked a little bit like my photos, but not really. This time I googled common mergansers, and the first photo I looked at was EXACTLY like the two I saw. http://www.eaglewingtours.com/016_WhalesandWild/2749_EagleWingWhal.html
ReplyDeleteI used to own an Irish Setter. She sounds exactly like Daisy, even though she grew up around field labs. We used to take her by boat out to a little island in a pond and make her swim back. She swam vertically, like she was trying to walk on the bottom with her hind legs. Made for lots of splashing.
Were we mean, well probably:(
Oops, that link is
ReplyDeletehttp://www.eaglewingtours.com/016_WhalesandWild/2749_EagleWingWhal.html
Frick! Third attempt
ReplyDeleteAfter WhalesandWild it is/2749_EagleWingWhal.html
We still have the snow banks..they keep Chance clean...for now. It is a never ending battle come spring..but we have mostly sand..that falls off of him and it is easily vacummed up! He loves his pool and for that I am grateful.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the dogs will go in if the water is too cold for them..and Luna looks like she is having a ball:)
Looks like (chilly) fun :-)
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful. Dogs love the water - great way to clean them as well. Your Luna is a charmer.
ReplyDelete