Autumn Pups on the Papermill Trail

We love the Papermill Trail, and it is especially pretty during autumn. The sky was dark, the air was cold, and there were very few people on the trail.

Lady Flame patiently waits while Toby gets his umpteenth treat.

Both pups pose nicely on the boulder next to the trail.

Then, we walked over to the chunk of granite next to the river. I couldn't get the pups to look at me for anything. Actually, they were focused on Drew thinking that they would get yet another biscuit!

Flame is good a posing and she will not move when the leash drags on the ground. Although, she continued to avoid looking at me;-)

Lady Flame Squirrel Patrol

Lady Flame limbers up before going on squirrel patrol.

Gotta stretch all the important running muscles...just in case...

Lady Flame spends hours on alert in the backyard. She obviously has a low prey drive as she just watches and waits. No willy nilly charging and running after the squirrel, just watching...

It is exhausting work, but somebody has to do it!

This is all followed by a satisfying nap (with a slight smile as she remembers the squirrel of her dreams.)

Chillin' in the back yard

The pups have been enjoying the back yard to the max! Flame has become a squirrel huntress extraordinaire, and Toby is the sight-challenged Sheriff of the yard. A gray squirrel has been taunting and flaunting throughout the yard, and it is an exhausting business for the pups to keep the yard free of these cutie patootie vermin;-)

Play Date with the half sibs

Beautiful Sugaree and her side-kick Lady Flame

Yay! We had a play date and I actually had a camera in my hand. It was a bit dark in the backyard, so the photos came out a bit blurry, but the pups don't care a hoot about the quality;-)

Trouble and Flame start a high speed chase!

The half-sibs had a good time together, and they didn't waste any time in getting a good game of chase going.

The hounds are getting to be oldie goldie hounds and their runs are short.

Lady Flame is so happy to see her bestie, Trouble.

Lady Flame and Trouble are a blur as they run around the yard.

Flame and Trouble do a quick tear around the yard at lightning speed!

Pretty Flame rests after the run-around...

Stormy Weather equals panting and drooling

Note the drool, on the tip of her tongue, that would soon be pulled downward by gravity.
Lady Flame said, "Mom, what the heck are you doing taking photos while Thor is taunting me?" 

What were you doing at 4:30am? Sleeping? Geez...you are lucky. I was trying to console an inconsolable Lady Flame who looked like she was thinking about jumping out of the bedroom window (which I then partially closed) to escape the thunder and lightning. 

Toby said, "Dude, what's the problem? Just go to sleep...zzzzzzzzzz..."

Toby...well...he slept through it all.

Play Date with Walter and the Half-Sibs

Here comes Walter! My goodness we love this goofy pup of a pitbull...

He came over for a visit on Sunday (along with our buddy, Rob), accompanied by Billy, Trouble, and Sugaree, and kept everyone entertained!

Walter had more energy than all our hounds combined! He gave Trouble a run for his money;-) All the hounds were muzzled as they get too excited and nippy. Walter, on the other hand, is quite the gentleman all the time.

Then, he enticed Lady Flame to join in the fray!

Walter was like the energizer bunny!

Of course, when you get Flame and Trouble together...they begin to focus their half-sib energy on each other.

And, then they start to fly around the yard. Yup...fly, Trouble...fly!

Whoo! The rough-housing starts up with Flame as the instigator... You see Toby barking his two-cents worth into the fray. He had to be on leash, but he did join in the excitement once in awhile...

Then, it was time to cool down...

And, really relax in the shade.

And, snooze away part of the afternoon.

Sugaree decided that the pool was very enticing, but Drew hadn't put any water in it yet! So, she patiently waited for it to be filled up to her liking;-)

Then, she settled in for a long, cool soak. Until...

Trouble descended upon her, and the magical bath moment disappeared, while her goofy brother decided to drink half the bath water!

Ultimately, Trouble won a turn at a soak in the pool.

And, then he became energized...and called for a "meeting of the minds!"

Round two began...and I asked myself, "What's better than a bunch of hounds romping and relaxing on a Sunday afternoon?" I can't think of a thing...except that we all missed Shannon...

Purty Pups

Lady Flame yawns from boredom of the photography

I just realized that I haven't photographed the dogs in a couple of months! I was outside photographing some flowers and took a few quick snapshots of the pups.

Lady Flame loves the new warmth of springtime. The air carries the lovely fragrance of the magnolia flowers that fills the backyard.

Flame is most relaxed when she is outdoors. She spends hours chilling out in the backyard.

And, then she gets a burst of energy and excavates her big dig!

Toby is our wide-eyed, sight-challenged wonder. We think he is the sweetest pup to grace the Earth.

Lady Flame is actually starting to initiate play with Toby (after 5 years together.) He got so excited that he raced through the yard and slammed into the magnolia tree. Hence the cut under his eye.