Oh where, oh where has our water gone...

...oh where, oh where can it be?

The reservoir is looking dryer lately.
There are suddenly sandy beaches where lapping waves had been.
I know drought conditions have been worse elsewhere, but the drop in water level is still troubling.
Here are two views of the same location, one taken from the tree line, and one taken from the water line.

Last weekend.

In July I discovered a wonderful new place to hike with Chandler. It is a local reservoir that is very popular with the local dog walkers. It has wide shaded trails, a meandering stream, both deciduous and coniferous trees, a mowed meadow (cuts down on the ticks), and the reservoir itself. It is practically the perfect spot to take Chandler during the hot summer months, as both the shade and available water help keep him cool. Frankly it was too good not to share, so last weekend I invited my friend Laurie to come hiking with us. I will admit to some ulterior motives; if Laurie liked the reservoir as much as I did, I could probably convince her to make the drive up to central Connecticut more often! Laurie brought along her male English Shepherd, Helo and her new puppy, Elvira. The purpose of the hike was to let me meet Elvira, and give her a good socialization experience.

Here is a photo of all three of us on the trail, this is a great hiking area!

The shade and available water were also good for Helo, who doesn't like the heat. Helo is somewhat my (and Chandler's) fault. Laurie probably would never have known about English Shepherds if she hadn't run into Chandler and I at the Connecticut Pet Expo two years ago. She expressed surprise that Chandler was not a Border Collie, survived my "the good, the bad, and the downright ugly facts about English Shepherds" lecture, and adopted Helo from a breeder within a few months. Helo is a retired stud dog, but I think he likes his new life.

...and he's sporting such a trendy summer haircut!

Helo actually has a LOT of grandpuppies and great grandpuppies out there in the English Shepherd gene pool. Sometimes I feel like I accidentally gave Laurie an entire second family that day she met Chandler and I. Elvira is one of Helo's grandpuppies, and is from a farm in New York state. She's also related to Chandler through his grandfather, who is one of Elvira's great-grandfathers. Chandler and I both approve. :)

I think it is entirely unfair that puppies are adorable without even working at it.

Elvira is a happy little girl who is probably going to grow up into a little spitfire. Even at only 10 weeks of age very little about the hike frightened her. She's curious and has good self confidence.

She's got some ZOOM in her too.

Chandler is one of those dogs that is safe around puppies, which makes him perfect for socialization outings. However, he is less interested in younger pups so Elvira spent some time trailing after him. I think she was a bit confused by some of Chandler's usual antics.

Really, I was just going easy on her for the Hide and Seek game...

We finally got to the reservoir, and Chandler was overjoyed to see all the water. I swear the dog must think he is part Labrador Retriever. He also looks so much smaller when he is wet. I never realize how much fur he really has until it is all flattened down with water.

Oh come on Auntie Laurie, please throw another biscuit out into the water.
Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaassssssssssseeeeeeeeeeeeeee?

Helo isn't quite the water fanatic that Chandler is. He prefers to wade genteelly through the shallows.

Helo doesn't know what he's missing.

Elvira isn't so sure about water yet either, but she's still a tiny pup. Laurie says she's fallen in a few times and had to swim to shore.

Really kid...water is soooooooooo much fun!

Both Helo and Elvira spent some time watching Chandler fetch his training dummy from the water, but didn't decide to join in. Chan is a very strong and focused swimmer when it comes to water fetch. He manages to kick up a minor wake as he beelines toward his goal.

I even accelerate well in water!

However, he's a bit more leisurely about bringing it back. Hopefully Elivira will give him some competition someday, as Helo seems to be happy in the shallows.

I love to play water fetch!

It was a really fun outing. I loved being able to meet Laurie's new pup, and the dogs had a great time. Hopefully they'll be able to come back soon.

This is the highly artistic granddaughter/ grandfather photo.

Quick update

I haven't had as much time to post lately. Trying to send out more job applications and making sure Chandler does his physical therapy exercises tends to eat up time.

So, to briefly summarize the news:

Rowan had some sort of sore removed from her lower lip.
It turned out to by cystic tissue, and not a huge problem.
She has recovered well and is her usual pesty self.



Chandler has finished his physical therapy and has been cleared for offleash exercise.
Here are two photos of his first offleash hike post treatment:

Spring Thaw

On Saturday I decided that Chandler and I needed to get out for a short hike. We hadn't been in the woods since early December due to the sheer amount of snow that had fallen this winter. The front lawn had reappeared this week, after some sustained warmer temperatures and several days of rain, so it seemed likely that some of the trails must have defrosted also. I didn't want to deal with steep hills that might still be icy or a creek likely to be raging from snowmelt and rain, so we headed out to J.B. Williams Park.

The entrance was a bit icy, but it looked like significant portions of the trails were clear as Chandler and I headed off on the trail. The park looked to be mostly deserted and Chan has a good recall, so I let him off leash to sniff and run. I soon found out that a significant portion of the trails were still icy.

That dark area is where the rainwater
has melted out the ice and left a channel.

However, it turned out that the ice and snow were largely limited to the trail areas behind the wooded hill that is located in the center of the park. For today, I limited our walk to the broad track that circles the hill. I must say I was disappointed in the amount of dog waste visible on the snowy parts of the trail. This particular park has a lot of trash cans available, so there isn't a lack of places to put it. When the trail totally thaws in a few weeks, there will be toddlers and parents with strollers all over it; not picking up after your dog under those conditions is largely inexcusable in my opinion.

See, the snow has mostly melted at the top of the hill here.

Chan and I traveled along the path to the upper pond area, one of my favorite parts of the park. Unfortunately the pond has silted up and now it mostly resembles a stream. For the first time, we ran across some damage from the excessive snows of winter.

This bird house is looking a bit droopy.

There was more damage as I followed Chandler to the stream that leads into the upper pond.
The concrete bridge that crosses the stream was missing its metal railing. It looked like part of a nearby pine had fallen upon it and snapped it off. Only one pole was standing.

It looks like they cut down the tree that fell on it.
See it off to the right?

Chandler ignored the minor changes and made a beeline for his favorite shallow pool in the stream. It's backed by a tiny waterfall and he likes to lie down in the water and wallow. I swear he must think he is a Labrador.

Cold water?
Oh come on, it is only snowmelt and it is over 40 degrees today!

After soaking, Chan entertained himself by checking out the trails and burrows of some small rodents near the edge of the pond.

Critters! Lemme at them!

Chandler also amused himself by leaping on one of the picnic tables that were scattered around the upper pond picnic and camping area.

Picnic table? I thought it was a jungle gym!

I leashed Chandler soon after leaving the upper pond because we were heading toward the lower pond which is much larger and deeper. Given Chan's danger-prone tendencies, my paranoia wasn't about to give him a chance to zoom out onto thin ice, no matter how unconcerned he was with cold water. It turned out to be a good precaution.

How unfair!
She would not let me check out the bottles spilling out of that trash can!
Hey, how did it get out there anyway?

After checking out the pond, we backtracked to head for the trail that goes past the children's play area. I'd heard that the pavilion had not survived the snows, and wanted to see what was left. It turned out that the wreckage of the pavilion had been totally demolished and removed, but the kitchen and bathrooms that stood next to it were still intact.

Wow, it looks like they plowed a path to get everything out.
That's the kitchens on the right.
The big empty spot to the left of it was where the pavilion stood.

The sheer destructive power of the collapse was evident when I examined the metal picnic tables that had been under the pavilion's roof. They were all bent and twisted.

I didn't climb on these. Mom said there might be sharp edges.

The good news is that the town is planning to replace the pavilion ASAP. J.B. Williams is one of the town's most popular parks, and there is a long list of reservations every summer to use the facilities. Hopefully they will be able to get something constructed in time for the spring picnic season.

Return to Roaring Brook

It's tough to be a furry black dog during hot weather.

Today the thermometer was headed over eighty degrees Fahrenheit. Combined with the few clouds it was a recipe for an overheated and exhausted Chandler if I had taken him for the usual two mile walk through the neighborhood.

Instead I opted to take him out to one of the local parks, where he could at least get shade and cool off in the water. Chandler hasn't had any problems with lameness since the last incident, and I had been running him through his strengthening exercises, so I thought it was worth the risk. We ended up in the same preserve where he cut his paw, because it seems to have the cleanest water. I think I've seen trout in one of the large pools, and I know the stream is marked as a trout habitat when it gets closer to the river.

Chandler was delighted to be hiking again, and immediately went wading into Roaring Brook.


There was no sign of whatever he managed to cut his paw on the last time. I really like this preserve because it has a lot of evergreens that keep the undergrowth to a minimum. I've only found poison ivy in one spot near the edge of the preserve, so I don't really have to worry about poison ivy oils rubbing off on Chandler's coat and being passed on to me. In addition all the pines and firs are quite pretty as they edge the trails. The only downside is that this year there was a bumper crop of pine cones and Chandler occasionally gets covered in pitch if he decides to roll.

While Chandler does love to zoom up and down the trails of the preserve, the main attraction for him is always the water. I swear he thinks he is part Labrador. There is one deep pool by the old mill that he really loves. Unfortunately we do have to descend from the ridge to get to it. Usually I opt to gingerly walk down a deer track that follows the ridge instead of the steeper but more open descent that goes straight down to the water. Chandler shoots right along the foot wide trail, leaps the fallen log and heads straight for the water. Then he comes back to see what is taking me so long. I suppose four legs are an advantage when navigating narrow trails; but two hands are necessary to throw sticks for a dog that is patient enough to let his owner catch up.

Hmm...beautiful scenery, interesting scents, cool clear water, and fun. Maybe it isn't so tough to be a furry black dog during hot weather.