Friday, through Sunday

We have Friday, through Sunday. We have to keep asking her one question: why are you so big?

She is really a lovely dog and it makes us laugh when she comes and nuzzles us with her nose for pets.   

It is hilarious to see just how much bigger she is than Stirling: nearly three times bigger! 

 

And probably five times the size of Angus! 

And the biggest worry when watching Friday: her tail. It is the height of tables and wags constantly so you just have to watch your drink! 

Happy National Dog Day!!

All Smiles

 

Oh Hai!! It's just me again. Finally. How you've been? I've been good: working, traveling, cooking. The usual. Hope to see you all more often!

National Arboretum

 It being another gorgeous weekend, Will and I took Charlotte and Rebecca (a visiting French pastry student studying here for the summer) to the National Arboretum.





 We had a picnic in the herbal garden and wandered up to the Capitol Columns.

Theses columns supported the Capitol dome, but after about 1920, they were deemed unsafe and removed.  They were put at the Arboretum and make a fantastic wedding venue.  Stirling likes the mini reflecting pool best.   We then drove over and walked through the Asian gardens, where Stirling found a little pagoda all for her.

Walk to the Potamac

Stirling and I walked along the trials to the Potomac River today because I realized that she has lived in DC for more than 6 years and not been in the river!  I had to remedy that immediately.  

We came out just above the Key Bridge, north of Georgetown. 

It was just deep enough where she could stand and get herself cool, but she didn’t really go for a swim.

We returned the way we came: following the dirt path underneath the abandon trolley tracks from when the trolley would take people from Georgetown to Glen Echo Amusement Park.

Guys, a Little Help Here

Well someone loves to get into the fountains, they may not always be able to get out….

No. 5!

A Picnic in Meridian Hill Park with Stirling to celebrate!

Walk in a Winter Wonderland

I took Stirling and Angus for a walk in Dumbarton Park Woods-- where we walk during the summer a lot because of the access to water.

I was not the only person to have the idea of taking a stroll through the woods: the path was so trodden that is was more ice than snow. 

Stirling had no issue walking on the ice; Angus wasn't so thrilled. After days of quick walks around the block, these pups were in need of a nice long walk.

The sun shining made it quite pleasant. I got warm enough to loosen my scarf, take off my hat, and pull off my gloves. 

Stirling, however, got considerably warmer and decided to cool down by going into the stream.

I guess having a black fur coat that keeps heat in is a disadvantage when the sun is strong no matter what the season.  As we walked home, the water dropped off her legs and started forming icicles. She didn't mind one bit.  I know this cuz she went in again! 

Groundhog's Day

It is about 60F/14 C today with blue skies and sun. Tomorrow: another 2-4 inches of snow is predicted. I guess the groundhog did see his shadow today and we will have six more weeks of winter.

In the meantime, we decided to take advantage of the warmer weather and take Stirling for a nice, long walk in the woods.

We went to the usual watering hole along the Archibald trail to discover that it was frozen over. 

Stirling walked into the ice as if it was no big deal. It gave us courage to try as well.

We continued along the muddy path and found another part of the creek frozen over that was a nice 

runway for Stirling. 

Will stood at one end and me at the other, and Stirling running and slipping between us.  

 

 

Surprise Guest

No, the surprise guest wasn't my godfather-- he was the surprise last night. Tonight, Will and I returned from dinner at Ravi Kabobs (you learn more later) to find Angus rooting around our trash cans. 

We brought him inside, as it was starting to rain. Stirling was excited to see him as well as us. I gave him dinner; Will texted our neighbors. We looked out our windows: all their lights were out and no one was answering the phone. 

So, another impromptu sleep over. Angus curled up in the lap of the Dane staying with us and was snoring in seconds. He knows he always had a place here. 

Meanwhile, Back in DC

While I was galavanting across the Continent, Will was in DC, hosting some Danes.  On their last day, he took them to the FDR.  Stirling of course came with and was the hit of memorial.  She posed with Fala and in the soup line.

Severa tourists commented that seeing her in the line was the best thing they had seen all day.  Of course!  Have you seen how cute she is???

Returning to the Blog

You may have noticed that I haven't been blogging. Sorry about that-- I took an announced break. You didn't miss much.  The rest of the Barbados vacation was 

We went home to Kentucky to see family.  

 Including having a birthday for Kristie. 

We came back and had visitors

Had some of the rhubarb cordial I made

Ate a few home grown tomatoes

And gave an abandoned puppy on our doorstep a new home. 

This puppy was ridiculous cute, by the way, so we are proud of ourselves that we didn't end of keeping it. 

Now it's September and we are ready to roll into fall.