Gifts, Snow, And DogFun.

[merimask]

First things first...I must send a big thank you!! to pzband moonphased, for the lovely & thoughtful gifts they sent me this week.  
pzbsent a very cute card (yay for kitty humor!) and the softest red scarf that she made with her own hands...too sweet, my dear.  :-)  
Today I came home from my trek with Kiba to find a package from moonphased, with a lovely card, some CDs (which I still haven't listened to...though I recognize the kanji and I'm sure they're the "Okami" soundtrack!), and a BOOK!  An Okami book!  Full of the most beautiful art!  I can't read a word of it but who cares because it's so pretty and shiny and I think the fact that it's Japanese makes it EVEN NEATER.  There are no words (well, except for the ones I just...nevermind).

So!  As I mentioned earlier there was a big snowfall to the south of the city.   I loaded the Keebinator into the funwagon this morning and off we went in search of snow.

The city did NOT get a single flake.  Nuthin'.    I even had to stop to take a quick picture from the Erie Basin Marina in downtown Buffalo, because it was a little unbelievable that the local news was reporting snowy Armageddon to the south, and yet the city looked like this:
Looking north.

BUT, just turn around and this is what you see.
Looking south.   0__0
That's what a fat band of lake snow looks like from about ten miles away.  Kinda scary.  

By the way, while I'm on the topic, you kind of have to wonder about the sanity (or at least the wisdom) of a person who will intentionally drive into a fat band of lake snow.  Hmm.

So in no time at all (about ten miles in fact), things looked like this:

See how there's no one but me on Old Lake Shore Road?  That's 'cause there was sort of a DRIVING BAN in Angola today.  Heh.  I don't know what all the fuss was for...the road was wet but mostly clear (there was some blowing and drifting in spots, but no big deal).  And it was SO pretty...

...I couldn't resist snapping a picture of this adorable covered bridge.  

So, we got to the park...
Evangola State Park.
...And it wasn't bad at all.  The snow band was breaking up and drifting even further south, and the snow wasn't so deep...nothing like the 2 feet that were in Dunkirk, about 20 miles down the road.    There were even some sunny breaks in the clouds.

Well, "you-know-who" could hardly wait to get out of the car.  Kiba freaking LOVES snow.

This is the last picture I took of him where he was sort of standing still because his leash was still on (though he had pranced around me so much I was dizzy from spinning around to get this shot).  Once I took off the leash...well...

I have decided that I'm just going to put all the "running" pictures in here, so you can sort of see what happens when Kiba runs amok.  It's pretty funny.





Finally...after a mile or so he's starting to slow down a little...

Yeah, when his tongue is hanging out like that, you're looking at a happy dog.

Meanwhile I'm freezing my ASS off.   It was windy as hell.  After about a mile I was SO ready to go back to the car, but not Kiba.  So we kept going.  Saw some pretty snow-covered stuff...
 
...where I promptly lost my dog.  He heard a bunny in there or something and he was GONE for a while.  Came back with a face full of snow and a big happy grin.  No bunny.  He likes to chase stuff but I think he just wants to play with it.  He's an utterly uselessly domesticated goofball of a dog.

We went to my favorite spot, a cliff that overlooks Lake Erie.

The wind was really whipping up the waves.  I really can't tell you how cold I was, standing there.  Kiba didn't mind though...

And then, just to be contrary he decided to scramble down the face of the cliff...just to see how much trouble he'd get into.

Yeah I yelled at him, but does he look concerned?

No he does not, the brat.  He ran back up like a mountain goat.  No big thing.   *sigh*  My old Australian Shepherds never did crap like this to me.  Kiba's going to give me heart failure one of these days.

So that was my morning.  Now I'm back here (STILL freezing...I think I got a little chilled in spite of the down jacket and the stupid-looking hat I was wearing), and I'm all out of energy!

So's Kiba, by the way.  He came home and crashed out under the kitchen table.  Oh, to be a spoiled Brat-Prince of a dog.

Comments

[golden-meliades.livejournal.com]

I love the picture of the covered bridge...really good composition. I also like the one of the icy river, with the tree. Rivers look so much scarier in the winter, and scary makes for intense pictures.

Also, the picture of Kiba jumping off the rock makes him look like a wolf coming out of a cave or similar :)

[merimask.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :-) I'm really not a good photographer, I tend to "document" with my pictures. Once in a while though, I manage to make a pretty one. It's the subject matter I think. Kiba requires that we go to many photogenic places.

Isn't Kiba wolfy?? I think so too. When I was a kid I LOVED wolves...I'd have been overjoyed with him (then as now).

He's an "idealized" wolf, though. Shorter cuter face, plushy coat, not as stringy or lanky as a real wolf. Also, y'know, he's a total goofball sweetheart and not a wild animal. :-)

[golden-meliades.livejournal.com]

My family had an awfully good-looking dog once that was a bit 'wolfy', but not the same...I THOUGHT she was pure Keeshond, but now that I look at pics of Keeshonds, ours was too big. Our dog was about the same size that Kiba appears to be, maybe a *tiny* bit smaller. (And was female, so probably should have been smaller yet?)

That dog (we called her both Keesha and Teesha...very original for Keeshond, eh?) was the BOUNCIEST dog in the world. It was the freakiest thing! She didn't jump like a normal dog...she was like a SPRING. She bounced up and down on all four legs, and the bottom of her paws would be at waist level when she got really excited, so she was three or four feet off the ground with all four legs! Very weird. And the hair wasn't *quite* as long at the longest parts (chest, etc). Perhaps she was crossed with a husky? She was exactly the right colours for a keeshond, white with pale to very dark grey, but she was just too big for that, I think.

You hit the rule of thirds in your covered bridge photo :) And with the edges of the image to the outside thirds, that's good, I like it that way.

Only real wolf I've ever seen was dead. I THINK he was a wolf, mainly because he was HUGE. It was about half an hour outside of Kingston, in a quiet stretch of highway, and it had been hit by a car and was lying in the middle of the road...and it laid more than a foot high off the ground, on it's side, and the fur was rough, not groomed...but it had the shag and colour graduation of a wolf except it was white with a peach-sand colour rather than grey. If that thing had been standing, I swear it's head would have been four feet off the ground. I'm surprised the car that hit it wasn't in the ditch.

[merimask.livejournal.com]

You may have had a keeshond...recent trends in purebred dogs are towards minaturization. I HATE that because when you selectively breed for smaller size with no eye towards temperament or physical soundness you end up with neurotic unhealthy little dogs that are good for nothing...why breed tiny versions of big breeds?? It's just dumb, there are plenty of wonderful, stable small breeds if you want a small dog.

Huskies are going the same way...Kiba is about 23 inches at the shoulder (about as big as a husky ever comes these days) but the average Siberian these days (re: the ones breeders are heading towards because that's what wins dog shows) is less than 17 inches! Only little Sibes are winning on the east coast. 12 years ago, Kiba's grandmother was an international champion and the top winning bitch in the USA ( http://members.aol.com/aatuk/kutaar.htm )...go look, she looks just like him except for coat color. As of right now, Kiba is one of the last of her line because judges started switching to smaller winners and her line NEVER wins anymore because they're all the "wrong type" (nevermind that the breed standard allows Siberians to be anywhere between 17 and 24 inches at the shoulder...it's all about what's popular in the show circuit).

Rrrr! It just makes me angry because the "new" dogs are weedy and dainty and their heads look pointy and weak. Kiba's so lovely because he looks so solid and strong...why isn't ~that~ what judges like?? There's not a single person who sees him who doesn't comment on how beautiful he is...even Siberian fanciers are like "Wow...I've never seen a Siberian that beautiful...where'd he come from?" To which I say "Oregon" because the West is the last holdout for big healthy Sibes. I'm just lucky that his sire ended up in PA or I'd have had to order a pup from all the way across the country.

ANYWAY! My point is that Keeshonds from when you were a kid are probably a lot different from Keeshonds today. If her coat was full and soft and she carried a big soft foxy tail curled up tight over her back, and she had a definite "mask" around her eyes, she was a Kees. If her coat was a bit stiff, her body kind of square, and she had a solid square head (instead of a foxy face) she might have been a Norwegian Elkhound. They're similar breeds (both spitz-types, as is the Siberian so that's why they all have the "wolfy" thing going), but an Elkhound is a bigger more solid dog that was bred for hunting. The Kees was ever a companion (which is why they're so sweet and "bouncy" and good family dogs).

*sigh* I know...I went on and on. I just love dogs. One of my favorite subjects to "blah blah blah" about. This calls for my Final Fantasy "STFU" icon! ;-)

[merimask.livejournal.com]

Ohh... I found Kiba's dad in Kutaar's photo line up of award winning pups. ( http://members.aol.com/aatuk/striker.htm ). Kiba is just like him in body type and temperament (I met Striker and he was a big friendly beautiful doofus, just like Keebs).

[golden-meliades.livejournal.com]

Striker looks just like the mom, to me :)

Kutaar is an usual name.

[golden-meliades.livejournal.com]

The grandmom, not the mom. Got mixed up.

[golden-meliades.livejournal.com]

Very pretty dog, very distinct colours.

I looked up a picture of the Elkhound...Keesha was RIGHT in between the appearance of the two. She had longer hair and a pointier nose than the Elkhound, but shorter hair and a larger size than the pics I found of Keeshonds. Perhaps she was a blend of the two :) I do remember her dark fur was VERY soft, and you had to brush her like crazy to get all the wads of loose hair out, and she was very nice. (I remember the dogs from my childhood more fondly, somehow. Our dog Skipper was a very nice, quiet old dog...mostly Chow, with the dark blue-purple tongue and the red coat, but very short haired...she was definitely a mix.) She barked a bit but the bouncing was just so funny (you could see her paws over the top of her doghouse!) that you could ignore the noise. :)

Ooh, a PNG! That's Final Fantasy? It just looks like a beaker...

[merimask.livejournal.com]

Haha...well, it's Final Fantasy geekery, since "echo screen" is one of the many potions you can find in the game. Echo screen basically makes anything it's thrown on "STFU", which is why you use it on spell-casting monsters and enemies. If you "S" them "TFU", they can't cast spells on you!

Oh boy I am a big gamer geek and don't I know it! *hides head in shame*

Man. I ought to really send some pics to the Autuk site and let them know I have KIba...I bet they'd love to know what's happening with their "grandkids".

[golden-meliades.livejournal.com]

I'm a bit of a geek when it comes to the old computer games...King's Quest and other Sierra classic stuff...adventure and RPG. Oh, I loved those SO much.

I've never played a 'video' game. Except Super Mario 3, in my friend's basement, about 15 years ago, maybe 17, and I was VERY bad at it. I don't own any platform except PC.

Oh wait...we used to have an Atari. I've played 'Breakthrough' on Atari. Does that count? Heh.

[rumdiculous.livejournal.com]

I LOVE that picture of the cliff overlooking the lake. It's gorgeous. The clouds and the waves are a great contrast.

Hee hee, Kiba would be so fun to play with in the snow. You're right, it is gorgeous on the road. And I would gladly drive into a snow band.

...wah snow.

[merimask.livejournal.com]

I need to get pictures of that spot in every season...it's one of my favorite places. In high summer it's just the most tranquil, beutiful spot ever...the whole cliff is covered in buttercups and it's the PERFECT picnic area.

Kiba is a hoot in snow! :-) He gets the goofiest, happy look on his face and he just scampers around.

I saw that covered bridge and immediately thought of you, btw, because I know you like covered bridges! :-D It's just a little thing and it's part of the Seaway bike/hiking trail...it's actually a little footbridge. Cute, eh?

[rumdiculous.livejournal.com]

Ooh I love buttercups. :D

I don't think I could have kept myself from running to the bridge and exploring it. It would have been so cool in the snow! I think it's an adorable little bridge. One that needs to be thoroughly explored. *nods*

[indigos-angel.livejournal.com]

ZOMG!!! YOU CALL YOUR DOG KEEBANATOR??

I used to call my daughter pumpkin when she was a baby, and then started calling her "Punkinator". I even made up a song for her.

Punkin...
Punkinator
She's so cute that you couldn't hate her

Punkin...
Punkinator
She's so cute that you couldn't hate her

She hates the name Punkinator now, but it was so cute when she was a baby. Especially when I got to raspberry her chubby little armpits after XD