Last weekend Suede and I visited my mom in Nanaimo. Yoshi was pretty revved up and looking for some exercise so we took a quick trip up to Qualicum Beach to let him run around. And run he did! He had a great time romping on the beach, splashing in the water, and chasing after sticks.

The rest of us did our best to avoid the wet hound, and stay warm. It was a little windy out, and that made it a little chilly right on the water. Yoshi kept playing until he was shivering he was so cold.

After getting back to the car, we towelled down Yoshi, packed him in the car, and headed back to my moms. Yoshi was pretty knackered after that run.

Pics are here.

After photo club, after grocery shopping, and after lunch, Yoshi and I had a great walk at Macaulay Point Park this afternoon, Walking down there we both enjoyed the sunshine on our faces, but didn’t appreciate the slight breeze. Even though the weather has looked phenomenal, it has been a little cool out.

As I slowly walked around the park Yoshi did his usual romp-pee-romp-about. He always enjoys his walks here, no matter how often he goes. We passed many other dogs also out enjoying the sun. Yoshi showed no interest in playing with anyone, so we kept going. Finishing our usual loop, I took a side trail that made a nice extension to our walk.

I took my camera in hopes of catching some good shots. I got a few of Yoshi, and a few good scenery shots. I love being able to do go shooting with my dog, but I still have to be careful with Yoshi. He doesn’t like it when I linger too long, and one time a while ago, he disappeared while I was concentrating on a shot. Scared me when I looked up from the camera and he was nowhere to be seen. No such problems today.

Pics are here.

Yesterday coreman, Justine, and I took OTP and Yoshi on a nice walk at Thetis Lake. I think I took us on the Lewis and Clark trail, but that was the first time I had ever lead that route, and I only felt lost a couple times. Near the end when we were just about to head back to the truck, the pups went in for a swim. My pics of Yoshi didn’t turn out so hot (user error on the camera combined with tricky lighting), but a few of OTP did. Read more for a nice sequence of shot of OTP.

Everyone defines hapiness differently. Dogs are no exception. Recently, Coreman made Yoshi happy by posting about Oscar’s new bed that he got at Costco. This posting reminded me that Yoshi needed a new bed. Tuesday night Yoshi and I trekked out to Costco. While Yoshi waited in the truck, I headed in to make the big purchase. When I got back to the truck, Yoshi’s eyes lit up as I stuffed the big fluffy bed in to the back of my truck. Before I even got it settled he was trying to get on it to lay down. Ahh, the simple things in life make one happy.

Leaving Costco I made myself happy by stopping in at Tims for a tasty Canadian Maple donut. MMmm.

Once home I unstuffed the bed from the truck and placed it in the living room. Oh the luxury. Once in a while throught the rest of the evening Yoshi would let out a groan of delight. He was in pure heaven! Thanks Coreman.

Suede and I should know by now. When something goes missing from the kitchen, it hasn’t sprouted legs and walked away.

There has always been a prime suspect in disappearance cases in our household, and his name is Yoshi. He looks innocent enough, and most of the time he is on his best behaviour, but every once in a while he gets bored and goes counter surfing.

One day he ate most of a baguette that we were drying so we could make bread crumbs (I found piles of crumbs all over the house). One day he decided that our cutting board would be a good chew toy. Another day the wooden salad servers were a wonderfull play thing. A weird one was a drain plug that he chewed the rubber off of. Even weirder, he made the next drain plug disappear completely,and we still haven’t found it to this day.

One day while Yoshi was left outside he grabbed an ice cream pail that we used to store clothes pegs in. By the time we got home it had been shredded into teeny tiny pieces no bigger than a dime.

This all brings me to the latest. While making some pasta last week, I went to assmble our cheese grater. It is one of those hand held Star Frit vareity where you turn a crank,abd the grater wheel shreds the cheese. Problem was we couldn’t find the wheel.

Our housecleaner was in today and when we got home we found the grater wheel on the shelf near the microwave. What makes me think Yoshi took it? The dents and teeth marks in the plastic.

I don’t want to make Yoshi out to be a bad dog. Most of the things he has destroyed came about because we didn’t leave enough play things out for him during the day. It just amazes me that when I couldn’t find the grater I didn’t automatically suspect him. In the past he has mainly goneafter wood and plastic, not metal designed for shredding cheese! (makes me wonder how that felt on his tongue)

Woke up this morning to howling wind and rain pelting the window above my head. Eww. Hoping it would die down I tried to fall back asleep. When I awoke, it sounded even worse.

After breakfast I took Yoshi for a walk in the park. It was still blustery, and rainy, but dressing for it should make it bearable. Braving the wind we headed out the front door. Yoshi didn’t care; he wanted a walk in the baddest way. No big surprise, but we pretty much had the park to ourselves.

Meandering through the small park I stopped may times to watch the waves crash on the beach. I have never seen waves that big hit that beach before. Most were around 4 feet high, others were 5 feet tall. The logs that normally litter the beach were being tossed around in the surf. A deep thud could be heard each time a large wave impacted the rocks of the beach. Through it all the wind was blowing, and the rain was falling.

It was great!

At one location Yoshi and I were about 10 feet above a beach that was built out of boulders to prevent erosion. As each wave crashed a certain way, the spray was thrown up into the air, and the wind carried it towards the path I was standing on. A couple times I felt the spray mist over my face. As I turned to walk away I licked my lips and tasted the saltiness of the ocean.

On our way home Yoshi and begin to get a little perturbed by the sideways rain. It is a little difficult to watch where you are walking when the rain forces your eyes shut. Once in the front door, a quick towel down for Yoshi, and a quick change of clothes for me, and we were both content with our exercise for the day.

Ahh, is there nothing quite so grand as an excited dawg? Yes, Yoshi certainly likes his food, but sometimes he gets a little too excited. Throw in his clumsiness (where he steps on things without knowing it) and you get a new way to present a dogs dinner.

The best part is that Suede and I usually make Yoshi wait a second or two after we put his food down. After flipping his bowl, he kept looking at me like he was trying to say “WOW, how did that happen? Can I eat now?”. I was in a slight state of shock, but when I said OK, he went about eating each kibble off the floor. It took him at least twice as long to eat tonight (and he usually takes a long time to begin with).

Dogs, you gotta love them!

Halloween is Yoshi’s least favorite time of year. He really gets freaked out by the firecrackers screeching and exploding. One just went off outside, and Yoshi came running up to me, and crawled under the desk, and is laying at my feet right now. He seems to seek out enclosed areas for comfort.

Last night, when we went out, we brought Yoshi with us, but he stayed in the truck while we went trick or treating with friends’ kids. He was a little scared, and was shaking when we got back to the truck, but he wasn’t frantic. In fact, he was laying down the whole time.

Thankfully Halloween is over, so the noises should end pretty soon now. This will make Yoshi happy.

I love this time of year. I like the crispness in the morning air, the changing colors, the darkness for sleeping.

I love walking amongst the leaves hearing them crunch beneath me.

Fall is a season of change, and sometimes I find that invigorating.

The above pictues were taken at Elk Lake last weekend when Suede, Yoshi and I took a walk in the park. It was a nice walk that we used o kill the time before a vet appointment for Yoshi. Nearing the end of the walk we met another, younger, pointer whose owner was playing fetch. We joined in and played for a bit. The interesting thing about this other pointer was that she was almost all brown. Very sleek looking when a solid color. The other owner though Yoshi was very handsome too.

Yesterday Suede, Yoshi, and I joined Justine, Oscar and Coreman on a dog walk at Matheson Lake in Metchosin. What a nice walk. The dogs enjoyed it immensely. Yoshi and Oscar ran the whole time we walked. The trail around the lake gets quite steep at times, so it gives the humans a good workout too!

After the walk Yoshi was one tired pup. He slept the rest of the day. The weather (as you can tell from the pictures) was pretty amazing. Warm and sunny. It is october, and I can still stand to wear shorts (not that I did on the walk)!

The rest of my pics are here.