Snow!

Well, it's finally pretending to be winter in the mountains of WV and we have been getting snow for about two days now. Luckily, it's very thin snow, sticking to the ground very slowly and not sticking to the roads much at all. I decided that it would be beautiful to go for a short hike at Cooper's Rock. Unfortunately, the road leading to the lookout point was closed because of the weather--and it was a good thing, too! The one parking lot that was open had not been plowed and was actually quite snowy.

Dobby and I walked down a short path just past the gated-off road just to have a nice look at the snowy forest and to make the 20 minute drive worthwhile.

Dobby was in a sling I made out of an old T-shirt under my coat. He seemed cozy enough, and I think for a while he really liked the views.

It was pretty windy, though, so eventually Dob gave up his post as look-out:

...missed the beauty of the snow:

...and just curled up in my coat:


No Dobbys were harmed in the making of this blog post; I was bundled up and didn't get cold, myself, and he was right there nuzzled in the whole time. He was tired when we got back to the car--too much excitement!--but I think he had a good time :)

Family Camping Trip

Boy, I told you there were lots of fun things happening! Last weekend Dobby and I went camping with my family and Gracie. My sister was even back from her summer job in Maine, so we were all together and it was wonderful. Here is our little camp site, which actually did stay pretty dry despite the rain!

And here are some pictures of us hanging around:


But the highlight of Saturday was a canoe trip on the lake! Mom and dad took Gracie for a hike because we wouldn't all fit in our canoe, but Dobby got to ride along because he's nice and light weight :) He had a great time! We stopped at a little inlet and got out to swim for a while. I didn't get any pictures because I was busy making sure he was safe, but Dobby did swim for a while! It was so cute. His little tail spins around like a silly propeller. Here we are on the lake!




When he got tired of sitting on my lap, Dobby found the softest spot around (of course!) and curled up:


It was a fun ride!

Later, we went back to the camp site. Gracie was not a big fan of camping and was very happy when we just let her in the tent to have a nice nap (besides, it was raining then, and it kept her long hair relatively clean and dry).

Dobby napped for a while, too, but I think those pictures are on my sister's camera. The whole family was giggling and teasing him because where he was sleeping was deep in a pile of sleeping bags and you couldn't see him unless you called his name and his little head poked up, with his big ears. "Dobby!" we'd say, then his head would appear, then we'd giggle, then he'd realize we were just being silly and put his head back down. Then we'd do it again. After 5 or 6 times, he figured out the game and just went to sleep. Later, he (once again!) found the softest thing around and made a nice seat, although we teased him a little by taking pictures of it:

It was so much fun, and very beautiful :)


(We camped at Rocky Gap State Park in MD, which has several options for pet-friendly camping.)

The Big Move and Our New Neighborhood

The move was complicated. Thank goodness my parents came all the way down to NC to help me. Dobby did not like all of our things being in boxes and was really unhappy when we were loading the moving truck. Once we got things settled in WV though, he adjusted quickly. There was a lot of stuff!

It took about a week to unpack. Meanwhile, I made friends with my new neighbor and she showed me a good place to walk Dobby. Here is our new walk route!
Our friend the lion:

The beautiful view:

A really great garden along the way:

These guys always bark at us:

...And Dobby likes to bark at these:

It is a kind of run-down neighborhood but everyone seems friendly. Living in the mountains is really beautiful, but it makes going for long walks difficult because there are always a lot of very steep hills. Luckily, this walk is about a mile long and only has small hills. One of the most popular things to do here is to go hiking and I want to start doing that, too! I know that Dobby will love it (since we have gone hiking before) but this is a good little walk for everyday use :)

Dobby Goes to a Baseball Game!

One of the great fun things we did just before moving away from Greensboro was a Grasshoppers game! Twice per season, they offer "Bark in the Park", a special game where you can sit on the hill with your dog. All the money from the dog tickets go to a local shelter, Red Dog Farm. The Hoppers have a special love for dogs. You might have heard of the owner's dogs, Miss Babe Ruth and Master Yogi, black labs that are trained to get bats and are allowed to run on the field after the games. They made the national news not too long ago. I love baseball, and I talked my friend L into coming to Greensboro from Raleigh with her new puppy. Not Grizzly (from the beach trip)--no, she got ANOTHER new puppy!! Here we all are at the game:

L's puppy, Starbuck, is probably a lab / Australian shepherd mix

There was a nice crowd!

Dobby didn't win the Smallest Dog competition, though, this little girl did! (And although she wasn't very friendly, we did get to say hello to the big guy behind her!)

It was a lovely evening :)

Dobby's First Visit to the Beach

Dobby and I went on a grand adventure on Wednesday. My best friend from college moved to Raleigh last year, so we take turns visiting each other and for this trip, she had the great idea to go to the beach! So, I took Dobby with me and she brought Grizzly, her adopted mutt, and we made the journey to the coast. We went to a special beach that allows off-leash dogs on an island called Topsail Beach. Here's how far Dobby and I travelled on Wednesday:

We left Greensboro, drove east for almost 2 hours, then my friend L drove us all south east for another 2.5 hours. It was a long day! Breaking it up by stopping at L's house in Raleigh made all the difference, though, it would be hard to do the 4.5 hour drive alone as a one-day trip. But when we got there we had so much fun!!

It was high tide when we got there, so there was really just a narrow strip of sand between the water and the dunes. It was actually pretty great though, because it meant that the water was very shallow for quite a way out. We could walk out into the water 20 feet, and it would still only be up to our ankles! So that was great for shorty Dob. L had been to this beach with Grizz before, so she knew it was best for the dogs to stay on the sound side of the island, not the ocean side, because there were no scary waves. Once we walked a little past the few other people who were there (most of them just fishing), we let the dogs off leash.

Dobby really loves doing anything outside off leash :) So, although I was a little nervous about him being a baby about his paws in the sand or getting wet, he was a trooper. He was brave and trotted out in front of us along the sand and dunes, and then after I showed him how shallow the water was, he even went into the water by himself! I don't think he was really interesting in playing in it, but he definitely liked just exploring. And of course I took lots of pictures! (Click to make big!)

(Grizz wanted to play with Dobby but Dob thought he was just a little too energetic...)









Here are some special pictures taken by L with her fancy Nikon D80 camera (The one at the top of the post is hers too!):

Me and Dobby!

Then, when we got back to L's house in Raleigh, Dobby met her pet bunny and was fascinated.


What a great day!

Tada!

Here's a picture of the yard!! It's so cozy :)

And Dobby enjoys the patio:

The Surprise and BIG NEWS!

Wellllll I got caught up in the end of semester insanity but now I'm ready to tell you about our surprise! Sort of! Basically, I got sod in my little back yard area and it's gorgeous and Dobby loves it. My back yard is about 35' by 20', about half concrete patio and half grass now.

I forgot to take a "before" picture, but this will give you a good idea of what my yard used to look like:
It was a weed patch with random bald spots sparsely covered by old mulch. When I moved in, there were even heaps of old chunks of concrete of some sort tossed back there. The patio slab is nice, but the yard was hideous. So, my landlady has been promising me sod basically since last summer, but the weather has been interfering. Now I have grass!!! It's so beautiful. I do have an "after" picture, but it's on my camera still and I don't have the cord.

I don't have my camera cord because I'm home in MD for Easter, and me and my mom are leaving tomorrow to meet my sister (who is studying abroad in Israel and is on spring break) in Athens, Greece!! Woohoo!

So, not a very exciting surprise unless you are me (and Dob) who enjoy the back yard SO much more now! Also not a very exciting post unless you are interested in what's going on in-the-life-of us instead of just pictures of Dob :)

Also, sorry I haven't been around much still! I finished my thesis and turned it in, then wrote another final term paper for a total of about 130 pages of writing this past two months. Plus working part time and social activities (which Dobby has been thoroughly enjoying, too!) Now I am all set to graduate with my MA on May 6, and BIG NEWS! I will be attending WVU in the fall to start a PhD. Anyone in that area, or anyone know anyone in that area, let me know. I need to find a spot for me and Dob to live :)

Love you all, and we miss you!!
<3

Spring Time Hooray!

Hi all! Last post I talked about taking Dob for a run in the baseball fields of a local park. We've gone several times since then. Usually we just walk, but sometimes, we do the baseball-run thing. He loves it!! Once, about three weeks ago, I remembered to take my camera:

His little butt is so cute!

That day we took squeeky, his favorite toy, to play fetch :)

Then we finished off the afternoon with a walk through the rest of the park. Dob LOVES peeing on ornamental grasses. He finds them really irresistible!

The park--this was just before everything started to bloom and grow.

My favorite--an action shot! Yay!
The weather has been super gorgeous here, and we are lovin' every minute! A lot of days, I'll get home from work and we sit outside for an hour or two just reading and hanging around. Plus, I have a surprise I'll be posting about soon... A surprise that just happened TODAY and made Dobby a very happy boy :):)