Monday, October 8, 2012

Rock the Boat, Don't Rock the Boat Baby...

It seems I've dropped the blog ball in recent weeks. I throw up a post on Mondays, get the Hodgepodge out there on Wednesdays, then disappear.  Suddenly Monday rolls back around and I'm left wondering where the time went?  In my defense I'm still writing, but my words are mostly going into a project seperate from my blog.  I think you know I always have plenty of words, just not enough hours in the day.


Besides all that, autumn has landed on the great northeast and it is lovely. I need to be outside, not squirreled away inside my office. Winter is just around the corner and if the number of acorns are anything to go by, it will be a doozy. Hubs and I joke that our big tree out front is like a scene from a Disney movie. Deer, chipmunks, squirrels, birds, groundhogs, and who knows what else, all dine happily together under its limbs. They're definitely storing up for something!

So the weekend...lots of fun. I'll do you the favor of making it two posts. You're welcome. There's a state park not too far from here with a beautiful lake and great hiking trails. I've been saying I wanted to get out on the water and see what's beyond the shore, so on Saturday we did just that.


Our pup loves walking in the woods here and was surprised when we headed toward the boathouse instead of the trail. Getting her into the canoe and settled was a little tricky. Also, keeping the boat upright while she chased her tail? More than a little tricky. She needed to sit left...no she needed to sit right....no she needed to sit left...you get the idea.


I love to canoe but this was my first time with a 65 pound dog and an expensive camera in tow. It was such a pretty day,  although it did feel like as soon as we got started a breeze kicked up.  Sounds super fun so far, doesn't it?

It was.
Once everyone settled down anyway.


By everyone I mean me, not the pup.  She continued to shift positions and fake like she was going over the side the entire hour.

We ate lunch on a picnic table by the water then made Dixie happy by heading out onto the trail. We took a different route this time and stumbled across a dam-


We've been here many times and had never seen this bit before...so pretty!


Course the hubs always needs to get off the path and into 'the danger zone' which forces me to say ridiculous things like, 'If you fall, I'm not coming in after you.'



Right.  Like I'd be of any real help if he went down the rushing rocky drop.
Little boys see rocks in the water and feel the need to leap across them.
Some things they never outgrow.

My photo doesn't capture how steep the drop really is...


I love the light in autumn...


The leaves are just beginning to turn and the color is gorgeous...


The highlight of the day for our pup occurred just as we were leaving...


She spied a big fat groundhog near the overturned rowboats and went into stealth mode....


The groundhog got wise and disappeared, but Dixie is nothing if not relentless once she's got the scent....


Going in for the kill...


No need to look away. As is the case with every groundhog she stalks, this one made his escape underground, and spoiled all her fun.   


Well, maybe not all her fun...


She still got a walk in the woods with her favorite people on a beautiful autumn day.

24 comments:

  1. when I saw the picture of hubs and Dixie, I was amazed that you had such a well-behaved dog! I'm even more amazed that you didn't end up in the lake!!!
    Beautiful pictures!! :)

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  2. What a wonderful way to enjoy the weekend!

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  3. Your husband is brave. I would be a nervous wreck. Tell him to stop going into the danger zones! Looks like a nice day won't be too many more of these.

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  4. I so enjoy your pictures! And your dog! We had rain here on Friday and Saturday all day off and on. It will be winter before we know it!
    until next time...nel

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  5. I love all the song titles you use for your post titles!
    I am so glad fall has arrived here too. The weather is just perfect for me :)

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  6. I laughed when I saw your ground hog! Probably because I have three of my own up here! Thankfully they remain far from the dachshunds, so we haven't had an disasters. Recently a ground hog did quite a number on a dachshund in this state.

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  7. Taking the dog in a canoe--now that's brave! I really enjoyed your pictures. We don't have much pretty scenery around here--we're surrounded by pines.

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  8. Gorgeous photos! I LOVE to canoe - I wish there was more access to it here in England. Enjoy your New England fall, awash with so many colors ;) XOL

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  9. You are a braver woman than I to take a dog on board! You had boating angels looking out for you, hubs, pup, and camera! But it's hard to resist a happy dog in bird territory to watch them in their element.great pictures. For a second I thought the one with the red leaves up close had a black bear behind it.

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  10. Oh Joyce, I so enjoyed taking this little excursion with you and your mates. What beautiful scenery and your vivid word descriptions had me captivated. Thanks so much for sharing. I could not agree more on how quickly these posting days come around. And, thanks for the comments on my blog today. My ceilings are also high and I love the picture over my mantel to much to take it down and do anything else. Therefore, I too am not sure of composition and proportion, but decided if I like it, then it must be okay. Have a great week.

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  11. I can just imagine being there with the dog moving this way and that way. Tucker is like that too...only he weighs 10 pounds. Not quite the same. LOL Your posts always give me those goose bumps that you get when something is particularly well written.

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  12. You sure do have some nice color out your way. And I can't image being in a boat with an 80 pound lab and a 9 pound Chinese crested! They would be moving all the time as well and that would surely make me fall into the water. Great photos and I've been the same way with my blog. I'm pretty good up to Wednesday then I'm gone! Just can't seem to come up with anything.

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  13. Whoa. Big dog and small boat don't go together in my book. Well, just the boat alone doesn't really either. Ha.

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  14. I, too, am finding myself blogging less often right now. Life is just too busy!!! I always enjoy your pictures, BTW...such pretty scenery!!

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  15. You live in a great and beautiful part of the country, I love the outdoors too, but mine are nothing like yours. Love Dixie too! :)

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  16. You're really getting some great shots with your camera. Beautiful!

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  17. Northern New Jersey IS REALLY pretty in Autumn! True true!

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  18. Beautiful shots! What a wonderful weekend you had!

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  19. Y'all (just spent several days in Tennessee listening to beautiful southern accents) are very brave to take the dog into the canoe! Glad you didn't capsize!
    (Fun comment to me about you and your girls all being at Panera!)

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  20. How very beautiful. You need to check my sidebar and join in the Fall Photo Link Party I'm going to try to participate on Thursday.

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  21. What a beautiful stunning area you live in! I love sharing your outings and seeing what you did. YOu hubby sounds like a riot and I'm sure you never have a boring weekend with him. haha

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  22. Joyce, I love all the photos. The colors are looking so pretty. Sounds like a fun time!

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  23. What a beautiful way to spend the day! I can't imahine trying to put our dogs in a canoe -- she did remarkably well. Thanks fpr sjaring your pics -- gorgeous.

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