Subject: summer camp is almost over 4 Mr Wesley

Well, nothing lasts forever! So we finally got the dreaded email from Lauren on Thursday and today was Wesley's last Sunday River Walk with us - at least until he comes back to visit! Last night all four of us went up to PetSmart and Wesley led us around and picked out his going away presents. Which he doesn't get to have until he, of course, actually goes away, but at least he got to take a picture with a couple of them. He got a couple of other fun things that didn't make the picture because Ivory was lurking in the shadows, thinking maybe he deserved a gift or two. Here's Wesley with two of his presents:

And here's a picture of the three of us at the river this morning (Thanks Clare!) :












One more shot from today, also courtesy of Clare:

Whoever coined the phrase "It's a dog's life"...

...had obviously never met Wesley. Because Wesley goes on summer vacation - no big deal, I'm sure lots of dogs get to go on summer vacation. But Wesley gets to take a vacation from his vacation! It's like you live in Richmond and you get to fly to Hawaii for the summer and while you're in Hawaii you take a week or two and run down to Cancun. He's been camping and swimming and hiking here all summer, then his mom comes and picks him up and takes him to the beach for a week! It's a trial to be Wesley. Here are a couple of pictures his mom sent back; I'll post more later:

Wesley hanging out at the beach:









Wesley on the deck with his pal:









Wesley smiling in the ocean:

We got to go camping again!

We're just having way too much fun. I'll put up a few pictures right now and a few more later. We left on the afternoon of Saturday the 21st and came back on Sunday. Until I can get back to this, here are a few shots:












The picture above is Wesley when he's just gotten out of the car at the top of the trail - he knows right where he is and he's ready to hike.


This was a striking view about midway on the hike down:









If there's water around, Wesley will find it - I think he's looking for fish:

Wesley gets a bath!

Somebody's flea repellent is not working. I don't know if it's Ivory's or Nicky's or Wesley's but Wesley is the only one going for a visit with his mom so he was the first one in the tub. He's exactly like Ivory when he takes a bath - he cooperates, but he lets you know in no uncertain terms that he'd rather be nearly anyplace else on the planet than that bathtub. I paid the vet for flea repellent - I wonder if he'll pay me for the bottle of flea shampoo?

Another Sunday morning at the river

There's no such thing as a bad Sunday morning at the river. It's always just a playground for dogs and today there was just a huge bunch there. Wesley of course threw himself into the thick of it - he doesn't know the meaning of the word "shy." Before we went to the river he sat down on the steps to the laundry room, waiting for me to get ready. This is the sight I'm greeted with whenever I walk in the back door:












After we hiked for a while this morning we came to the second beach; dogs normally congregate there but today was exceptional:














I'm not kidding, I'll bet that picture only has half the dogs in it - the rest were either in the woods or behind us or upstream or downstream - there were just dogs everywhere. Notice Ivory in the lower left, surveying the scene, and Wesley just coming up in front of him.











This is Wesley bounding out of the water for about the hundredth time - he should be in the picture dictionary next to "exuberant." That's the lovely Annabelle to the left of him; I don't know those other three out there swimming around.




















This guy was throwing retrieving dummies for his Labs - they were superb athletes and swam like they had gills. Plus they knew the game. But Wesley picked up on it quick and started waiting there every time the guy wound up for a throw. If I brought Charles down here, he and Wesley could play all day!

It's been almost three weeks!

Since our last entry! Wow. How embarrassing. Times have not been dull, just too busy to spend ten minutes in front of a computer. That's the way it goes in summer. We've had one other camping trip (at Bear Creek Lake State Park in Cumberland) and even had another canine guest (the lovely Marta) and haven't put any pictures up! I'll remedy that soon. But today was lovely and Ivory and Nicky and Wesley and I were able to spend some quality time with our old pal Charles. So here are a couple of pictures from today, and I'll get a couple of others up soon.

Wesley goes camping.

Not really. I just got a new tent and was practicing setting it up in the back yard. Wesley immediately jumped in and made himself at home. Maybe he's been camping before? He sure looked like he knew what he was doing.

Thursday River Walk

We try to take lots of walks at the river in the morning but we don't always make it out. And some mornings are more breathtaking than others - today's being a prime example!

Third campout in three weeks!

We got a late start on Saturday and had to rush down there so there was no opportunity for photography on Saturday afternoon - when it was dry.

And when we woke up Sunday morning it was still warm but it was pouring rain. Ivory and Wesley sat in the shelter and kept another hiker company while they waited to go; Nicky has to be anti-social and sit outside in the rain. No posing for him.









Another salamander blocked our path on the hike back up:












Back to the car after an hour of hiking in the rain. Ivory and Wesley are cooperative as always. Nicky knows it's dry in the car and shows his ability for communication - it's time to get in the car, not pose for pictures!

It's a dog's life

It's hard to tell who has the most fun here:













Charles likes throwing the ball, Wesley likes bringing it back...








They both like to contemplate what they've been doing and what they're going to do next...












And Wesley communicates yet again - time to hit the road!

"Wes" - rhymes with: "Stress"

A picture is worth a thousand words. Wes can't "talk," although he tries from time to time (see middle picture). But in the absence of spoken words, he is attempting to communicate the ongoing struggle that is his day-to-day existence. It ain't easy bein' Wes.

Back to the mountains!

We had yet another opportunity to go camping on Wednesday night and we had an even better time than last week - hard to believe. The weather was flawless and now Wesley is an experienced camper - he slept like a baby. What a great hiker! This is all three of them on Thursday morning, lying around and waiting for me to put my backpack on again for the hike out.

Wesley and Charles meet again!

Charles and Wesley got together again on Tuesday - and Ivory grabbed the ball! But not before Charles and Wesley had a great game of catch. And took a great walk! I think Ivory thought they were having too much fun and he was missing out on it.

May Appalachian Trail hike etc., day 2, finishing up

Picture 1: Hitting the water bowls like there's no tomorrow.

Picture 2: Ivory's unspoken answer to your unspoken question: "Yes, the guy we hike with is a nerd. Have you ever seen anything like this?"

Picture 3: We've been walking or lying on the ground for the past 24 hours. We could be lying in that car. Is there a reason why we are not?

May Appalachian Trail hike etc., day 2, starting out

Top picture: We're awake (sort of), we've eaten (definitely), and we're ready to hike (that remains to be seen).

Second picture: You don't see blue eyes like these every day!

Third picture: Wesley and Ivory, still exploring. Nicky is off on his own, no doubt.

May Appalachian Trail hike and campout, day 1

I wanted to keep it to three pictures per post, but since I make the rules, I can break them. And what better reason to break a rule than a bright orange salamander on a cold gray day.

The second picture is Wesley getting ready for his first (or his first with us, anyway) hike and campout on the Appalachian Trail. Just out of the car, sitting in a rain-wet parking lot, getting ready to go. When we left our driveway the temperature was 87º. The temperature dropped a little when we got on I-64W, and a little east of Charlottesville I could see a rain squall ahead. I watched the clock and I watched my car thermometer and it went from 85º to 67º - a drop of 18º - in twelve minutes. When we parked in the mountains - 90 miles from our house and an hour and a half later, it was 62º. Fortunately it stopped raining.

The third picture is Wesley and Ivory and Nicky on the trail (notice who's moving and who's standing still).

And the final picture from the first day of our hike is Ivory and Wesley encountering some new sights and smells.

More to come from tomorrow.

Wesley's first day as a therapy dog...

...and if Charles had more fun or Wesley did, I am unable to determine.

Charles has a great yard, and he loves to throw tennis balls and Wesley loves to chase them - a perfect match.

Sometimes I'm part Huskie...

But other times I'm all retriever, as you can see by the way I sleep with my tennis ball...

Relaxing at the cemetery with pals

This wasn't the first "PM cemetery walk" with all three, but it was the first one in daylight (semi-daylight) when I had my camera with me. Next time I'll use a better camera. They all behaved like perfect gentlemen. You're looking at three of the most easy-going dogs you'll ever see in one place at one time - they're amazing.

Wesley's first trip to the river

The bottom picture is is actually from Wesley's second trip to the river - his first was the evening of the day he got here (Wednesday, May 9) and by the time we got down there it was too dark to get a decent shot. He wasn't "smiling" in this picture as much as he did later - for one thing he hadn't gotten to go swimming yet and for another I don't think he wanted to stop walking!

You can click on the pictures and they get real big.

I'm including a picture (on top) from his first trip - this time after he'd been hiking and swimming and after he got back in the car. He's probably looking at some other dogs in the parking lot.

Wesley, our summer guest for 2007

This handsome guy will be joining Ivory, Nicky and me for the summer while his Mom goes out of town to work! Stay tuned for our adventures. Have a great day,

Jay, Ivory and Nicky - soon to be joined by Wesley!