Border Collies in the snow

We still have snow and cold here and spring seems far, far away. But the dogs love it. Because we have four of them with us still, we spend a lot of time walking (or for the dogs, running) at Beaver Lake Park.

The game, of course, is to see who can get to the toy first, and then keep it away from the other dogs.
Here Sophie has it, chased by Maddie and Maggie.

Here Geordie has it, flanked by Maggie on the left and Maddie on the right (the two older dogs) who are waiting for the slightest sign of weakness on Geordie's part.

Sophie's giving us "the look" and snapping her jaws to let us know she's ready to catch the ball.

Here all four dogs are waiting for the ball; waiting to get it and run straight through the puddle.


The snow makes the woods look very pretty...


but here's what happened to the crocus and primula that I photographed on Saturday.




Both my garden and I are ready for some warmer weather.

Our move to Haliburton Hill

That's where we live, Harry and I--up on Haliburton Hill. It's kind of a rural-suburban neighbourhood in Saanich and we moved here two years ago, exiting the urban lifestyle of Fairfield in Victoria that we had enjoyed for more than sixteen years. We moved for a number of reasons but probably the most important was our dogs. We have two beautiful Border Collies, Maggie and Geordie, who love to walk in the woods, run in the fields, and play catch with a ball or Frisbee. It was just getting too difficult and stressful in the city to give them the exercise they needed.








The stress came from all the rules and regulations in Victoria that dictate where you are allowed to let your dog off leash. Even though we lived half a block from Beacon Hill Park we couldn't play fetch with the dogs in an empty field there. And we couldn't walk through even the wilder areas of the park unless our dogs were leashed. Up here on Haliburton Hill things are different. Saanich has more reasonable bylaws; it allows us to walk with our dogs off leash (but under control) anywhere except for a few restricted wildlife areas. We can walk down the road to the school yard and play with the dogs and then wind through a little patch of woods on the way back home. Plus we have a larger yard where the dogs can play outside, and we are very close to Beaver Lake Park with its fields and the lake where the dogs can swim. It's a great place to live.

The photos above show Maggie (age 10) sitting prettily on the mossy knoll and Geordie (age 7) looking a little demented in the snow.