Our Day At The Lake

This is Quincy (now four months old) and his mom. Isn't he gorgeous? He's a very blonde golden retriever pup. They invited us--"us" being the K-dog and I--up to their lake cabin. It's become a much-loved summer tradition.

It's Kharma's favorite place. She enjoys swimming by the dock, chasing the ducks, geese and seagulls that hang around. She loves swimming as much as any kid and will spend as much time in the lake as allowed. Conservatively, she probably spent six hours in the water.
Quincy's mom gave her a new nickname--Air Kharma--because she pogos off the dock to get onto the beach. Any normal dog would use the ramp. Doesn't Air Kharma sound like a great name for an airline? Just imagine the commercials--"Fly Air Kharma and get your just desserts"--showing a girl and her dog lolling on a tropical beach. Okay, maybe I'm a little old for the girl designation, it's a granite shore, and Kharma's legs are filthy--but the delight and relaxation were primo.

Kharma's never been in a kayak before; I wish I had some photos of our struggles.

• Plan A was just have her jump in with me;
• Plan B was just to get her to sit;
• Plan C was to let her jump overboard and swim;
• Plan D was hauling her out of the lake and letting her stand on the kayak's stern;
• Plan E was letting her walk all over the kayak's deck until she fell off;
• Plan F was to give up and put her in her crate;
• Plan G was to give up kayaking and return to a howling dog;
• Plan H is to have her get completely comfortable jumping in and out of and sitting in the kayak on shore before repeating the same steps in the shallows before ever letting her in with me again.

This kayaking afficianado is determined to succeed in getting her on-board and calm!

The K-dog was much happier hiking around the lake--pushing through ferns, leaping creeks, dashing down into the lake, meeting other vacationing pups, keeping our beach free from marauding ducks, playing with Quincy and occasionally checking to see if I was napping or awake.

I had a very pooped puppy dog; she napped in her crate during the two hour trip and nothing, but nothing, that Zelda did could get her to play when we got home.

As usual, Kharma has let me know that if Quincy's mom wants to adopt another dog she'll happily change homes. (It's just her way of telling me she had a good time.) She'll have to settle for me, the frisbee in the pasture and hikes up the creek until next summer rolls around and another trip to the lake is on the calendar!