This time of year gives me a whole new reason to worry about my dog. As the weather gets warmer and the snow melts, the ice over the lakes gets thin and begins breaking up. My Savage, who doesn't think twice about wandering out on the winter ice, has to be watched extra carefully in late March and April when we are near the lake. Thankfully, the ice on Poplar Lake has disappeared completely as of yesterday, and we enjoyed splashing around on the shoreline today, though the water is much too cold for Savvy to attempt to wade in further than his knees. I'm hoping that this is the year that my boy finally decides he likes to swim.
We're now walking on the Old Gunflint Trail again, every morning. Sav starts whining and moaning in the truck, every single time I turn onto the road. His arch-nemesis, The Evil Bicycle, is back, and he's determined to bark it into submission again. Lately we've been taking a friend of Savvy's, Bubba the black lab, along with us. We're seeing more wildlife on the trails. A few days ago we saw a woodchuck while driving. When I hopped out of the truck to get a closer look at it, the miserable little 'chuck stood his ground and hissed at me, and Savage went crazy barking. What a brave boy.
We're both looking forward to this, Savvy's second summer; hiking, swimming, boating, biking, exploring, and just laying on the deck soaking up sun.