They bring me joy.

Everyday, when I look at them, my spirits are lifted.  No matter what my mood, they make my heart happy and bring a smile to my face.  Just as a lighthouse keeps ships from harm, and guides sailors home, my collies can shine a light through the darkness and I am comforted.

Our lives can be like the sea, sometimes the water is rough and turbulent, and sometimes all is calm and serene.  But no matter what trials we face, our dogs have this magical way of knowing what we need, and they can calm the wildest storm within us.  They provide companionship, and are always ready to accompany us on any adventure.

So when I am ready to explore new territory, and seek to find the beauty in the world around me, my dogs are the perfect guides.  They take nothing for granted, and are happy just to be invited along on the journey.  Their lives are so short, and they spend most of their time waiting for our return,  How can we not devote ourselves to returning a bit of the joy they bring into our lives?    

If you cannot see the wonder that surrounds you, just try to view the world through your dog's eyes.  Like a lighthouse, let them guide you through the darkness.

Today was "National Trails Day," did you get outside to take a hike with your best friend?  As you can see, we had a wonderful day.

Hiking with dogs

Milford Duck Pond

Spring in New England always spawns a desire to head outside and explore local and National parks.  And of course, my collies are the perfect hiking companions, they are always ready for an adventure.  I have shared pictures from many of our past hikes, but I thought it might be nice to revisit some of them, in case anyone was looking for a fun and pretty hiking spot with their best friend. Many of these parks allow dogs all year long, but some do not allow pets from Memorial day through Labor day, so it's best to check ahead of time.

Hiking is an activity that the entire family can enjoy together, and our canine family members especially love to hike.  Our collies really enjoy hitting our local hiking trails, they love exploring new places.  In fact, they love it so much, that we began traveling to parks all over our state.  Each Spring we manage to visit new parks, as well as some of our local favorites, for some beautiful and scenic hikes.  We have discovered waterfalls, covered bridges, light houses, wild flowers, lakes, rivers and peaceful woods.  The hot Summer weather will often shorten our hikes, but the milder Spring weather is the perfect time to get outside and explore.   During the Winter months in New England, we can get a lot of snow accumulation and ice, so for safety reasons we stick to our local parks, with their familiar trails.  But as soon as Spring or Autumn arrives, we set out to discover as many new parks as possible.

Gillette Castle State Park

Did you know that hiking can be one of the best ways to bond with your dogs?  And sharing the adventure of hiking a new trail is beneficial to you both!  So much of the destructive behavior a dog exhibits is due to a lack of exercise.  Even excessive barking can be the result of boredom and too much pent up energy.  You can leave your home whenever you choose, your dogs are stuck in the house or yard until you decide to take them for a walk or car ride.  By hiking with your dogs, you give them a chance to experience new smells and terrain, getting them off concrete sidewalks and giving them the opportunity to feel some dirt and grass beneath their paws.  This is exciting for them, and it tires them out.  Remember, a tired dog is a good dog!

Binney Park

We spend so much of our lives working and rushing around.  Our schedules are packed full of events, and jobs to do.  We lead very stressful lives, and spending a few quiet hours outside, enjoying the peace and tranquility found in nature, can lower our blood pressure and improve our moods.  And a good hike will help to keep you fit and healthy.  But you aren't the only one who needs exercise to remain strong and healthy, your dogs need it too!  Hiking with your dogs on a regular basis will keep them healthy, which can help to extend their lives!

Wadsworth Falls State Park, 2013

But there is more than just the health benefits to be considered.  Completing a challenging hike can fill you with pride, and it's fun.  There are no demands on your time on the trail, you can wander and explore to your heart's content.  Many times we let our dogs choose which trail we will follow, we let them have the freedom to explore, and they have led us to some amazing places.  And we always bring along a camera, as you never know when the next curve in the trail will lead you to a peaceful spot, that will stun you with it's beauty or touch your heart.

Devil's Hopyard State Park

We also wanted to remind everyone that Saturday, June 3rd, is National Trails Day.  What is that?  It's a day to celebrate all our wonderful National Park Trailways.  We have some beautiful hiking trails here in New England, and all across this country.  There is something so relaxing about exploring a trail, you could almost forget that you are also exercising!  So we would like to encourage everyone to get outside on June 3rd and take a hike or walk.  You do not have to live in the United States to participate, all you have to do is step outside, and put one foot in front of the other!  We realize that June 3rd is a couple weeks away, but we want to encourage people not to wait, and to start hiking now, there is no better time than the present!

Gillette State Park

So do you have any hikes planned?  Do you have a favorite park?  Please share your hikes on June 3rd!  

Fort Nathan Hale, a revolutionary war fort

The woods are dark and deep...

Saturday, June 7th, is National Trails Day.  What is that?  It's a day to celebrate all our wonderful National Park Trailways.  We have some beautiful hiking trails here in New England, and all across this country.  There is something so relaxing about exploring a trail, you could almost forget that you are also exercising!  So we would like to encourage everyone to get outside on June 7th and take a hike or walk.  You do not have to live in the United States to participate, all you have to do is step outside, and put one foot in front of the other!  We realize that June 7th is a long way off, but we want to encourage people not to wait, and to start hiking now, there is no better time than the present!

Hiking is an activity that the entire family can enjoy together, even the canine family members love to hike.  Our collies really enjoy hitting our local hiking tails.  In fact, they love it so much, that we began traveling to parks all over our state.  Last Spring we managed to visit six new parks, as well as our local parks, for some beautiful and scenic hikes.  We discovered waterfalls, covered bridges, light houses, wild flowers and peaceful woods.

The hot Summer weather shortened our hikes, but the return of the cooler temperatures in the Fall had us once again hitting the trails.  It's currently Winter, here in New England, so for safety reasons we have been sticking to our local park, with it's familar trails.  But we are all eagerly waiting for Spring, so we can set out to discover new parks that we can explore and enjoy.

Did you know that hiking can be one of the best ways to bond with your dogs?  And sharing the adventure of hiking a new trail is beneficial to you both!  So much of the destructive behavior a dog exhibits is due to a lack of exercise.  Even excessive barking can be the result of boredom and too much pent up energy.  You can leave your home whenever you choose, your dogs are stuck in the house or yard until you decide to take them for a walk or car ride.  By hiking with your dogs, you give them a chance to experience new smells and terrain, getting them off concrete sidewalks and giving them the opportunity to feel some dirt and grass beneath their paws.  This is exciting for them, and it tires them out.  Remember, a tired dog is a good dog!

We spend so much of our lives working and rushing around.  Our schedules are packed full of events, and jobs to do.  We lead very stressful lives, and spending a few quiet hours outside, enjoying the peace and tranquility found in nature, can lower our blood pressure and improve our moods.  And a good hike will help to keep you fit and healthy.  But you aren't the only one who needs exericse to remain strong and healthy, your dogs need it too!  Hiking with your dogs on a regular basis will keep them healthy, which can help to extend their lives!

But there is more than just the health benefits to be considered.  Completing a challenging hike can fill you with pride, and it's fun.  There are no demands on your time on the trail, you can wander and explore to your heart's content.  Many times we let our dogs choose which trail we will follow, we let them have the freedom to explore, and they have led us to some amazing places.  And we always bring along a camera, as you never know when the next curve in the trail will lead you to a peaceful spot, that will stun you with it's beauty or touch your heart.

So who will join us on June 7th, and find a trail to explore with your best friends?  Come on, the trail is waiting for you!

A Fall hike with the collies...

Sunday was another beautiful Fall day here in New England. So my daughter and I grabbed the collies and we headed to the small state park in our town. As usual, we had the entire park to ourselves, so it was peaceful and we were able to enjoy our hike undisturbed!

 

Another Park Day visit!

Yesterday was overcast, with occasional rain showers.  I don't like the rain, but I still wanted to visit one more park, before Memorial Day, because soon the parks will be crowded.  So I told Mom to grab her camera, and we headed out.


 

Here I am at the entrance to Wadsworth Falls State Park!




 

Mom wasn't holding the camera straight, but I looked so cute in this one I had to share!

 

Here Mom, aren't the Falls prettier now that I am in front of them?

It was a nice trip, even though it took an hour to get to the park.  What's the longest you have traveled for a hike?

Sunday's hike and our first Blogiversary!

On Sunday we visited Fort Hale State Park.  This park is about 10 minutes from our house, and is a very small park.  This park is rich in American history, and was the site of one of the battles of the American Revolution!  The Fort was part of the Battle of New Haven, and 18 soldiers manned the cannons to help fight against the British troops that were invading both East Haven and New Haven.  The American soldiers eventually ran out of ammunition and were captured by the British.  The Fort, originally called Black Rock Fort, has been rebuilt, because it was destroyed in the Hurricane of 1938, and through years of neglect.  But the bunkers, where the soliders lived, are still standing.  They were built to hold the entire garrison, and covered with dirt and sod.  During the Civil War, the Bunkers were reinforced, in case of bombing from Southern troops.

By the time we arrived at the park, in the late afternoon, it was already closed. But we didn't let that stop us, because collies are intrepid explorers! We parked at the nearby beach parking lot, and then hiked along the beach to reach the park.

 

 

 

 

Up until 15 years ago, visitors were allowed free access to the bunkers, they are now gated shut. This is because of the risk of them collapsing, but also because local teenagers were partying inside the bunkers at night.

Here we are, pretending to be on the lookout for British troops!



"One if by Land, Two if by sea!"

It was an interesting park, and we enjoyed exploring all the Bunkers.  They reminded us of caves, and had the same damp, earthy smell.  We wanted to stay a while longer, and pretend we were actually wolves, and the bunkers were our homes.  But the humans didn't want to play, so we had to end our game.  After we were done taking our Mom and Sister on a tour of Fort Hale, we decided it would be a nice evening to have a picnic on the beach.  Our humans get hungy when we take them hiking!  (Plus, we needed a picture of people on a picnic for Parkday 2.0!  So two birds, one stone!)

How did you spend your Sunday?  Did you take your dogs hiking?  Did you get outside and enjoy some sunshine?  And we also wanted to let everyone know that today is our 1 year Blogiversary!  Thank you for reading our blog!