March

March seems intent on making up for the other winter months in terms of snowfall. It has made for marvelous scenery when out hiking. As I write this it is still snowing after having cleared about 6 inches off the sidewalk and drive this morning.

This last pair of images was a six mile hike along stretches of the Lower Pack river just before it reaches Lake Pend Oreille. Soft crunchy snow made the walk a joy with intermittent snow flurries and patches of blue sky. I did not bring my camera so had to be happy with some quick phone snaps.

We met an interesting gentleman with his dog Daisy. The man had lost his wife to cancer a couple of years ago and though Vicki and I were keen to start back to the car we sensed he wanted a conversation so we hung out and chatted in a snowy meadow.

He explained how he and his wife were interested in Daisy at the local shelter. The day his wife died the shelter called and said the dog was ready to be picked up. The dog’s original name was the same as his wife’s so they changed it to Daisy. These kinds of synchronicities were not lost on him and he obviously adores the dog. It must be difficult to lose a life partner so late in life and a dog is always a balm for loneliness.

The dog was rescued in the desert in Nevada where it had been taken in by coyotes. It took some time to adjust to living with humans but she was a happy and healthy well-adjusted animal. Still the dog had a strange air to it. Friendly but a business-like stand-off-ishness with both us and Mollie. It was content to sit in the snow alertly watching the tree-line as if she expected trouble.