Doggie Science

Lake Superior is not frozen solid yet as Jack learned this weekend on a walk down the beach at Eagle River. Don't worry, we stayed on the very edge where just a few inches of water were under our feet (paws).

After the third dip-of-the-paw into ice cold water Jack started to notice that odd cracking sound just before his paws got wet and figured out to stay on the larger icebergs or up on the snow covered sand.

The world is just one big science experiment. I'm so proud Jack is such a quick study.

Jack's Summer Vacation

Admittedly, every day is a vacation for Jack, but this summer we all enjoyed playing tourist with visiting friends. The Keweenaw is such a great place to while away a summer day, even if you aren't a pampered hound dog.

Here, Jack enhances the view from the top of Brockway Mountain. If I had not been so intent on capturing his mug (and getting both my daughter and her friend in the photo) you would be able to see Lake Superior stretching out, seemingly forever, beyond the tree line in the background. This is a favorite spot to bring visitors because you get such spectactular views of the lake and surrounding countryside. On a clear day you can even glimpse Isle Royale in the distance. There is also a very nice gift and book shop on the spot which Jack did not visit, but our friends did. (I suspect there will be some northern Michigan books and crafts under some Christmas trees in New Jersey this December.)

Another favored spot for tourists, and now hounds as well, is the boat ride to Copper Harbor Lighthouse. We were really surprised when we arrived with Jack and the very laid-back Captain and the patient and accommodating passengers welcomed him on board the tiny lighthouse keeper's boat used to ferry visits from the mainland to the point. Jack LOVED it. Wind in your face. Spray up your nose. Kids fawning over him. New paths to snuffle along. For those of you more interested in history than rabbit trails it is a fun and educational two hour expedition. Be sure to bring a jacket. Rain gear provided by the captain for those of us "voluneered" to sit in the back of the boat.

Jack at the Big Lake

Finally, the end of May and it is just warm enough for me to leave the woods and walk along the shore of Lake Superior again. For Jack the sand and waves were a novelty and the drift wood was too large for his usual grab-and-run-with-the-stick game, but the sniffing was glorious. He barely got his nose up off the sand.

For this walk we went by car along 5-Mile-Point Road to the beach at Eagle River. Jack and I walked this beach back in January when there was so much snow and ice you couldn't see where the road ended, the beach began and the lake met the beach (see the bottom photo taken in January of the same beach). Unnerving if you don't want to find yourself on ice that might give way under foot (at this point any long-time residents of the Keweenaw feel free to laugh at my timidity, but really, frozen waves are a daunting sight!).

I don't know if it was the temperature of the water or the movement of the waves, but there was no swimming for Jack today. As things warm up maybe he will take to chasing the waves and swimming in the big lake instead of scaring the turtles in our little pond near home.