Advil, take me away...

After three walks with Kaylee today, I suspect it'll take a crane and/or a forklift to get me upright and ambulatory tomorrow morning. The dog in question is currently stretched out on my parents' bed, dead to the world, a spot she's occupied for at least the last 90 minutes. Even refilling her food bowl had no effect, so you know we're talking some serious tired there.

When we returned home from our first walk this morning it was still pretty chilly out. Most of the trees in the yard were covered in hoar frost and the sun had just cleared the mountains; these two shots are of my parents' apple trees as the light caught the frost on the branches:





During our second walk, I heard and was lucky enough to spot a pileated woodpecker. Better still, thanks to the wonder that is digital zoom I also managed to get a decent picture of it:



And finally, a couple of Kaylee images. Mom and Dad told me that lately Kaylee had taken up the habit of nudging them in the back of the leg on their way home from walks in order to make sure they gave her whatever remained of the cookies they'd brought along. Today I experienced it firsthand—and she is very persistent. If you're walking, she's bumping you constantly. If you stop, she sits and awaits your next move; during one of those pauses, all I had to do was turn to my left to get this photo:



And finally, the girl herself, fresh from dispatching yet another fearsome tree branch: