Summer day trip
Destination: Long Island

What's out there?

Enjoying the ferry ride to Long Island

Summer weather is finally here and we wanted to take advantage of it. We decided on a day trip to a different destination. We decided to take the ferry to Long Island, since we had never been there, and wondered just what was on the other side of the water that we so often see, known as Long Island Sound. We boarded the ferry at Bridgeport, about an hour and fifteen minutes southwest of where we live. We reserved tickets the day before, to make sure we could get on, but there was lots of room. I think people are just not traveling as much as they normally would this summer, with the weather and also the tough economy. We made sure that we could take the dogs with us up above instead of leaving them in the car down below. I’m sure that would have been a little too scary for them, with all the noise of the engine, and the possibility of being too hot if left in the car.
The ferry ride was a great adventure for both Will and Emma. After the initial fright of the engine noise, they quickly grew accustomed to it and had fun up top. They both found little spaces in the railing to stick their nose out to smell the sea air over the Sound. I’m sure that Emma was on the lookout for any birds that flew by, not that she could do anything about them. Will got to meet a little puppy that wanted to play as much as he did. They had a little fun together for a while, but settled down to just enjoy the beautiful day at sea.
We landed at Port Jefferson on Long Island, about one third of the way along the peninsula. We got our bearings, and got some advice from a clerk at a store where I bought a map of Long Island and headed out. Our journey took us to the north fork, where we planned to catch a different ferry back to New London in Connecticut. We could have chosen to go to the south fork to visit the famed Hamptons, but didn’t think we could do both sides in one day, and wanted to do more than just ride in the car. There really is so much to see, so maybe we’ll just have to go back one day.
As we drove east, we could see the landscape change from a busy residential and commercial area to a more relaxed rural setting, complete with farms, beaches, parks, and loads of wineries. We stopped at one of the first wineries we came to hoping to find lunch as well as a taste of wine, but they didn’t serve food. The very friendly staff helped us find a good lunch, though, a little further along the north fork, right beside another winery, Peconic Bay Winery. Lunch was right next door to the winery, at a little take-out seafood place that also sold fresh local seafood in an attached store. We wondered through the winery next door, and then headed along the road east. Next stop was at a lavender farm, where they were just harvesting this years crop. Half the field was still beautiful purple blue of lavender, with the scent wafting through the air. We walked around the field and down the street to enjoy the scent and give the puppies some exercise. They really enjoyed getting out at every stop we made. They really are good travelling dogs and love to meet new people and dogs.
Our ferry ride back to Connecticut was a breeze - they were pretty experienced by then and loved the breezes up on the top deck. Another dog to meet, more people to greet, and the wind in their noses stuck between the railing. What more could two dogs want?

Lavender and blue hydrangea everywhere

Still picking lavender

Emma enjoys the view

Will watches the water

Will makes a friend

Let get that frisbee!

Will gets it, as usual

A bit of frisbee play

We have been pretty busy this summer doing lots of things outside when it’s not raining. They still love to ‘frisbee’ but since it’s been so wet we haven’t taken them to the ball park to play too much lately. Here’s just a couple of photos of our frisbee puppies from earlier in the summer.

Will chases the sheep at first

Testing aptitude with real sheep

Border collies are historically sheep herders and we have been very interested to find out how our young puppies would be if put on sheep. Jim has been in contact with Bev Lambert, a woman in Connecticut who raises border collies and actively competes nationally and internationally in herding trials. She advised that the pups should not be exposed to sheep at all until they are 8 months of age, so as soon as they reached that age, Jim scheduled some time with her to assess their aptitude on sheep. So a couple of weeks ago, we made the hour long trek to a small farming town in the ‘quiet corner’ of Connecticut to see what we would see.
Bev has a small farm where she keeps a small flock of sheep, apparently so she can train her herding dogs. Her main dog, Merck, accompanied all of us to the enclosed pen where she separated five of her sheep for the puppies to be tested on. Will went into the pen with Bev and Jim and the five sheep. Immediately, he started to run after the little flock of five, who ran around the inside perimeter of the pen. Bev was quiet and watched carefully, since I’m sure she didn’t want him to harm the sheep, but she let him run at will. After a few minutes of chase, he did slow down, watch the sheep, and walked after them rather than running. One of the sheep broke away from the others, and Will did what comes naturally. He went after that stray sheep and brought it back to the pack. Bev was watching for his tail movement. At first Will’s tail was up, in a playful position. After he got a little more serious, though, his tail dropped down, in the working position. Bev did think Will had the instinct.

Will gets the idea while Merck watches

Merck is in and Will still watches the sheep

After several minutes, Will came out to stand with me, while Emma was brought into the pen with the sheep. As is her nature, she immediately went into high speed and chased the sheep around the pen. She trapped them into one side, and proceeded to bark at them, and scared them so that Bev did not want to leave her in the pen with them for much time. She had her own dog, Merck, in the pen at the same time, and he was able to keep the sheep at bay, while Emma was let out. Bev’s opinion of our little Emma was that she was afraid of the sheep, and I’m sure this is why she didn’t want to leave her in the pen too long. I would bet also that she didn’t want her sheep any more scared of the yappy little dog either. Emma on the run

Bev’s final assessment was that Will had some instinct, but that she thought that Emma was afraid of the sheep. She ended up saying that we could try them again in about a month, if we were serious about this, thinking they might still be a little young for a true assessment. And her final word was that we might consider doing agility with them.

Watching the boats in the misty morning
I'm here, says Emma

Will wants in the water, and Emma says 'No way I'm going in there!'

Not beach weather, but who cares?

What is summer without the beach? A couple of weeks ago, we were dying for a bit of summer weather and the activities that go along with it, so we went to find a beach. We ended up at Watch Hill in Rhode Island, which is just about an hour or so from our home in Connecticut. It was a pretty misty and cool day for mid-June, which turned out to be in our favor. We found a great beach that was just out past the yacht club in the main harbor in Watch Hill. On a bright, sunny day it would have been filled with people swimming and sunning, but since it was more like a day in early May, we had most of it to ourselves. We had a great long walk along the shore, and could let the puppies off their leashes for the walk.

As it turned out, Will absolutely loves the water, and went running through the shallow water near the shore. Emma, on the other hand, wouldn’t even set foot in the water! She walked along the edge, and loved to be close, but sure didn’t want to get her feet wet, despite all of Will’s antics to get her to come in. He would crouch down, and run along, and bark (as usual), but to no avail. Emma would not enter the water. Maybe next time. We’ll have to give it another try again sometime.

Come on in!

Will loves the water!

And also loves digging! Where'd that water come from?

Since we had some time that day, and were out exploring, we stopped at the Harkness State Park in Waterford, Connecticut, on the way home. It is one of those estates from the guilded age that was left to the state and it's beautiful grounds have become a state park. There is a home that is used for weddings and other functions but what I wanted to see was the attached gardens that were designed by Beatrix Ferrand, a landscape designer from the early 20th century. The gardens are just beautiful and there were a lot of plants in bloom. The grounds also include acres of cut lawn where you can sit and enjoy the peaceful waters of Long Island Sound. By the time we got to Harkness, the mist had cleared and the sky was a crisp, pure blue. We could have sat there forever looking out over the waters!

Enjoying the sun and scenery with my puppies
Pretty place: Gardens at Harkness State Park

Cajun, the old man

All gather around the karst opening

Beautiful wild flowers, beautiful day

Pals forever!

Jim and Aaron follow the trail & the dogs

Trail walk at Eramosa Karst in Hamilton, Ontario

This is a pretty trail that just opened up in the fall of 2008 and we've made good use of it since my son, Aaron, discovered it. It's a pretty level walk through a wooded area and then across a nice meadow which changes entirely with each season. Right now, there are lovely wildflowers blooming all over, reminding me of the meadows and hills that Monet used for inspiration for planting his own gardens in France. Pretty colors in perfect combinations created by nature. Blues and yellows, blues and whites with pink clover, blue with the deep almost fuscia pink of tiny wildflowers... very pretty.

The puppies weren't looking at the flowers as I was, but were enjoying a bit of freedom as we can let them run free on trails like these. We've just started to feel comfortable enough with their recall that we are allowing them a bit of freedom on our walks, depending where we are. This trail was the first one that we let them free, so it's a joy for them and also for us. They run a few feet ahead, but turn and come back on their own or when we call. It's quite nice that they are getting older and more responsible!

Check out the details of the Conservation Area at these websites:

http://www.foundation.conservationhamilton.ca/about/conserv_areas/eramosakarst.asp

http://www.conservationhamilton.ca/parks/visit/eramosa.asp

(this one tells you what a karst is!)

Cooperation!

Frisbee Puppies
A few weeks ago, we started throwing the frisbee for the puppies and have discovered a new talent! Will caught on right away, which isn’t surprising since he’s always been the one that likes to retrieve things. Emma was a lot more reluctant to get involved in the chase and retrieval, especially since Big Will likes to race out ahead of her and grab it first. But she’s more interested in the game now, and joins right in to chase it down. She’s best when it’s just one on one with her, though.

We take them to the ball park at Town Park, where we’ve gotten into an almost daily morning routine to let them run. Now it’s morning frisbee: chase, catch and retrieve. Will is really a natural. He loves to run it down, and has a really good sense of timing. He knows when the disk is going to drop, or reverse slightly and will time his run and jump for the big catch. He’s started to jump for it too, but we’re trying not to let it go too high for now, since he’s still only 8 months old and not as fully developed and strong as he will be. He always beats Emma to the catch! But then she will catch up and the two of them join in to bring the frisbee back for another throw.

Ready to pounce for the catch!

I'll get it!

Will catching the frisbee

A little jump

I got it!

Emma helps to bring it back