A great place for a run

The meet and greet

Snow and sand and Frisbee, what could be better?

Emma poses on the boardwalk

Trip to the Beach

What better place to be in the middle of a snow-filled winter than at the beach. I guess it isn't quite the same in cold Connecticut as it would be at a warm weather beach in the Caribbean or other locale, but it is fun just the same. Last Sunday, we had reason to be down by the shore, so we made an afternoon of it and took a pleasant walk along the strip of sand at Hammonasset State Park, one of our favorite beaches to walk in the off-season. In summer, dogs are not allowed on the beach or the boardwalk, but after the park closes for the season it is fair game for people and their pets. The beach was quite populated with walkers out to enjoy a day with no snow in the air. It's been quite a winter here, as I've said, and how nice it was to be able to get out and enjoy some time by the sea. A little Frisbee in the sand, a chance to meet some new dogs, and a good long shore walk was what the doctor called for on one of the last days of a very frigid January.

Salt marsh at Hammanasset State Park

Emma beats the wave!

Will gets the stick before the wave gets him

Will and Emma run the rock pier (or is that one dog with two heads?)

Favorite pastime: chasing the stick

Emma scans for birds

Beach toys, even in winter

More Winter Fun

Where there's a beach, there can be fun! It doesn't matter if it's winter, if there's snow somewhere on the ground, as long as it isn't too cold. The good thing about living in CT is that you're not far from just about any type of activity or terrain that you want. We live just in the north central part of the state, which means we are about an hour away from the closest sandy shoreline. Our favorite place to go is Hammanasset State Park, where you can walk the boardwalk or the trails, and can get onto the beach with dogs, but only if it's almost deserted like it is at this time of year. Actually, on a sunny day in the winter, there's a surprising number of people that head to the shore. Maybe we are all ready for summer, or just have cabin fever and can hardly wait till summer to get out to enjoy the sun and sand.

Our border collies just love the beach. They run along the sand, but try to stay away from the breaking waves. Jim tried to get them close to the water by throwing their stick just into the edge of the wave and they would creep up as far as they had to to get the stick. Emma was the bravest. Will was reluctant to get involved, but did finally creep in to capture the stick. They much preferred to run the sandy beach, and then along the giant rocky pier built out into the water. The waves didn't bother them there, because they were well above them.

One thing, though, we've noticed that Will has been scratching himself pretty seriously since our trip to the beach. We're not sure if he got bit, or got sand fleas (we can't see anything), or maybe got into something else. Emma isn't bothered by it, so we don't know if it's from the beach or just dry skin. Border collies apparently have dry skin, so maybe we should try giving him something to treat that.

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

Walk on the beach at Hammanassett State Park

Happy pups after a walk at the beach

Winter walk on the beach

Another weekend, another new adventure for the puppies! Today was just a beautiful, sunny winter day, so we took the drive to the shore to take a nice walk along the beach. It’s just over an hour drive from our house in the Hartford area to the shore, and it was the perfect day to do it. We discovered that a lot of other people thought the same thing. The parking lot at Hammanassett Beach was surprisingly full for a mid-February day. Cabin-fever has hit a lot of New Englanders, I think.

Will watching waves!

Will and Emma took to the sand and just loved it. Walking on the sand is much softer on the feet, and they were excited to sniff all the sea leaves and shells and sand that they came across. The water was not of much interest at first, but then when the tide seemed to bring the waves up just a little higher, Will took more notice and wanted to bite the waves as they rolled in. It reminded us of how Tobie loved to run along and ‘herd’ the waves as they rolled on shore. Even when there was nothing more than a ripple, she would watch and wait until the water moved. One of her favorite things to do was to run along the shore, back and forth, chasing the waves.

The puppies got to meet lots of new dogs and new people. They really are friendly puppies, and most people who have dogs don’t mind meeting new puppies, or letting their dogs meet and greet (which means sniffing out each other!) It was fun for them, they met all sizes of dogs from the littlest fluffy dog to the biggest Bernese Mountain dog and lots in between. Nothing seemed to phase them.