The Herd's fame continues to spread

May 252008
 

When I got the call that the Herd had been pictured in the local paper, I was a little stunned to discover it was not in the arrest section or with Wanted above the picture. Nope. My local paper, The Mountaineer, ran an article about the local animal rescue’s fundraiser.  Sarge’s Animal Rescue Fund has an Annual Downtown Dog Walk – this year on Saturday, August 9.  The Herd apparently captured the eye of a photographer.

Herd at Sarge\'s Walk

That would be Kiska back in the far left and Qannik beside her.  Kodiak is back on the far right.  Rusty is on the left in the front and, of course, Queen Natasha prominently on the front right.  Never camera shy, is she?

If you are in the area on August 9, please come for the fundraiser.  Sarge’s does a great job and deserves the support.  The Herd will certainly be there.  Get your application by clicking here.

Slumber Party

May 222008
 

See anything wrong with this picture?

Tartok

No, the large black and white guy is not an addition.  That is Tartok, my mother’s Siberian.  She is out of town for the weekend and we are keeping him for a day and night so that he does not have to be kenneled.

Now the first rule of thumb for Siberians is very simple – A Tired Sibe is a Good Sibe.  So we went hiking – a lot.  Here is a brief glimpse of what we did.

And we certainly started wearing the boy out. Here he is at the top of Frying Pan Mountain and you can see the tongue hanging out.

Tartok

All in all, I think we can claim we succeeded:

Tartok ASleep

Herd Asleep

When we got back home, Kodiak and Tartok wrestled for another hour or so, but then were ready for bed.  But, while Tartok had fun on his slumber party, he was a very happy boy Monday morning to go back to his own home and a little peace and quiet.

 

Sam Knob

May 182008
 

Out hiking for the day, so we hit a couple of trails.  One was Sam Knob.  If you remember from previous pictures, here is Sam Knob (the larger knob on the right) as seen from Devil’s Courthouse.

Sam Knob

From the start of the hike, you can not see the knob, but later you come out to a meadow (at about 5500 feet) and can see across the meadow to the Knob itself.

Sam Knob meadow

Great views from the 6040′ peak, but my favorite is looking back over to Devil’s Courthouse.  Kind of full circle since the first picture in this post is from the Devil over.

Devil\'s Courthouse

This is looking about West North West and you can see that the trees are starting to green up in the valley.

From Sam Knob

Back to the parking area for a little resting and water.  Remember the hiking goal is “A Tired Sibe is a Good Sibe.”  They slept all the way home.  In order, Natasha, Qannik, Rusty, Kodiak and Kiska (who was taking Stormy’s lessons on how not to pose for pictures).

Natasha

Qannik

Rusty

Kodiak

Kiska

Nakita update

May 132008
 

Our vet called today to let us know that Nakita is going back home.

If you remember, Nakita was the 2 year old female who had pulled her elderly owner down and given him a concussion.  My vet had introduced me to her last week in the chance that I might be willing to give Nakita a home (her owner having doubts about whether he could control her).  The owner’s son called the vet and said that he felt like his dad would recover better with Nakita in the house, so, for now, Nakita was going back home to meet her owner as he leaves the hospital.

While part of me is relieved (I really was not looking to add to the Herd) and happy (great that Nakita and owner will be reunited and Nakita will be leaving her kennel), I must admit a little part of me is disappointed that cute little Nakita is not coming to join the Herd.  Will keep checking in to make sure owner and Nakita are adjusting to a gentler walk.

Is it spring yet?

May 122008
 

As I mentioned in my Saturday post, we found some small patches of snow when out hiking over the weekend.

Last night, some pretty strong storms rolled through the area and the temperatures started dropping.  At about 9 pm, the temperature was 38 degrees and the wind was a steady 30 mph – chilly weather.

This morning, I get up at the crack of dawn (the dogs got up, went out, and went back to bed – the disloyal rascals) and threw some things in the car.  Ow – that stung.  What is that?  Oh, sleet!  Sleet?  It’s May 12!

Can someone please tell me when spring arrives?

Queen Natasha demands breakfast

May 112008
 

All I ask for in the morning is a few minutes to wake up. Get up, toss the dogs outside, and wait until the howling and singing becomes too loud to ignore before I go feed them breakfast. But this upsets her highness, Queen Natasha the Evil.  From the middle window, she can stare up the steps into the kitchen area.  Look at all of the concentration she is using to send the Siberian Mind Meld Message – “I am starving.  Feed me now.  I am starving.  Feed me now.”

Siberian Mind Meld

Sadly, it worked.

Snow in May / Nakita Part II

May 102008
 

Rainy and chilly a couple of times this week, but certainly not wintry – at least I thought.  We went out this morning for a quick hike on Waterrock Knob (the closest Parkway trail to the house) prior to meeting some friends in Waynesville.  Much to our surprise, there were patches of snow along the side of the road right at the top.  When did that happen?  Was not there last week.  I do love the weather up here!

And we went to see Nakita (the dog who pulled her owner down and gave him a concussion) again today.  Took her out for a walk in downtown Waynesville (not on Main – too many people out for a pretty day!) and to let her meet the Herd.  

First up was Natasha.  The Queen gave her quick growl, Nakita appropriately deferred, and all was well.

Nakita and Kiska, however, grumbled a few times at each other.  Not sure if they would match or conflict yet.

The boys, of course, were just enamored with another girl in the pack, so they were fine.

And poor Nakita does not know how to walk on a leash.  Pulls and tugs everywhere.  We were each walking three dogs, so I handed off the two of the Herd I had (Natasha and Kiska), and worked for a couple of minutes with just Nakita.  Within a minute or two, I had her walking on a loose leash.  She really wants to please, but just has not been taught.

Stay tuned, but she is not with us yet (though she really did not want to go back).  Her owner has not yet surrendered her and is still in the hospital.  As cute as Nakita is, I expect he will want to try to keep her.

Rusty and The Vet

May 092008
 

Nothing wrong – just a check up – but Rusty got to go to the vet today.  Here is Rusty surrounded by Kodiak and Natasha.

Rusty, Kodiak and Natasha

First challenge is that the Rooster (aka Rusty) does not like being by himself.  Oh, he is fine sleeping in his own spot or even staying in bed when everyone else is up, but not actually being alone.  So when I first got him out the dog lot, he thought it was special until he realized we were traveling alone.  Oh no!

Still he did well and we got to the vet.  The visit went very quickly, all tests were normal, and the boy was pronounced healthy.  Shedding like crazy, but healthy.

Minor twist in the day.  I was invited to meet Nikita (or was it Nakita).  She is a small two year old female – black and white with one blue and one brown eye and probably 42-45 pounds.  My favorite vet tech (who is a Sibe lover and owner) set me up.  And my vet was right in the middle of it.  

Nakita’s story is that her owner – her second owner already – is an older gentleman who loves her dearly.  Unfortunately, Nakita got rambunctious and pulled him down giving him a concussion and hospitalizing him.  Apparently, as much as he loves her, he is afraid a young Sibe may be too much to handle.  Thus, they wanted to see if I might be interested.  For the record, she is not yet available (the gentleman is still deciding), but my vet was paving the way.

And Nakita?  The rascal ran and jumped into my arms and licked my face.  Flag on the play.  Unnecessary cuteness.

But no I do not need another Sibe and I am sure he will change his mind and keep her.  Right?

Stay tuned.

Sunday Travels – Part 3

May 082008
 

Continued from yesterday . . . 

Finished with the Devil, we move on down the road to Richland Balsam.  As I have mentioned before, this is a great little hike primarily because so few people hike it.  I rarely run into others on the trail and the dogs love all of closeness of the trails (i.e., far more to sniff at that is not all about people).

Toward the end of the trail is a section to sit and enjoy the long range views.  It is above another parking area on the Blue Ridge Parkway which is very crowded in the summer (because it is the highest point that the road itself reaches).  Here is a picture of Rusty enjoying the view:

Richland Balsam #1

And Kiska doing her sniffing the air move.  She is probably honing in on some wildlife that I never knew was there.

Kiska at Richland Balsam

And Rusty in his usual happy go lucky moments.

Rusty at Richland

And Qannik saying he is tired and just wants to nap for a few minutes please.

Qannik at Richland

And at the end of the day, everyone is loaded back in the jeep for the ride home.  My mission is accomplished – a Tired Sibe is a Good Sibe (and Kiska is clearly being a good, sleepy Sibe).  Believe it or not, she was the last one loaded into the Jeep and the first one asleep.

Herd at Richland

Sunday Travels – Part 2

May 072008
 

Continued from yesterday’s post . . .

After a quiet lunch and a couple of errands, we headed up toward’s Devil’s Courthouse (named by the Cherokee because a cave in the mountain is where Judaculla, a fierce giant who ruled the Balsam Mountain area, held court. Note that the next hike I will talk about, Richland Balsam, is where Judaculla lived. So we spent our Sunday afternoon in Judaculla’s territory). But before we got there, we stopped at one of the hundreds of waterfalls in the area. Nothing like the sound of water crashing down the slopes.

Waterfall

But on up the road to the Devil.  There are a couple of ways up to the top, but we took the shorter, more tourist way this time.  When the summer crowds build, we will take the longer, but more quiet, trail.  Fortunately, today, we had it mostly to ourselves.  But first, a good picture of Devil’s Courthouse:

Devil\'s Courthouse

From the top, that rock outcropping is pretty impressive.  Here is a picture from the top looking down over the rocks.  Sat up here one day last fall watching a film crew getting some shots of rappelling, but I never did figure out what the filming was used in.

Top of Devil\'s

From the top, you have a close to 360 degree view.  This is looking due North and the largest knob you see is Sam Knob.  That is also a great hike, but we are saving it for another day.  By the way, you are also looking in the same direction as Cold Mountain – yes, the one the movie and book are about.  The funny part is that the only way to it is by foot and for several hours, so you actually see relatively little advertising for it despite the name recognition.  That, and we couldn’t figure out how you film a movie about a place without actually using that place.  Oh well.

Sam Knob

The dogs, for the most part, just said it was getting warm.  Here they are trying to find some shade for a few minutes.  Kiska furry behind to the left, Kodiak in the back, Qannik against the wall, and Natasha sitting with her back to us on the right.

Herd

Final picture of the day.  In the lower part, you will notice how empty the parking lot is this time of year.  Give it a month, and it will be packed.  Of more interest is the mountain rising up in the center of picture, but in the background.  That is Richland Balsam – our next and final stop for the day.  Pictures from there tomorrow.  In the meantime, feel free to go read about Kisk’a adventure at Richland Balsam last summer during the Rain Storm.

Richland Balsam

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