Deep Kirk Nine

Louie's away at his two-week training camp now- we really miss him, but the trainer has sent us a few videos, and he's making great progress already.

Meanwhile here's an old clip of Louie as a cute little pup, finding a stick to chew on.
#dogsofbluesky #chewylouie

A clump of yellow crocus flowers emerge from the ground amid a light dusting of fresh snow.

A garden space covered with an inch of fresh snow.

An Anna's hummingbird in mid-flight approaches the feeder this morning. Foothills in the background are thinly covered in fresh snow.

We finally got a little snow the last 2 days, but not nearly enough to make a dent in the serious snow drought here. This region depends on snowpack for everything- agriculture, hydropower, recreation tourism, water supplies, fisheries, forest health and wildfire suppression. More snow please 🙏

Thanks, the trainer said we're spoiling him, though she didn't put it in those exact words, so this will be a big culture shock for him. 'Welcome to the real world hippie!' 😜

Thank you, I love this kind of stuff, it's very calming.

Black and white dog Louie has jumped up onto the back of the dark blue couch, and is looking up with his usual bratty expression, thinking about what kind of mischief he can get into next.

Here's Louie destroying the couch as usual. We just dropped him off for a 2-week intensive collar-training program b/c he still jumps up on people way too much and chokes himself straining on the leash, and we hope this training will help with that. But we miss him so much already! 😭😭
#dogsofbluesky

Some more of the many natural textures to be seen on the Pacific Coast, Olympic NP WA (5/5)

-Eroded and polished conglomerate rock
-A big pile of driftwood logs and sticks
-Conglomerate rock face with multi-colored layers
-A stripped Alder log with deep red color

#beach #texture #pnw

Some of the many natural textures to be seen on the Pacific Coast, Olympic NP WA (4/5)

-Thin surf foam on a gravel beach
-Eroded log embedded in the pebbly beach
-Pattern left on silty sand from a receding wave
-Barnacles clinging to a rock

#beach #texture #pnw

Some of the many natural textures to be seen on the Pacific Coast, Olympic NP WA (3/5)

-Eroded conglomerate rock
-Flotsam with rope and kelp
-Polished beach pebbles
-Tilted layered sandstone

#beach #texture #pnw

Some of the many natural textures to be seen on the Pacific Coast, Olympic NP WA (2/5)

-Some flotsam with rope and float
-A Fir tree stripped of its bark and dusted with pebbles
-Sandstone rock eroded and pitted by wind and waves
-Foamy stream flowing over a rock outcrop
#beach #texture #pnw

Some of the many natural textures to be seen on the Pacific Coast, Olympic NP WA (1/5)

-A tiny clam living in a sandstone pocket
-Mossy growth on a rock face
-The thin line between sea and sand
-An Alder log stripped of its bark
#beach #texture #pnw

Black and white dog Louie looking at the camera with sweet brown puppy eyes.

Happy Valentine's day Blue Sky from Louie!
Love is a four-legged word... 💝
#dogsofbluesky

Oh yeah we watched all the NG, DS9, & Voyager episodes when they aired, usually VHS-taped because I worked a lot of evening & night shifts back then. I can hardly watch some of that stuff now, looks pretty cheesy these days I guess 🙄 & a bit cringy sometimes, like the Ferengi

Yo Mark, big thanks for throwing me a like on my pinned photo (the one of the dog pack in the back of the truck)! You were the 1000th like on it, first time I've gotten that many clicks on one of my posts. 🎆 🎇
Only took 14 months 😄

Black and white dog Louie laying across a green corduroy ottoman. He's staring at me and telepathically commanding me to get up from my desk and go play with him outside.

Big Louie barely fits on his little ottoman these days
#dogsofbluesky

Closeup of Louie dog's face with his snout close to the camera. He's staring at me judgingly because I told him we were stopping his beloved peanut butter Kong ball treats for a while.

Big Boop!
Happy Hump Day from chewy Louie
(Look how pink his lips are- we figured out he's been scuffing the fur off his lips by working so hard on the Kong ball stuffed with frozen peanut butter. Gonna take a break from those for a while and see if it grows back.)
#dogsofbluesky

Black and white dog Louie standing in the yard.

I promised Louie he'd get to play in the snow, but we've had none yet this winter, sorry boy ☹️
#dogsofbluesky

That's when I like it best actually, the light is amazing and you might have the whole beach to yourselves. You just need to dress warm- the wind can knock you right over sometimes.

Thanks! It's such an amazing place, I wish we lived closer...

A view up the beach, with rough surf under an overcast sky. In the foreground is a small stream flowing through a rocky gully toward the ocean. A line of footprints crosses the stream and leads to a few beach walkers that can be seen in the distance.

Six sea gulls perch on foamy barnacle-crusted rocks, with rough ocean surf in the background.

Another view up the beach, with a forested hill on the left. A man stands silhouetted on a fallen tree trunk under a dark and mostly cloudy sky.

A final view down the beach, with foamy waves lapping up onto a dark grey shore under an overcast sky.

A few more wintery images from the Pacific coast
Olympic NP 3/3
#scapes 🪶

A view up the rocky beach, framed by straggly weather-beaten pine trees. The surf is rough, cold, and foamy. Some blue sky is showing through the clouds.

Boulders in the surf being pounded by rough waves under a brooding grey sky.

Weather-beaten pine trees and grasses along the ocean shore, with rough surf and overcast sky in the background.

Another view up the rugged beach, with forested cliffs in the background under a mostly cloudy sky.

More scenes from the wild and rugged Pacific coast
Olympic NP WA 2/3
#scapes

Rugged beach scene with dark grey sand, forested hill, and cloudy sky.

A huge old growth tree stump lies in a shallow bay where it has been tossed and polished smooth by years of storms and tides.

Grey and rough ocean waves crash onto a grey beach under an overcast sky.

A wind-beaten leaning pine tree pictured in silhouette against a dark grey sky.

A few images from the Pacific coast, Olympic NP WA 1/3
#scapes

More small shards of driftwood on Kalaloch beach, Olympic NP WA 2/3
#scapes

Walking on the beach near Kalaloch one misty morning, I was charmed by these random small shards of wet driftwood on the sand. Olympic NP WA 1/3
#scapes

He gives me that look, with the big brown puppy-dog eyes, and I just can't stay mad at him. 😆

Sorry I'm actually not that serious of a Star Trek geek, had to look up the Terok Nor reference,,, 😅

Bratty black and white dog Louie hanging over the end of the dark blue sofa. He has his front legs crossed and he's looking up at the camera with a mischievous expression.

He's totally destroying the furniture, but at least he's being cute while he's at it.
#dogsofbluesky

Louie being silly with his big ball
#dogsofbluesky

close-up texture shot of reddish cedar bark partly covered with moss.

Mossy bark on an old-growth Cedar, Hoh rain forest
Olympic NP WA
#forestfriday

a random view into the rain forest, with trees covered in moss and ferns on the ground.

Hoh rain forest, Olympic NP WA
#forestfriday