Summer, Sooki and Five Islands

 Summer has been interesting and it's only early August.

Gardening keeps me busy.

    

Hiking and exploring with Dexter and Sooki runs a close second.

In late June we were out for a walk in the woods and suddenly one of Sooki's hind legs seemed to be causing her great pain.  She couldn't walk home.  Kaitlyn had to pick us up.

Long story short ... she had a torn cruciate ligament.

The surgery was three weeks ago and she is recovering beautifully; my pocket book might take a bit longer to recover, but as I often say, "That's why God invented lines of credit".

To help her atropied leg muscles recover, we take her for lengthening leash walks each week.  We're up to three thirty minute walks a day.   No off leash walks for her for another two months !

Dexter sometimes goes with Sooki on her brief walks.

But most of the time Dexter and I go for off-leash walks together.

   

Exploring with Dexter is made all the more entertaining by his constant habit of climbing on whatever he can find.

Once I knew Sooki was recovering OK, I left her in Kaitlyn's capable hands and headed off on a camping trip that I had booked way back in April.  Five Islands Provincial Park is a beautiful park on the Bay of Fundy up near Parrsboro.  

I set up a mattress in the back of my car so I can sleep on a bed with real sheets and pillows.  The tent goes over the open hatch of the tent.  

There were many different trails for Dexter and I to explore.  This was my first time camping without Sooki and my first time with Dexter.  He turned out to be a good camper and he could out-hike me any day.

   

Before walking on Fundy it's important to know how much time you can spend safely walking on the ocean floor.  With tides over 40 feet you don't want to mess about.

So Dexter and I went for a walk on that floor.

Yeah and THAT happened.  I discovered the hard way that Fundy mud was VERY sucky.  Walking got harder and harder until I literally stepped out of my shoes.  Luckily I had a hiking pole to balance me while I reconciled myself to walking barefoot through the gloop.  BTW getting those shoes out of the mud was not easy.

It really is a magical place.

If you get a chance DO visit this park.