A couple of months ago, Justin, Brody and I decided to get in touch with nature and hit up some nearby hiking trails. Ever since Justin went to visit his brother Josh in Wyoming last year, he has been itching to get out and do some hiking; the trails that we explored definitely weren’t tough and we didn’t see any grizzlies (lucky for the grizzles, Brody was feeling feisty that day), but it was nice to get outside and stretch our legs and admire some really pretty scenery.

We also like hiking along these trails because they are usually pretty empty. It’s a great opportunity to let Brody off of his leash so he can pretend he’s a wild animal (pretend?). He really lets off some steam tearing through the woods and trying to pick up entire fallen trees. He also loves pretending that he’s a model for Outdoor Life Magazine:

What. A. Nerd.

As an aside, I’ve always been a little nervous when it comes to Brody’s “recall”, or a hounds’ willingness to return to their owner when called. Sometimes B$ gets a mind of his own and it takes a few times to call him back to us, but we’ve found that bringing him hiking has really helped out in that department. We stash a bunch of treats in our pockets and while we’re walking to the trails with B on his leash, we’ll say his name reward him with a cookie when he looks at us. Then when he’s running around the wilderness like the primitive dog that he thinks he is, Justin or I will call his name and he’ll come boppin back to get a treat. Since we’re not only calling him back for something bad (like for us to put his leash back on) he starts to associate the command with getting a treat instead of something lame like getting leashed. Everybody wins!

Moving on. There is also a lake off of one of the trails. B had a great time sniffing around but decided to stay dry that day.

Oh man, if only B could read! He would have been off that dock so quickly if he had known that jumping was against the rules.

I think that I should get “good wife” points for not pushing the two of them in, don’t you agree? Something tells me that they wouldn’t have found that quite as funny as me (well, Brody might have – he’s got a sick sense of humor).

You’ll never guess what we saw lurking in the woods on the way back from the pond. It’s one of New England’s most elusive creatures; we were thrilled (and a little scared) to see it, especially since we were so far from civilization. Luckily I had my camera at hand and we were able to get a picture; it’s pretty blurry, but you can definitely make it out. I think that this might be the only time that the creature has been photographed outside in the daylight! Hold onto your boots everyone, this is some pretty heavy stuff:

It’s the GLOW-EYED HOUND! And it’s multicolor! Between this and the gator shot, National Geo is going to be pounding at the door.

By the end of the day B was so pooped that he could hardly stand. We know it’s been a good day when he falls asleep in the car on the way home. Success!