Marvelously Mundane: Meet the Dags

Even though it was pretty darn cold out when I woke up last Sunday morning - below 32 degrees F - I really wanted to get out for a walk. Thanksgiving was a recent memory, and we were just about done polishing off the leftovers, so now was as good a time as any to get back on the exercise wagon...at least for a couple weeks. I figure every step I take is better than not taking any at all. Just like every calorie and carb can add up, so can every step.

Plus, I love this time of year, especially in New England. Brilliant fall foliage of September/October is one thing, but after the leaves have faded and fallen, and the sky turns that ice-white color, there is still beauty to be found here...you just need to take the time to look.

Another reason was The Dags. What, pray tell, are "The Dags", you ask?

Just ask Brad, aka Mickey....

That's a "dag" right there! My husband and I love quoting movies - I swear, we work one into just about every conversation. "Snatch" is one of our (many) favorites. Lots of good quotes in this one, and lots of great characters. Mickey, Boris The Blade, Bullet-Tooth Tony...even a couple shots of Frankie Four Fingers/Benicio Del Toro in his underwear....

Yeah, Benicio-schmenicio. Can we please go now???

That's Martha, the Newfie, on the left, and Merlin, the Great Pyrenees, on the right. I hitched up their leashes and we headed outside. I have to admit, frost means cold, but it's also beautiful - just look at the shrubs across the street...

Do you know that some people have hedges of rosemary? Not in this climate, but this shot made me think of that...wouldn't that be lovely??

Funny, I'm new to blogging and I keep worrying that I'll run out of things to blog about. I mean I am, how do you say? BORING! Yet, see that pile of rocks across the street?

There's a story there...stay tuned...

Anyway, I live on a pretty busy street, but less than a quarter mile away we turn onto a somewhat less busy road. I am still taking my life, as well as the dags' lives, in my hands. We have very few sidewalks, and the average speed limit on this road is probably about 40 mph. At least the scenery is nice.

You miss a lot driving. That's why I enjoy my walks. Here's a shot of a patch of cool moss at the base of a tree...and actually, it is the north side of the tree!

And this was another hidden gem. A tree stump, baby pine and patch of checkerberries.

I love these things - If you tear the leaves they release the aroma of spearmint. They are shiny and green during the spring and summer, but turn reddish this time of year. The frost adds a nice touch, too. Never would have spotted this from a car...at least not if my husband was driving.

As we come upon the pond, this is what we see.

Hehehe.... I'm walking a 130-lb. Great Pyrenees and a 110-lb. Newfoundland. (Insert "No Dumping Joke" here)

This is the pond - it's part pond, part bog/marsh type thing. We see some great wading birds here in the spring and summer. And hawks like you wouldn't believe, mostly Red-Tailed Hawks. None today though - in fact it's eerily/beautifully quiet this morning.

Ah, fungus! Fungus is cool, as long as it's not growing in my shower...

...Not that I would know anything about that.

Here we start up the hill. It's a pretty steep one, but since the road curves so you get the optical illusion that it's a gentle slope. The dogs aren't intimidated. I think this was Martha's first time up this hill, as we've only had her about a month, and she was a real trooper.

This is a side street off of this "hill" road - I remember when this was all woods. Now urban sprawl seems to be catching up to us here. Kind of a shame, but I suppose if I was going to live there I'd have a different point of view. At least they left some trees.

We reached the top of the hill and turned around, and this is what we saw...

That's Mount Wachusett...it's just barely a mountain, really, but it's still a nice view. I predict it will make another appearance in a future blog, as we like to hike there and go to some of the events. I hate skiing, though, so you won't be seeing me on the slopes.

And here's another future blog topic - stone walls. How I love stone walls! And we have oodles of them here in New England. I watched them construct these. Nice work. They cheated, but still, nice work! (I'm such a stone wall snob...)

More crap on the side of the road...man, it's getting colder. I'm losing interest in the flora and fauna, even though I haven't seen much fauna today.

What the....????

Never notice those red blobby things before! They look kinda like clusters of moldy raspberry/burr thingys.

Then I looked up....

...They were all over the place! Kinda giving me the creeps! Now I'm getting a little paranoid....HEY! What are you dags saying??? You're conspiring to leave me here with those red-blobby-berry thingys, aren't you?!