I never noticed the USMC a.k.a. "Jarhead Barracks"
Has Sparky actually swam yet or is he still just wading?
Has Sparky actually swam yet or is he still just wading?
bay days
- Thread starter whippoorbill
- Start date
geezerfinneran
Explorer
He's supposed to be mix of border collie and spitz. Smart! But emotional.
He's a good dog, I'll bet, and I'm sending along a virtual scratch behind the ears - and a real beef chew bone, with a bit of peanut butter on the inside. (Gimmee that bone !)
geezerfinneran
Explorer
Unbelievable ! By coincidence, a friend in Virginia just sent me this !
http://www.dogwork.com/ddsff4/
http://www.dogwork.com/ddsff4/
It is always interesting to see that, but if they stray too far it could prove disastrous. They really are better off being wild.
Guy
geezerfinneran
Explorer
Personally, I think something is seriously wrong with those animals. Just isn't natural...
geezerfinneran
Explorer
Maternal instincts . sense of pack membership, etc. would account for most of it- with human reinforcement filling up the gap.
(Most people find it "cute" when a dog plays with an animal that would otherwise be din-din.)
(Most people find it "cute" when a dog plays with an animal that would otherwise be din-din.)
actually I think this was the original plan,thing got screwed up but will eventually be set right.Lions and lambs,dogs and deer,tooth and claw will pass away.I'm all for laying my hands on an adder and not being harmed
All are nice; the last three are stunning, suitable for dreaming upon . . . . a pleasant escape from busyness into calm. Thank you, Whip!
awesome pic of Uncle Virgil.Would be better if the powerlines were out of there.Looks like the end of the world is behind him.
These are some photos of a rather extraordinary walk Al, I, and our dogs took along the road back to long-abandoned Moore's Beach on the Delaware Bay Sunday evening. The stream in the above picture would be raging by the time we'd returned after dark. We nearly lost the dogs here.
We almost took our truck back to the bay along the road. There were tracks of others that have taken the drive.
One of the things that made this trip extraordinary was the beauty along this road; the scenery around us in the early-evening sun was out of this world.
It's a little more than a mile from where one is best to park out to the bay. This road would look much different in an hour's time.
Moore's Beach.
Time to head back. The tide was already extremely high, and it was still moving in. A storm was approaching as well. By the time we reached the road inland, we saw we were in for some dusk wading. Wow, were we ever.
I will have to tell the story but for now there are errands.I'll be back later to tell "The Rest of the Story"!
The way out was quite uneventful.When we got out there we noticed the tide was very high with the water coming right up to the trash line and four ft breakers.We were going to push east down beach past the big stone steps which were all but under water at this point but the water was already washing over the beach at this point into the marsh behind so we thought better of it in case the tide was still coming in which it turns out it was.We would have been an hour later if we had continued and possibly stranded out there or in much deeper water coming back.
Once we get all the way to the bay we noticed some dark clouds moving in behind us to the northwest and about that time Bill gets a call from his wife that we are in the general path of a thunderstorm.At first I wasn't concerned because it didn't seem to be moving toward us but once we started heading out Bill brought up the subject if I thought this road flooded.I said not often because there is no mud.
When we rounded the next bend there was about 4 inches of water on the road and flowing across fast,hence no mud.I knew this didn't bode well further north where if anything the road was a little lower in elevation since there were not any reeds along it there while we had reed edging at this spot which means a little drier ground.Once we got to the dirt portion of the road what had been big puddle surrounded by salt hay in the road were now indistinguishable as puddles and all we saw stretching before. us was water with occasional grass clumps peeking out.We waded over a mile in knee to thigh deep water the whole time the clouds were getting darker and then streak lightning started to appear.
The full moon was behind us which wasn't helping moderate the tide at all and before us was death awaiting if one should hit the water near us.There were muskrats running all over anything that would get them even an inch out of the water so this did not help ease my concern about the lightening at all.Then as we finally approached the wood line after more then an hour of wading we gradually started getting more and higher patches of high ground which was reassuring but I knew there was a knee deep stream crossing the road right before you come off the marsh onto legitimate high ground right before the first house where we were parked by.This stream was knee deep when we crossed the first time,now it was mid thigh or higher and had standing waves in it and by now it was pitch dark the moon having been covered.
I had a headlamp LED on but it was no help except right at my feet which was just brown water anyway.I was hurrying because of the lightning and knew I was a hundred yards from the truck.Bill and the dogs were right behind me.I waded out into the creek feeling for blacktop drop offs that i knew were there and as I turned to face upstream(actually downstream on an incoming tide) so that the water would not knock me off my feet I suddenly thought about the dogs who were by now exhausted from swimming most of the last mile us two leggeds had waded.As I turned to stop the dogs from blundering in behind me Sophie ( a black Lab) and Buddy followed me into the brink and washed downstream.Bill grabbed Sparky Sophies brother and held him tight.Buddy is a very short Border Collie mix and not much of a swimmer.
All I could see lucklily because I had the headlamp on which really wasn't helping at all to this point because the hugeness of the meadow swallowed the light and it had actually been hard keeping the road and not wandering out into the marsh for lack of light.All i could see was Sophie and Buddy's eyes as they were swept backward at high speed into the marsh.I screamed the DOGS! and threw my waterproof camera case at Bills feet and dove into the rapids,I caught both dogs within 50 ft,the water was maybe chest deep I could feel the bottom as I tried to stand but the water was too fast.I grabbed Sophie by her collar but Buddy had none and my grasps at his hair kept slipping off.I finally got both dogs in body holds and proceeded to try and swim upstream against the flood with long pants,boots and no arms.This was not working good.
I finally managed to drag both dogs up into the mud and about a foot of water and started screaming for Bill to help.He on the other hand had headed for the truck with Sparky because he knew if he let go of him to help there would now be three doges for me to deal with instead of two since Bill is no swimmer.He smartly took Sparky to the truck not to mention he had a cell phone,camera,my stuff and a dog so his hands were full.I managed to crawl out to the road right where I'm standing in the first pic.Buddy got loose when the wind blew my hat off and I grabbed for the hat letting him go.He ran ten feet up the road and would not come back.I was afraid he would make a dash across the stream for Bill and be right back out on the marsh again so i was screaming at him to come to me.This did not work and eventually Bill showed up and had to bodily pick him up since he was so scared he would not move.
I then got Sophie by the collar and headed across the stream to the truck.I lost the bug spray,eye drops and water bottle out of my pockets,they all must have floated away.Bill temporari;y trashed his phone but it is working again and I forgot to mention that right as this all happened and I made my dive after the dogs the storm unleashed.I cam up after diving into the creek to a face full of rain so now besides being dark I had rain all over my glasses and was virtually blind.Upon getting home Sophie shook herself to sleep after drinking two bowls of water and all the next day would not do much of anything.She is only a year and a half old and usually is loaded with energy.If anyone heads out to moores beach be sure to check the tides and the weather.
I never realized the road flooded that bad and it was so nice out i never even thought to check the weather.If we had of tried to drive out there we would have been stuck out there till the tide dropped.This was a very bad experience.Nothing more terrifying then seeing a raging river wash your dog away in the dark with just the light glinting off their eyes wide in fear as they helplessly try to get back to you.Soph being a Lab may have made it back herself but i wasn't sure about Buddy.
Where are the good old days when i was immortal?
Once we get all the way to the bay we noticed some dark clouds moving in behind us to the northwest and about that time Bill gets a call from his wife that we are in the general path of a thunderstorm.At first I wasn't concerned because it didn't seem to be moving toward us but once we started heading out Bill brought up the subject if I thought this road flooded.I said not often because there is no mud.
When we rounded the next bend there was about 4 inches of water on the road and flowing across fast,hence no mud.I knew this didn't bode well further north where if anything the road was a little lower in elevation since there were not any reeds along it there while we had reed edging at this spot which means a little drier ground.Once we got to the dirt portion of the road what had been big puddle surrounded by salt hay in the road were now indistinguishable as puddles and all we saw stretching before. us was water with occasional grass clumps peeking out.We waded over a mile in knee to thigh deep water the whole time the clouds were getting darker and then streak lightning started to appear.
The full moon was behind us which wasn't helping moderate the tide at all and before us was death awaiting if one should hit the water near us.There were muskrats running all over anything that would get them even an inch out of the water so this did not help ease my concern about the lightening at all.Then as we finally approached the wood line after more then an hour of wading we gradually started getting more and higher patches of high ground which was reassuring but I knew there was a knee deep stream crossing the road right before you come off the marsh onto legitimate high ground right before the first house where we were parked by.This stream was knee deep when we crossed the first time,now it was mid thigh or higher and had standing waves in it and by now it was pitch dark the moon having been covered.
I had a headlamp LED on but it was no help except right at my feet which was just brown water anyway.I was hurrying because of the lightning and knew I was a hundred yards from the truck.Bill and the dogs were right behind me.I waded out into the creek feeling for blacktop drop offs that i knew were there and as I turned to face upstream(actually downstream on an incoming tide) so that the water would not knock me off my feet I suddenly thought about the dogs who were by now exhausted from swimming most of the last mile us two leggeds had waded.As I turned to stop the dogs from blundering in behind me Sophie ( a black Lab) and Buddy followed me into the brink and washed downstream.Bill grabbed Sparky Sophies brother and held him tight.Buddy is a very short Border Collie mix and not much of a swimmer.
All I could see lucklily because I had the headlamp on which really wasn't helping at all to this point because the hugeness of the meadow swallowed the light and it had actually been hard keeping the road and not wandering out into the marsh for lack of light.All i could see was Sophie and Buddy's eyes as they were swept backward at high speed into the marsh.I screamed the DOGS! and threw my waterproof camera case at Bills feet and dove into the rapids,I caught both dogs within 50 ft,the water was maybe chest deep I could feel the bottom as I tried to stand but the water was too fast.I grabbed Sophie by her collar but Buddy had none and my grasps at his hair kept slipping off.I finally got both dogs in body holds and proceeded to try and swim upstream against the flood with long pants,boots and no arms.This was not working good.
I finally managed to drag both dogs up into the mud and about a foot of water and started screaming for Bill to help.He on the other hand had headed for the truck with Sparky because he knew if he let go of him to help there would now be three doges for me to deal with instead of two since Bill is no swimmer.He smartly took Sparky to the truck not to mention he had a cell phone,camera,my stuff and a dog so his hands were full.I managed to crawl out to the road right where I'm standing in the first pic.Buddy got loose when the wind blew my hat off and I grabbed for the hat letting him go.He ran ten feet up the road and would not come back.I was afraid he would make a dash across the stream for Bill and be right back out on the marsh again so i was screaming at him to come to me.This did not work and eventually Bill showed up and had to bodily pick him up since he was so scared he would not move.
I then got Sophie by the collar and headed across the stream to the truck.I lost the bug spray,eye drops and water bottle out of my pockets,they all must have floated away.Bill temporari;y trashed his phone but it is working again and I forgot to mention that right as this all happened and I made my dive after the dogs the storm unleashed.I cam up after diving into the creek to a face full of rain so now besides being dark I had rain all over my glasses and was virtually blind.Upon getting home Sophie shook herself to sleep after drinking two bowls of water and all the next day would not do much of anything.She is only a year and a half old and usually is loaded with energy.If anyone heads out to moores beach be sure to check the tides and the weather.
I never realized the road flooded that bad and it was so nice out i never even thought to check the weather.If we had of tried to drive out there we would have been stuck out there till the tide dropped.This was a very bad experience.Nothing more terrifying then seeing a raging river wash your dog away in the dark with just the light glinting off their eyes wide in fear as they helplessly try to get back to you.Soph being a Lab may have made it back herself but i wasn't sure about Buddy.
Where are the good old days when i was immortal?