Tag: Giant Schnauzer
Friday Night Lights
The skies have been clear lately and the Green Lady dancing regularly. I found myself free on a beautiful Friday night with nothing to do the next day so I packed up the Renegade & headed for the mountains.
Kratos is easily Brian’s dog. He was able to take a week of leave during Kratos’ first week with us and the two of them have become quite the pair. Still needing to bond more with the little guy, I added him to my packing list and packed him into the back of the Jeep as well. He quickly nestled into my Ouray bag as I set my pace on the Glenn Highway. When we reached the top of Hatcher Pass, we were greeted with several inches of snow.
Despite staying out all night, the lights never made a strong enough appearance to photograph well. No matter, we had plenty of fun wrestling in the snow and snuggling up under the covers when we got too cold.
My little Muppet is growing quickly and although we don’t have the relationship I first envisioned for us he’s teaching me that, then life knocks you down, to just roll over and look at the stars.
Swan Lake
The ground was disgusting and soggy but the rain continued to fall. Thankfully, Kratos is still limited to fairly short hikes so our time out in the typical fall in Alaska elements was limited to only a couple hours.
My pawtner in crime was snoring like a buzzsaw as soon as the Jeep started moving back down the highway towards home. The sun was just reaching the golden hour as we drove alongside Potter’s Marsh. A duo of swans – who are on their migratory route back to the lower 48 – feeding in the water caught my attention. I swerved into the first available pull-out and grabbed the Nikon from my pack.
After spending some time at the shores of their current residence I bid them farewell and was on my way back to my own abode. This was probably my last chance to visit with these majestic creatures this season, as the temperatures are quickly dropping in soon the snow will be falling. I look forward to seeing you in warmer temperatures.
Kratos the (Official) Giant
He’s growing by leaps and bounds. Literally. The little beard face can jump on the couch all by himself now.
He’s now a fully registered (limited registration) member of the American Kennel Club as Kratos the Giant. I guess his Instagram hashtag has officially stuck.
#KratosTheGiant
Shroomspiration
My librarian from elementary through high school has been really getting into photography the last few years. We’re friends on Facebook and I always enjoy her photographs from all over the east coast.
She recently released a series of photographs of mushrooms that I loved. Knowing that I only had a few days in between Debbie’s visit and my upcoming visit from my Seester, I grabbed my camera and the puppy and headed for the woods nearby to capture some of the diverse fungal life Alaska has to offer.
It’s days like this that I wish I had the money to invest in more lenses. Who am I kidding? I always wish I had more free money to invest in camera equipment. Either way, it was a fun bonding experience for Kratos and I as we’ve not had much alone time up until this point.
Kratos the Giant
This summer has been an interesting one for sure. Without my constant shadow following me around I’ve been a bit lost and not my usual self. It was nearly two months ago – about a month after Bosco’s passing – that Brian came to the conclusion that ‘Holly’s aren’t meant to not have dogs in their lives.’ So the search began and a tiny little black Muppet looking puppy melted our hearts…
On my way to the airport to pick up a special package, I stopped by the airport Travel Bug Hotel to drop off Bosco’s collar, which is now a trackable and movable game piece for geocaching. I made sure to get there early so I could take my time to process what I was about to do. I sat alone in the small patch of woods with tears flowing out my eyes as I dropped my long time companions collar into the green ammo can. No attempt was made to stop the salty stream that was flowing down my cheeks. When my nerves had finally calmed I closed the lid and returned to the Jeep. My next destination was drastically going to change our lives, but we were ready.
I arrived before the plane had even landed so I remained in the jeep and picked up a book I was reading. A while later the white shuttle van pulled up next to me and I jumped out to meet him. Inside the van in a tiny gray crate was the little Muppet from California.
After a quick potty break in some nearby grass, we headed for home to start to get to know each other.
Brian had won an overnight fishing trip for combat veterans down on the Russian River so he missed Kray’s first night at home, but was eager to meet the little fluff as soon as he was home.
Time for a new adventure to start…
Grand Things
In my defense, I was left unsupervised.
His name is Kratos (Kray-tos) and he will be joining us in Alaska sometime near the end of July. Kratos’ kind are more commonly referred to as Giant Schnauzers, but Brian prefers the term Grand Schnauzer. Only time will tell.
You’ve got some big shoes to fill little guy. Thankfully, I can already tell you’ve got yourself some big feet.