DeeAnn & I (along with Rainie, Keltie, Holly & Helen) did a 2 day get away to Hi-Banks Resort on Fish Lake. We were the only ones at the resort, close to a frozen lake in a small cabin that had a warm fireplace. Only three tv stations came in but with four dogs there is plenty of entertainment and activity to watch. I snowshoed on the lake around a few coves and bends until I saw a small cluster of fish houses. Holly & Keltie came with me so they could let loose in high gear for as long as their lungs could hold out – and that they did. In my backyard, Holly can sometimes use the fence and trees as a tool to keep close to Keltie; in the open frozen lake there was nothing to help Holly and Keltie knew it. Even with a twenty yard spread, Holly tried as hard as she could to catch up to the speedster Keltie. When the oxygen gave out, Holly would do her nose dives and belly rubs in the snow, making snow angels on the lake. Rainie and Helen were equally as busy with DeeAnn, walking and playing frisbee. It was great fun to watch and it made for a quiet cabin in the evening.
DeeAnn entered Keltie in an America’s Favorite Pet Contest and has been having fun tracking her progress and being her marketing agent! A critical deadline was happening while we were at the cabin, fortunately we had cell phone service! Thanks to many generous and consistent voters, little Keltie has finished First Place in the first round of competition and is advancing as a Quarter Finalist! More to come..
Kristie and Georgette joined us the second night and we celebrated Kristie’s birthday with appetizers, drinks and some hamburgers/pizza from the Hi-Banks lodge. We were only 25 minutes from home, but it felt like a real get-away. The short ride home was nice on a Friday morning. I was unpacked and done with laundry by noon on our return day, and shoveled out from the storm we missed by mid-afternoon. As happy as Holly was at the lake, she was also happy to get home. She ran a big loop around the backyard, circling all the corners and rooting through the fresh snow. There are staple toys in the yard (three frisbees, 1 soccer ball and 1 pink elephant) and while I was shoveling I noticed that Holly made sure she grabbed each one of her friends for a little ‘happy to see’ you lap, then proceeded to do her game of how many can I hold at once.
Inside the house was the reunion between Gracie and Holly. Gracie had tucked herself safely on the counter and back against the wall, motionless. Holly did a few circles through the downstairs, checked the upstairs then finally Gracie exposed herself to Holly. Gracie jumped down in Holly’s path and took off, enticing the game of chase. Game On! Around the living room, up the stairs through the bedroom, back down the stairs across the couch, into the dining room and then finally into the kitchen where it all stops as suddenly as it started, Gracie on the counter and Holly underneath on the floor. Tails wagging.
Life experiences with friends seem to be all Holly wants in her world. Best lesson ever.