The Bear & the Convertible

December 19, 2015 Odee 4 Comments

The Bear and the convertible
By Photo Dog Jackson

Woof, woof, this isn’t a tell-all, but my human just thinks he is smarter than me. I have a different opinion on that. There is one thing, among many, that my human doesn’t know. I know a lot about my human since he was a young adult. He has had Labrador retrievers since he was young. Can you imagine living 20 years? He is 61 now. That is a long time and hard to believe, ruff! Each one of his prior dogs have passed on these stories about him to me and if there is another in the future I will pass them and mine on to him or her. You wouldn’t believe what I could tell about him, and I think now is the time to start, woof!

I have been a little bored, woof, but I understand my human needs some rest. Since we aren’t going on adventures right now I am going to tell you about some of the funnier stories about my human’s past. This was a long, long time ago and is passed down from Doc, Matt’s first dog he had when he wasn’t a puppy any more. Doc was a dog like me; he liked the outdoors, hiking, swimming, and more. He would go camping with Matt, some trips they would walk for miles and the set up camp way out in the woods. Doesn’t that sound like fun? Well one time they were camping with another human in the mountains, that’s where the hills are real big! They had the tent set up close to the car. This was a real funny looking car, the top came off, isn’t that neat? They had been driving on a road in the mountains I have been on called the parkway or something like that. The story is Doc said it was fun riding in the little car because sometimes it had no roof. Woof, no roof, what fun!

Well after dinner at the campground they packed everything up and put it in the trunk. Maverick who told me this story passed down from Doc that he though Matt was crazy when he called the trunk of the car a boot. I think so too. From what I understand a boot is something a human wears because they have tender paws and can’t walk around with bare paws like us! Well back to the story because I keep getting distracted and side tracked. The reason Matt put the food in the trunk was to keep some animals called bears from stealing the food. From what I can understand they look like big dogs with no tails, woof! All of them went to bed that night and when they got up the next morning it was foggy. You wouldn’t believe what he saw when he looked at the convertible that foggy morning. Doc could have told him what would happen. He could smell the food from where he was sitting and from what I understand it smelled pretty good. The top of the car looked strange and there was a bear right next to the car. They all made some noise and the bear ran off. After inspecting the car there were problems. The top was ripped and bent and the seats were torn by the bear’s claws. Well to make this story a bit shorter and before I ramble on another subject a report was made with one of the uniformed men at the campground and they packed up and went home. The funny thing was the next day when Matt contacted a placed called insurance. He called and when he told the human on the phone Doc said all he heard was laughing. Matt told his friend that when with him the human said please pardon him and told all the other humans and all they could do was laugh!

My human didn’t think it was funny then, but now he does, woof!

Matt's Triumph in the snow. — Matt’s Triumph in the snow.PS

PS I heard Matt’s car has been restored by a father and son, I would like to get a picture of me and that car, woof!

Can You Eat a Desert?

December 8, 2015 Odee Leave a comment

“A dog is the only thing on this earth that loves you more than he loves himself.”
– Josh Billings (Henry Wheeler Shaw)

Cool Photo Dog Jackson

Woof, woof, the picture I posted is my bored look so I am doing something on my own, woof! I’m taking charge of the blog for a while and plan to do the writing while my human is working on this web site and other things. He has been busy in front of that computer. He said one thing is called a magazine, does one of those do? He also says he is working on places to put my work, well and maybe some of his too. I hear all these words I don’t understand like Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. Now when he says Facebook I understand, I have a bunch of friends there I talk with, woof!

Then he had something last week he called treatments, at first I was excited because I love treats and that’s all I heard at first. Then I realized he was talking about something else. He tells me he can’t take me on walks right now but we do play Frisbee much more than usual so I like that. He tells me we will be hiking again soon after he heals up; he told me this was so he could keep walking easily and be in shape for a surprise for me. I think he had some different things like treatments a long time ago, but these aren’t as bad. He has been able to throw my Frisbee. Here is a link to my first ever movie I made, I am chasing my Frisbee. My movies have gotten better with soundtracks and everything now, but this was my first. Click on the link below.
Jackson’s first movie

Woof, now I am going to spill the beans because he thinks I don’t know his secret. I’m like that dog on the TV my human watches; I can’t keep secrets so here I go. I don’t like when he goes away for a long time. He usually does that once a year and I go to doggy camp. I like my human friend that keeps me and Frodo and Lucky at doggy camp are good friends of mine. I have a good time, but I miss my human. Matt told me he was going to take a big trip where I get to go along. At first he had really big plans, but then decided we should do two trips. The first one is coming up soon and he is nervous we won’t be able to, but I trust he will find a way, he always does. He has been having work done on our truck so we can go. Ruff, oh where are we going? I think we are going to a place called a desert, can you eat that? There are supposed to be canyons and rivers and things like that where we are going. I am excited about it, camping, swimming and all that, woof! Ruff, well, I hope my human isn’t upset I have told everyone about this but I am really looking forward to my very own vacation, is that what you call it? and photo-safari!

Who knows, I may take over this blog until my human does something with the domain name he bought for me back in August for my birthday, harrumph!

My Tail, woof, I mean Tale!

November 14, 2015 Odee 4 Comments

Woof, woof, well Matt has been slow to write a blog entry so I told him I would write one for him today. I’ll try to contain my excitement and keep my woofs and ruffs to a minimum. I have really enjoyed taking pictures with my human and jump for joy anytime he gets my harness and camera; I am always ready to go. I eagerly await the words, “ride”, “outside”, “play” and anything like that.

Where do I start? Well I usually tell Matt to start at the beginning so I should take my own advice. A long time ago I found myself back at that place called a shelter, where all the dogs and cats live, for a second time in my life. I was so confused, that day I was two-years-old I thought I was part of a pack, and I thought I was going on a fun ride with my human. Then they left me in that shelter again. I was shocked and hurt, she left me there! I knew something was wrong because I had been there before. After two days had passed I was trying to get someone’s attention to take me away from that awful place. One human came over and played a little with me and then called out “Hey Matt come over and see this dog!” When I saw this human named Matt, I knew this was my person. I had to find a way to go home with him so I ran over, jumped up on him, and in my excitement I accidently stuck my paw in his mouth! I knew I had better make things right after that mistake so I quickly ran over and got a ball to make him forget the paw. To my joy he threw it for me, I was so excited, and then he threw it again, and again. It must have worked because the next thing I knew is I was in a car with him leaving that dog and cat place once again. I sure hope I don’t ever go back.

Maverick and Jackson. — Maverick (foreground) and Jackson (behind the pack) resting during a hike at Morrow Mountain. .

My life since has been quite an adventure after I joined Matt’s pack. There were three of us, Maverick, my new human, and me. At first Maverick didn’t like me, but later we became great buddies. Earlier this year Maverick went to a place Matt called “The Rainbow Bridge” I don’t know what that means. I just know Matt was sad when he came home without Maverick one day and I was sad too.

When my human first got me we all went on hiking and camping trips and one backpacking trip. Then things changed for a while. He didn’t go out or play much and I was worried. He was not able to do what he wanted or what I wanted to do. I can always tell when something is wrong with him and I try to comfort him at those times. Sometimes he sleeps a lot, even more than I do, so I am right next to him guarding and watching. He always tries to look and act well in front of other humans, but I can tell when he really is not feeling well. Woof, but now he is more active! Oops there I go, I let a woof out!

After a while he did more and we went more places. He tells me the backpacking is something we won’t do any more, but we have plenty of camping and hiking to do, Woof! He did let me in on a secret, but don’t let him know I told you. He feels guilty about all the long trips he has taken and left me at doggie camp. Mind you I don’t mind visiting with my friends but I miss Matt when he is gone. Ruff, I got off track, the secret: he said if he can get the truck fixed up, we are going on a big adventure out west! I don’t know what west is, but a trip sounds great! I hope he can get the truck ready!

Well thanks for taking time to read my story and I hope you found it interesting. Now I think it is time to curl up next to the fireplace and take a nap, it is cold this morning.

Jackson on the Thornburg Trail in the Uwharries with his GoPro camera.

Morning Light, Golden Light & Milky Light

October 28, 2015 Odee 2 Comments

Morning Light, Golden Light, and Milky Light

Some thoughts on three different experiences at Town Creek Indian Mound.

Town Creek Indian Mound has a definite presence in its isolated corner in Montgomery County. Every time I come to the site I have a unique experience. I used these three photographs as they represent sunrise, sunset and the Milky Way. What I like about being here is the lack of modern “civilized” sounds. All one can hear are the sounds of nature, no cars, planes or voices, just one with the surroundings and at night no artificial light to mar one’s view of the sky. Time slows down where you can live in the moment and that’s all that matters…

Morning Light – April 4, 2014

Standing in the field in front of the Indian mound this morning waiting for the sunrise I was listening to distant woodpeckers drumming on hollow trees in response to each other. One bird was on the left and the other drumming off to the right. The stereo drumming echoed off copses and hollows surrounding the ancient place. In the center field of my hearing a turkey gobbled off in the distance in the gathering dawn light. Hardly any human sound interrupted the morning chorus of the songbirds, just the occasional distant car traveling to work on the highway. These words hardly touch the experience.

Sunrise at Town Creek Indian Mound

Golden Light – August 23, 2014

My last trip to Town Creek was back in April, six months ago when spring was just giving its promise of new growth, warmth and a respite from the grey winter months. It was early morning; the sunrise brought out Pileated woodpeckers who were drumming to each other, calling each other to the cycles of the awakening spring. The air had a magical feeling, a newness rising, life starting over, and growth about to begin.

This evening was once again magical; it was during the golden hours of the last sunlight, now in late summer, growth is coming to an end and life is in the early stages of going dormant, wildlife is preparing for leaner times. Mourning doves were calling to each other, the melancholy sounds floating from the edge of the field. Towhee declaring their territory broke into the melancholy coos of the doves while the breeze was matching the sound of the rushing creek on the opposite side of the mound.

Milky Light – October 17, 2015

Waiting for the darkness to become complete I am under the open sky within the stockade with friends. We are eagerly waiting for the Milky Way to make its appearance. I drove across the river to the Indian Mound do some astrophotography. This is one scene I have been planning since this summer and my new interest in photographing the nighttime sky. My goal was to frame the galactic core of the Milky Way over the lodge on the mound. As we waited patiently planning out what we wanted to accomplish the sky darkened and the crescent moon dipped below the tall straight pines standing guard behind the mound. Finally the hour came and we jumped into action doing some light painting on the lodge so it would show up in the photograph. We didn’t get lost in all of the technical aspects though. We did have time to wonder and gaze at the heavens at the incredible expanse of space and stars didn’t make me feel small, it made me feel like we were interconnected with everything and everyone.

The core of the Milky Way over the lodge at Town Creek Indian Mound

This area is rich in history of many Indian cultures, Town Creek being one of the more recent. You can visit the site at their Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/towncreekindianmound

Or their web site:

http://www.towncreekindianmound.com

A Tale of Two Dogs

September 4, 2015 Odee Leave a comment

The Tale of the Two Dogs

This story goes way back and I actually am posting photographs from the era of this backpacking trip. In the mid-70s I was introduced to a beautiful back country area in southwestern Virginia. By the late 70s I was so serious about the activity every weekend I could get out backpacking rain or shine. This is about one particular trip 30 years ago in 1985. I always took my black lab along on my trips and often I would backpack solo. This was one of my solo excursions plus an extra dog.

Two dogs ready for a hike. — Doc, on left; Cody, on right: Both dogs have their packs on and are ready to go!

My sister was out of town so her dog Cody, and my lab Doc, were my hiking companions for the weekend. Cody was Doc’s brother, but from a different litter and they spent a lot of time together. Cody was a bit more mischievous than Doc, but both were well behaved dogs. Both dogs had their own backpacks for carrying their food, dishes, and toys for the trip. They had to carry their own weight; I didn’t have room or want to carry the weight of the food two labs can consume over a weekend. We started out late morning on a sunny Friday. I had planned my trip in the Mt. Rogers recreation area and camp at one of my favorite spots at Cabin Ridge. That morning we had a long hike in, most of it uphill as I started out at the Appalachian Trail from a parking area on the northern side of the recreation area hiking up Pine Mountain.

After our five mile trek we arrived and I set up camp. After arranging everything I sat down in the tent and then stretched out on the sleeping bag. That was a mistake as usually when I am in a horizontal position; I fall asleep (especially when I was younger.) Back then (as I do now) I usually let my dog run free if there aren’t many hikers on the trail. This day was one of those so both dogs were off leash to run off their extra energy and they were off leash at camp. When I awakened from my accidental nap I was aware of the silence around the camp and thought the dogs were asleep. I crawled out of the tent and didn’t see any curled up black furry mounds anywhere near the camp. I glanced at my watch and saw it was 3:00 p.m. I was camped at the edge of a fir forest bordering an alpine meadow along a ridge. One could see for miles along many ridgelines that are surrounded by seas of dark heavily scented firs. I looked around and called the dogs, but there was no response nor could any black tails running around the grassy meadows be seen. I quickly became concerned. Doc normally stayed around camp and I never had to worry about him running off. Cody on the other hand was a little more mischievous as I mentioned before and had been known to get Doc into trouble. After a half hour passed I began to panic and started methodically hiking different trails and back along each compass point. I asked the few hikers I ran into if they had seen two black dogs with to all negative responses. Back then the area was not as well-known as it is today so there were not many hikers or horseback riders to ask. I finally returned to the campsite at sunset without finding the dogs and had the most fitful sleep.

A view from my tent. — The campsite at Cabin Ridge.

I kept waking up the entire night hoping the dogs had returned. At daybreak I got up and started looking again and wondered what my next move should be. Was I going to have to leave without the dogs? Eventually I would have to go, I had to work. Around 11a.m. a couple of horseback riders came by the campsite heading down Cabin Ridge back down to Massy Gap. I asked about seeing the dogs and they replied no. My heart sunk even lower as I sat down on a log next to the fire pit at my camp. About a minute later I hear a voice shouting “Hey fella, are these the dogs?” I look across the meadow at the distant horsemen and see two black tails sticking above the tall autumn brown grass heading in my direction. They were coming up from the lower elevations of Massey Gap, who knows exactly where they had been or what they had been up to. My heart jumped for joy, the dogs were returning from their all-night adventure. Now I didn’t have to tell my sister I lost her dog! I was so relieved and exhausted we packed up and headed out a day early, all the anxiety, miles of searching, and stress had made enough excitement for one trip. Both dogs stuck right by my side on the hike out too tired to romp and roam around during the return hike.

Scenic landscape. — A view from Rhododendron Gap looking back at Pine Mountain. We hiked from the obvious valley on the right to the top of Pine Mountain to get to this point.

All the photographs are from the Mt. Rogers area in 1985-86 Kodak Ektachrome 64 transparency (slide) film

The Adventures of Odee & Matt

The Bear & the Convertible

Can You Eat a Desert?

My Tail, woof, I mean Tale!

Morning Light, Golden Light & Milky Light

A Tale of Two Dogs

Matthew Irvin & Photo Dog Jackson – Photographers and writers