Just another morning in the forest.

I took my camera out to the forest the other morning, hoping to try and get a picture of our spirit animals/people/joggers/fierce german shepherds. Would have been a huge bonus if there were any border collies and monkeys too, but didn't have as high hopes for them

Guess who we didn't see? I think I ruined it by telling. I guess spirit animals are like birthday cake wishes. You tell someone, and you just kiss that ranch goodbye. No spirit animals of any kind.


It's hard to get a photo of Gustavo in the forest. He doesn't really take breaks.


They all mostly look like this. Nice. I think you need special cameras and focusing and shutter speeds to take his picture. I just have my little spy cam. Which wasn't that great at spying because I didn't get the spirit animals photo, and by the time I whipped it out of my pocket to get a shot of the creepy guy toting giant plastic bags on his back and his dog, they scurried off into the bushes. He was a forest dweller. He was about as happy to see me as I was to see him. It was dark and foggy in the redwoods, and it is hard to get those action shots. Especially since I'm trying to have action too. We all run up and down the spring box slope a bunch of times before we walk run out of the forest.


I did catch him on one quick break at the spring box. An instant later, dove off and back down the hill.


This was cheating. I had treats.


Which was a good thing, because this was a new stump and guess who was afraid of it? So the powers of a cookie and the peer pressure of non stump fearers got him up there and standing still and everything. I did lure and not shape. Which you are not supposed to do with fear. I mean, but come on, Gustavo. The stump says Izzy loves Hopi. It's a luv stump.


Can I tell you who my favorite forest dog is? It's fun to watch Gustavo and Otterpop go, but they're completely loose cannons. Otterpop makes me nervous when we encounter those forest dweller guys or spirit animals. Gustavo is just such a blur, it's not really like we're hiking together. It's sort of like he is running a constant 50 yard radius around my path and rarely comes in for landing. But Ruby, she's sensible. I don't worry about Ruby if we encounter animals (today's animals included bunny, mole, unidentified tan dog sized unknown animal up ahead on a path, and a whole class of ladies with exercise bands doing squats). She's the one I trust not to chase a mountain lion. Dive off of a cliff. Chase down the yellow shorts shirtless guy that sprints along the path. Freak out at the old lady at the trail head doing tai chi in gardening boots.

But all of them, definitely true forest creatures.