Running with scissors

Bean is the doggiest dog we've ever adopted. We got glimpses of what that was like when we met Bean for the first time and watched her play with balls, pinecones, and tree branches in Aimée's backyard. So as she settled into our home Bean noticed that we also had small pinecones in our little backyard. It didn't take too long before she grabbed one and started to run with it in her mouth:

She has a lot of fun playing and running with them but we cringe a bit as we have to be mindful of her weak leg that can sometimes go out from under her and make her fall. The leg doesn't seem to bother her much as long as she doesn't play on hard surfaces like concrete or asphalt for too long. (She often wears a Therapaw on hard surfaces.) Then it seems to get sore and she tries not to put too much weight on it. Still, we want her to have fun -- it's too hard to try and keep a young dog like her down.

(Shot with the Nikon D600 and the 105mm lens; aperture-priority with aperture set to f/4; camera set shutter speed to 1/640 second at ISO 800; auto white balance; normal JPG, processed with Lightroom.)

The Puppy Bean Roadtrip, part 6

It was just as well we stayed a day longer in Minnesota than we had originally planned. The drive from Omaha to Grand Junction was dreary, gray, and mostly rainy. But the interstates were clear of traffic for most of the day's drive. Still, I wondered what the Eisenhower tunnel would look like and how much snow remained on or along the road.

South of Denver and climbing up the Front Range of the Rockies we ran into this:

Before we got to the tunnel we decided to pull over in Georgetown and stretch our legs. There was plenty of snow on the ground, so we let Bean play around in it. We figure it will be the last time in quite awhile until we can drive her up to our local mountains around Los Angeles during a winter where we actually will have some decent snow.

Note the small herd of deer visible in the background above Rachel's head.

After playing in the snow Bean decided to cool her rump:

Then it was back into the van. At the tunnel entrance we had to stop and sit for some minutes before being allowed to pass through and head down the other side.

Through it all, Bean traveled in the van better than I could have hoped. She repeated her traveling routine from the day before by napping, eating a few treats, and gently playing and squeaking some of her toys. She was so easy.

When we arrived at my parents' home we introduced Bean to them. Both Mom and Dad took a liking to her right away. Their black cat, Mischa, kept herself at a distance so Bean didn't get much of a chance to show her any interest.

After several hours' of sleep we got up early in the morning to start the final leg home. Feeling a little groggy we laid on the carpet for a few moments. Dad came over and laid down in front of Bean; she responded by giving him a nose-bump to the eye. Such a sweet gesture by her -- which is a testament to this dog breed.

Before we left I got in several pictures of Bean with my parents.

(My apologies to those who have never seen a leg amputee before: my dad was in an airplane accident while serving in the Air Force.)

Bean slept and played in the van all the way back to California where this journey began some eight days and nearly 4000 miles ago. After a two-month absence, it was so good to have a greyhound back in the house again.