Early in our brief spring Baron and I headed over to Myre-Big Island State Park near Albert Lea, Minnesota for a hike. Unfortunately, a recent heavy snowstorm had pulled down many trees blocking and closing many of the parks roads and campgrounds. I left my truck at the entrance ranger contact station and we hoofed it a mile along a road to one of our favorite hiking trails. As always there were a few adventures along the way. You
might note Baron is wearing a red collar. This is a electronic training collar in lieu of the required leash. I don't allow him to chase deer. The alternative is a large dog, dragging a man, on the ground, while chasing something else....:)
Baron spotted something moving on the road ahead. He is an investigator at heart....
"What is it boss?", he said. Then touched it with his paw.
Sniffing the creature who refused to play Baron quickly lost interest and we head on toward the Great Slough skirting around all the fallen trees on the road. It was a beautiful day and we had the huge park all to ourselves. A small creek drained the slough into Albert Lea lake and Baron spotted a ruckus going on. It turned out to be a bunch of large and spawning fish. In the midst of the turmoil we spotted something unusual. Look carefully....
Just another day with Mother Nature for a man and his dog....
"What is it boss?", he said. Then touched it with his paw. 
Sniffing the creature who refused to play Baron quickly lost interest and we head on toward the Great Slough skirting around all the fallen trees on the road. It was a beautiful day and we had the huge park all to ourselves. A small creek drained the slough into Albert Lea lake and Baron spotted a ruckus going on. It turned out to be a bunch of large and spawning fish. In the midst of the turmoil we spotted something unusual. Look carefully....
Just another day with Mother Nature for a man and his dog....
Wow, that must be a released pet. A few of our local ponds are afflicted with overgrown released goldfish.
ReplyDeletepoor little goldfish! and my baron (black lab) would have scooped up that turtle and proceeded to chew on its shell. *sigh*
ReplyDeleteHow does the collar work? Do you have a way to get your dog back, somehow? It does seem like it provides both freedom and security.
ReplyDeleteLove the pic of Baron sniffing the turtle! GSDs are such great dogs. :)
ReplyDeleteSounds like a whole lot of pleasure to me! Baron is a fine companion. The turtle made me smile. :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised that the goldfish made it through such a harsh winter. It seems to be thriving. I wish there were a version of that collar for cats. Bird watching (and chasing) is one of Peanut's favorite activities. The vet did say that she has gained quite a bit of weight over the last year so maybe she's finally slowing down.
ReplyDeleteHey tb....I was just amazed that your post today was about a turtle. I'm going to put this in my next post.....today while doing my daily dog waste pick-up I was walking along through the yard and what do I see....a baby box turtle. It was about the size of a half dollar. My only guess at how he got there was that a bird dropped him because I don't think he could have gotten through the rabbit wire fence we have around the yard. I looked up box turtles on the internet and we decided to take him down to our woods. I hope he does ok. It was so amazing to find that little turtle in our yard!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting hike! I'm sure Baron will agree.
ReplyDeleteOften if you make the extra effort you are rewarded.
ReplyDeleteA goldfish?! Glad you guys had a great walk!
ReplyDeleteThe goldfish is a carp, right? Someone planted some muskies in a local lake and if the goldie would wind up there he would be a quick snack.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a nice afternoon with Baron.
Jo
Looks like a great place for a walk and some photos.
ReplyDeleteAnother very enjoyable walk with you and Baron. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteSaw a huge goldfish when fishing a small NE lake.Some people think it is good to dispose of pets in the wild.Headed to Valentine,NE to catch walleye Tuesday.This is up where it is good to put into the Niobrara River for a kayak trip also.
ReplyDeleteSomeone did a release. That collar works great..makes him mind..although I must admit you made me smile with the thought of you being pulled all over the ground..sorry.
ReplyDeleteGood hike..it looks brown there too..we got lots of rain today so it should green up fast! :)
Glad you have the collar to protect yourself from dragging! Love seeing Baron with the turtle. He got quite a bit closer than my daughter and a squirrel last year.
ReplyDeleteI'll bet Baron loves that collar. It really gives him so much freedom yet keeps him out of trouble.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the gold fish is probably a released pet. With that bright color, he won't last long.
Lovely day! My dad had a champion bird dog. His one fault was that he never failed to point at a turtle. Never figured it out, but otherwise he was perfect.
ReplyDeleteAnother day in nature with my dogs , is always a good day for me :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for your visit to my blog and your comment. We are dogless at present, but we still enjoy long walks in parks local and afar. And there is something special about having the woods, streams or trails all to ourselves. Those environments do seem to attract congenial, courteous fellow nature appreciators. And it is enjoyable to share the pleasure, even if only in passing.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the turtle saga, but sorry to see the goldfish. I hope it isn't one of those introduced species that wreaks havoc on native species.
You always have interesting times out with Baron. :-) How fun to discover the turtle... not so much the goldfish.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the walk!
We just saw our first turtle out sunning today. Not at home on our pond yet, but along the side of the road on our way to ball games this afternoon. Always a happy site. Baron & the turtle are quite a delightful image, too!
ReplyDeleteWe used a similar collar on our McGee when training him to not bolt and run off to places he shouldn't run off to, when he was around a year old. It worked wonderfully.
My brother-in-law who lives in the Driftless area and is a devoted flyfisherman, enjoys fishing for carp.. His friend who turned him on to fly fishing in college is from Montana and now resides in Oregon - he blogs about his carp fishing (carp on the fly) and has often caught these giant orange koi / carp and mirror carp out there.
What an unexpected sight that had to have been for you!
What a cute pic of Baron and the turtle. Good thing he didn't want to bring it home with him.
ReplyDeleteSounds like heaven ! I love the way the turtle protects itself.
ReplyDeleteBaron and you never have dull hikes, do you? I like the way Baron investigated the turtle.
ReplyDeleteGood entertainment with our pet dog. Turtle is always nurturing in grass and field.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the walk. I'm just now getting around to reading your older posts.
ReplyDeleteThere are lots of turtles (I think they are actually tortises) around here. When driving, I always try to avoid them on the road.
The snapping turtles that fill our ponds and lakes are another story. I hate those things with a passion...too much to write here. Suffice it to say that goldfish would likely not be there if there were any snapping turtles in the lake.