Checking out the Pack with Foster

Upper Pack River, northwest of Sandpoint in the Selkirk Mountains.  It's definitely up and running!

Just a nice photo with little Mr. Foster standing at the oak tree which has just recently burst out beautifully with its 2014 foliage. 

From Foster's Mom:  I don't know how often we'll decide to take Foster on hikes with us after last night's outing to Upper Pack River and a mile's walk up Trail 59. 

Bill tells me that's the trail that takes folks to Fault and McCormick Lakes.  It's a nice trail, too, almost a boulevard by North Idaho standards. 

Anyway, Foster wasn't in to walking.   Instead, he took on the Energizer Bunny role, shooting up the trail at lightning speeds.  

Of course, in my mind, I love to see him race across the pastures or through the woods which are both familiar territories for him.  And, generally, he's not gonna meet up with any scary critters like cougars or moose who don't like intruders to their territory.

When my mind goes wild with every scenario of something horrible that could happen to little Foster, I get a bit overprotective as a mommy.

So, on what could have been a leisurely, pleasant after-dinner hike, I turned into a broken record, shouting out, "Foster, no!  Foster, come back!  Foster, bad! Foster, slow down!"

The little guy does have ears even when he's racing over land with those little four-inch paws and legs at speeds of at least 60 mph. 

The one thing I have going for me as a worried mom is that he does respond when he hears "Bad."  

Just about every time out of the dozens of commands being launched at him from several hundred feet behind, he zeroed in on "Bad" and finally turned around.

Then, it was a race back, with tongue hanging out to the side, toward Mom, followed by a quick bounce off from her legs, an instant about-face and another race down or up the trail. 

The only time he slowed down was to take quick sniffs of bushes, lift that hind leg, leave a deposit and continue the race. 

In the meantime, the Border Collie Nation behaved as Border Collies know how to do, dutifully walking alongside or behind us.  

Occasionally, I did turn to their sweet, law-abiding faces and said, "Good dogs!" 

No mean critters attacked Foster on the trail last night, and he did not fall over a ledge into the roaring Pack River, so we all came home happy.

I don't know, however, if I want to go through that much stress in the future.  Next time we do head out on a hike with the little guy, I'll simply say, "Leash!"  

Foster will get all excited cuz he knows he gets to go, but he may not like being tethered to an old lady every step of the way down the trail. 

From Foster:  I can't believe what an old worry wart my mom is.  She screamed at me the whole time I was on that trail last night.  It could have been a lot of fun if she'd just kept her mouth shut. 

Nothing's gonna happen to me.  I'm a big dog, and I can take care of myself.  

If some stupid cougar tries to pounce on me, I can outrun it, and I can dart out of the way pretty fast if a moose decides to strike out at me should we meet on the trail.

Besides, with that obnoxious yelling she was doing, any smart cougar or moose would have left the country. 

She wouldn't let me do anything last night. In fact, I don't know if I even want to go on a hike with her again.  

In that picture with my dad and the Border Collie Nation, she made me sit in front of her for almost a whole minute.  Well, that just gave me more energy. 

It's no fun when she's yelling at me all the time except for when I'm peeing on bushes.  

She claims she didn't have much fun cuz she was worried about me the whole way.  

Well, how'd she take all those pictures of flowers and dogs, if I was causing such a problem.

Sometimes moms over-react, if you ask me.