The Big Creek

That was the title of one of the Morris books I'd done a few years ago.

However, I felt it appropriate for our Charlie Adventure yesterday. I'd call it more like The Big Creek Plunge.

Our creek is very small, sometimes it can be ankle deep with little pools that are up to knee deep. On my neighbor's land there are some nice pools with muck for bottoms.
On my land, the creek is mostly rock.

So I asked Charlie if he was up for an adventure. I swear he is already figuring out when I am going to go for a walk or hike. I used to have to put Morris in his crate because he'd run in circles and whine like crazy when I put together my camera bag.

I negotiated the electric fences and the cattle while holding onto Charlie, when we got to the edge of the summer pasture, I set him down and headed down the trail into the woods.
I had an enthusiastic pup on my tail.

The woods are so full of wonderful distractions. I found out that Charlie has a nose for deer tracks. As we went further into the woods, Charlie took off suddenly and went exploring around a big hollow log.
Charlie is tiny and critters could live in these logs, I snatched him by the tail and pulled him out.
He didn't appreciate it, but I was able to get him to come to me after I put him back down.

I picked him up again when we got close to the bank where the drop off to the creek is rather steep.
His first look at the water was pretty neat. He was cautious and curious.

The water was tasty and he kept licking at it.

The whole world of Awesome Creek was his to behold.

He was not too impressed.

We continued on and pretty soon he was climbing rocks and roots in order to follow me. We stopped at the little rock 'steps' to sit and enjoy some warm sunlight.
I set up the camera and tripod to take a few long exposures with the ND filter. Charlie took that moment to assist by climbing onto my legs.

Oh. Be still my little boney heart.
Charlie seemed quite content to warm his feet on my pants. When he got bored, he decided to walk off and explore the ice and water.

Soon, Charlie's confidence was soaring. He began running ahead of me and climbing rocks.
I felt like a new mother watching her child do daring things on the playground. I found myself talking to him just like a mom.
"Now be careful Charlie, don't fall off that rock! Oh! Hey, watch it! Now Charlie..."

I realized that my running comments had no affect on his curiosity and that I just needed to be quiet and watch him.

Charlie ran ahead of me and hit some slushy ice/snow mix. He lost his balance and plunged headfirst into one of those knee deep pools.

I reached down and scooped him out. He sputtered with water dripping off from his face, he gave me a look and didn't make a sound. I unzipped my jacket and stuffed Mr. Wet Pup into it,  settled my backpack onto my shoulders and used my sweatshirt sleeve to wipe off his face.

Charlie nestled in and didn't ask to get down.
We learned some important things on our adventure.
Charlie is scrappy and curious, just like most pups. He quickly figured out that the warm jacket was a fine place to warm up and view the world.
If something is big and frightening, then RUN to HER! She will save you!


By the time we got home, Charlie had recovered fully from his big plunge. He entertained my husband before passing out.

Charlie survived his first adventure in the Big Creek.

All is well.