January
The polar vortex and the worst winter ever continued. On the days it wasn't crazy cold, we took the dog on his usual walks (in coat and booties), but on some days it was just too cold to go out so we'd run to the nearest bush for him to pee and run back to the house.
February
The awful winter continued, but we made the best of it.
March
When will winter be over???
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| Elsie |
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| Django makes a new friend. |
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| Django relaxing in the mud. |
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| Django (right) running with his greyhound buddies Henry and Truman. |
At the end of the month, Django takes his first swim of the year in a muddy pond at the dog park. It was too cold for him to jump in, but I couldn't keep him out.
April
With the weather finally warming up, we were outside constantly to celebrate spring. The last snow of the winter was on April 15.
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| Another day at the dog park, lying in a mud puddle and drinking the muddy water |
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| In Wheeling, WV |
And more lying in mud puddles.
On a hike at nearby Harrison Hills State Park.
My pretty girl, Orla, looking out the window.
We took a trip to the Finger Lakes with Django.
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| Dave and Django in Watkins Glen |
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| Wine tasting |
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| Django and me in Geneva |
The highlight of the trip was meeting one of Django's littermates, Myles! Myles' mom found me online, and we exchanged many emails about the similarities of our boys. We met up at Taughannock Falls State Park for a hike along with Lola, Myles' adopted sister.
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| Littermates Myles and Django |
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| Django, Myles, and Lola |
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| Dave, me, and Django at Taughannock Falls |
Summer's here! Lots of hiking in local parks and visiting the dog pool.
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| Django in the dog pool at a local dog park |
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| Beechview-Seldom Seen Greenway |
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| Riverview Park |
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| How Django spends the majority of his time |
We spent the long 4th of July weekend in West Virginia with Django. The house we rented had a big fenced yard that Django loved plus little trails, which were great for dog walks.
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| Django chewing a bone in the yard |
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| On the trails around the house |
We visited Helvetia, a small Swiss village that is designated a historic landmark.
We drove through Buckhannon.
And we stopped at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, though we couldn't tour it because we had the dog.
We visited the dog pool when it was too hot to go on long walks.
But mostly Django wished the hot weather would end. His definition of hot is anything over 60 degrees.
Summer means baseball, and while neither of us are baseball fans, we love walking by PNC Park when a game's going on.
Downtown view from the hill right near our house that leads to the Troy Hill neighborhood.
The East Allegheny neighborhood on the Northside (my neighborhood, but I live in a different part of it.)
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August
More local hikes and more dog pool visits.
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| At Linn Run State Park with greyhound buddy Henry |
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| Django (left) and friends Truman and Henry |
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| Dog pool! |
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| Schenley Park |
September
We went to Colorado for vacation and spent most of the time hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park.
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| Gem Lake |
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| Mills Lake |
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| Lake Estes in Estes Park |
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| Emerald Lake |
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| Lake Haiyaha Trail |
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| Starting my birthday with a 4.1-mile run |
October
Fall, the most wonderful time of the year, comes!
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| Roaring Run Trail |
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| Raccoon Creek State Park |
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| Ohiopyle |
Dave and I took a trip to Minneapolis for my friend's wedding.
We brought the cold Minneapolis weather back with us. Along with the rest of the country, Pittsburgh had a really cold spell that lasted about two full weeks.
December
The weather for December has been mostly fantastic, not much below 20, usually in the 30s, with temps going up to the low 60s on Christmas Eve. Every weekend we've been able to get out on long walks, so it's been fun.
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| City steps near our house that go up to Troy Hill |
We enjoyed the holiday lights Downtown, had a wonderful Christmas with our families, and now it's the last week of the year!
It's been a wonderful year! Here's to another wonderful year ahead for all of us!