3 beasts and 2 birds on Sunday

Only three beasts, two of them squirrels (a light and a dark) and one of them Black Jack, but so many pictures.  I couldn't seem to leave any out, so here goes.

Our walk began today in the field at the top of the Point Grey Hill. Black Jack played with a very active and rather heavy-handed Golden Retriever with even less recall than Black Jack.  Rough play, and I worried a bit for her luxated patella knees (a grade 1 and a grade 2 and so far, touch wood, holding at that), but she handled it well.  The retriever was finally retrieved by its frustrated and embarrassed human who had called and called to no avail.  (No pics)  

Then, we headed to 16th Avenue to play in the Endowment Lands forest. 

A quick stop on the way to record some squirrel action.  

First, a hopping grey.

Then, a game of chase with this little dark one that looked brown sometimes and black at other times.  I wasn't able to catch the two of them in one photo.  Man, they were quick.
The grey coming down the other side of the tree.
And a close-up to see its expression as it suddenly notices Black Jack.
The dark one (now looking more black) comes after the grey.  Its eye is there, honest. 
The grey is so fast, heading up, I can't catch it, but I do get one of the dark following it.
The grey on the way down again.
Changes its mind, turns on a dime, and back up we go.
Stretches out a bit.
And over the top and out of sight.  Both squirrels disappeared.
Poor Black Jack.  She behaves with admirable restraint as I snap away, but she knows they're still up there.  I finally convince her the endowment lands will be just as entertaining, and off we go.
The forest was good.  Lots of stuff to investigate.
Really good response to recalls on leash.  She enjoyed the practice (and treat rewards).
More recall fun.
And a kazillion shots like this.  And that's it for Sunday beasts.
Now, for the two lone birds. The first shot of the day was a crow in the field.
The last shot of the day was this little cutie in my neighbor's garden.
In case you're wondering about the bike part of this blog, I did get out on --- (I'm a bit ashamed to say I've never named my bike - any suggestions?), and even took a few pictures of the sunset coming over the Burrard, but none cried out to be shown here.  Lovely day, and quite warm, as long as the sun stayed out. I went downtown, did a gym visit, a bit of shopping, had a latte, met Bill for supper and saw a movie.  Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino - no link, because it was mostly annoying, even when I sometimes reluctantly found myself laughing.  Good potential in the plot, but the script writer seriously underestimated the intelligence of the viewers.  Subtle, it wasn't.  Still, it was somewhat interesting and entertaining to watch Clint Eastwood and think about his long acting career.  I believe he's in his 70's and have to admit, he's in pretty amazing shape.  Last night, we saw The Wrestler.  Guess it was the weekend for aging, well-built actors.  Mickey O'Rourke was more successful than Clint, I thought.  Not exactly subtle, either, but a more honest portrayal and a stronger script.

Time to stop blogging and sleep.  Monday is here.  Yikes!