Today, I finally got some time off from business and Christmas activities and decided to take Sundance for a walk along the Shingle Creek Trail. This is the Trail where I used to take Rowdy and Crash because I could let them off-lead and still know they were under control. Since the boys left us, I hadn't taken any of the other dogs on this particular walk -- for a variety of reasons including some emotional ones. But today, I felt it was Sundance's turn.

I walked Sundance on a Flexi just to make sure that if we met people, they wouldn't be afraid. We walked along the Creek and Sundance got to smell things he'd never smelled before. He was in snorfing heaven! Midway up the Trail, we spotted an Egret along the other side of the stream and I took a few shots.



Then, we followed the Trail along the power lines where there are a lot of swampy areas. We stopped near one lagoon and just quietly watched the water and the shore to see if there were any other birds feeding there. Then, I heard a splash and looked up to see a River Otter cruising toward us.



Now, there are a lot of River Otters along Shingle Creek, but they are stealthy little guys and while I've seen them in the distance, I've never been able to get close enough to actually get any decent shots usually because I was with a dog and didn't have the right lens. So to see this guy no more than 50 feet from us was really special. Sundance didn't move a muscle and the two of us watched him come closer using that huge tail to cruise along.



When he got pretty close to us, he heard the noise of my camera and stopped to see what it was.



And then, with one swish of his tail, he dove for cover. We stood there for a few more minutes and Sundance wandered closer to the edge of the water and then I noticed the foliage on the surface of the water moving slightly. The big guy came back for one more camouflaged look and then dove away again.



It was a great find and now that I know where this guy hangs out, I can go back at dawn or dusk and see if I can get some more shots of him and his friends. All in all, it was a great walk and Sundance got to enjoy a place that used to be special for his grandfather, Rowdy.

Jim