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Blustery weekends characterized by a wintry mix of rain, snow and occasional sunshine, call for a rejiggering of the routine. So, when friends Natalya, Sumin and Kiersten paid us a visit in Vermont with dogs in tow, we decided to try out a new game for the dogs which we have lovingly dubbed, Smell My Feet.

Smell My Feet is our crude attempt to get the dogs interested in scent tracking. My clever dog-training-competition-winning-cousin Wendy, once advised me to rub the soles of my shoes with Vienna sausages and make tracks in the grass for Theo to follow. But since there were no Vienna sausages on hand (and let me tell you there were grumbles of displeasure amongst the dogs when the larder was declared devoid of said sausages) we used dried beef and liver morsels instead.

While the dogs waited in the distance, we dropped treats to the ground in a straight line, Little Red Riding Hood style, proscribing a short, straight, 6-10 foot path after shuffling the earth flat with the bottoms of our boots.  Here’s Fern at the ready, paw raised in anticipation, poised to point the way….and Theo, with his big schnoz in the air, hoping to memorize the position, olfactory-style, of each tasty bit dropped on our make-shift path.

I must say, it’s much easier to conduct a game of this kind when the grass is short and green and the treats stand out in sharp relief.  We found ourselves declaring in exasperated tones: Now, WHERE does the path start? I’ve forgotten! But the dogs had a ball sniffing about, their noses wiggling excitedly as they tracked down those tasty snackables.

Later, we took a hike up the mountain…with three SLR cameras among us and multiple iphone cameras at the ready.

What a bunch of photo nerds we are.

We spied this smiling creature, (below) along the way, as she dashed about the mountain path. Isn’t that a sparkling smile? She looks like a laugh riot and a bundle of love!

As the day wound down, we retreated indoors, and Natalya sat sketching the pooches in various pensive states…

And not long after, Oscar turned in for a nap. Here he is, sweetly covering his muzzle, which somehow seems to improve the quality of his sleep. I wonder if this is a bit like sucking one’s thumb. It looks so comforting, doesn’t it?

Theodore took one last snooze in front of the Sparkle Tree. We were sorry to relegate our aluminum Tannenbaum to the basement once again…

But onward and into 2012 we go, as surely, there will be more games ahead before Winter beats a hasty retreat!