These are the faces of happy, tired dogs. And we all know, a tired dog is a good dog. Friday afternoon was the perfect day for a Fall hike so we loaded up four of the dogs and went to a park near us. Above are Phoebe the greyhound and Baxter whom we refer to as a baxterhound. If the world had more baxterhounds, it would be a better place.

Shelties, Shelby, and foster dog Sweetie also joined us on this fine day. The fall leaves looked spectacular against the dogs’ coats. They really brought out the rich browns and mahoganies. Each enhanced the other and looked all the better for it.

Here, Phoebe and Shelby pose for effect. Our own three dogs are trustworthy off leash so they were free to sniff for squirrels and to tell off chipmunks. Whenever we encountered other hikers, especially with dogs, we called our dogs to us and leashed them up so as not to bother anyone else. As you can see from her picture above, poor Sweetie had to stay on leash. As a foster dog, we just don’t know her as well as we know our own dogs. I find it hard to imagine that she would stray very far from my husband but it’s just not worth the chance. Sweetie is a daddy’s girl through and through. She thinks I’m nice too, but only as an afterthought.

The views as we hiked were beautiful. I feel very fortunate to live in this area of Ohio when I am looking at views like this. The dogs paused to look too, although I’m not so sure that they’re not looking for wildlife rather than at the Fall leaves.

Normally yellow and gold are not my favorite colors but Mother Nature does it right and I am a big fan of the bounty of color. There are several small lakes in the area making this enjoyable hiking terrain.

As we enjoyed the sites, I was thinking a Fall hike in the woods is about as good as it gets. With dogs of course!