Meanwhile the Spiderwort and Penstemon look mighty fine.

Put the Penstemon under the beautiful sky and wow!

Dad went to the Edgemont class of 2012 graduation in the afternoon. He didn’t invite me. I stayed in the car, got bored, and then jumped out the window. Hey, the doors to the school were open, so I just pranced my way into the graduation ceremonies. I’m such a clever guy (dad wasn’t all that appreciative of my cleverness).

After the graduation ceremony I went hiking with Abigail and Annee. I showed them where the Basset Back Ridge fire had started and where it killed the one firefighter. It’s a terrible thing to have happened to such a young man.

George in 2007 was finishing up his jog at 6:35am as he ran along Windsong Rise.

Then he managed to trap a rabbit in a log and dig his way into the log to catch the rabbit.

In the evening he and dad appreciated the Globemallow flowering at the airport.

Eventful day for a great basset.

I got a Dairy Queen lunch today. Even better, Agnes made me some chocolate covered rice crispy bars. I drooling just thinking about them!

George had a great day in 2006. The day was perfect for a motorcycle ride to Sylvan Lake. But, before he made the ride, dad got these photos on George and a Goatsbeard flower on Windsong Rise. Dad loves these two photos (even if the flower isn’t in the dof spot).

It’s a different world on Windsong Rise where the wildflowers seem to have taken advantage of the burned grass. I already mentioned how fine the Penstemon looks.

Now there’s a decent number of Spiderwort blooming too.

Dad asked George what he thought about the Gromwell blooming on Red Canyon Rim Trail in 2009.

George let dad know he was mighty happy for such a great Gromwell spring.

Later in the morning at Igloo Bridge, George was mighty happy to howl at the throbbing locomotives passing underneath.

Awesome!

I’m not barking up the wrong tree when I tell you that it was another hot day today, 97 degrees. Dad and I got our jogging and hiking done early and then rested under the Ponderosa trees on Windsong Ridge. The day was a repeat of yesterday with afternoon clouds rolling in, but no rain again.

I am somewhat depressed, however.

I’m not going to attend the Michigan Basset Waddle to year. It’s this weekend. I’d sure like to go sometime. Are you listening dad?

I found even a wee bit less of the purple Crazyweed.

Well, at least the Gold Rocks aren’t dependent on the weather. They stay colorful all year round.

The afternoon was a toasty 98 degrees, though plenty of clouds invaded the sky as the afternoon wore on.

Back in 2008, George and dad had a picnic on the trail to Basset Back Ridge.

George was wondering, “Hey, we gonna enjoy the food or just take photos?”

Don’t worry the food did get eaten after this last shot.

One nice thing about the drive to Basset Back Ridge is the Pronghorn always moving around along Elbow Canyon Road.

George never could resist a Pronghorn photo.

Dad and I had a superb time hiking and then reading and snoozing this morning. Just about perfect. And the wildflowers are doing fairly well in the burn area unlike the rest of the Edgemont area where the old dry grass and lack of moisture have kept the wildflowers to a minimum. Look at this Lambstongue still blooming on Basset Back Ridge.

Gorgeous!

George gave the Gromwell of 2007 plenty of attention.

He and dad hiked around Mathias Peak and got some decent wildflower photos.

In the evening, George and dad hiked past the airport to the Cottonwood Bluffs for a peaceful rest with the wildflowers there.

Here’s a healthy looking Western Wallflower on Windsong Rise.

The only decent looking Wallflower we’re finding this year is in the burn area. Even then there aren’t many of these flowers. It’s a poor year for them.

The white Primroses aren’t in plentiful supply either. But, you’ve got to admit this beauty on Windsong Rise sure looks terrific.

George had a beautiful day in 2006. He appreciated the grand view from Windsong Rise looking west across the Cheyenne River Valley into Wyoming.

Even better than the view was the sight of a rabbit hopping its way towards George.

Sadly it got away.

It’s not just the flowers that caught my eye. I chased some deer early on and then later a lone Pronghorn. Dad worries about me chasing everything. He states that when I go into chase mode I leave my brain behind. Well perhaps, but I do come back to get it again

With the light wind and warm sun, there was all sorts of activity on the flowers.

Fun to watch, but don’t get stung.

George in 2008 went for a hike on Red Canyon Rim Trail.

The sun was playing hide and seek with the clouds.

And the Goldenpea was still in full bloom that year on this date due to cool temperatures and plenty of moisture.

Have I mentioned before that George always looks grand with yellow flowers?

The big news for today is that I got to go to Toadstool Geological Park.

What’s even better is that I got to go with my good pal, Abigail!

It was the whole gang of us today, Abigail, Annee, Duke, dad, and me.

Dog oh dog, did I ever have a great time.

It was a Star Lily day for George back in 2009. He checked out the early morning Star Lilies on Red Canyon Rim Trail.

And in the evening at the airport, George captured this sunset over a Star Lily.

Oh puppy, do I like this one!

Clouds and clouds and more clouds today. Those weather guys kept predicting ‘sunny’. They’re not too bright. We did get some sun, finally!, around 5:30, so dad and I scoped out Circle View Trail. The grass sure looks green, but you can see those poor burned trees in the background on Windsong Rise.

Here I’m sitting in the new grass of the burn area, while way in the background you can see the yellow grass that is a hallmark of this very dry spring.

Standing next to some Lambstongue, a basset can fool himself into thinking the spring is very green and almost lush.

But realize, I’m at the edge of the burn area, which has green grass while the Ponderosa trees behind me escaped the fire.

I got to have a Dairy Queen lunch with my pal, Abigail. We then drove her to Edgemont, where Abigail and I got together with Duke for some walking and treat taking. Makes for a happy time for this Porter basset.

Barking of treats, George woke up at the Motel 6 in Rapid City (this would be six years ago) to a breakfast croissant. That got the old basset nose a going!

George looked at dad expectantly, “Um, we going to eat this or just look at it?”

He got to eat it. Lucky dog!!!!

Later in the morning, George and dad did their jog on Basset Back Ridge and then rested on Elbow Canyon rode under a beautiful spring sky.

Well, as I’ve woofed previously, there’s no more Goldepea to be found this year. But, the Yellow Primrose is looking pretty darn nice on Indian Paintbrush Trail.

We had a wonderful, warm day today. I thought dad should maybe tend to some of the wildflowers; you know, get some of the grass out of the wildflowers (my dad is a bit different…where most people want grass and no weeds, dad thinks weeds are great and grass is kind of a pain).

He wouldn’t listen to me, so we ended up hiking and then reading and resting and eating! at Cheyenne River View. The temperature got up to 87 this afternoon.

Dad’s second favorite photo of George wasn’t the only photo taken of George on this day in 2007. There were other great photos of George and Goldpea.

And look at all the Western Wallflower! Wow!!!

The Wallflower sure isn’t this spectacular this year.