Old dogs, no new tricks

It's rainy today. Rainy days and Mondays always get me down. Actually the skein of really nice days has been invigorating, and the weather guys promise that it'll continue tomorrow through the end of the week or longer.

Yesterday was nicer. I was able to visit Banning State Park near Sandstone. The Pengilly Woman (PW) and I arrived at the park in the afternoon and walked along the Kettle River and associated rapids. She brought along her Beagle, Maggie, an old dog who needs no new tricks. The snow was still in evidence, but the park trails were slushy and sometimes muddy. The wildlife that I almost always see at Ft Snelling State Park, namely white tailed deer, were not to be seen. The skies were clear and even that far north the temperatures got to 66. A most unusual day in an unusual winter(?).

Banning's main attractions are the rapids and a waterfall that attract kayakers in the summer, and an old abandoned stone quarry.

PW's dog, Maggie, is a 16 years old beagle. That's a seriously old dog. The oldest dog ever authenticated, at least according to Wikipedia, was Bluey, a 29 year 5 month old Australian cattle dog.  Beagles usually live to about 13.3 years, so Maggie is doing very well.