Mr. Wild Dingo and I paid a visit to the Foundation de l'Hermitage last weekend. It's a 19th century estate with a small art collection of 800 or so paintings, mostly impressionists. There were a few Degas and some Picasso and a whole bunch of artists I have never heard of.
I mainly went for a tour of the grounds and the house itself. That was worth the visit. The extensive grounds of the Neo-Gothic villa is landscaped with exotic trees and sits high above the city with views of Lausanne and Lake Geneva and of course the Alps.
Beyond the hill, in the back of the estate are plenty of hiking and walking trails and there is a reserve for ibexes and other alpine animals.
One of the trails showed these signs above. In his excellent command of the French language, Mr. Wild Dingo translated: "Black dogs must be on-leash and white dogs can be off-leash." Nah!, The Swiss aren't discriminant, are they?
Later in the weekend the four of us went "trout trailin'" on our favorite trails.
We climbed some hills.
And Juno demonstrated her good trotting form. Just look at that leg extension. Very nice. Her leg muscles are getting big, she now sits very squarely and she lays down directly on her belly with both legs tucked under evenly instead of flopping to one side. The treadmill is working wonders and so is the jogging. And she lost another .3 kg (or .5 lbs), now officially at 28.7 kg.
Still, she shows Mr. Wild Dingo her excellent memory for all the work they did two summers ago and recalled perfectly to him, expecting good payment of course!
At the usual cross roads, we met another Chinese dog, a Shar Pei puppy who was smitten with Juno and followed her everywhere.
Loki didn't quite know what to make of him until later when the puppy got a bit pushy and Loki got a bit, well, Loki. He was a sweet little thing though and his older black Labrador brother was equally charming and better versed in the "politics of dog."
I have a fleeting moment of feeling so lucky.
Who knew that the color of a dog made the difference in off leash privileges? 😛 Juno is looking very nice there! That exercise is agreeing with her. Nice tongue extension there, Loki!
Who knew that the color of a dog made the difference in off leash privileges? 😛 Juno is looking very nice there! That exercise is agreeing with her. Nice tongue extension there, Loki!
So, since Juno is black and white both, does that mean she just has to wear the leash but can run loose? What about brown dogs? Don't they count? Is Loki in limbo?
Total discrimination!
Holly
Holly is making us laugh this morning. Very interesting sign.
What a beautiful opportunity you have for seeing so many beautiful places - your visit to that gorgeous estate must have been so interesting. Since the Momster may never get there, she is truly enjoying your sharing.
Woos ~ Phantom, Thunder, and Ciara
Just look at the muscles on that girl - woo-hoo, she is lookin good! What a gorgeous place - our mom would have LOVED to see the paintings inside - she's partial to the Impressionists. We found the sign furry confusing - can't they make up their minds?
jack & moo, or is it moo & jack?
Hiya Julie,
Sorry for the late reply. How's the weather in Lausanne? Getting warmer, I hope...
I'm sure you are going to like photography and I think it's a wonderful idea. Think of all the pictures you can take - Loki and Juno, your delicious looking food, the amazing Swiss scenery and the hot and sexy looking Mr. Wild Dingo! Wow! I can't wait to see your pictures! When are you starting your photography lessons?
I'm glad Juno's hips are getting better. I doubt I'll get to see you and your pack in Europe because we are relocating again. We are heading to the far east for a couple of years before heading back to Europe, or perhaps the states? I don't know, we'll see.
Kiss kiss
Homer and V
I'm still stuck on that sign. WTF?
Slobbers,
Mango
You're taking photography lessons?! That's terrific! Should have read the post first.
As the words of the sign [as best as I can make out] just say the route has not been cleared of snow, the dog signs seem to be a totally separate message. Maybe the dogs, leashed or not, are supposed to plow the path for you when it snows? It's terrific they have any legal off-leash areas; don't see that much here in MD.
Juno is looking so much better! She's making amazing progress in a very short time. And Loki seems to have kept his cool, even if he had to use perfectly normal dog language to help instruct the Shar Pei in good doggie manners. That's how puppies learn.
Jed & Abby
What gorgeous pics!
That Shar pup needs to learn some manners!!
LOL I love the sign. 😀 So I'm guessing it means some trails they have to be leashed and some they don't, but I don't know why they used different color dogs lol. I like your doggie racist theory.
And congrats Juno on the continued weight loss. Keep up the great work. I wish I loved exercise as much as dogs do. 😀
Beautiful leg extention, Juno -- and Loki, looks like the tail-viagra is working!
hubba, hubba,
-Ruby