Vermont. Swimming.

So, one of the goals of this vacation was the same as my goal always is: ice cream every day. But C12 and Q11 especially wanted to go swimming.

So for my birthday back in July I bought floaties for everybody. Q11 got a giant pineapple, C12 got a giant mandala, and I got an average-sized tube floatie WITH cupholder. At his request, TCR did not get one, preferring to experience water in its natural state, unimpeded by a plastic blow-up floatie.

So, first order of business was blowing up the floaties and getting on the lake, which the girls did every single day, despite it being not SUPER warm. High 70s? But the day it was the chilliest, of course, the water felt the warmest. And I did get in, and so did TCR.

This was the view from the lakeside. That was our dock, and that was the across the lake, which was a goodly ways away, about a half mile. You can't see the houses from this photo, but there were some. I'm not sure how you'd GET to the houses, but they were there!

The swimming was good.

The first day we were there C13 and Q11 thought it would be a good idea to get the dog in the water. Because -- she's a dog, she should like water, right? But she doesn't. So they forced her in, were pleased she could swim, although she swam right out of the water and back up on the shore. Because, of course, the water was cold, and Lucy doesn't like the water. The next day, however, we noticed Lucy wasn't herself. She kept looking back at her butt, licking her haunches, and her tail was limp, hanging straight down.  She wasn't wagging her tail.

the girls were quite worried, and for a bit we thought we'd have to find an emergency vet up in Vermont. However, TCR did some searching, and Dr. Google told us we had a case of limber tail, which often happens to certain sporting dogs when they swim too much, or get a bath in too cold (or too warm) water or when they exert themselves too much. So, maybe a beagle mix being thrown into a cold lake? Yeah, that'll do it. Technically, she'd injured her coccygeal muscles near the base of her tail. In layman's terms: she sprained her butt. Really, quite embarassing.

Here she is on the dock, you can see her tail is straight down. It was that way for a few days.




However, even Lucy found something she liked about the water. Ducks. She voluntarily ran into the water and up to her chest (still with the broken tail, as you can see!) to get closer to the ducks.

We never let her get any ducks, but she sure did want to go after them!