The house guard dog, Barons, is a "aiku suns" -- apparently a Russian breed Silvija first encountered a few years ago; her friend Iveta had a female (almost as big, and just as aggressive!). Silvija is a dog person and so has been excited learning about this breed. The best she can describe it, Barons is somewhere between a wolf and a really big St. Bernard. Silvija can also unequivocally say Barons is the largest dog she has ever seen. And, almost 6' tall, she's certainly not used to looking like a little shrimpy in dog pictures! Let's just say you don't want to be a stranger perusing the yard. There's nothing like 150 pounds plus of huge snarling dog hurling himself at the fence to persuade you to peruse elsewhere! On the other hand, you tell Barons who's family, and he's happy to play—just make sure he doesn't try to jump up on you! As you can see in this picture, Silvija knew the wisest thing to do was sit down and make friends (and show no fear!) Obviously it worked...on our next trip in October Barons greeted her with a big, wet, sandy sloppy kiss on the lips!

Sadly, dogs like Barons don't live very long... has has since passed on. His replacement may be the same breed, but the new dog has an incredibly nasty disposition, including attacking family (he likes clamping on to arms).

That's Gaida's grandson Bruss (as in Bruce Springsteen) and one of his friends. Arno and Ester camp out in Vecaki during the summer months—it's where Arno grew up, raised for part of the time by his aunt Vija when Gaida and Erna were taken to Siberia for a second time for no discernable reason.

Here too, the Latvian landscape is dotted with white birches. This is a little plot of land Arno acquired, hoping to build his own place, or at least a little summer retreat of his own. It doesn't take a whole lot of effort to see the attraction! And the gulf of Riga and its sandy beach are no more than a 100 meters away.

After taking Gaida home one evening, we couldn't resist taking a small detour and trying to catch the last rays of the sunset (just around the bend from where the pictures above were taken). We sat and watched the sun set and then headed back into Riga.

Speaking of dinner... as always, a room full of people and a table full of food! No one was more intent on a good meal than the kids. Well, unless Barons was stalking a late snack somwhere out back!

The locals have named this placid and scenic bit of water "Dead Man's Pond" because it has claimed several unwary lives—it's a good deal deeper than people think. Still, most have learned to enjoy it with due care. Everyone has long since gone off to dinner well before the sun has begun to set.