Zac Demands a Trip to French Lake Park

A windy, blue-skied day, cotton ball clouds drift eastward. Zac was anxious to get out and do something...anything, and proclaimed his anxiousness by barking sharply and incessantly.

Before Zac caused more hearing damage, Jeff and I took the fearsome threesome to Clifton E. French Lake Park and hiked the paved trails. It was early enough that the post-church crowd had yet to arrive, so the park was almost empty, offering few cars and cyclists for Abby to lunge and bark at.

Zac reveled in the unfamiliar environment, and marked his new territory with the enthusiasm of gold miner staking a claim. Zoey pranced pony-like, and was uncharacteristically quiet and calm. Ah, the small moments that carry us through the week.

One thing I wonder about...when Jeff is home during the day on weekends, Zac is so excited to get going and do something, but during the week, even though I'm home, he settles right down for a quiet morning on the couch...and if it's agility or obedience training day, he still makes it pretty clear he'd prefer the couch. A funny dog, for sure.

Photo by mrooczek262

After weeks of hobbling along like Rizzo in Midnight Cowboy, I was finally ambulating normally this morning, and decided to head to Golden Valley for a disc dog comp; which was part of the Animal Humane Society's Walk for Animals festivities.

Comfortable temperatures and overcast skies, the morning was perfect for disc dogging. Lucky for us, the disc-gods sent a wind that rivaled that in Colorado.

I tossed and Zac and Zoey each tried to catch during our first Distance and Accuracy (D/A) rounds. OK, I'm still a little rusty from the winter.

Freestyle frolics followed. I had Zac do a few tricks and then just tossed a few easy throws. He actually caught much better; he was warming up.

Zoey; who has a hard time trading discs, especially with other dogs around, did really well compared to our Oak Grove fiasco---she traded only a few seconds after being asked to, and we kept the routine going.

That would not be Zoey's last word though. A price was to be paid for cooperating during Freestyle. After her second D/A round, she refused to be peeled from the field until surrounded, with no chance to escape.

Good times, though and it was great to get out. And I'm now back to hobbling like Rizzo.

Zac Turned Seven on December 1st

Zac turned seven Tuesday. He's the first dog I got as a little puppy and the first I've trained past a couple of Obedience classes.

When I got Zac, I really wanted a dog who was dog-social and I could do sports with. Poor Zac had to be a guinea-piq for everything I wanted to try but had no idea how to do...to maintain his dog-socialness, I dragged him to the dog park where the big dogs bowled him over. We tried Rally, canine musical freestyle, flyball, agility, herding, traditional obedience and disc. We should try skijoring this winter, and maybe weight-pulling, because I don't know anything about those two either.

His favorite sport is toss and catch. It's right up there with chasing a turned-off laser light, but I'm afraid it comes up a distance second to eating.

Zac is not the most high-drive nor the most energetic dog, but he's definitely a heart dog. When I think about how much I love him, it almost stops mine.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Another silver grey sky. It was sleeting yesterday, yet it's dry so far. After several days off, his tendonitis even had a chance to clear up, Jeff is will be running with the gals this morning. I'll get the sweet potatoes started and then get Zac out. We'll be seeing family today, some we don't see often.

I've ben thinking about yellow the last couple of days. Yellow, for the solar plexus chakra, yellow for fire, self-confidence and the ability to act. Every other color had paraded through a list of favorites; blues and greys, reds and oranges, purple with all its variants, an occasional touch of green and of course, the obligatory black phase. Yellow, the hot color of the sun, has always left me cold.

But now it's yellow's turn.

The Upside of Denial

Denial can be a good thing. For example, the reality is I'm never going to be a good disc-dogger. I'm just too uncoordinated. But I kid myself that the Crossfit workouts and a little disc practice are just what I need to join the top ranks. Yep, I'm delusion, but what's the downside? I'll wind up being better than I'd be without the workouts and practice. Yep, I could wind up being disappointed, but hey, I'm a big girl. I can take it.

But denial can be dangerous. So many people kid themselves about just unhealthy their diet and stressed-out sedentary lifestyles are. How can these people be encouraged to face reality and dump denial?

Abby, Like Whiskey, Mellows with Age

The sky is a silvery grey and a cool mist permeates the air, although the temperature is mild for the end of November. Sable-colored oak leaves, the color of Abby, the color of whiskey, still cling to trees. Abby could get lost in them.

A car streaks by. Abby checks in with me; does Mom have a treat ready?" Yes, I do, and Abby sits and impatiently waits for it. I give her the treat, she bites my fingers to get it and she leaps, spins and barks at the receding car.

OK, she hasn't mellowed entirely, and yet for years, Abby woke up promptly at 5:01 a.m. and wanted to go outside. Now she'll sleep in until 8:00. I think back, trying to remember, when did that change? She can now be off-leash in the house. She's able to be recalled from scorching off in a sable blaze to the kill the cat we've had for four years. Another subtle change.

Yes, Abby, our little whiskey-colored girl, is mellowing with age. And though life with her is smoother, it makes me very sad.

Intriguing and inspiring, the Hindu Temple in Maple Grove supplies a mini-vacation to an exotic location. The larger temple is filled with smaller, intricately carved concrete temples, each of which houses a Hindu goddess or god. The goddesses and gods are carved from marble, granite or wood, and garbed in colorful silks. Incense scents the air, and priests perform ceremonies in melodic languages.