Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Oddities

 

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Today will be short.  I’m a bit down.  Don left you know.  Gee, I miss the little guy. No one is humping me from behind when I least expect it, no one to tackle me as I  daintily eat my dinner, no one to steal my bed when I  rest my weary bones.  Anything I want to do I can. Isn’t it odd?  Shouldn’t I be thrilled the little pest is gone?

With his departure my walks decreased by about 100%.  P1040911 When Don was here we were on a military schedule.  Out at 6:30 a.m. for a walk, crawl back to bed until 8 (shh, don’t tell anyone about that because owner is embarrassed about it) breakfast, rest time for an hour while owner zoomed around making a mess of the condo, then a good hour and a half of pure pleasure walking and sniffing.  Don meant I was guaranteed that time outdoors, always heading in new directions, meeting new dogs, messing about with boats so to speak.   Ahhhh.  Pure bliss.  This does not take into account the fact that later on in the afternoon we’d head out for another hour’s walk.  My posterior was getting back into fighting form– and you all know that has been a concern for me since the Fall. (Do Your Ears Hang Low – September 29, 2009 posting) My role as teacher of the younger generation has been taken away from me.  I’m just drifting aimlessly through life, feeling useless and unappreciated. It has really played with my head.

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We hit the cross country trails out at Trout Lake the other day.  It is all uphill…but a gentle uphill so it doesn’t feel tough.  The snow was falling the entire time we were out  which made it ultra beautiful.   Although it was easier heading out on a trip without Don, we all missed him and it put a bit of a damper on the outing.  

I get the feeling I will be going for a visit to Lane and Dan soon. All of the talk around here is Iditarod this, Iditarod that. This is odd to me.  They go on one dogsled ride over  a year ago and suddenly they are headed to the Iditarod. Do they know anything about it? NO! Have they any idea how cold it will be in Alaska?  NO! Have they got friends up there?  NO!  Do they knP1050265ow anyone in the race, going to the race, who has ever been to the race?  Well, when you put it that way, YES. Owner’s cousin and her family are big mushers.  In face they own about 40 dogs up in Canada and they love to race them.    Check them out at:  http://www.willowbendsiberians.com/

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Sue and her family won’t be racing in the Iditarod but they are owner’s one teensy tiny tie to the big race!  Other than that the closest these guys have ever been to a dogsled race is reading Gary Paulsen’s Winterdance.  I think owner practically fell off the couch laughing when she read that book. Maybe they will get that on DVD some day and I can listen to it as we journey back  to Texas.

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My mental health is stable  for now.  I’m managing to deal with my grief. I hear Don has gone to hang out at someone else’s house for a few days as he gets used to being without us.  He’s the talk of the town in Telluride. Everyone is trying to come up with a great place for him to call home. For a short while I thought it would be here but…no go. A friend of a friend has talked about fostering him in town  for a while so maybe we could do a little babysitting once in a while. I bet Don would be surprised to see us.  Do you think he’d pee on the furniture to pay us back for returning him to the shelter?  

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My eyes are peeled and my ears are open as I try to discern when I shall be shunted down to Wash-n-Watch Dogs for a short haul.  Lane’s place is at a lower altitude so hopefully it will be a bit warmer and I can find a sunny spot to work on my tan. 

Here are some fabulous photos that Benj and College dug up re dogs and sleds and snow.  If you have some time to spare…take it and enjoy the shots. Gorgeous is a word.   See ya later.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/02/dogs_and_sleds.html

1 comment:

Jennie said...

Just wanted to let you know that Don found a good forever home today - Valentine's Day no less. We met him last week at the shelter and ran across your blog looking at the 2nd Chance Facebook page. Your blog really sealed the deal! Thanks!