Half of a Junior Courser

Early this morning, we drove up to Dixon for a lure coursing trial courtesy of the Northern California Whippet Fanciers' Association. It was worth the drive and the early rise, since Cyrus had a great time. We entered him for a Junior Coursing test, somewhat optimistically. He had never run on a lure before, although he had seen a trial as a puppy. Even so, he had a good instinct to chase and took off right away when it was his turn. 800 yards was a bit long for him, but he finished pretty gamely (a bird swooped right in front of him in the last 50 yards or so, but he found the lure again).

All he needs now is one more successful completion to get his Junior Coursing title.

He slept soundly on the way home.

Off Leash Wilderness Area

We just visited Sunol Regional Wilderness Area, part of the Bay Area watershed. Our goal was a rocky gorge where the Alameda Creek cascades through a tumble of boulders. This spot is so lovely it has earned the name "Little Yosemite."

It was a very beautiful area.

The best part is... dogs are not only allowed, but they are allowed off-leash on trails once you leave the parking lot/camp ground area. I tagged along with Mom and Dad and their friends Maribelle and Ernest. Since Matt can't hike yet on his knee, I was restricted to one dog. Which one should I take? Cyrus is best on a leash but hates the car and has feathering that catches everything. Mya is smallest and therefore easiest to control and doesn't take up much space in the car, but I wasn't sure she was up to the hike. Plus, she's not really friendly and two yappy dachshund mixes were already on the guest list (ha to Dad, if he's reading this). Sasha is the least pleasant on leash - she pulls as badly as Mya does but is nearly 4x the weight - but is very friendly and is most in need of something to wear her out.

Sasha went.

Here she is, delighted with the prospect of a trip. Also, not afraid of the camera. Apparently they are only scary when one is at home. I figured the leash time would be good for her. Then we found that the dogs could be off leash.

After much internal debate (and a lot of being hauled up and down the trail by a husky mix) I decided that she was up to the challenge. She has never been a dog to take off and leave her pack and is fairly good about checking in, even if her classic recall is not picture perfect. (In fact, her pack instinct is so strong that she got very upset when anyone would leave the group, even crying when Mom walked back up the trail to one of the restrooms.)

Sasha was exceedingly glad to go leashless. She and Max zoomed up and down the trail, impatient with us slowpokes, but very good about checking in. And they didn't even chase any cattle (the trail went right through grazing pasture! It was very odd...).

Waterdog Sasha enjoys splashing at Little Yosemite. Max, Lab that he is, jumped right in and swam around. Then found a stick and begged us to throw for him.

Pisco was not a big fan of wilderness areas. He prefers laps. Molly does not like it when Dad climbs on rocks and she cannot follow. They both enjoy some comforting, which moms excel at.

Dad photographs the gorge.

Little Yosemite from the "front" side.

Molly loves it when she can follow Dad, no matter where he goes.

Sasha loves it when she can go anywhere. At high speeds, for preference. Note her instant response to being called... It's a work in progress. At the very least, an excellent day was had by all.

Puppies!

So, above, you see the brand new family. A single parent family. Cute little fluffy dog (looking sad in this picture) is the little dog I found lost and lonely in February in the parking lot of the Kingdom Hall. I didn't want to take such a sweetie (and she is absolutely sweet, even with my dogs who are all marginal at best) to the pound, so I decided to foster her while we looked for her owner. I filled out lost dog reports with both of our area shelters and put up ads and posters all over. The county shelter informed me that after 2 weeks she would be considered my dog, "nonreturnable" in other words.

Or, in a nicer way of looking at it, adoptable. Enter a good friend from Fresno, who indicated that he and his new wife were kicking around the idea of adding another little fluffy dog to their family, which already included a charming, pleasantly spoiled dog of similar description, named Honey Bear. This is how Sad Little Lost Dog became Polar Bear, beloved member of a wonderful family.

As you may have guessed, Polar Bear came with some surprises of her own. These lovely 5 pups arrived a week ago (they are only 4 days or so in this picture, though). I imagine they will have personalities just as sweet as Mama, who is shy but utterly without aggressive tendencies, and to whom everyone is eventually a friend.

Good job, Polar Bear. I know you'll be a good mom to these great puppies.

Where does the time go?

I would love to say I'd been superbusy with this or that. But it turns out to just be an awful lot of this'n'thats (and an unhealthy dose of Farmville) but I can still come up with some updates.

First of all, the little lost fluffy dog we found in February has surprised us. She was adopted by William and Rachel in Fresno, after we gave up hope of finding her owner. Apparently, she was a week or so pregnant by the time we found her and she has given birth to five healthy, adorable puppies. Whoever daddy was, he must have looked a lot like Ms. Polar Bear, because her puppies look just like her. She couldn't have picked better people because Will and Rachel are delighted with them, as anyone who's Facebook friends of theirs can attest. Lucky girl.

Next, and nowhere near as exciting as puppies, my garden is starting to produce. I've been harvesting lettuce and other greens. I've eaten all my broccoli raab. I've learned that I should plant these kinds of things earlier in the year (and I'll probably have a better time of it in fall, too). The dogs have helped, such as it is. When they dug out the bed I had in the backyard, they seem to have spread radishes far and wide. I have so far found five radishes that managed to tough it out and grow in the most difficult of circumstances. Who knew a radish was so determined? Forget The Landscaping Ideas of Jays, next time I'll just ask Sasha's opinion.

Finally, I am working on the design for my first Yudu screen project, loosely based on these photos from the Desert Botanical Gardens. I just love the idea of those poppies and bluebells together. (The images are large size so I can print them off the internet later. Our printer is too cheap for nice prints)

Arizona Blitz

We got back early this morning from a three day whirlwind tour of Phoenix and Sedona Arizona. We had a wonderful time and saw and did many post-worthy things. Unfortunately, there isn't enough time this evening to do the trip justice, so I'm going to put up a selection of the best pictures and fill in on the rest of it later.

Desert Run

I had a wonderful invitation from Maryanne and Karen to bring Cyrus out to Reno to run with the big dogs. We had a lousy time getting over Donner Pass, what with the snow and road closures, but the great time we had in the desert was worth it. Here are some pictures.

Cyrus, pretending he's lost in the Sahara. He spent much of the time about 8" from my heels, as is his preference when strange dogs are about.

Getting ready to set out, here are Karen and Jan along with dogs Zoe, Sansar (I think), Summer, and Mystic.

Maryanne's Keno, having a postcard moment.

In the foreground is Maryanne's Blaze, zooming along. The beagle in the middle distance is 12 year old Trooper. I have never seen a dog more aptly named.

My camera is too slow to catch any real running action, but we had a wonderful time.

A breath of sun

The dogs have gotten sick of the rainy weather. They love the couch, of course, but there is only so much curling-up they want to do. Especially Sasha.

What's that? Dog park, you say? If she had hands, she'd be clapping. Instead, she roo-roos, as should not surprise anyone who's ever been to my house or talked to me on the phone when I've just come home.

He is just a lovely looking dog. If he was this happy and relaxed at the dog shows, he would come home with a ribbon for sure.

Happy dogs come from California dog parks. See how the weeds very nearly make a lawn? All the dogs were frisky that day, even the little old Lab mix with the gray face.


The mallows were growing up rather clumpy, which provided endless fascination for all concerned. "Have I sniffed this one yet? Peed on it? Has someone else peed on it since I sniffed it last?"

Only dog owners will think this is funny. Everyone else, just enjoy the pictures... :)