Nothing remarkable

It was a cooler day but the sun was shining, beautiful walking weather even if it's still a bit muddy. I took Bailey and Elvis and picked trails that avoided most of the mud. Nothing remarkable, but a nice 3.5 mile walk on a nice day. 

Walking with Ted

I'm not sure how much he weighs, but I'm pretty sure that Ted is beginning to put on some much needed weight. He should be, he's eating more than anyone around here. Actually I wish I could just directly transfer some of my weight to him. He's still very lean but I think he's beginning to smooth out a bit. He's putting on muscle to cover his bony parts anyway. 

I took Ted for a walk today. I think it was our first. He wasn't bad but he had a tendency to lead and to wander off to the right instead of staying to the left. That was better in the second mile of the two mile route today. He would look at me whenever I called his name and got rewarded with a treat stuffed in his mouth. 

He's great at home. Although he does come out of the dog yard (we're not sure where or how), he never tries to run off. He's very good in his crate and his excited spinning and screaming is getting rarer each day. Ted likes to be inside and he prefers the bed at my feet under my desk but he will go into his crate when I ask. He's a pretty easy dog.

Bailey goes to town

It was another beautiful day and I wanted to walk, but really needed a new experience for Bailey. I was going to take her into Charlottesville and do the river walk, but I wasn't sure we would be able to finish before dark. We went to the downtown mall instead and walked the full length of it. We only got a mile of distance but it full of new things for Bailey. She would have preferred seeing deer and squirrels I'm pretty sure, but she needs this.

We parked in the Market Street parking garage but took the stairs down. The first thing that really distracted her was her own reflection in the glass store fronts we walked by. There were a lot of people but she wasn't fussed about that and we even saw a couple of dogs that she was happy enough to ignore. Walking at the park she's full of confidence and is out front, usually pulling me forward. Not so today. She let me lead and she followed quite well, but I did have a lot of trouble getting her to actually look at and pay attention to me. I think downtown walks may require hotdogs as treats. When she did look at me she would readily sit for me and take her treat, however.

We rode the elevator back up in the garage because I don't like stairs. The initial movement freaked her out a little bit. All things considered it went well and she did well. She's fine with new things, her brain was busy taking it all in. We just need to do it more often.

In praise of longer days

We're still more than a month away from the equinox but you can already tell that the days are getting longer. Today was a beauty so I stayed out as long as possible, finishing my walk as it was getting dark at 6:30. 

This wasn't a training walk. I took both Bailey and Elvis, both in harnesses so they could pull if they were so inclined. Bailey did most of the pulling; Elvis was more inclined to stop, sniff, and pee. I ventured into the woods once again and found there are still plenty of muddy areas. I even managed to slip and fall once again, but without injuring anything this time at least. 

We emerged from the woods for the last half mile on the meadow trail that goes through an overgrown area where deer are common. It was getting dark but we did spot a nice group that were probably looking for a spot to bed down for the night. There were at least half a dozen of them, including one buck. Bailey was happy.

The "big announcement"

It's been no secret for quite a while and yet I've never said much about it yet, mostly because very fluid plans have only begun to congeal into something more solid. There are still many things to be worked out and decided, but we are planning to move to France by August 1st of this year. We have rented a place in Lille for three months and will use that time to find something longer term, probably still in Lille. 

Why move? The most obvious and easy answer is everything you see on the news. I'm disgusted with the voting majority in this country and have little faith in the basic human decency of most of them. But that has been true for quite a while and that alone wouldn't have convinced me to move. The real answer is more complex and personal. We've been in the same location and doing the same thing for the past 25 years. It's time to make a change and have some new experiences. I'm retiring at the end of March, so this is one of those times to look back, reflect, and also look forward while we still have something to look forward to. 

Why France? We can easily meet the requirements for a renewable one year visitor visa and, this is a big one, Clay speaks the language. Why Lille? Cost of living, location, and proximity to high speed rail line are primary factors. We will be within a 2.5 hour train ride of London, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam or Cologne. We may or may not stay there forever, but it seems like a reasonable place to start. 

It's going to be a big change in every aspect of our lives. If we hate it, we'll do something else, but we are committing to it and will adapt as needed. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Everyone's big question is what about the dogs? The answer to that is still to be determined in part. We don't plan to be involved in rescue work over there, but in the future, who knows? I do plan to continue the blog, but its focus will necessarily change.

Today's pictures aren't exciting, just pictures from today's training walk with Bailey. We practiced sit, look, and stay, as well as walking. She did very well, of course, but she got rather freaked out when a group that I assume was the track team from the high school ran by us. We need to start doing our training walks in town.