Walking into spring

 Monday: It was my first day walking since I got back from Montana. I had to take the two who had missed it most, Della and Elvis. 

Tuesday: Della again, but with Paisley this time. Paisley was very happy to be included. I remembered back to when I first got Paisley and started walking with her. She was scared of me and would walk a full leash length away from me, far out to the side where she would keep an eye on any movement I made. She's still freaky weird, but she's also very devoted to me now and thinks she's my number one outdoor guardian dog. 

Wednesday: I didn't hike because we went to town in the evening and saw a film at the Paramount Theater, Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse. It was good and it was timely. Really got me thinking about this year's garden projects. I have lots to do and need to get started on it this weekend.

When I left for Montana there were just a few daffodils in bloom. When I returned, they all were. This is the best these daffodils have ever bloomed and I had planted 100 more inside the fence, but I haven't seen any of them yet this spring.

This saucer magnolia in the center of the driveway is having a good year too. Some years it gets nipped by frost, but there's been no threat of that this year. There's a certain time early in the morning when you can see the blue meteor lights that I hung in this tree and the pink flowers before the sun comes up enough to shut off the lights. I saw it this morning, very pretty. 

Thursday: Bailey and Ford. I have been neglecting my baby girl since I got back because she's been tasked with baby sitting the new foster, Ford, and both of them have been spending the days out in Daneland with Norman to keep him company. I need to start walking Norman but I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet. Today I walked Bailey and Ford. I put rope harnesses on both and expected both to be out front pulling me like a team of horses. Bailey certainly did so, but Ford surprised me. The former owners must have done some work walking with him. He was out front with her part of the time, but he never really pulled me and he often dropped back and walked right next to me. He's really a nice dog. The first couple of nights he fussed and cried in the crate for a while at night, but he's over that now, and unlike Bailey he doesn't destroy the nice bed in his crate. 

2.4 miles

Old girl walk: Candace and Maya

After walking Della and Paisley today (two miles), I put on a pot of soup to cook and then went out for a second walk with my two old girls, Candace and Maya. I haven't walked with Maya in a long time because she doesn't seem to want to go any more, and I had never walked with Candace. I kept it to just one mile but I think both girls enjoyed it.

Maya doesn't ask to go out on hikes any more and that's ok, she's hiked hundreds or more likely thousands of miles with me over the past 10 or so years. But I put her harness on her today and she didn't seem to mind it. In fact she headed directly for the van because she knew what it meant. Once we got going she seemed to enjoy herself like she always did.

After finally getting Candace back, I had been loath to take her anywhere outside the yard. But she's really been enjoying outdoor time on these nice days we've had recently, and I've seen her run around enough in the yard and pasture I felt that she was up for a hike, and she was. 

Candace and I don't have a leash walking history, however, and she was a bit nervous about getting in the van and starting out on the hike. Once we got going she wanted to do her thing while I wanted to do mine, so we both had to make some compromises. One mile was enough and she's sleeping soundly this evening. 

Skiing with Florence and me

A few years back there was a movie titled "Florence Foster Jenkins." The subject of the film was a New York socialite from the 1920s up to her death in 1944. She was a patron of the arts who was herself an amateur soprano. Florence fancied herself an opera singer and she occasionally performed for friends and even gave private recitals. However, Florence Foster Jenkins couldn't carry a tune in a bucket. She had many friends in the music world who actually were talented musicians, but no one told her she was terrible because so many of them were dependent upon her patronage. Eventually, after a public performance that received honest and terrible reviews, she came to realize the truth, resulting in this famous quote from her: "People may say I can't sing, but no one can ever say that I didn't sing." It was a great movie starring Meryl Streep in the title role and an inspiration for people trying to do something they enjoy without being afraid of failure.

Replace the word "sing" with "ski" and it pretty much sums up my recent experience learning to ski in Montana this past week.

I went out to visit my sister who lives near Helena, MT. She and her family all ski and it's something I've wanted to try. I'm not sure how many people take up skiing at age 65, and I should have done it sooner, but I've been busy. Skiing isn't just a winter sport, it's part of the culture of Montana. It's actually one of the better parts of the culture of Montana. There's also casinos, weed, and trumpers, to name just a few. I got a lesson on the first day and that was very helpful, but it's one of those things you just have to keep doing until you can. Falling isn't hard, getting up is hard. But it is fun once you develop enough skill that's it's not just terrifying. We did lots of other things with family and friends during the week as well and I had a really good time.

Would I do it again? Oh yes, but I'd really like to do it on hills rather than a mountain. However, they don't seem to build ski slopes like that. Did I learn? I learned what I need to do to get better. It wasn't pretty and I was exhausted at the end of each day that I skied, but I did it. And I'm confident that I'll be better the next time, whenever it may be.

This is Lone Peak, over 11,000 feet in elevation, the center piece of the ski world at Big Sky, Montana. There are actually ski runs on the steep face of that mountain, which just seems absurd. I didn't go anywhere near there.

This is me at my ski lesson, my instructor, Dave, is in front. This was actually at a different ski resort called Great Divide. Notice that I have no ski poles, they aren't for beginners. Apparently they are a "crutch."

This is me, second from the bottom, being pulled up the small beginners hill.

 And this is me coming down the hill, weaving around the cones, at the conclusion of my lesson.

A resident Bernese Mountain Dog in the bar after my lesson. He was hustling french frys.

The long blue tube encloses a conveyor belt (the magic carpet) that you stand on to be transported up the hill at Big Sky. The magic carpet is just for the beginners' slope, there is a network of ski lifts that conveys skiers all over the 5,800 acres of the resort.

This is me emerging from the magic carpet for the first time. The guy on the left was operating it. He was very friendly and encouraging to beginners. Good customer relations skills. I have to assume he was stoned.

I made many trips up the hill on this the first day and then skied back down to the beginning. I learned that my left leg is stronger and much more confident than my right. Consequently, making left turns was much more difficult for me. Also, the walking that you have to do to move about on skis is much more difficult that you'd think. I got overheated and exhausted after a while and had to take a break.

This is the second magic carpet, it had two tracks and takes you further up the hill. However, I found the slope of the hill was easier at the top of this one.

This is the umbrella bar, an outdoor but enclosed space that provided water and sold drinks. It was a welcome respite but I did go back for a couple more runs after I cooled off and rested up for a while.

People leave their skis on these outdoor racks, and leave their non-ski gear in open, unsecured "lockers" and no one steals them. 

It clouded up and began to snow in the afternoon.

I took that as a sign that it was time to quit and retired to the bar, but many people continued to ski even in very low visibility conditions.

The second day was a snow day on the mountain so we didn't sky and instead walked around the village. This is a brewery, of course, with a nice mastiff customer.

This is my sister Paula and I in the village.

There was a few inches of fresh snow on everything the next day.

My sister took me up on one of the ski lifts the next day. It was still a beginner level slope but it was much longer and seemed much steeper than the one I had been practicing on. But the views were better too.

My sister skied behind me to so she could show up if (when) I fell. I made a couple runs down this long hill before calling it a day. I had finally learned to be able to turn when I needed to, but the effort you have to put out to slow yourself down to a reasonable speed wore me out. 

This is a picture of a dog in the seat in front of me on the trip home. That's it for my first experience on skis. It may seem odd, but I thought of Florence Foster Jenkins often during the week and took inspiration from her. People may say I can't ski, but no one can ever say that I didn't ski.

Ford

I got back home Saturday night about midnight and had a new foster dog by Sunday afternoon. His name is Ford and he's with Green Dogs Unleashed. He's about a year old, neutered male, possibly a lab/aussie mix? He's deaf but not blind. He's crate trained and seems to be house trained and he's good with other dogs. 

I put Ford in the dog yard and brought out Maya, Della, Paisley, and Elvis to meet him through the fence. I soon let Maya and Elvis in with him and he was running and playing with Elvis almost immediately. I later brought in Della who checked him out and Paisley who just ignored him, which was best. I moved him over the a/c yard next to the house and then let Bailey out with him. It didn't take long before they are playing together and they continued that after I brought them in the house. 

As I'm writing this on Sunday evening, he's laying next to my chair in the office. I'll put him and Bailey in adjacent crates tonight. 

He's a great dog. He knows some sign language and apparently is very food motivated. He ate dinner this evening near Bailey (I stood between them). He ate his food immediately and with enthusiasm, no sign of even considering a hunger strike. He's a young dog so of course he will need some continued training and I think a home with a play companion would be ideal. Welcome Ford.

This is Ford. Look at that beautiful tail.

Maya telling him how things work around here.

Elvis was very playful and frisky today.

The two of them had some good run and chase.

Getting checked out by Della.

Meeting Bailey

Similar age and size, they should play well together.

Clay told me that Bailey has been playing with Della while I've been gone

so she's been working on her aerial game and tried it out on Ford as well.