Wonderful Weekend.

The past weekend  was very peaceful and recharging and I enjoyed it  thoroughly. On Saturday Simon and I woke up to a wonderful surprise. It was after 6am and still below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. To celebrate our good fortune we hooked up to the bike for a nice ride. Being Saturday I didn't have any classes so I decided to take a new road and explore some farmland a few miles away. We both had a blast cruising across the dirt roads and exploring new places. When I stopped for a quick break to pick some wild flowers I discovered that we had already gone over 4 miles. Before this  past weekend the most we had gone over the summer was 6 and although the weather was still nice I decided to head back before Simon got tired.

On our way back we noticed as luck would have it the farmers market was going on just across from the school. As a nice cool down we went over to walk around and check out what the market had to offer. This Market is held right next to the community gardens which was pretty cool. It wasn't very large but they had a lot of offer and the people were really nice. Simon and I enjoyed some ice cream and a breakfast burrito. We also stocked up on some peaches to take home with us. He did really good there but we had biked almost 9 miles at this point so it helped that he had taken the edge off.

After the market we both headed home for a nice power nap.

Sunday morning we woke up to 45 degrees Fahrenheit so still nice and cool but not as fantastic as yesterday. We biked a few miles and did a little training before I noticed I had biked over a bunch of "goat heads" and they had embedded themselves in my tires causing my front tire to go flat. I first checked Simon but fortunately he hadn't gotten any in his feet. We had to walk the bike back but I was planning to take is easier today so I guess that all worked out.

So add to the to do list for the week:
Fix the bike
Go berry picking
Study for tests quizzes and finish homework.

Wordless Wednesday: Taking pictures of Simon.

There are some pretty flowers at school. Couldn't resist taking some pictures with Simon.

Simon was nice in humoring me taking a ton of pictures.

I call this the "lion king" pose.

I didn't think red would be a good color for Simon but he really pulls it off.

It really is a beautiful campus. 

"Can I water the flowers yet?"

"What about the bush?"

An open letter

To the person who called me a crazy dog lady,

Yes I heard you say that as we were walking back in after the fire alarm tonight. From the mocking tone I can tell how you meant it. But your right maybe more than you know.  I am a crazy dog lady in that I have a dog who is documented as my emotional support animal to help me deal with mental health issues. Is your issue with those of us who are suffering from mental illness but are doing our best to still get up and be productive and contributing members of society? Maybe we need some help from medications or some sort of  support system. And yes my support system includes my dog. Maybe your issue was that on waking up to the smoke alarm I not only slipped on shoes and grabbed my keys but I also brought my dog. My dog does a lot for me the least I can do is make sure he is safe and doesn't have to listen to the alarm that my ears find painful.
Something about this situation made you feel like we deserved to be mocked.  Well like I said you are right I am the crazy dog lady.

Thanks for reminding me.

Simon and I moved!

I am going to school in Twin Falls and Simon came with me for the adventure. This has meant a lot of change for Simon and I most of all from living in a decently large condo to a very small dorm room. Simon has volunteered to give a tour of our new home.

Simon. Simon?

Simon wake up you're giving a tour.

"What"

Remember you said you would give the room tour so I could keep working on my homework?

"Fine."

"Welcome to our room. This is my kennel and my food puzzle bone. If I get tired of trying to get food out of the puzzle I will just drop in on mom's computer so she will get it out for me."

"As you can see one of my main goals is to take all of my toys out of the kennel and put them all over the room. It's going really well."

"This is the bed it is the best place to hid toys and also to look out the window. also it's always a good idea to throw all the pillows off the bed any chance you get."

"Check out that view! On our walks outside I have found a lot of squirrels and some bunnies so I have to check the window a lot. Mostly it's just people but you never know when you might find a squirrel!"

"This is Mom's desk. Where she writes and get's on the computer and eats and does a lot of stuff. I am mostly napping when she is at her desks unless she is eating it's all pretty boring."

"A few days ago we video chatted with some friends in Utah and they got to watch how awesome I am at catching treats."

"The desk is also where she keeps a lot of stuff."

"Maybe the desk isn't all bad."

"Always need to check out the fridge."

"haha I jumped in the laundry basket again!"

"My side of the closet. This is my food. I'm not sharing."

"Hey now I can pre husky hair all of her clothes!"

"What you want me to get out?"

"Thanks for visiting, If you show yourself out I can get back to my nap."

Sadie and her Frog.

I got Sadie a Frog Toy and she is adorable.

This is just pictures of Sadie being really cute.

Enjoy.

Also FYI Sadie and I were in the Blackfoot dog show and sometime soon I will have the time to post about it. She was awesome it was awesome.

You know you're a dog person when...

This last weekend I got some time off and was able to go to a hot spring for a family reunion. My first reaction to the idea?
Dread, worry, stress.
You might be wondering why?  Honestly it just makes me uncomfortable to leave my dogs. I tell that to some people and they just stare because they don't understand.

It kind of got me thinking  what other situations are unique to dog people.

For example:

You know you're a dog person when you worry more about your dog's diet than you own. Extra points if you are willing to spend more on healthy food for them while you are eating PB&J sandwiches.

You know you're a dog person when you leave somewhere early because it's time to feed your dog.

You know you're a dog person when you no longer notice dog hair on your clothes.

You know you're a dog person when your time off is filled with dog related activities. Extra points if you do dog sports that require travel and using vacation time.

You know you're a dog person when it starts to affect your decor.

You know you're a dog person when you spend all your money on things for your dogs.

You know you're a dog person when talking about anal glands and poop consistency are totally normal and not gross topics.

You know you're a dog person when you are more likely to shop at a store if your dog can come too. Thank you Home Depot, Lowe's, Sportsman's Wearhoue, Cabella's, and of course pet stores.

You know you're a dog person when you actually know what a bully stick is.

Not that kind of bully.

You know you're a dog person when you not only know there are different kinds of dog training, but you have read up and studied them to find out what works best for you.

You know you're a dog person when your idea of hanging out with friends includes getting together and training dogs.

Hiking.

One of my big personal goals is to get in better shape and hike more. Some might even say those are kind of linked.

I also really want to be able to hike with my dogs off leash where it is permitted so they can do all their dog sniffing and running around but also stick close and come when called.

We have been working on their recall. They are pretty good most of the time however I took them out for field test they showed we still have a lot of work to do. Out in the mountains they were distracted by the environment. Also the dense vegetation made it difficult to see them even if they were close.

After a failed test I kept them on leash unless we were in a more visible area I also let them get tired as well as explore some on leash so when we tried again they were much better also tired and hungrier so they were better for the treats.

Clearly we have more work to do. I think in the future I am going to let them acclimate on leash for a while first. I also might bring a long leash although in the kind of hiking we did recently it wouldn't work out well and would just get tangled.

I also might only bring one dog. It's easier to pay attention to only one and to keep the attention focused on me. It's also easier to keep track of just one rather than have split attention.

It was still a beautiful adventure and although it showed us that we need to work on and improve our off leash training they were both very good at posing for pictures and staying when asked. Also at the end they both did well after they were a little tired and acclimated to environment. Simon mostly stuck close even when he was ignoring me (good and bad here). Also we hiked for over two hours and I did better that I thought even though it was high altitude.

Lots to work on but over all I had a wonderful time with my dogs and can't wait for our next adventure.