Weekend Warriors

I'm at the end of three glorious days off that had NO alarm clocks anywhere.  Heaven!  It's been cold at my house and it's easy to sleep in beneath weighty blankets.  And dogs.

Last Friday was Vixen's 4th birthday.  Wow.  4 years old.  Born to a 'reindeer' litter on December 11, 2011.  Her litter mates' names were Donner, Blitzen, Dancer, Prancer, etc.  They all got new names when they went to their forever homes.  Vixen kept her litter name.  Then I go and add Wild Joyride to the mix.  Names have power, some say. 

Yathink?

Who knew ^that^ would turn into this ...

ODG!!! (photo by Marci Thomas)

Tangential!

Oh yeah - the weekend.  I love my long weekends with no trials.  I fall in love with them every time they come around.  I love trial weekends, too.  It's a good balance.  Paid some bills on Friday morning ... drove to BLo, left Jemima to play and hang with Clay, and went on errands with Marcia and Vixen.  Had lunch at Carpo's (Best. Salad Bar. Ever.) ... stopped at PetPals - the local's favorite for pet supplies ... Kohl's for new fleece pj's for the cold.  Took Vixen in with us; she did well inside the store!  'Oooo is that a Border Collie?'  Nope.  Grabbed drinks at Starbucks ... got groceries ... dropped Marcia back at her house, practiced some agility at Heart Dog with the birthday girl, picked up Jemima on my way out and headed home.  Had some popcorn and watched some Game of Thrones on my giant TV.  Fun day, spent with a friend.

Saturday, visited some friends in Scotts Valley for awhile before heading back into Santa Cruz & Capitola for more errands ... lunch on the go ... and back to the San Lorenzo Valley.  Had to stop at a very green, empty Highlands Park for some frisbee!  Then to Heart Dog for a 2 o'clock Vixen lesson with Kathleen.  Worked on distance.  Worked on my distance handling skills.  Visited a bit with Laura & Banksy who came in to practice as we were leaving.

 

Wahoo time!

Watched The Water Diviner with Russell Crowe.  Phenomenal movie.  Tragic, warming, beautiful, captivating.  Fantastic cinematography and acting.  Thumbs UP!!! 

Sunday ... day three already??  Woke up to the sound of rain again.  Backtrack - it rained so damn hard Friday night that I thought my roof might cave in.  Corinne said there was ice on the deck when she went out in the morning, so the noise was hail, and lots of it.  And more rain today.  We need it.  We've all been doing rain dances for a couple of years now, and they're predicting a very strong El Nino this year.  We were heard.

Back to Capitola to return some things... grabbed some frozen yogurt and ran a few more errands including getting pig ears at PetPals since I was nearby and had the luxury of time and errands are mostly boring hello! .. and started back home.  Errands pile up due to work and weekend trials. Stopped in Felton to hike the loop at Roaring Camp.  The only other people and dogs we saw on the trail were a couple of agility friends, Dee and Deb, and their 5 dogs.  Yay!  Hi!!  And they were of course leash-savvy!    
Oh!  The Christmas Tree Trail was up again!  Well, it IS getting close!

This awesome little tribute to the beautiful Christmas tree happens each year at Bear Mountain, at the top of the trail in Roaring Camp.  It's a short, v-ish shaped trail, lined on both sides with theme-decorated trees ... with waterproof decorations (it was raining here and there) ... no electricity, no lights.  Quiet. Heard the occasional raindrops. Special. 

Are those reindeer up there?

Great weekend.  Time to turn in early so I'm not grouchy and tired tomorrow.  The inevitable Monday is encroaching.  I'm just glad there's only one a week.

Happy trails!