2016 ASCA Nationals

Trialed the prior two weekends, then worked all week, trained a little, threw in a couple of lessons before d-day, packed Mona's Rav4 to the gills, got 5 hours sleep, and hit the road on a pre-dawn Friday morning.  Jemima, Vixen & Lizzie on board.  Pre-dawn hurts, but the no traffic part made it all worthwhile.  ASCA Nationals or bust!

A few stops to let the dogs romp, almost ran out of gas, and 11ish hours later we arrived mid-afternoon and set up.  The rings were set up, the courses built, and canopies were going up all around.  As is my preference - a girl needs her space - I chose a spot far from the madding crowd, beneath a big, shady old tree.  Showtime next morning!

Back yard behind our set up

The event was held at the Linn County Fairgrounds in Willamette Valley.

It was a nice, pretty, spacious place.  Would've been a whole bunch better if they had watered the grounds in the weeks prior to our event.  The ground was not soft ...

Front yard where the action is!

The agility part of the event was a good half mile from the rest - stock, conformation, obedience, rally.

For the first time ever - thanks to my friends - when I had a little downtime I rode to & from the venues in a golf cart.

Our esteemed and dapper Finals judge, Ric Pittman.

Pre-trials were put on by various ASCA host clubs on Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday.  So we all got to practice and play, and the dogs got accustomed to the place.  Sandwiched in between - on Monday - was the Finals.

Jemima was her superstar self in 3 out of the 4 classes. I could see that the hard ground was tiring for her (her only day of a full schedule), and when she fizzled on the gamble - the class that was not like the others - I said C'mon let's get outtahere!  

She's 10.  She can do whatever she wants now.  I'm happy to play along.

And yet, she qualified in her 403rd Regular run Thursday morning, earning her ATCH X.  

10 at 10!  403 clean Regulars, 102 clean Jumpers, 102 clean Gamblers.

That's my Huckleberry!!!!!!!!!!

Just got an earful after a fast run.

Vixen wasn't in the Finals - not this time.  She needed one Gamblers Q for her ATCH, and we got that sucker 34 days after the dang cut-off.  And got another one right away for insurance.

We still had a blast running on all the other days. She placed high in a quite few classes in her large division, including a first in Jumpers.  Attagirl!




Another big highlight was toward the end of the week.  We gathered as many Woodstock kids as we could find, and did a fabulous family photo!  It looks like it was easy.  Hah!  They were a bit excited, and there were ducks in the pond behind the photographer ...

Woodstock represents!

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After finally sleeping past 5am for the first time in weeks, we hit the road Saturday morning for home.  With the cutest dogs there.  They did me proud.

Nationals bling is fun.

Next up ... 2016 Cynosports!

Fr-r-reezing in July

Wait.  What?  Yeppers.  We trialed in Prunedale a couple of weekends ago and froze our ninnies off.  It was hot inland and up in the mountains at my house, but not in Prunedale.  No sireee.  It never warmed up.  Coastal fog ... also known by locals as an effective tourist repellant.  We wore jackets and hats and some of the dogs had their coats on.  What in the Sam Hill?

Of course we still had fun.  Rain or ice, we must agilitize.  It was the Bay Team's annual 3-day July 4th trial.  Vixen was in Team on Saturday with Liza/Jefe and Annette/Savvy.  Hefe's Harlots.  A BC, an aussie, and Jefe.  Tha man.  WE WON 2ND PLACE!!!  We proud.  Jemima, meanwhile, had the day off and enjoyed visiting and walkabouts and lounging around.

The rest of the weekend was also good.  And cold.  Jemima ran clean in all but one of her classes, little superstar - a Gamblers.  She sailed through the opening, got the tricky gamble, and then sailed off the a-frame a little early.  The judge's face fell.  Made me laugh.  So close!!  But she nailed the rest of her classes, and even got another Super Q in Snooker (the Q she once needed for her ADCH).  Huckleberry Agility.

Vixen had some fantastic runs and qualified in several, including two more of the once elusive Standard runs.  That's the way it always seems to work once you've earned an ADCH with the one class you've needed for a while.  They come rolling in when the pressure's off.  We even had a couple of 'zone runs.'  I often imagine how it would be if I actually trained.  Sheesh.

I rule this lap

Meanwhile, back at base camp ...

Erika brought her new puppy.

'Prima is my name.  Adorable is my game.'

There is nothing like an aussie puppy.

It's good to be loved

Little red girl.  What a cutie!!  She soon settled right into the busy-ness of a trial atmosphere.

Get used to it pumpkin!  You hit the jackpot with this family!

That was a bag of treats, right?

So I helped with the workers store this trial.  Several of us crate around it, creating a great little ringside village green.  (Our basecamp.)

After a run, I was on my way through toward the back where my set up was, when Vixen beelined for one of the tall chairs.

Well alrighteethen!  Mind the shop, missy.  I'm going to get lunch!

And meanwhile, back at the ranch - where it was warm - I had two AirBnB guests at my house during the entire trial.  Mother & daughter hiking duo, enjoying the redwoods.
They were great!
Happy to meet the pups, and even asked how they did at the trial.  

Well I'm happy to tell you ... how long do you have?

ADCH Vixen!!!!!

Welcome, Summer Solstice.  You came in just as sure-footed as ever on a day when I was recovering from  a whirlwind weekend at the tail end of Spring.  In fact, I sacked out while the longest day of the year with its Strawberry Moon was still burning bright.

It had been a Bay Team trial weekend in Prunedale, followed by a 5am Monday alarm and an extremely busy full day of work, a needed load of laundry afterwards, and finally, gratefully a full collapse in fresh sheets.

This trial had a few things going on that caused some big emotions on my part, which added to the usual post-trial zombie-exhaustion.  First of all, it was the first time I tried Jemima at 12".  A knowledgeable friend watched her run both 12" and 16", and said she thought she actually looked better at 16".  She also had no problems going from one height to the other, which is a good thing.  I wanted to see how she did at both heights.  Good to know all's well there as we transition to a lighter schedule.

Love this girl!

Vixen has needed one Standard Q for her Agililty Dog Championship in USDAA (ADCH), and it has been elusive for a myriad of reasons - a bar, a contact, etc.  Case in point, I got her through all the tricky parts of Saturday's course, only to make a wrong move and send her off course right afterwards.  D'oh!!!  But she ran it great, and tomorrow's another day!

After her Std class on Sunday, I had plans to whisk her off to her AKC handlers for a foo foo road trip to Montana and Oregon.  Her first time on the road out of state with others, and her first time in the conformation ring in over a year.  It will be a great experience for her, and understandably challenging for me.  She, on the other hand, gets to spend 10 days at the spa!

Vixen earned her ASCA Championship in 2014 in 3 out of 3 shows!
Ch Woodstock's Wild Joyride, shown by breeder Linda Buell

Sunday's Std course was very tricky and full of traps.  I moved Vixen to the top of her class so I could get on the road.  We stood on the start line and waited while the heights were being adjusted, and I just pet her head and told her how much I was going to miss her, that this course was tricky, so let's just have some fun before she goes.

Wicked, trappy Std course

And I'll be damned if she didn't lay it down.  I held my breath over the last 5 jumps, including getting her past an inviting trap tunnel into the right tunnel before heading through a 'box' for the second time, and out.  CLEAN RUN!!!!!!!!!  I grabbed that last jump bar and whooped it up!  We ran around the last part of the course together, celebrating.  What a rush.

Girl knows her contacts!

My friend Marcia drove with me to deliver Vixen to her handlers.  I was super grateful for her company.  Sniff.  Have fun baby girl!  Katrina ran Jemima while I was away and they did well together!  I got back after the trial and helped with the tear down before heading home with my blue huckleberry.

And so it was a bittersweet ending to a very full, rewarding weekend.  

Jemima will be happy to have me to herself again.

May Days

And just where did May go?  It flew through one door and out another this year.  I know that life slows down when I slow down, so there's a hint.

Ten days near the front door were about the bike trip.  And the back door held a 3-day out-of-town ASCA trial.  Two weekends were spent around the house, and that's a good thing after agilitizing every weekend the month before.  That was challenging.

Last weekend's PASA trial was held at Yolo County Fairgrounds again.  It was the last weekend of ASCA's fiscal year, so PASA went big, offering 15 opportunities to qualify for the Finals.  It was hot on Saturday, bloody hot on Sunday, and actually kinda nice on Monday.  Punctuated by tasty burritos, and root beer floats and fruit popsicles.

Jemima got at least 10 more Q's.  Whoop!!  Attagirl!!  And because she's 10, and it was the last trial of ASCA's fiscal year, I planned this as her last full trial running at 16".  She will love jumping lower. I just wasn't expecting the emotions that kept surfacing.  It's an emotional sport anyway, without facing the fact that your long-time partner is slowing down.  But alas, it's time to start her twilight years in agility.  She'll be on a lighter schedule from now until the Finals, and will soon run just in Vets at 12" - a bunny hop for her.  It's a balance - I want to keep her in shape for as long as possible.

Jemima - and her tongue - in the early days, about 2 years old.
Photo by Erika Maurer

I started agility with Jemima.  She's been my steady, solid partner in this game for over 8 years.  Plus 1.5 years of foundation work before that.  Plus all kinds of other fun stuff.  My truest huckleberry.

This little blue girl opened up my world in ways I could never have imagined.

I know, right?  

Vixen did fantastic in 5 of her 6 Regular runs!  She wowed me big time!  I learned early Sunday with my morning coffee that she only needed 1 more Gamblers Q for her ATCH.  We had missed our first 4 opportunities of the trial, so I was a bit anxious going into this last one.  I may have been better off not knowing.  Nope.  No go.  Foiled again!  Drat!!!  Drat drat DRAT!!!  No ATCH.  And therefore maybe no Finals for her this year, unless she gets invited as an alternate.  Time will tell.  But some damn nice Regular runs!




Meanwhile, back at the ranch two days later, Jemima is ready to rumble again.  She was running around the back yard tonight like a wild child, offering her toy.  And after dinner ready for more play, not even ready for bedtime.

Vixen, on the other hand, was worn out.  HAH!!!

And so June walks in the front door ...

Magical Medicine Motorcycle Journey II

All good things must come to an end.  So say the cycles of life and the life of cycles.  And motorcycles.  And our second Magical Medicine Motorcycle Journey (MMMJ2) is no exception.

Jenny & I left for Arizona Saturday, to join the others in Bisbee on Monday the 8th.  We had one day of hard riding getting there; otherwise it was pretty easy!

Two traveled from Switzerland.  They rode down from New Mexico with another.  A fourth - a Cali guy - rode down from a family event in Las Vegas.  Jenny and I rode out from California.  This was our first international MMMJ!

After leaving Melinda's in the California high desert Sunday morning, we rode about 430 miles, and landed in Eloy, AZ ... via 10E to 85S to 8E and back to 10E.  Eloy is just past where 8 joins 10.

Couple of posers

Monday morning we enjoyed a leisurely ride through the Saguaro National Park (see previous blog).  The weather was perfect!  The vistas beautiful.  The cacti - cactuses sounds better - were aplenty.  Propagated by bats.  Who knew?  One a long-nosed bat, the other A long-tongued bat.  Good thing with those spines.

Up and out over Gates Pass into Tuscon we rode ... and onward to Bisbee!

I hope to return someday

Hungry travelers

We arrived around 5pm. The others were already there - with growling tummies - so off we went to sup on enchiladas and fajitas in old town Bisbee.

Amazing historic little mining town.  Houses up and down steep hillsides above the winding streets of downtown, which had shops and restaurants.

I unsuccessfully tried to ignore the GINORMOUS copper colored hole in the ground we passed on the way downtown.  Skyscrapers could fit in it.  Cannot believe we humans did that to the Mother.  Unreal.  Check it out sometime.  Meanwhile ...

View from 'living room'

The Shady Dell is a great little place - restored, vintage trailers.  Jenny & I stayed in the 'Spartanette'.

The trailers were spaced apart enough for privacy, but close enough to feel like a little community.

Fake grass out the front door, lawn chairs - perfect for morning coffee.

There was a gazebo in the center, where we spent most of evenings chatting it up.

Cozy twinsies complete with chenille bedspreads

Sleeping was good.  The windows were open onto quiet, cool evenings.  The days were a little warm, but that's fun when it comes to motorcycles.  Swamp coolers kept the trailers cool inside.

All the ponies lined up out front

Miner fashionistas

Another friend rode down from Phoenix on Tuesday and most went on the Queen Mine Tour, 900' into Mother Earth on a little train.  Not this one, no sireee!!!  They sure had fun, though.  Brave souls.

On a mission

We rode into Tombstone the next day.  Back in time we went!  Lunch, then a stroll down the wooden sidewalks to peruse the shops and watch gunfights.

I saw this group walking down to have a shootout at the OK Corral.  We trailed them, eyeing the tall one.

Wooing Wyatt

Oh hello?  Would you mind?  We know you're busy but ...

They stopped and Doc Holliday took a picture of us with Wyatt Earp.  Who was remarkably taller than both of us.  We decided we'd be more than happy to share him, alternate days of the week - give him Sunday off.  For chores.  :)

Evidently flying saucers, too

The next day started out with breakfast in the town of Lowell.  Which is a block long.  Health food store at the top, a restaurant where some of us had breakfast, motorcycle museum, motorcycle shop, cool old trucks, and 3 very long-legged gals.














Later four of us rode to Kartchner Caverns for another trip underground. I opted to stay above ground again, and enjoyed a nap on a bench in the Hummingbird Garden.  Sweet!  The others came out pretty much blown away by what they experienced.  All starry-eyed and smiling.

Saging for a safe journey

Friday morning, Jenny & I started on our long trip home.  We both wanted to have one day at home before work on Monday, so we rode hard for two days.

Stick a fork in me ...

Friday, from Bisbee to Twentynine Palms.  Roughly 485 miles, including through Tucson and Phoenix.  Damn.  It was hotter than hell that day.  A/C never felt so good.














And Saturday from there home.  500 miles.  Double damn.  Besides the challenge of 10 and 12 hour days on the road, the winds were relentless pretty much the entire trip.  Heading up 101 from Paso Robles was the worst, and at the end of our trip.  I don't think I've ever been so happy to get home.

About 2000 miles overall

Can't wait to do it again.  Great trip.  Good friends, old and new.  

Deep heart connections.  Fun adventures.  

Wonder what next year will bring us?
Until then, good medicine and easy travels!

Saguaro Heaven

My friend Jenny and I hopped on our loaded up bikes last Saturday morning and headed down the road.  VACATION!!!  FINALLY!!!  During the first stop we made - just before getting onto 101S in Prunedale - she smiled and said 'This is fun!'  Couldn't agree more.  We haven't done a bike trip together since our first one howevermany years ago.

Trigger and Ruby, together again

Down 101 to Paso Robles, across 46 and a late lunch in Lost Hills.  Over part of the cold and wet Grapevine brrrr, across 138 into the warm sun, onto 14S and to Littlerock and Melinda & Lorraine's at Sunrise Ranch.  Agility people!  Dogs!  Food! Laughter! And we got to sleep in Melinda's very comfy trailer.  What a treat! Great start to our trip.

View from my bed

Next day down 15 to San Bernadino where we picked up 10E and flew across the desert to Eloy, AZ.  T'was a very long day; rode 430ish miles, mostly into the wind.  Nice big clean room at the local M6.  It's on my good M6 list.

Up for an easy ride the next day as it was just a couple of hours to our final destination, which, btw, had changed.  Mercury went retrograde a week ago, and lots of stuff went haywire including the weather forecasts ...  which resulted in us changing our plans from cold, wet weather in Chinle to warm sun in Bisbee.  Good trade.

Dances with Cactus

On our way to Bisbee this third day, we had time to spare, so headed out to see some sights, opting for the Saguaro National Park off I10.  So glad we did this!!  What a treat!!  Go there!  It's awesome!  Become one with the saguaro.  Appreciate the quiet beauty.

The visitors center/desert museum was exquisitely done.  State of the art.  They play an excellent 15 minute video about the desert and its indigineous people and their beliefs.  If you're not already in love with it, you will be.

The indigenous believe they come from the earth and return to the earth.  That their parents and grandparents are the part of the earth.  That the saguaro resemble people.  That we must take care of it all.

Aho!  All my relations.

Well done Arizona!!!

More adventures await in Bisbee!!!

Readying for the Road

First 3-day weekend at home in what feels like ages.  There were a couple of USDAA trials to choose from this weekend, including a small (love small) trial in Turlock and a big fat Regionals down in SoCal.  But we trialed - and worked all of them - every weekend in April.  So I gave all three of us this weekend off.  Good move!

The HIT winners with Judge Sue Graham

A quick rewind to two weekends ago: a PASA trial, held in Woodland.  Jemima ran all 10 runs clean in this one, and won High in Trial in Vets!  She's 10, and certainly not the fastest dog out there anymore.  We take it easy and she was consistent.  Look at my happy little rock star.  AND she earned her Gold PDCH last Sunday at the SMART trial!






Liza won two!! HIT's with her dogs, Jefe (Novice) and Monty (Elite).  And Akira the Rottie won HIT in the ACE division.

Felton redwood hike

And so back to the latest 3-day weekend! Another friend and her aussies stayed over Thursday night, and we went for a lesson at Heart Dog Friday morning. That was FUN!  Then lunch at Vallarta's in Felton before setting off on an easy hike in the redwoods at Roaring Camp. MORE fun!  





She headed home and I spent the rest of my weekend working on the house and yard a bit, errands, fetch at Highlands Park, practicing distance moves in the back yard (yay!), kicking back with Game of Thrones at night (is that possible?), and prepping for my upcoming bike trip.  A trip long overdue.  Heading to Arizona with some friends to hang out in Canyon de Chelly a few days and other yet-to-be-determined places of beauty.

One of many stunning vistas in Canyon de Chelly

We've been dreaming up this trip for a while.  Then I learned week before last that my bike needed major repair due to a defective system by HD.  Huge setback financially, and I realized I wouldn't be able to make the trip.  My friends wouldn't have it, and arranged to have Trigger repaired.  He was returned to my shed this past week.  Just so.  I am so blown away by their generosity and LOVE.  THANK YOU.

1450cc ... and plenty of shiny stuff to wash

And so, humbled, the very least I could do was wash the bike on this beautiful, warm day in the redwoods.  It's been way too long.  My arthritic hands rebel with all the detail work, so I've been seriously slacking.  They've been feeling better, so I went for it today.  Easy does it.  Just do it.

Subtle homeage to my home state, including barbed wire

Bucket, Dawn soap, warm water.
Rags.
Mother's stainless steel polish.
Leather conditioner.
Rain-X.

Clean is good.  I can see Texas from here!

So much better.

Trigger is sleek and shiny again.

And ready to rumble.

It had better not rain out there and mess up my hard work.

LOL!  You know it will!

A part was replaced in one of the front forks.  A new rear tire.  And out with the chain tensioner system and in with an S&S gear-driven cam.

I'm told he runs not only better, but faster.  Good lord.  Speed was never an issue with this bike.

The girls got lots of play and rest this weekend.  

They'll stay at Camp Nichols while I'm away.  They love it there.

They probably won't want to come home.  ;)

Face cleaning time, in the breeze-filled doorway

And so a week of work, and then
my friend Jenny and I hit the road next Saturday morning!  

Until then!