Sunrise Sunday

I talked with the little human about joining Hazel and I on a sunrise hike. The last time I took her at sunrise was last year, and it was winter, so the sun came up much later. Sunday morning, I woke them both up at 5:45am so that we could hit the road. I admit, it was tough waking them..we had a "slumber party" in the living room floor. The little human was snuggled right against me, and Hazel was snuggled against D. I was so full of the warm fuzzies and didn't want to disturb the moment, but the sunrise wouldn't wait!

We hit the trails when it was still a little dark. I promised D, (who is a little afraid of the dark), that you really can see; it was more like "dusk". We waited a few moments while our eyes adjusted, and then were off. The first thing we experienced was a hooting owl..little D thought that was pretty darn cool. The smell of the desert so early in the morning was awesome. There is nothing like it.

Taking in the view

I loved sharing this with both of my girls. The time right before the sun rises is my very favorite part of the day. There is something about it that gives me such peace. I feel lucky to experience it and feel sorry for those who miss this special time of day. (Though they are probably really enjoying their sleep!)

Hazel is looking forward to this week. Sissy is off for Spring Break, and I am taking the rest of the week off, so we will have lots of adventures!

The only down side is that the temps are climbing already, so anything active and fun needs to be done early, or in the evening. I am sooooo not ready for the heat!! Boo.

Happy (belated) Birthday to me!

Every year we have a HUGE event for our rescue that lands either on, or very close to my birthday. This year it was on my actual birthday which was Sunday. I had to leave my house by 4:45 to get all gussied up for a TV appearance featuring our foster dog, (more on that later), so my traditional sunrise hike went out the window. Boo.

Hazel and I made up for it. I took Monday off and took her with me to drop off the little human at school. Hazel was so funny..when little D got out of the car and we started pulling away, she was SO confused! She whined a little and kept searching for her little sissy- sweet girl!

With reassurances that all was ok, we headed to some trails not far from school. My foot is still injured, so yes, I did cheat. I was going to stay on level ground as I had before, but there was a trail going up a mountain that needed exploring.....

So, I need to figure out a way to work from home again, because hiking first thing in the morning during the week is where it's at! The parking lot was completely empty, which meant we had the entire freaking mountain to ourselves!!! Off leash time, whooo hoooo!!!

As we climbed the mountain, rays of sunshine shone down from the heavens above as though reaching for my sweet girl.

It was SO windy when we reached the top. Hazel's little ears were flying everywhere. The wind was so loud we didn't stay up there long because it was hurting my ears, so I couldn't imagine how Hazel must have been feeling.

We were racing against the storm brewing..

On the way down I put Hazel back on leash when we didn't have a clear view to see if anyone was coming. We ran into a woman with her dog (who was off leash and very friendly). I asked if anyone was behind her on the trail and she said no, so we let both dogs off to froclick. Hazel and this Golden raced down the trail together and then came running back to us with big ol' silly grins on their faces. I loved it!

With my last girl, on off leash dog was my worst nightmare. She would attack any dog who came into her space, so it was very stressful for me to come across someone who didn't obey leash laws, or at the very least, leash their dog when they saw someone coming. It is such a relief to not have that stress over me now. I loved my girl dearly and would not have traded her for the world, but the dog aggression is something I do not miss managing.

spotting some birds

Our hike was so lovely! Being in the mountains is definitely our happy place, and I love sharing it with Hazel. She is so in her element on the trails. I love sharing our passion for the outdoors...it's such a bonding moment at the risk of sounding really corny. There are no words!

It was a perfect way to celebrate.

Weekend Stuff

We kicked off the weekend with another bike ride/run. Hazel was rarin' to go!

With no coyotes in sight, I was able to let my girl off leash for a bit. She is completely in her element when she is allowed to flush out birds and run through fields. She did a lot of "bird doggin" that morning.

Water break!

Sissy had a big party to go to so here she is getting her good-byes in before she got her party dress on.

Sunday I cheated *a little*. I have been REALLY good staying off of my feet, but I HAD to hit the trails with my girls. I was good. We didn't do any climbing which the Dr said was the worst thing. We stayed on relatively flat paths, and I did not run. D was able to hold her leash for awhile which was really cool. Hazel usually behaves better on leash for her big sissy. I just love seeing their relationship blossom.

Having fun playing in the wash

We've been having really hot temps lately but we're finally going to cool it down with some rain. I am soooooo not ready for summer. We seem to go from cold to hot with nothing in between! I love being able to get exercise in the middle of the afternoon after work and school, but that is soon going to be a pastime. Boo.

(Not so wordless) Wednesday

Hazel and I had an awesome evening together last night. We dropped off the little human to her Daisy meeting and then hit the trails that just so happened to be very close to the host's home.

I was SOOO excited because I have never explored this side of the mountain. It's very cool finding new trails after living in this area for so many years. That's what I love about "my" mountain. It goes on and on for miles, through different communities and with countless trails. No run ever has to be the same!

We started out at 4:45 and it was still quite hot, so we had to take it easy for the first couple of miles. I HATE running in the sun and I don't want Hazel to overheat, so we took a couple of water and shade breaks.

When we finally reached the backside of the mountain, we were shielded from the sun and blessed with shade...yes!

As we were climbing to the highest point, I saw a group of people and a dog coming down, so Hazel and I did our best to move over to give them room. Out of the blue I heard, "is that Hazel??!" I was dumbfounded as I looked into the eyes of a stranger and replied, "yeeeeessss....and how do you know her?" Turns out she and her daughter got very attached to Hazel when she was at the county shelter. They were volunteers who used to shower her with love, and spoke of pictures that they still have of them cuddling with her. That made my day and warmed my heart so much!!!

Our county shelter is SUCH a cold place..it's a concrete hell hole and with such a high euthanasia rate, an incredibly, incredibly hard place to volunteer. I have so much respect for these volunteers who give their heart and soul to these precious beings, never knowing if they will ever see them again. Because it's not a "rescue", you never hear adoption updates, or have the ability to see the animals in their new life. (The lucky ones who make it out alive that is). I could see the joy on their faces, and don't know who was more grateful-them, or me. It's nice to know someone cared about Hazel before she was rescued. The "pound" is such a scary place-to know she wasn't always alone makes her stay there a little easier for me to bear.

Our peacful,love filled run became a little more hurried at the end. Because I had never been on this trail, I had no idea how long it was. We were so close to the summit that I did not want to turn back without making it to the top. (and neither did Hazel!) We pushed ourselves upward. I had to pick up the little by 6pm and realized we only had twenty minutes to make it back down-yikes! We ran our butts off to get back in time which is easier to do when it's all downhill and then flat!

We made it on time to pick up our little-whew! We will definitely be back to this area, as we saw numerous other trails to explore!

Happy Wednesday!!

Puppy Bowl Weekend

We had such a great weekend! (though this picture does not scream joy!!)We were actually on our way to meet a rescue pup to see if they would be a good match to foster. It started to rain on our way, and Hazel was very concerned about having to get out in the rain.

It was another slumber party weekend for us.."the best part of waking up is a kiss by your pup". (ok, so that was supposed to be to the tune of that old coffee commercial..) Fail. ;)

GREAT news!!! We were able to hit the trails again!!! I am beyond.psyched. I hesitated taking her..I was going to wait another week but her feet look really good, AND we had major weather in the typical sunny Arizona.....FOG. It's a rare sighting here and I had to get out in it. I couldn't think of a better place to be than on top of a mountain. I'm sure people who have to deal with fog a lot think I'm crazy, but I wasn't alone. Our entire community was out gawking and praising the wonders that is fog. ;0

Sunday came..we had a little football game going on in my city. There have been so many Super Bowl events going on all week. The Patriots have been practing across the street from my work, and were in a hotel about one mile from my house. We have had helicopters constantly flying overhead for extra security measures and traffic has been a nightmare.

The girls in our family could care less about football,and I was worried about drunk drivers, so we stayed very close to home, enjoyed a hike,and then settled in to watch the Puppy Bowl. Hazel was rooting from Team Ruff of course. She was psyched when they were the first to score...

She could have cared less about Catty Purry's "purrformance".

We had lots of quality time together. Hazel's human sister dubbed it, "best.weekend.ever!!!"

And now it's Monday. Boo.

Sunrise Heaven

What an AMAZING morning we had!! I shared one of my very favorite trails with Hazel for the first time. I wasn't sure how this would go, as there are many boulders to navigate and lots of critters on the trail. (wild and otherwise). We started off before sunrise....

There are now words...this mountain reaches deep into my soul. Hiking in my special place is always spiritual to me, and to share it for the first time with his girl....*sigh*. I can't explain the feeling other than pure gratitude.

Here's to many more trails...I look forward to our journey together. Love you Hazel!!!