Da Weekend

We had a fabulous weekend with lots of runs, playtime, sweet snuggle sessions, an emotional break through, and a new "recipe".

First things first. We kicked off the weekend with a morning run. We waited until the sun warmed things up before we set out. It was really bright out there and from the looks of Hazel in this photo, someone needed some shades!

So yeah, the tumbleweeds are soooooo lacking in beauty, but we loved this run because we had a dirt trail all to ourselves. It was flat and went on for miles which is just what my body needed after so many hilly runs last week. Hazel got to flush out birds and sharpened her pointing skills.....

I'ma pointer I iz

Things were just fantastic. At a point where I had to decide whether we would keep running or turn around, I saw a coyote up ahead of us in the bushes. Thank GOSH I saw it first. I immediately told Hazel to stop, and then leashed her up very quickly. We turned around and headed back a little earlier than I would have liked. Hazel didn't even see the coyote so I didn't have to deal with her wanting to go after it. We come across them all the time if it's early morning/evening, and she wants to give chase. We didn't start running until after 9am, so I didn't have the fear of coyotes this time, so this completely bums me out. I am never going to feel "safe" letting her off leash in this area. :( As it is, even in my own neighborhood, I cannot let her off leash in the "greenbelt" areas where many people in our hood let their dogs off to play fetch,etc. It is rare that we *don't* see coyotes when we are out in the early morning hours, so it has really taken our freedom away.
While I live in a heavily populated "suburb", the coyotes and other wildlife "hunt" in our neighborhoods. Cats and small dogs are their easy prey. It's not their fault and I do not blame them.

Last week a good friend asked if I had ever made Hazel bone broth. I had not and then remembered an article I had read about the benefits quite awhile back, but had since forgotten. I decided to give it a whirl, and oh.my.gosh, what an experience! Let me just say I nearly fanited..more than once, but at the end of it all, the "bone soup" as we call it, was a wild success.

It doesn't look like anything special, but Hazel loved it. I forgot what was is supposed to be an important step, which is adding a little cider to the bones and water. Oops.

Later that day we met up with a doggy friend to blow off some steam...

The standoff

And to top off the weekend, we had lots of snuggle time.

I'll tell you my secret if you tell me yours.

I mentioned earlier in the post that we had an "emotional break through", at least from my perspective. Just a few days ago, my hubby brought up how in tune our past girls were with our emotions. When one of us was upset, they always responded to us. He mentioned that because at one point last week, D was crying and Hazel seemed oblivious. We have been waiting for a "sweet and sensitive" side to appear but so far, hadn't seen it. Well, it happened. Yesterday I was upset about a dog on the E list and I cried in front of her for the first time. Actually, it was not in front of her. Hazel was asleep on the couch in the living room, and I was in the front room. My girl ran over to me and gave me her version of a "hug", and licked my tears.
While I am madly in love with Hazel, I have sensed her holding back, and still having some walls up. I hadn't seen a truly sensitive, "sweet" side as of yet. It's nice to know she is ready to share that side of her with us. I know there is more to come, and we will be patiently waiting....