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.

Weekend Roundup

We had a fun packed weekend! I was feeling soooo lazy Saturday morning and if I'm honest, wanted nothing more than to snuggle on the couch and drink coffee. However, I knew I really wanted to get in a sunrise run, and I've never regretted a run once I'm out. It's hard sometimes to shut out the "let's stay home" voices but as always, I'm glad I did.

This is what it looked like when we got out of the car. I like to go when it's still a little dark so that we are on top of a mountain for the sun rise.

Because we got an early start, we were rewarded with some off leash time. Hazel loved jumping up on huge boulders to take in the view.

The Queen of her Queendom ;)

I had a different route in mind, but when I saw the beginning of intended trail head already getting crowded, Hazel and I took a detour.

We ended up taking another detour because for the first time in FOREVER, we saw a coyote on top of a mountain. You would think that would be common, but it's really not! I see more coyotes in my neighborhood than I do here. So, our detours ended up leading us on a killer route. MANY steep hills for miles...We ended up hitting three different trails, the last being a blast from my past..one I had not been on in years, so it was the first time sharing it with my girl. It included about 1 mile that was all down hill. Whooo hoo! This is where the little kid in me comes out. There is nothing more exhilarating than running down hill,leaping over boulders, side stepping rocks, and letting out "whoo hoos!"

Sunday brought a new experience...D, Hazel and I attended a large rescue event. Several rescues had booths set up with their animals up for adoption, lots of vendors, and fun activities for the dogs. Among the activities was the chance to try the lure course. I have been thinking about trying this with Hazel anway, and found a club that offers it that I am checking in to. I thought this was a great time to get her paw wet to see if it was something she was interested in. We had to wait in line for a bit, but when we got closer to the "start", she saw what all the dogs were so excited about. The squirrel. It.was.on. It took all of my strength at times to keep her in check. Thank GOSH for the freedom harness!

Of course true to our luck, when it finally WAS our turn, the time keeping clock went out. (I could have cared less) but the guy running the show was on a mission to get it fixed. Hazel lost all excitement.

Waiting to start

She did "ok". She handled all of the hurdles well, but did trip at one point. I thought she would shred this course because she's so fast. She was running at a decent pace but then came to a screeching halt when faced with a "hoop" that she was to jump through. Everyone laughed, and finally, our girl jumped through and finished.

I was really excited about the prospect of this sport for her, but now I'm unsure. It has nothing to do how she did, but rather the worry wort in me coming out about potential injuries...I dunno, we'll see.

Saturday night, we had a girls "slumber party" in the living room floor. We plop the mattress from our Murphy bed down, watch movies, eat yummy snacks in bed, and get lots of cuddle time.

We ended Sunday with yet another dog friendly outing, (no pictures), that included romping with dogs, and more off leash zoomy time.

A great weekend indeed!

Happy New Year's

Our New Year's was very low key. We had an apple juice toast with the human sister at 7pm...(figured it had to be midnight *somewhere*), and hit the sheets by 8:30. Hazel was not a fan of us blowing our little horns so I crated her for a few minutes. She also had no interest in wearing a New Year's tiara...go figure.

This was the first "fireworks" holiday we have had her so I was curious to see how she reacted. We don't live close enough to the big downtown party they were having, so we just had to deal with a few people in neighboring blocks doing their own thing. Thankfully there wasn't alot, and Hazel slept through it. Sadly, other dogs were not as lucky, as there was a huge influx of lost dogs the next day.

Here in the desert, we are still experiencing freezing temps! We even had snow flurries in the city (which I did not see since that would have required staying up until 11pm).

For New Year's day, we "braved" the frigid temps to go on a trail run/hike. We left later than normal and there was a lot of cars in the parking lot, so I expected to have crowded trails. Instead, Hazel and I had part of the mountain all to ourselves. Albeit, it's not the most scenic part, but I would rather trade a little off leash time and peace for crowded, beautiful trails.

Try not to be so miserable Hazel ;)

I lucked out the day after Christmas and found two jackets and a sweater for 50% off. We don't need heavy outwear here, but I wanted something for these freezing mornings! While Hazel HATES dressing up (like say costumes, tutus, tiaras), she seems to appreciate her jackets and I know she loves her sweater because she threw a tantrum when I took it off, and "asked" me to put it back on. Really!

Does this jacket make my butt look big?

I like this jacket because it's light weight and has a soft, warm lining on the inside and is reflective for those pre-dawn runs. It has a cute reflective bone design on the back with a pocket for poo bags.

I'm outta here!

The rest of the day was pretty lazy.

put.the camera.down

I am introducing a rescue dog to Hazel this weekend to see if they are a good match for us to foster. Our rescue keeps getting a ton of females, and I would prefer a male, however this girl seems to get along with everyone, as does Hazel, so we'll see. We haven't fostered since our little boxer mix was adopted...mostly because those two were CRAZY together and made us decide that while we will foster, two dogs may not be in the cards for us. There was never a moment's peace and their play was too intense for me. I am hoping that some day, we will foster a dog that just clicks with us, and seems like a natural fit.