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Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Wintery Wednesday

No outdoor riding for me today. The skies opened and dumped a deep layer of snow onto our world. Our deck, visible from our bed, looked surreal this morning, with snow reaching the height of our table and deck railings.
The pristine snow looked beautiful. I visualized the Pasqueflowers (wild crocuses) that are stirring under the meadow's rich soil. Very soon, they'll poke their heads out of the dirt in the warm days between snow storms. Amazingly, they'll survive being buried in our next snowstorm to bloom again after the a big melt. Believe it or not, this meadow will be dotted with Pasqueflowers and green grass in the respite between storms very soon.
R and K love romping in this meadow, and it's a favorite site for me to practice recalls. Here, the two of them sprinted like freight trains to me today. First K.
And then R.
As I rewarded them for their recalls, R began meditating. Ohmmmm.
We explored the snowy landscape but saw almost no signs of animal activity. I think that every living being found a protected spot and slept through the storm last night. K checked the boulder outcroppings but no scents or tracks showed up.
We did see birds. Funny, yesterday morning before the storm, we saw our first spring bird, a Cassin's Finch, on our feeder. It's been so long since we've seen a non-winter bird here that I couldn't find the binoculars to look at him! However, I suspect that he fled as the storm moved in.

Today on our hike, a white breasted Nuthatch worked diligently finding food under the bark of a Ponderosa Pine. He talked to me, "Beeeeeep, beeeeeep, beeeeeep, ..." as I photographed him but otherwise seemed completely unperturbed by my close proximity.
Thus passed another wild spring day in the Colorado Front Range. I felt low all day, with more neck/head pain than I've had in a week. But, I know that it's part of the process of rebuilding my body. Without pushing myself close to my limits, I won't get stronger. It's a delicate dance, finding the limits without exceeding them. Sometimes I get it right and sometimes I don't. I suspect that I overdid something early today but I'm not sure what it was. That's usually the case...

In some ways, my determination to get the most out of each day, at the limit of my physical capabilities is a good quality, and, in others, it's not. But, it's me, and I can't change it.

Carpe Diem! That's my theme.

As an aside, I've found a new blog, Running with Kona, that's lots of fun and talks about working with a fearful dog who is bursting with potential. I enjoy reading about their daily runs and the challenges that they tackle. You might enjoy it too!

12 comments:

  1. I heard about your snow on the news! The weather might have had something to do with you not feeling so well today, too.

    R needs a cape and it would look like he's flying over the snow! I love the pictures of them out in it. That is one happy pair of dogs!

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  2. I love AC's blog, too. There aren't enough fearful dog blogs around, so I look forward to hearing about her experiences a lot!

    That snow is really something. R and K look like they really enjoyed it!

    When it snows this much, do you get snowed in for a while? Since you live in the mountains, I'd assume it'd be pretty hard to get out of the house in a car for a long time!

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  3. Hi KB, I wondered if you were buried this AM! Really, I think the city got more snow than Breckenridge! Have a great weekend - hope your discomfort improves. Are you heading for warmer climes for break?

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  4. Sure Khyra says...taunt us!

    When we were up at the park on Saturday, the dad of one of the kids petting Merdie and Khyra had been in Breckenridge until Thursday -

    Here's to a better day for you tomorrow!

    I'm smiling for my verification word is WINES!

    CHEERS!

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  5. I wish I knew how to use Photoshop because that recall photo of R is crying out for a superdog cape. He looks like he is flying.

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  6. Love the day after a fresh snow and watching the dogs romp and play in it.

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  7. Beautiful snow blanket! Ahhhhhhh, great gallops through the fluffy pow by K & R!! Would love to be in that snow! Quite spectacular to see the landscape change from spring to winter, and soon back to spring.

    Hugs and snaggle-tooth kisses,
    Sierra Rose

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  8. Just catching up a bit - so excited to read that you have been back on your bike! Yay!

    And, as one of my coaches used to say: "No pain, no gain - but train, don't strain!"

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  9. It seems almost surreal to get up in the morning and read about you and the labraduos going out into yet more snow. Phenomenal picture of the little bird - that really is a sign that the world is turning and a new seasons on its way!

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  10. Love your nuthatch! ;) I'm anxiously awaiting the fuzzy Pasqueflowers, too. You always get such great action shots of your dogs. You excel at capturing their personalities.

    Yes, the cycling photos are mine. Probably my second favorite subject, after wildlife...

    One of your commenters above got the verification word wines. So what does it mean when I get depends??? :)

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  11. You said it all: surreal! So beautiful... We found tracks again! Real ones this time! We can't wait to post about them. We're thinking real lion left those, okay maybe something a bit smaller.
    Twinkie

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  12. Ah, yes, wise R caught in deep contemplation. Probably followed by a wild outburst of energy. Sorry that you've got more pain to deal with again. It is tough not to push things and like you said, how else do you know?

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