The good part

Today was cold and wet. K didn't seem to mind in the least but my back hates it. The "hardware" holding together my lower back bothered me all day. But, I still had some fun moments.

K and I took a little walk, as usual, this morning. Clouds and fog shrouded our world so the remaining yellow leaves glowed.

K seems to be feeling better and better. She has only 2 more weeks in her hard cast, and then she'll get a softer cast that allows more movement. She'll also start PT then! I'm eagerly looking forward to helping her get strong again. I find myself daydreaming about the little hikes that we'll do and how I'll gradually be able to further and further with her. She helped me with my recovery from spine surgery in January and now I get to return the favor! She looked eager to start doing more this morning!

At the end of our walk this morning, we passed a big raspberry patch, shining brilliant red with its autumn leaves. Surprisingly, a decent meal of raspberries still hung from the branches but they looked too shriveled to nourish anyone now.

Later, I had the pleasure of taking R on a mountain bike ride with me. We passed an arch that K used to statuequely perch upon during our rides. Today, R stood tall and proud. I know that his pose doesn't even come close to the feat performed by half of The Herd... We're still pondering how to top that!

After R descended from his perch, we rode into a small meadow. To my surprise, a band of about twenty elk galloped, hoofbeats resonating through the wet air, up a hill and into the fringe of a forest. R did an awesome recall as the fleeing band disappeared.

Then, I decided to take advantage of the elk presence for some training under extremely exciting conditions. I left R in a "sit-stay" near the band of elk and I rode further away from them. In the photo below, R sat just down the hill and out of sight, waiting for me to call him.

I was feeling very proud of my boy, holding a sit-stay with the elk so nearby. Just at that moment, an elk bugle emanated from the forest. Oh my, I thought, R is going to break his stay. I sneaked to the edge where I could see him, and he still sat rock-solid.

 So, I called him - and he streaked to me like a black jet.

As he arrived and I gave him a huge jackpot of treats, the bull elk bugled again. R stopped taking treats to stare in amazement toward the mystical sound.

After gazing toward the elk, he sat and stayed while I showered him in praise and treats. What an absolutely stunning performance!

For almost every bad turn that life takes, a good part germinates. In the case of K's injury, one good part has been that R and I have found a new bond from the time that we've spent alone in the forest. He'll never replace K - I don't love her any less. But, he's assumed a new place in the jigsaw puzzle of my life.

A second good thing to come out of K's injury is that I've rediscovered my love of teaching my dogs new training games. I've played all sorts of games with K to keep her brain occupied during her recovery. I think that I won't put that on hold even when she can be more active.