Mostly Wordless Wednesday

A few grateful words - thanks to all of you who emailed me to say that I should go to a doctor because I'd been sick for too long. You were right. I have pneumonia.

The "Incident"

Shyla and I are still working away at teaching her about all the crazy things that a dog might encounter in the human world. Shyla is completely comfortable at home, in our forest, and anyplace rural. However, the bustle of human activity can throw her for a loop.

Since I never take photos of her during our training (I have to completely focus on the training), I'll pepper this post with photos from our outing in the snow today).

Just after Thanksgiving, Shyla had made huge progress since her arrival, and I could take her almost anyplace in town without her becoming scared. Indeed, I told our trainer that we might not need private lessons anymore. I thought that Shyla and I could do the "socialization" training on our own and attend a group class weekly.

But then, we had an "incident" just after Thanksgiving. I took Shyla to the vet for an xray of her ulna. We arrived in the parking lot, a busy lot next to a noisy road with lots of cars. As Shyla exited the car, a person and dog came out of the vet clinic. For some reason that I cannot fathom, that dog was not on a leash. The dog made a beeline for Shyla and "attacked" her, making lots of scary noises and laying his teeth on her. The person came over and pulled him off, saying in a bored tone "Don't worry - he does that all the time". Shyla was not physically hurt.

I wanted to yell at the person about using a leash, especially for a dog who attacks other dogs "all the time", but I knew that Shyla was watching me closely. I needed to act calm to try to prevent any new fears from blossoming in Shyla's mind. So, I saved my complaints for the vet who promised to speak to that client about the leash rule.

Here's the part that seems the oddest to me. My trainer and I thought that Shyla might develop a fear of dogs due to that scary experience so we arranged for her to meet some nice dogs right away. Indeed, she was slightly timid with the nice canines at first but seemed to forget any worries about dogs pretty quickly. I'm guessing that she's had a lifetime of good experiences with dogs so she didn't generalize that all dogs were scary.

But, she retained a fear of parking lots and traffic sounds. Isn't that odd from a human perspective? Because the incident happened in a parking lot next to a loud road, Shyla gets scared in any parking lot and near any traffic noise. Yet, to my surprise, dogs don't scare her. I'm guessing that, because she has little experience with the bustle of the human world, she decided to blame the scary incident on the unfamiliar parts of the scene.

My trainer and I have now spent 4 sessions in a row very gradually reintroducing Shyla to traffic and parking lots. We've very gradually increased the intensity of the "stimulus" (i.e., traffic) by starting in quiet places and working up to busier places.

I'm happy to report that Shyla is, slowly but surely, rebounding from the incident in the vet's parking lot. We still can't visit all the places that we did before the "incident" (because they're too scary for Shyla) but we're gradually getting there. It's all part of the journey, not a journey that I expected, but one that is building a strong bond between Shyla and me.

Now, on a lighter note, I've concluded that Shyla does the best Santa Paws impersonation of any Lab I've seen before. How about that white beard?

Sunrise Hike

Shyla and I took a sunrise hike this morning in bitter cold, wind, and snow. Surprisingly, it was just exactly what we needed.

I've been down lately, as I'm betting that you've been able to tell from my posts. A combination of a devastating anniversary and this never-ending flu has left me feeling completely devoid of energy or joy.

There's little that I can do about the flu except wait for it to pass (and try to rest, although I'm getting impatient). However, to help me deal with that unnamed terrible anniversary, I have an amazing girl who is growing up right in front of my eyes. She's sensitive and sweet, a perfect friend for a time like this.
This morning, Shyla headed out into the day with her usual zest, as enthusiastic as I was about greeting the sunrise. While it was still dusky, I kept her on leash to avoid wildlife encounters. But, as the sun became stronger, I decided to let her run a bit. Look at her intensity when she realized that I was going to let her romp!

And, she was off to the races...

By the end of our hike, it was clear that the snow would keep falling, perhaps all day long. Snow dominates our forecast so perhaps we are returning to a normal winter. I think that Shyla hopes so!

Sometimes the best medicine is right in front of me.

Now and Then

Christmas is rapidly approaching, and the golden grass still stands tall in our meadow. Where's the snow?

This morning, Shyla stood at alert in our meadow, tail held high. Can you believe the muscles that this girl has developed in the past few months? She looks like an elite athlete ready to burst out of the blocks. She's about 42 lbs, and the vets think that she may be full grown.

Indeed she was ready to burst out of the blocks as soon as I gave her permission, I captured a streak going past me, during her short time of being allowed to romp like a puppy!

Her tummy troubles from yesterday passed quickly but we now have the house in full-blown puppy lockdown. Every conceivable chewable item is out of reach (at least, that's what *we* think). Shyla is such a sweet girl - I am eagerly awaiting the end of this healing period so that we can have adventures together and she can burn off her energy with puppy-like antics!

And, a memory from a year ago, of our sweet K. She is always with me...

I've truly come to believe that a Heart Dog becomes part of you and is with you every single instant of your life forever.

One small bobcat in a big world

We're still at low energy here due to the lingering flu (can you imagine what this illness would have been like if we hadn't had flu shots?)... and, to top it off, we awakened to find that Shyla had an upset tummy. So, I spent some time with R while the Runner took Shyla to the vet.

Shyla seems to be improving. We were concerned that she might have eaten a foreign object (she truly still is a puppy) but there was no evidence of one. I'm very gradually increasing her exercise as her leg fracture heals... but she is still mischievous due to her current sedate lifestyle. Amazingly, she didn't chew anything illegal until we had to curtail her exercise.

Today, I was glad that I checked a trail camera because the cat activity made me smile. This is the site where a big male mountain lion marked a short time ago.

The latest activity was a visit by the mother bobcat and her kitten. The first hint was a glimpse of the back of the mother's ears.

Then, the two of them filed into the clearing together.

They both appeared to be headed for the mountain lion marking spot. You can barely tell that the cat on the right is the kitten, based on his shorter stature.

The inexperienced kitten proceeded to the base of the tree, often marked by coyotes and other canines. Wiser mom stopped to sniff the mountain lion's marking.

Then, the two of them left the clearing for about 4 minutes before mom led the kitten back into the clearing. She went directly to the spot marked by the mountain lion.

Audacious mom squatted to mark over top of the lion's urine (compare the bobcat's size to the mountain lion's size). At the same time, oddly, the kitten sniffed the mountain lion's marking for the first time. I think that he might have been doused by his mom!

Mom departed first, her job finished. The kitten, who is still learning about the big bad world, stayed behind to sniff the spot some more.

What a joy to see those two together, knowing that the kitten is getting the education of a lifetime from his mother. Last year, I kept getting photos of a mother-kitten pair together into the early months of the new year... but not after that.

Interestingly, the other evening, Shyla and I saw a bobcat during our evening walk. Shyla is proving to be a great wildlife watching companion. She silently sat next to me as we both watched the bobcat bound through the white trunk maze of a leafless aspen grove. The bobcat stopped on a rusty colored boulder and looked at us. After a brief assessment of us, he disappeared into a jumble of boulders. It was too dusky for me to take any photos but it was a wonderful moment.

Due to my low mood and energy, I was particularly happy to see the continued success of the mother bobcat raising her kitten in my trail camera photos. I know that she's just one small bobcat in a great big world - but, if I didn't take joy in small stories like hers, my life would be far less rich.

I leave you with a photo from a purple and yellow dusk. Yes, the beauty all around us is another joy.

See Beautiful

Today's See Beautiful post is important to me for it benefits a cause that I support with all my heart - the pet area at St. Anne's homeless shelter - a cause for which our friend Goose has worked so hard. Please read the "See Beautiful" post to see how you can help and consider joining this Blog Hop, hosted by Sugar, who is donating a dollar for every post.

I have to admit that my heart feels heavy tonight for I've been reading the news. So many lives taken and hearts broken... again.

Yet, whenever life seems too onerous for rejoicing, I remind myself of the things that are irreplaceable in my world. My Runner, my dogs, and my little slice of Mother Earth.

The beauty can still shine through, like it did during our trip to the desert in the past month. And, R's ever playful spirit always makes me smile. If you ask R to "take a bow", he has to do it with more pizzazz and for longer than any dog in history. That's our R.

Most afternoons at home, I have a moment of peace and beauty with at least one dog, watching the sun set and the dusky sky. My Angel K used to watch every sunset with me. Shyla is now my daily partner, and some days, the rest of the pack joins us.

No matter what, I know that the Earth keeps rotating and stars create their own art every single night. I once wrote about the first major death in my life, the loss of my mother, and how I somehow believed that her watch would have stopped ticking upon her death. I was utterly and unabashedly surprised to see the second hand still sweeping circles when I gazed at it after she was gone. Indeed, the stars are still making circles in the sky tonight.

Time marches forward. I try, with each day, regardless of the tragedies around me, to See Beautiful.

Dog Kisses and Play

We seem to have caught the endless flu. We might be improving... but each of us has said that at least once before. The dogs are a comfort, from snuggling to entertaining us with their play.

I saw them lying in a sun puddle together and then starting to interact. Camera time! They are such good friends, as these photos show.

R decided that he wanted to play... and pawed Shyla to tell her.

A raucous game of wrestling and chase followed. I couldn't keep up.

Wordless Wednesday: Special Effects of Blowing Snow

Nurse Shyla and Cats, Cats, Cats

We are down for the count here - the flu has taken hold of all humans. It's a terrible bug but we've learned that Shyla is a nurse at heart. She is alert to anyone who is coughing too hard or is having a terrible moment, and she rushes to that person's side, full of concern and kisses. Nurse Shyla...

Of course, dogs need exercise even when the humans are sick. Since I am less severely sick than the Runner, I took each of them for a romp.

And, they both took full advantage of it, getting out all that excess energy. Thank goodness that they can't catch this bug from us!

On this quiet day, I want to share a series of photos from one camera that has become the "cat camera" since the bears seem to have gone to sleep. On 12/1, the female who I believe has a kitten or two stashed nearby visited the spot.

She does not leave "scrapes" on the ground, huge obvious furrows that male mountain lions leave obsessively by kicking back with each hind paw. Moreover, I again thought that I saw enlarged teats in one of the many photos of her visit.

A graceful tail...

And, one more sniff before departing...

Less than a week later, the male mountain lion who I captured photos of more than a mile away appeared at the same site. Unfortunately, he never took exactly the same posture as the female so it's tough to compare their sizes. However, he left "scrapes" every quarter mile or so. They were big and deep scrapes that I couldn't miss.

Then, a few nights later, we got a treat. Here is our mother bobcat who we've followed since summer. This audacious cat urinated in the same spot as the mountain lions who are many times her size had been sniffing.

Her kitten was slightly behind but appeared soon, catching mom's attention.

The kitten sniffed the spot that has caught the interest of many cats but didn't mark it.

With mom ahead again, the kitten stopped to look at the camera before disappearing into the night following his mother.

It seems that a mother bobcat has successfully raised a kitten in our neck of the woods each of the past two summers. By spring, this young bobcat will strike out on his own to find an unoccupied territory.

I found it fascinating to see all of these cats sniffing and/or marking the same spot. The male mountain lion is a threat to all of the other cats. Moreover, any mountain lion is a threat to the bobcats, especially the kitten. Yet, the bobcats still use this territory despite the many scent marks left by the mountain lions.

Okay, Nurse Shyla says that it's time to go rest. She's the boss!