See Beautiful: Our Wildlife

Today is "See Beautiful" Friday. As I am trying to recover from surgery, I've been sedentary compared to my usual lifestyle. Since my surgery, Shyla and I have taken an easy hike each morning. It's disconcerting to feel how incredibly fatigued my body is... but I managed to make it to one of my trail cameras yesterday.

From the trail camera, I was absolutely delighted to see that a tenacious bobcat had visited a spot that I've been monitoring for about four years. This bobcat defines "beautiful" for me.

The wildlife that inhabit our area are one of the most beautiful aspects of it. I took the next photo with a handheld camera about a year ago. I felt so lucky to see such a gloriously beautiful coyote bathed in warm sunlight. I had a very long lens so I was a good distance from him.

It seems that many mountain residents love the wildlife but there is still a faction who view our relationship with wildlife as adversarial. A photo of a coyote taken in our neck of the woods can provoke a lengthy discussion with lots of comments about how dangerous coyotes have become. My opinion is that the coyotes have not become more dangerous. Rather, more people live in the coyotes' habitat so there are more sets of human eyes to glimpse coyotes. Moreover, coyotes are more accustomed to seeing us.

I wish that people could accept that we've chosen to live where lots of predators reside - so we need to take appropriate precautions rather than trying to get rid of the wildlife.

Some of you might remember that someone shot and killed a coyote on our land a few years ago. When I called the Division of Wildlife about it, I was told that the only illegal aspect of the killing was that the shooter might have trespassed on our land. I learned that coyotes are considered "varmints" who can be shot at any time of year. Personally, when I look at the photos above, I see a beautiful animal and not a varmint.

Aside from our black bears, I love getting trail camera photos of mountain lions the most. They are so beautiful, with all the power and strength contained in their amazing bodies.

I love this photo because it's a juvenile mountain lion. Notice the faded stripe inside his front right limb and notice how big his ears appear compared to his head. I suspect that he was looking for his mom in this photo. Just today, I discovered that someone had stolen this particular photo from my blog, had blacked out my copyright watermark, and was using it as an ad. At first, I was nothing but outraged. Then, I realized that it might be a sign that peoples' attitudes toward mountain lions are shifting. Perhaps more people see a beautiful animal in the photo above rather than a scary beast who must be eliminated.

I believe that the co-existence of large predators with us is a beautiful thing. I "See Beautiful" whenever I capture photos of the predators who live in our forest.

Last, but certainly not least on Valentine's Day, the Duo is beautiful to me. In the past month, as R has been recovering from his surgery, I find the two of them snuggled up together almost all the time. Sometimes, they're sharing a sun puddle, and sometimes they're simply lying snuggled together on a dog bed.

It makes my heart sing to see such a beautiful bond between them.

Roller Coaster Ride

Today was/is a rough day in the wild ride toward recovery from surgery.

So, I'll share these two photos and call it a day. My body is telling me to curl up and rest.

Good night and thanks so much for all the encouraging words you've shared with me.

Wordless Wednesday

Tiny steps

As I slept on the night before surgery, a bobcat walked along the side our house, within feet of our bedroom windows. Perhaps he read that I'd said such nice things about him the other day.

The next morning, we had to be at the hospital before dawn had broken so I didn't get see his tracks in our trail. But, my symbol of courage had been there - as this photo shows.

This morning (one day post-surgery), Shyla and I went for walk in the forest. I had a sling on my arm and haze of confusion in my brain. Oh my, the pain meds can addle my brain in a huge way. For example, I forgot my gaiters and got snow down my boots!

Shyla and I didn't walk far but we had fun along the way. She kept stopping to check on slow-poke KB.

I was going so slowly that she finally turned around to watch me carefully as I caught up.

I expect that helping me recover will be a maturing experience for Shyla. It was during my recovery from a major surgery that I felt like K and I became much closer. K seemed to suddenly feel responsible for watching out for me - and we became a team - each looking out for the other. Today, I felt like Shyla was starting to see that I needed her as much as she needed me.

Then, we came home and relaxed by the fire. Because I have this icewater machine that constantly circulates ice water around my shoulder - the fire is very welcome for keeping the rest of me warm. R loves the fire too - he likes to lie on the hearth as close to it as possible.

The quilt made by my friend, Jo, is also very welcome - it keeps me warm and reminds me of a wonderful friend.

My main companion by the fire has been the other patient in our family - R - who is recovering from elbow dysplasia surgery. He is still puppy-like in many ways but also has developed the maturity to know when hanging out close to me is wonderful!

My post-surgery situation is as expected- I am drowsy and dazed from all the pain medicine. But, if I reduce the pain medicine, then the pain is overwhelming. So, there's no escape from the pain pills yet.

I apologize in advance because it might be a while before I can leave comments on your blogs. Typing is very tough, and I know that the start of recovery involves tiny steps forward, interspersed with some setbacks. Despite all that knowledge, I felt reasonably upbeat today, enjoying my Duo and the world around us.

Let the healing begin...

I wrote this post on Sunday so that I'd just have to press "publish" after surgery. I felt scared that I might be jinxing myself by writing it ahead of time. Then, I realized that jinxes and luck have nothing to do with this... so here's the quick message:

"Made it. Let the healing begin."

And please don't hold me responsible for my hazy brain and inability to type. The Runner just told me to "be careful" what I type due too the pain meds!

Black and White Sunday

P.S. I think I've found my courage and calm for tomorrow. Thanks for all your words of encouragement!

Finding the fighting spirit

When the alarm goes off in the morning, Shyla starts thumping her tail. I often snooze for a little while after the first alarm, and she just keeps wagging her tail, so full of happiness and optimism for the day. She makes me smile - because she is irrepressibly excited to start the day!

It's not sunny today but I needed to include that sunrise photo to try to lift my spirits. I am tired, and my spirits not at their best, probably due to the lack of sun for days and due to what I face on Monday.

I know that, in the big picture, my surgery on Monday is not a big deal. Many people face more difficult things. Yet, I am apprehensive.

I'm doing my best to keep my spirits up and to find the calm fighting spirit that I used to feel when I was truly ready for a big event - like competing in an athletic championship. I can tell that I'll be happier after I heal from this surgery because my bad shoulder is throbbing most of the time now. The brief respite given to me by that unfortunate cortisone shot is over.

Back when I had my last surgery in 2010, a 3-level spinal fusion in my neck, I used a bobcat as my symbol of courage and thriving. I think that I'll do that again. This one visited our clearing the other night. Thank you, Mr. Bobcat.

This small cat truly amazes me with its tenacity and boldness.

The Joke was on Me!

We've had somewhat gloomy weather lately, with snow falling on and off, and an occasional burst of sunlight. This morning, the sun was burning through the darkness enough that I could see it but it didn't make the world any brighter.

Of course, when we arrived home from our snowbike ride, the sun suddenly burst through the clouds illuminating the world gorgeously.

The Duo lay in a sun puddle so I tried to get a photo. Both were very sleepy.

I started jumping around, trying to get their attention. R oriented his head a bit more toward me but both sets of eyes were still glued shut.

At this point, I think they were having fun, messing with my head by keeping their eyes firmly closed.

Then I started tossing treats on the floor in front of me. No dice.

 Finally, a squeak from a toy garnered me open eyes from Shyla. R was too smart for that trick!

I never captured any photos with both dogs' eyes open. They won! I had to laugh when I later looked at the series of photos. I showed you only a few of the photos that I took while they were in that sun puddle - and their eyes were closed in every single one. The joke was on me.

But, a little later, as a consolation prize, R fixed his handsome eyes upon me. It was worth the wait!

Winter Plans

As some of you know, my plans for the rest of the winter have been in flux. I previously scheduled shoulder surgery, and I had to cancel it. Now, I've cleared all the hurdles to be ready for surgery again. It turns out that the sudden and dramatic atrophy around my shoulder is a rare "complication" of a cortisone injection. It's not reversible but it doesn't preclude surgery. I'm not happy about the atrophy, since I believe it could have been avoided, but there's nothing I can do to change it now.

Sometimes, it's best just to accept things and move on. Deal with what I can change rather than fume over things that are not changeable.

The other issue was that I didn't feel that my original surgeon was a good fit for me. At first, I tried to convince myself that she was a technician who would "fix" my shoulder, kind of like a car mechanic "fixes" cars, and that I didn't have to like her. However, I gradually realized that I didn't completely trust her - and that was part of why my intuition was setting off alarm bells.

So, I found a new surgeon - who agreed with the first one that surgery is imperative and explained the reasons very clearly. I feel a million times better about her as my surgeon. So does Shyla.

So, on Monday, I'll be having shoulder surgery. Compared to some of the really tough surgeries I've been through in my life, it should be relatively easy if everything goes as planned.

I'm planning for my "recovery" time, so that I have things to look forward to.
- I want to do daily sunrise hikes with Shyla (starting whenever my body is ready after surgery).
- I want to do some animal tracking in unvisited nearby places and find some new trail camera sites.
- I want to teach both dogs new tricks (I'm making lists for each of them).
- I'd love to try some new photographic techniques - but this list is getting long.

I also plan to try to keep my lower back happy, mainly by spinning daily on my indoor exercise bike. My lumbar spine has a multi-level surgical fusion and cycling is the best way to keep it from being too painful.

Hmm, as I write it all down, it sounds like I'm going to be busy! I guess that "rest" ought to be on the list too. Yes, I do plan to rest... but that's the aspect of recovery that I'm not good at!

I know the pain is going to be tough at first because the surgeon will be cutting bone, and I am not looking forward to that. I probably won't really start on my "list" until I get over the acute part of the recovery. My "list" isn't a way of denying the hard parts of the recovery. Rather, it's a way of trying to stay upbeat through it all. It's a strategy that has worked well for me in the past!

Wordless Wednesday: The -17°F Edition

Where's the sunshine?

Yesterday, it was easy to live in the light because there was abundant glorious sunshine. It was cold but the sun is what my energy and mood seem to depend on.

Today was very different, as the air temperature is now below 0°F and fresh snow is falling. The forecast is for this kind of weather every day this week.

The air was bitterly cold this morning during our snowbike ride but Shyla was content to burrow into the snow. Perhaps the snow was warmer than the air?

Just to prove to you that R still leaves the house, I took his photo during our short hike this evening. It seems that he's finding the loose snow underfoot to be a little tougher on his elbow which was recently surgically cleaned out. We've backed off on his walking, limiting the distance he walks, and his limp after snoozing is less pronounced. However, he seems to be going a bit insane with so little exercise compared to his normal life.

So far, his main physical therapy has been walking and us manually stretching his elbow through its range of motion. His recovery has been a little slower than I expected, as we are approaching the 3 week mark, and we thought he might be back running short distances at the 6 week mark. I'm trying not to worry and to be patient! Not an easy thing to do...

Shyla Learns Tricks - Positive Training Blog Hop

I am participating in the Positive Pet Training Blog Hop today so I'll talk about some of the training I've been doing with Shyla.

Many of you have followed us for a while, and you know that Shyla was very fearful when she arrived as a 9 month old puppy. As far as I could tell, she had very little life experience so she feared people, towns, cars, bicycles, doorways, vacuum cleaners - in fact, it's faster to make a list of what she didn't fear than a list of what she did fear. It seemed as if her fear encompassed almost everything.

We worked very hard with a trainer, using a technique loosely based on Behavioral Adjustment Therapy, to help Shyla learn to be more comfortable in the world. I'll talk more about that in the future. However, the bottom line is that Shyla has come a long way. She is interested in meeting the majority of people but still nervous about some people. She can do really well going to town, going into shops, going to the vet, or having people over to our house. I don't think any of these things are easy for her - but she can usually do them while maintaining an outwardly calm attitude. So, to this point, I'd call our behavioral training successful but still a work in progress.

Most of all, Shyla adores our mountain environment. And, she absolutely loves doing "training games" with me. In positive training, I think of everything as being a fun game for the dog (and handler!). The dog is trying to figure out how to earn rewards and the handler is trying to shape the dog's behavior in a certain way.

Because we both love training, I've been teaching Shyla new tricks this winter. Her basics - like sit, stay, down - are pretty strong. That's why tricks are on our agenda now. Last winter, I taught her to wave with her right paw. I started by luring her to lift her right paw, and I clicked and then gave her a treat whenever she did. Then, I raised the standards so she had to lift that paw higher to get a click/treat. In a short time, she was waving like this.

This winter, I thought it would be fun to be able to ask her to wave with either her right or her left paw. I used a similar training technique but a different verbal cue for her left paw. In the photo below, you can see that her left paw wave isn't quite as high as her right one, but she's getting it (and showering herself in snow!).

Another trick we're adding to our repertoire is balancing a treat on her nose. It was much easier to teach her to do this than I expected. I'd put a treat on her nose, and say "stay" (because "stay" means "stay still" in our world). At first, I'd ask for only 1 second of balancing the treat before I "released" her to get the treat - and I gradually increased the time and distractions. Today, I put the treat on her nose, walked about 10 yards away, and took some photos...

And then I verbally released her to launch the treat. She hasn't yet mastered tossing it into the air and actually catching it, although the next photo makes it look like she's going to catch it!

I recently found a good book that suggests how to train a big variety of tricks so Shyla and I will be starting on some more soon! I think that any positive training, even if it seems like silly trick training, is great mental exercise for me and Shyla, and it helps build an even stronger bond between us. Moreover, for a dog with Shyla's tendency toward fearfulness, positive training helps build her confidence. Every success helps her stand up a little taller.

Glorious Sunrise

I didn't allow myself to hit "snooze" this morning because it was supposed to be sunny for the first time in days. Shyla and I hurried out the door, and we saw the sunrise this morning. It's amazing how fast the position of the sun is moving northward now. It was fun to see the sunrise between the two most prominent peaks to our east. Just last week, it was the the right of those two peaks.

It was cold, very cold. And the wind was blowing at sunrise. You can see the snowflakes in the air in the sunrise photo and around Shyla as she waved to me.

Neither Shyla nor I could stay still because our toes and fingers were freezing, so we kept moving while we enjoyed the dawn of the new day. Shyla looked like she was dancing!

We had a glorious snowbike ride. Finally, we had sunshine, and the trails are starting to be packed down enough for my fatbike to float without stalling out too often. Both Shyla and I were relaxed and happy when we arrived home.

R is still in the recovery phase from his elbow surgery so he was resting when we arrived home. Shyla knew exactly where she wanted to snooze - with her big brother, of course!

Their bond warms my heart.