Colorado Mountain Magic

Do you know that feeling that you're being watched? I usually brush it off and tell myself that I'm being paranoid. But sometimes, you are truly being watched. I have a few examples.

A Great Horned Owl watched our pack as we headed out on our evening hike.

One day recently, I pedaled along with Shyla by my side, and she suddenly stopped. I didn't know why so I tried to cajole her to start moving again. Her stare up the hillside and into the forest became more intense. I finally looked where her eyes were fixed, and this is what I saw. A mama moose and her twins! They weren't aggressive so it was a pleasure to spot them.

And sometimes it is a coyote who is watching you from the forest. I was glad that I didn't have any dogs with me on that day. I also didn't have a good camera but I was glad to get even a low quality image.

Getting to see these wild animals is just one bright part of living in our mountains.

I love the Colorado mountains!

The Hachi Chronicle

It's been a good week for Hachi. By the start of the week, he was finally over the vet appointment from a week earlier. He returned to being playful and mischievous.

We met with his behavioral vet one week ago, and we all agreed that it was time to try a bump up in his Paxil dose. We started that last week, and no bad side effects have emerged yet. We are on the lookout for any signs that it causes increased aggression. You may remember that his previous med (dog prozac) had that bad side effect, especially at higher doses.

He and I did a solo hike one evening. In the past, he's been very very nervous when we don't have either half of the Duo with us. He wasn't at all nervous this week!!!! The Runner has been taking Hachi out on the trails by himself almost daily, and it seems that he has a newfound confidence. I love breakthroughs!

With me and the Runner, Hachi is so loyal, affectionate, sweet, and playful. I love when I have one-on-one time with him.

My heart says that Hachi is headed in the right direction. That's a good feeling.

Black Dog Sunday

Our Black Dog is the master of an upbeat attitude. It's what I love the most about him. But, there's little doubt that life is dealing him some lemons these days.

First, his blindness... He's learning to cope well with that. He definitely knows his cues "step up" and "step down". Both the Runner and I have made errors in when them so that it's not coordinated with an actual step. But, R makes an exaggerated step up or down even when we say it in error. That's a great test to show that he knows the cues! He's also learned a technique for finding the steps off the bed where he feels with his toes. It works really well for him.

 R and Shyla on one of our many snowy days.

Then, there's another twist. His red blood cell count is low but ulcer meds haven't helped it. The vet expected it to rebound quickly when we stopped the NSAIDs and started the ulcer meds. The vet is worried about a tumor. So, R is having an ultrasound on Monday. I have a knot in my stomach about it.

But, R looks as optimistic and hopeful about life as ever.

For now, all that we can do is enjoy every moment with our sweet Black Dog.

Shyla Saturday

Miss Shyla - you are the best partner in exploring the forest and mountains that I can imagine. Every morning, you are enthusiastic to get out into the cold with me. Your enthusiasm helps me to head outside even when it is bitterly cold.

You seem to love our sunrise photography sessions. Did you notice that you had a black canine chasing you the other morning?

Even when we see 150 elk nearby, you stay by my side. This photo is only one small section of the herd.

You even stay by my side in blizzard-like conditions like we had yesterday morning.

And you watch the snowy elk even when they are very nearby without even considering chasing them.

Quite simply, you make every day brighter, even when the snow is falling so hard that visibility is almost zero. I love having our mornings together. Thanks, sweet Shyla.

Feline and Nature Friday - Caterwauling by a Mountain Lion

In the recent travels of the female mountain lion who was looking for a mate, she came very close to our house around mid-morning on a weekend. My cam captured some rare daytime footage. This was the last sighting of her before she left our neck of the woods.

She clearly wasn't happy to be so close to people. She trotted away (unlike the usual cat saunter), and she didn't visit any nearby scent posts.

I sure hope that she has kittens!

I made a video of her best bouts of caterwauling. It's short, and you might enjoy hearing her amazing voice. It overjoys me that we have cats like this female lion in our forest.

I am linking up to Feline Friday and Nature Friday Blog Hops.

Thankful Thursday - For the Winter Beauty

Yesterday morning was painfully cold but gloriously beautiful with fresh snow covering the pine trees. We headed to gaze at the Continental Divide but I happened to look over my shoulder as we rolled to the lookout point. The sun was just rising.

The wicked wind was whipping from the west, and it caused snow to fly through the air, glittering in the light of the rising sun. The dramatic beauty took my breath away.

It was hard to stand and look at the mountains because the wind was so cold and powerful. It was worth it, though.

After the sun was fully up, Shyla and I played in the snow. It was our first fresh snow in quite a while, and it was welcome!

Shyla surveyed our world. She didn't sit on that exposed perch for long, though. Even she was cold.

She and I feel endless gratitude that we live in such a wild and stunning place. It may be extremely cold in that wicked wind but the freedom to run and the beauty of nature makes up for it.

We are linking up to the Thankful Thursday Blog Hop.

Wordless Wednesday

The Hachi Chronicle

Our Hachi didn't have the easiest week last week. It was time for his annual exam and vaccines. And, you know how fearful he is. He hasn't been to the vet since he was neutered about 9 months ago.

Prior to the appointment, we gave him meds to calm him. Moreover, our vet is certified "fear-free", meaning that she has special training for treating a dog like Hachi. She was really good with him and with letting us tell her how to best handle him. 

Despite all of that, Hachi was absolutely terrified. His pupils dilated (a sign of severe fear), and he huddled up against our legs. The good part was that he actually seemed to get better as the appointment went on because our vet handled him so sensitively.

We got him home, and I've never seen Hachi so tired and subdued as he was that evening and the next two days. He started to recover a couple of days later but it took him almost a WEEK before he seemed like the happy pup that he usually is. We checked with the vet, and his behavior was not typical of a vaccine reaction. Rather, it was recovery from being so afraid.

We now know that we need to get started on "happy visits" to the vet. We'll just take him into the lobby, feed him treats, and leave. Then, after a few weeks, he'll actually go into an exam room, get treats, and then leave. We need to do this regularly to help him to be able to handle vet visits with less fear. We should have done this a long time ago but all of his needs have overwhelmed us.

No worries, Hachi. We've got your back. We will be here for you as you continue to learn about this world that can scare you so much.

Black Dog Sunday, a day late!

Our Black Dog had a very good week in some ways. His eye pressure plummeted to low-normal after his ophthalmologist tweaked his eye drops. That means that he gets to keep his eye, at least for now. To be honest, the only reason why we celebrated was that he doesn't have to go through another surgery. We'd love him just the same even if he lost his remaining eye.

In fact, he often closes it so this is how he'd look - still very handsome in my opinion!

He is continuing to gain confidence in navigating inside the house. He walks with some speed and assertiveness. Even hard collisions with things do not slow him down. The only downside is that, when he runs into something, it's usually a "boom" of a collision. So, I've ordered him something called a "halo" for blind dogs - which will protect his face. You'll certainly see a photo in a future post.

On the less good side of the ledger, he had his "senior blood panel" which showed that he probably has an ulcer. We stopped his NSAID and put him on ulcer meds. We are hoping that it resolves quickly so that he doesn't have to go through a lot more diagnostics. His low hemoglobin might be a big part of why he seemed very off a couple of weeks ago.

No matter what, he is a happy dog. He and his sister are two peas in a pod.

So often, when I get home in the afternoon, I peek to see what they are doing. Then, I tip-toe to get my camera without waking them up. They melt my heart almost daily.

Snow is expected tomorrow, and our Black Dog LOVES that!

Happy Black Dog Day (sorry that it's a day late!).

Happy (or Unhappy) Groundhog Day!

Today, I must break from our weekly schedule to bring you the news from our neck of the woods in the Colorado Rockies.

Our young dog has taken on the role as the local groundhog. He saw his shadow this morning. That means that we can expect 16 more weeks of winter.

It is very common that we get a huge snow storm in mid-May. This year, we were counting on young Hachi to let us know whether we will get one this year. Clearly, we will.

Thanks to Hachi for playing this vital role in our weather forecasting.

We will return to our regular schedule soon. We know that you need your fix of our sweet Black Dog!

Shyla Saturday

Unfortunately, I've really hurt my spine. Some of you know that I've had a number of spine surgeries with the result that my neck and lower back are almost completely fused. I have done something very painful to the part of my spine that isn't surgically fused. It's been almost a week now since I hurt it so I am beginning to think that it may not get better fast.

Shyla arrived in my life when the spine surgeries were still fairly recent. So, I almost immediately trained her to do a few things that help me when my spine is painful. One fun one is that she picks up almost anything that I drop. Usually, I say "oops" to signal her, and she dives to grab whatever is on the floor. She loves doing it. The funny part is that she also picks up things that I intentionally place on the ground - like my mittens when I need to use my fingers. She has trained me not to place things on the ground if I can avoid it!

My motto is to keep moving, no matter how much my spine hurts so Shyla and I are trying to follow our normal routine. We have been out for sunrise, and we saw a particularly colorful one the other morning.

Shyla was relaxing behind me on a boulder while I looked toward the sun.

Shyla is, quite simply, balm for my soul. Of course, she's not perfect (she is naughty sometimes - yes, even Shyla) but she's a loving and loyal best friend.

 Happy Shyla Saturday.

Feline and Nature Friday - A Female Mountain Lion in Estrus

A female mountain lion who was recently in estrus must have her territory with our home as its epicenter.I delighted in seeing her behavior in a circle all around where I live.

I first picked up her footage when she was with a male lion - probably our resident tom cat. I caught only about the last day of their time together. But, it sure was fun to see them together and to listen to their vocalizations.

Then, the female was on her own. Based on her behavior, she was searching for another mate. She was visiting lion "hot spots" where there are clusters of scrapes (scent marks) close together. At the first one, she was interested in something up in the air, above the view of my camera. When I looked up there, I didn't see anything but she seemed to smell something.

Then, she lay down in the scrapes left by male lions, and she rolled. She also groomed. In this frame, she was licking her shoulder. Look how her toes were spread out on her hind paw.

Then, she seemed to smell something again.

As she left this site, she started calling out, perhaps calling to male mountain lions. I absolutely love hearing these sounds.

Be sure to have your sound on when you watch the video.

Thankful Thursday

Every now and then, the clouds whoosh up the canyons and our world becomes obscured. It happened one day earlier this winter when I was out on my bike. I was in a big meadow, and I was disoriented by having almost no visibility. The tree in the background was only about 15 yards away.

I grabbed onto things that I could perceive. First, I listened for sounds. A road was not too far away, and I oriented myself using car sounds. I was off my bike and walking because I couldn't see far enough ahead to safely ride. Next, I saw this fence. That was a very welcome sight because it meant that I was almost to the edge of the meadow!

It felt a bit like a metaphor for life. We all want our lives to be as clear as a bluebird day with all the coming steps and long-term goals being obvious.

But life doesn't tend to be that way. I remember our shock and confusion when Hachi started behaving aggressively toward R last spring. They'd been so close up until that point that our heads were reeling. Prior to that, they always liked to be close together, even snuggling. (This photo is from last March. Sadly, I doubt that we will see this scene again.)

It was one of the more disorienting periods in our life because we'd fully expected a dog pack who would get along peacefully. But, like on that foggy day in the meadow, we grasped onto any guides that we could find - as we tried to navigate a world that we had never been in previously. We were so fortunate to have resources to help us - a good friend who is experienced with situations like this one and excellent dog behavior veterinarians.

And that is what I am thankful for today - the help that we found as we devised a plan for keeping Hachi in our family. Now, we know that we can keep all three dogs safe so our goal has evolved. Now we want to rehab Hachi as much as we possibly can. We've already come so far that who knows where we will end up? That is the hard part - not knowing, like in a huge foggy meadow.

Thanks to all of you who have offered support over the past year. And thanks to Brian for hosting the Thankful Thursday Blog Hop.

Wordless Wednesday - Orange Clouds at Sunset