We HAD Fall Weather...

Location: Armuchee, GA
Time - 6:47pm Eastern Daylight Time
Temperature: 73 degrees F (23 C)
Conditions: Partly cloudy, humid
Forecast: Chance of thunderstorms tonight, mostly cloudy tomorrow. Highs in the 80s, lows in the 60s

Two happy flowers after a run last week

So we WERE having a nice Fall. Not a Minnesota Fall by any means but the temperatures were in the 30s and 40s in the morning and Bonnie and Susie and I were doing a lot of scooter runs.

Last Sunday, I met up with Steve and his dog team and Deborah and David and their dog, Anya (from Bark In The Park) at the Chickamauga Battlefield near Chattanooga. We went on a pre-dawn moonlit run though the park and it was a BLAST! Great trails and a lot of chance to practice command training.

The flower power girls did fantastic and were really listening to whatever I told them. They took commands, passsed, kept the lines tight and were enthusiastic the whole run!

I am so glad to finally have teams to run with in the area. It's fun running alone but it's always fun to run with other mushers too.

Jen called the other day and when I saw it was her, I immediately thought "Yay, now I get to brag about the amazing Bonnie and Susie!"

She was calling to brag about the flowers' sisters, Violet and Lily. Apparently they are running in lead and doing pretty amazing too. That whole litter is awesome. I remember Violet really standing out in the Beargrease 150.

So the weather in GA was decent, and I was really enjoying taking long walks with Calypso. The Fall colors were just starting to light up the landscape.

And then it got hot and humid again and we started having thunderstorms. Seriously, last night there was a tornado watch.

It's almost November, folks! I'M READY FOR IT TO STOP BEING 80 DEGREES AND HUMID DURING THE DAY!!!!

Thank you.

In other news, the current edition of ESPN magazine has a big article about Lance Mackey in it. Check it out, you can read it online at http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/insider/news/story?id=5655581&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fespn%2finsider%2fnews%2fstory%3fid%3d5655581

Wow, that is a REALLY long URL.

Anyway, I've got another loooong post coming soon but this is all for tonight.

I'll write again soon.

Cheers!

A

Bark In The Park

Location: Armuchee, GA
Time - 2:50pm Eastern Daylight Time
Temperature: 84 degrees F (29 C)
Conditions: Mostly clear, warm
Forecast: Sunny today and tomorrow. Lows in the 50s, highs in the 80s

Bonnie with new friend, Anya, at the Bark In The Park in Chattanooga, TN. Photo courtesy of Deborah Bond

Well, we have had a great weekend here. On Saturday, I took Bonnie to the Bark In The Park in Chattanooga and we had a great time. Bonnie is becoming quite the little socialite now! We checked out the new dog park and it is awesome! The first time I've ever been to one of those. They have a huge off-leash enclosure and agility equipment. I introduced Bonnie to the jumps, A-frames, tunnels and weave-poles. And I was very happy with how well she got along with the other dogs there.

Of course the main reason we went to Bark In The Park was because they had a dryland mushing demo. Obviously, this attracted my attention as I was interested to meet whoever was doing said demo. We were excited to meet other mushers from the area and are planning to meet up and train together.

And yes, Bonnie did a quick run with their team as well. I'm very excited to have met new people (and dogs!) and can't wait to see what the future holds.

In the meantime, being outside is now enjoyable and Fall is in the air. Cool mornings make us happy and although it's still warming up much more than I would like during the day, the humidity is GONE.

Things are pretty GREAT here right now, just so you know. The personal/family issues I've mentioned before are looking up right now!

Now I've just got to get the other posts that I've transferred to this blogging site a bit less messy...

And oh yeah, air quotes. HAH!*

Cheers!

A

*Yeah, you probably have no idea what I'm referring to there. Sorry...

Photo courtesy Deborah Bond

2010 Doggie-Dash, Etc.

Location: Armuchee, GA
Time - 6:12pm Eastern Daylight Time
Temperature: 82 degrees F (28 C)
Conditions: Mostly clear, slight breeze, less humid
Forecast: Clear today and tomorrow. Lows in the 40s, highs in the 80s

Remember Ana and Albert from
back in May?
( http://wolfmoonsleddog.blogspot.com/2010/09/adjustingsettling-in.html )
Yeah, they've grown up!

Okay, so I've been really bad lately about posting blogs. Having to change everything around blog/website-wise really annoyed me. Or maybe I've just been distracted with other things. I mean, I've been meaning to write this entry for a week...

So. Our fist event of the season was last Saturday! Bonnie and I ran in the Paws In The Park Doggie Dash, which was a 2-mile canicross run in Rome, GA.

Here's an article on the event from: http://www.romenews-tribune.com/view/full_story/9743456/article-Doggie-Dash-raises-more-than--400-for-youth-programming-through-Rome-Floyd-Parks-and-Recreation-Authority?

Doggie Dash raises more than $400 for youth programming through Rome-Floyd Parks and Recreation Authority
by Ellison Langford, staff writer Rn T.Com
Doggie Dash 2010

Runners seemed more interested in sniffing each other than winning during the Paws in the Park Doggie Dash 2010 on Saturday.“It’s not really a race,” said Lincee Powell, event coordinator for the Rome-Floyd Parks and Recreation Authority. “We just wanted people to come out with their animals and families and enjoy a day in the park.”The Saturday morning run had four size categories for dogs. Each group walked or ran the two-mile track around the shoal side of Ridge Ferry Park.Joe Tippett stretched his legs with his Shih-Tzu Wally.“We love our dog, and we love to walk,” Tippett said. He got the two-color eyed Wally as a puppy from a breeder.“He was really friendly and visiting with the dogs,” Tippett said as Wally barked at the other participants. “He wasn’t really worried about winning.”Powell said the focus of the run was to provide an event for people and their four-legged family members. Linda Patty said she came to support raising money for youth programming.“We thought that animals would enjoy it,” Patty said. Patty was there with Kim Sartin and Bethany Patty. They brought a boxer, Sarge; two Boston terriers, Charlie and Tinks; and Allie.The entry fees went toward youth programming through Rome-Floyd Parks and Recreation Authority. Powell said she thinks they raised approximately $450.“We’ve had a really good turnout,” Powell said. “We’ve had close to 30 dogs out."

We had a blast at the Doggie Dash. It was a nice cool morning and Bonnie did perfectly. I wasn't sure how she would do with distractions but she was perfectly focused and went right "on by" with merely a passing glance at whatever distraction we encountered (although there *was* this one squirrel...). The run was on a paved trail and I bootied Bonnie although we probably would have been fine without them. I think people thought I was weird.

After that, we went to the grand opening of Pet Sense pet supply store in Rome, which is one of those stores that allows you to bring your pets. So Bonnie got some extra socializing time there. It's the kind of place that Calypso would loooooove but Bonnie was more...cynical. I found a giant sqeaking chicken and Calypso's reaction would have been "Heeeeeeey a SQUEEEEAKKKY!!!!! YAYYYY!!!!" but Bonnie looked at it, head to the side, as if to say "Um, is that a giant squeaking chicken? Why is there a giant squeaking chicken in here? Why are you squeaking it at me? What the...?"

I picked up some new dog bowls while I was there, as well as treats and other supplies. I hope the store does well because it's really nice and there hasn't been a decent pet supply store in Rome for years.

In other news, I think I mentioned I had passed the GED? Well, what I know I didn't mention is that the examiner at Northwest Tech told me I had the highest score in Writing that she had ever seen. Not to brag or anything....On the other hand, I don't think I fit the bill of the typical person who takes the GED...

But that aside, pretty much the same routine going on here. It did hit 35 degrees F yesterday morning. GREAT run! Fall is definitely underway - FINALLY! It couldn't have come soon enough if you ask me.

More soon!

A