Mind Games

It’s amazing how easily your mind can play tricks on you. Certain events or holidays trigger an automatic response, right? For example; before Thanksgiving dinner has even begun to digest, we kick head-long into preparations for Christmas. April arrives and we think “taxes!”. It’s habit. It’s what’s next.

Well … the last weekend of February (one week ago), the dachshunds and I attended our first AKC Scent Work trial of 2021 (in Alaska, at least). It must be spring!

Allow me to digress for a moment and tell you about it. All half-hearted complaints about the weather aside 😉, we (Baxter, Rhonda and I) had a great time. I’m SO glad I went ahead and entered in spite of [my] misgivings about the cold weather and possible lack of daylight for AM driving (not being able to drive in the dark can be quite a disadvantage when you live in Alaska in winter). 🤷‍♀️ I just couldn’t bring myself to pass up this opportunity for a trial weekend!

It was, as expected, fairly cold and windy, but we’d come prepared with coats (for everyone) and warm boots for me. We were fine.

The competitor parking area was covered in about 6-8” of fresh snow when we first arrived. Not really an issue for most of the dogs … but my two bare-bellied weens were not overly impressed, even after I used my snow-shovel to clear them a private “potty area” by the car.

I had to smile; it seemed I was the only one who packed a snow shovel. Having smooth-coated, short-legged dogs will do that. In any case, it was passed from hand to grateful hand for a while before making its way back to my car.

The trial itself was such a nice change after so many months of relative isolation on my part. Having received both of my covid vaccinations meant a great deal less stress for me – and OH! Just seeing all our nose work friends in person was worth every single minute of cold toes!

I felt really out of practice after taking nearly a year off, but the dachshunds jumped right back into the game like it had been yesterday.

Highlights; Baxter took 1st place (both days!) in Novice Interiors, and Rhonda earned her Novice Handler Discrimination title. I couldn’t have been more pleased. ❤️

All in all, it was a fun weekend and I came home already looking forward to the next trial. Maybe a little too much so.

Here is where the mind starts playing its dirty little tricks.

We (Baxter, Rhonda and I) normally start our nose work trialing season here in Alaska in late April or early May – not February. But now we’d been to our first trial of the season. The NEXT one should be right around the corner, right?

I woke up early the day after the trial with my still drowsy mind busily making lists. Did I have an appointment yet to have the RV de-winterized? Did I need an oil change, or had I done that in the fall? What should I pack in my “travel knitting” projects bag? Did I need to add hot cocoa or hot apple cider to my shopping list? Was my little “travel odor kit” ready?

It was nearly a week before reality kicked back in and I finally stopped waking up with summer trialing plans winging around in my head.

Bummer! There is still a foot of snow outside. The calendar just flipped to March. It’s not summer … yet.