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.

Not quite yet …

February Choices

February has been a month of introspection, making life-changing choices and beginning to come to terms with those choices.

It has also been the first month in nearly a year that I’ve felt a noticeable lessening of stress (in me) caused by the pandemic. Jerry and I qualified by age for our 1st covid-19 vaccine last month, and received vaccine #2 on February 11th.

We haven’t let up on our precautions, but I finally feel like I can breathe again – and start getting on with life.

Let me clarify; life being something more than spending half the day spinning and knitting, and the other half listening to Audible books and coloring.

Good God; I’ve been reduced to coloring in “adult” (hahaha) coloring books. 🙄

Yep; the newest “color variety” in designer dachshunds. 😂

Arthritis in my hands and wrists and the desire for instant gratification have limited me so far to less complex pictures. I find “brush-pen” markers (I mostly use Tombow Duel Brush Pens) to be easiest on my hands and still produce vibrant, fun colors. Here are some of my recent “paintings”.

Between my various hobbies and continued training and play with the dachshunds, I’ve managed to stay occupied, if not particularly active. I honestly don’t know how folks with few or no time-consuming hobbies (and/or pets) stayed sane in 2020 and this winter.

Nine months of enforced inactivity has taken a toll though. “Use it or lose it”, right? Even though I planned ahead; implementing daily stretching, beginner yoga routines (I sure wish I’d taken up yoga 20 years ago) and walking on my treadmill (btw; Ronni has learned to walk on the treadmill too!), it couldn’t take the place of the physically active life I led prior to last year.

I’m hoping I can recoup the stamina and flexibility [such as it was] that I’ve lost. It’s going to take time and work – right now, I’m winded and have wobbly legs after 20 minutes on the treadmill. I need to get back outside!

One loss I’m very cognizant of – and a loss I know I cannot get back – is what FEELS like the loss of nearly a full year of my life. At my age, every year counts.

Now, put into proper perspective; it’s a small thing. I have my life. I haven’t lost any close family or friends to covid, which is a huge blessing in itself. And, although I was restricted in having close, personal contact with family or friends, and missed out on a lot of fun activities this past year, I was able to travel and camp last summer – RV travel really being the epitome of social distancing. 👍🏼

Outside Denali NP last September

Still, while I was focused on the pandemic and staying safe, I was mostly able to ignore and put off making necessary decisions in other areas of my life.

I very much feel the need to make up for lost time this year. I want to visit with my friends (eventually maybe even un-masked 😷), play with my dogs, attend as many trials and other dog competitions as I can squeeze in and maybe take a few longer RV trips in between the shorter ones.

I want to relax this year and plan my days around social activities (yes, of course that includes dog sports 😉) rather than planning social activities around my work schedule.

I combined those new priorities with the knowledge that I feel I’m sadly out of condition after nine months off. I’m not physically capable right now of putting in the long hours of on-my-feet, walking and jogging, with the focused attention needed to set up and teach nose work classes, to prep for, plan, haul equipment and supervise 3-4 hours of nose work practice … Should I try to push myself that hard? Did I even want to?

They say every journey starts with a single step. Well, the choice was clear, which didn’t make it any easier to take that final step.

As of March 1st, I’m going to be officially retired. I’m going to grab what is left of my life with both hands – and ENJOY it!

Holy cow … I said it. That makes it real. See y’all down the road!

The Morning Buffet

I awoke to a fresh winter wonderland this morning – and some very unhappy birds! Their feeder was buried under 2-3” of white, fluffy snow and not a sunflower seed (their fav, hands down) to be had! Not exactly a blizzard 🤷‍♀️, but sort of inconvenient for the smaller birds.

A few intrepid chickadees tried to brave the snow and dig down to the slightly more protected feeder trays in the center, but for the most part, other than a couple who paused to snack at the suet bar up on the little spruce tree, I had almost no visitors.

Since Qiviut (the upstairs cat), Ronni and I truly enjoy starting the day with hot coffee (for me) and bird-watching, there was nothing for it but to bundle up in slippers, robe and warm gloves and venture out onto the deck to clear access to the breakfast buffet.

Yikes! It was a nose-chilling 8°F out there! An actual jacket might’ve been a good idea. Oh well … I made a quick job of it, added a plentiful amount of fresh black-oil sunflower seeds and hurried back indoors to warm up.

We (Q, Ronni and I) had no sooner snuggled back into bed before the first “scouts” zipped by. Wild birds are always suspicious of change, so even clearing snow is cause for at least brief concern. It wasn’t long, however, before a couple landed, grabbed a seed and winged off to spread the word.

And then, within minutes, THIS happened! ❤️

Q wishes he was closer!

Well worth the few minutes of cold toes!

If I Could Be Anywhere …

Cabin fever usually hits Alaska some time in February. It looks like I’m diving in a few days early. ❄️

Cold barn
Hoar-Frost

It’s not that I don’t find Alaska beautiful any time of year. And winter, in particular, is often truly spectacular. But there really can be such a thing as too much of a good thing.

This time of year, with the frigid cold of winter surrounding me – ice, snow and hoar-frost encrusted branches the only view outside every window (during daylight hours), it’s hard not to at least envision myself in gentler climes.

If I could be ANYWHERE else … anyplace else at all – where would it be?

Maybe I’d go for a dip in a tropical paradise … and swim with sea turtles.

Photo credit to Bill West

Or perhaps soak up some warm rays in the deserts of the southwest?

Visiting Sandy in Kingman, AZ.

The endless possibilities flitter through my brain in a kaleidoscope of colors, shapes, smells … and warmth. Oh! The blessed warmth! Which shall it be? ☀️

Or, hmm … I could just stay HERE. ❄️⛄️

I’ve been told I have a fertile and vivid imagination. Since stark black and white (make that LOTS of white) are really lacking in ‘vivid’, it’s time to daydream. Want to come along for the ride?

Hibiscus blossom in my friend Johanna’s yard.

Closing my eyes, I can literally smell the tropical fragrance of blooms after a soft spring rainfall, the lush greenery of foliage that has never felt the bitter touch of a killing frost.

I can all but taste salt on my tongue and hear the gentle, rhythmic pounding of the surf as it rolls to shore across warm sand. Beach towels, anyone?

Add the sound and feel of a warm, tropical breeze – just brisk enough to caress my cheeks and rustle the fronds of nearby palm trees. Yes! Palm trees, by golly. If I’m having a tropical “moment”, I’m definitely adding palm trees. 🌴🌴

Again; photo credits to Bill West 🌴

Or, oh gee … we can stay HERE. ❄️❄️

At -20°F, Ronni uses the heated “potty palace” on the porch.

On the other hand, I’ve heard the warmth of the tropics can be kind of humid. Perhaps I should aim my thoughts towards a dryer heat? 🤠

Pack the sunscreen – Arizona and Texas, here I come! Warm, desert sand underfoot, hot sun beating down from above (winter sun, of course – not summer sun – I’d melt!).

Oh! The mere thought of it warms my toes and makes me eager to don shorts. OK, OK, I’ll also dream up some sturdy hiking boots – I don’t want stickers or a snake bite as part of my daydream.

There is something so unique and special about the fleeting life of wildflowers in the desert. I think a late winter or early spring visit would be just the ticket.

I can see it now … fields of blue-bonnets in Texas or golden poppies in Arizona, the season of color may be brief but oh, so memorable.

Don’t you just want to take a dog and ramble across this field of wildflowers?!
Wild bluebonnets near Fredericksburg, TX

And then, there are the real WOW moments only the true desert can produce. Cactus blooms; brilliant flowers that can burst forth from fragile bud to flower and be gone again, some of them literally overnight.

This delicate pink and white blossom is actually quite large – a real eye-popper, as are the long, very sharp needles protruding protectively from the cactus itself. You can imagine the size best if you take note of the ROOF overhand (photo on left) that this substantial cactus nearly reaches up to!

This big cactus is on my friend, Sandy’s, front porch. Definitely a wish-list destination.

Or …. sigh, we can stay HERE. ❄️☃️❄️

Daydreams are a marvelous way to escape the relatively monotonous boredom of everyday life. Especially when it’s cold out and you are mostly stuck indoors. It’s a past-time I’ve indulged in regularly in recent months, since I’ve been even more isolated than usual this winter.

I hope you enjoyed coming along on my little virtual vacation. Thanks again to Johanna & Bill West, Sandy Wojtaszek and Kathi Shaffer for permission to print many of the photo inspirations for this particular trip. ❤️

Hey, on the bright side; since no actual airfare was involved, there’s no limit to where we might wing off to next! Any suggestions?

For now, however, I think I’d better think up something a bit more physically demanding – or at least visually entertaining – to do here at home. Not only do I need more exercise, but so do the dachshunds! I’m being STARED at! 😳

How good are you guys at reading dog-eyes? To me, Rhonda is clearly asking, “Are we ever going to DO anything, Mom? Please, can we do something NOW?”