Rocket springs into spring!

In honor of the spring storm that is just starting...

Rocket celebrates spring!

Agility Class Week 4

This is Rocket after ten hours of wild play day care and an hour of  heavy mental lifting at agility class.

He did a lot better at class this week. I will never forget his meds again! He was still scattered but he wasn't as mentally fractured as he was last session. This week by the end of class he was able to do a series of obstacles! He couldn't hack the series at the top of the class but he got the last one. Mommy needs to get over the need to keep him on her left at all times, this is not good for agility - This is not easy for Mommy, Mommy also needs to take his toys to an open field and drill, drill, drill.

I have had him on the leash too often and now he completely loses his mind when he is off leash. I need for him to see it as more of  a normal thing instead of a reason to go wild. When I go to "my" field or Brosky and Alphagals backyard,  I will also have weave poles! Or I will have weave poles, I now have the sharp pointy additions to the end of the PVC pipe that turns them into weave poles plus a strip of nylon with a track on it so I can make the poles evenly spaced and uniform. Onward to Home Depot!

Garden 2014 Update 6

And time marches on!

The potaotes are doing really well! I am so relived/happy to see the ground potaotes finally all up and getting about business. I was very concerern leeping in mind I planted them in February and if the weather had cooperated, these would be ready to be harvest on May 8. It was not to be, I think the new harvest date will likely be in June.

The green beans are making an appearence, so far two have broken the surface. I went to the Farmers market to get my peppers and I was surprised to find trays of beans for sale, I think this is kind of nutty. They are so easy to grow I really can't see buying all ready sprouted bean plants.

However, I have no problem buying very young tomatoes and peppers. I have a double standard. I'm sure that they are also easy to grow too but I just can't see myself starting from seed with them. It takes a long time for them to reach mturity even if you buy them as young plants that starting from seed would about kill me. I bought two different varietyes: California Wonder and Black Beauty. I had really good luck with both of these and this year I bought more then in years prior.I am really hopeing to fill my freezer from the garden this year.

My next goal is going to be getting the corn in the ground. I want to wait a bit until its really, truely summer because I don't think they like cool weather. I am however, shooting for next weekend to get them into the ground. I have all whole bunch of compost that is looking for something to do. I've been saving it for the corn because they are "big feeders" and I want them to be happy.

What I am not completely happy about:

 New Timer! So many places to put hoses, two different timers to set! and still a free space to put a hose for  random use! So happy with this!

Sloppy! Sloppy! Sloppy! Too many hoses! A tangled mess! My sense of irrigation aesthetics is horrified by this mass of hoses. On the other hand : No Leaks! and the new timer is all kinds of awesome

How news travels.

Shooting on New Bern Avenue

I didn't learn about this from the paper, I heard this as I was walking Rocket back from the street festival downtown Saturday afternoon. The lady I heard talking about  it had the fatality hours before the news sources released the man was dead. The paper had two wounded, it was actually two wounded one dead. I also knew one of the wounded  men was shot in the leg

The barber shop it happened at would have to expand before it would be large enough to be called "a hole in the wall". I've passed there dozens of times and didn't know there was a barber shop there. What kind a amateur bad guy would shoot up a tiny barber shop? What a scum bag.

Sigh.

I had been looking forward for weeks to the Cause for Paws Pup Crawl this weekend.

Rocket and I showed up, waited outside in a line for half and hour and finally got the the desk only to be told they couldn't find my reservation and didn't have room for more anyway. We left feeling dejected and probably are going to think twice about dealing with CFP again.

Good going dog charity. We missed the last monthly fundraiser and we might miss next months too.

Friday Cat Blogging

TGIF

I didn't go to Pints for Paws. This is the first month I've missed in months and now I feel bad. I went shopping instead, and not fun shopping, Big Lots and the grocery.

I would have gone but I am signed up for the Pup Crawl this weekend (I'm really looking forward to it, its going to be fun and good exercise for one and all and I get a tee-shirt) and that will be fun and hopefully all the places we are supposed to go will be large enough to fit all the attendees. I really like the bar that has been volunteering to be the venue, but the event has gotten more popular every month and now the place is getting smaller every month and while I'm glad that Cause for Paws  is getting a good income from these crowds, its getting crowded and not in a fun way. Crowds of people are one thing, crowds of dogs in a different vibe all together, even happy, well mannered dogs have personal bubbles that they don't want violated and its best not to poke the bubble too hard.

Last time there were too many people and too many dogs and it was packed and hot and on a shallow note, I don't like how they handle the door prize drawings - no one should win more than one prize! For the $5 you get five tickets and I think they should be mixed up enough in the bowl that the same person doesn't make repeated trips to the front. Its not fair. And its too hot and crowded and the drawings are handled badly, and well, they need a bigger space.

This weekend to make up for spending last weekend lolling around I have an ambitious plan. I want to mow the lawns, get the new timer hooked up for the irrigation system, shop for and plant my green bell peppers, put all my laundry away, hang the winter coats up, clean off the dining room table and make the rest of the house not look like I am auditioning for Hoarders.

Also I have a movie I've been holding onto long enough I'm sure Netflix thinks I have lost it.

Garden Update 2014 5

If the cat doesn't want to be used as a pillow the cat should not 1) takes napes where he is conveniently located for face plantage and 2) not arrange himself as to be confused with a pillow. If he doesn't want to  end up as a pillow he should take his naps under the coffee table and not on top of the dining room table. Just saying.

Also not have such a luxurious furry coat or be as soft and pillowy as he is.

When I wasn't stalking the cat, I finally got my onions in the round. They have been sitting around for a really long time waiting to be planted and I finally decided to do it and do it now - before they rotted. I planted them in two locations, the first group is in a large planter on the front deck and the other is planted in a rejected strip of ground in the main garden in the back yard. I stopped planting in that section because it doesn't get enough sun and there are some very pushy vines growing on the fence and I think they bully the plants that end up there into being short and sad.

Enter onions, they are born short and sad.  I just did some reading, after the fact and I didn't do anything they suggest for successful onion growing.  I should have read How To Grow Onions before I got them in the ground. Oh well.

They were really cheap and if any of them actually live to see harvest it will be a good return on my investment. This tutorial comes with pictures and according to it, some of my sets might be okay. Some, but not all the sets I planted in the front might be okay if I can move the  decrepet wooden barrell into the sun. Onions like the sun.

A quick survey of where they are planted tells me that pretty sure my onions aren't going to make it this year, but now I know more and maybe next year I can have a actual harvest.

Doggy Dogness

I joined another Weim group on Face Book and I would have been here sooner but I had to read stuff.  I was very proud of young dog today. I had to go by Sams to pick up his meds and I didn't get home until close to five and he was dry! This isn't the first time, but its like two times in a row (weeks apart) and so it gives me hope.

I have to leave him until after five on weeks we have staff meetings after work and before recently I would put him in daycare on those days. Now he has class Monday nights and I had to change his daycare schedule.  If daycare really loved me they would also offer half-day stays because I could leave him at home until lunch and then go drop him off. He could get his exercise and doggy fellowship but not at the full price.

I'm also trying to decide if I want to get the app the daycare offers so that I could spend the day watching Rocket run and play or stand and fight, depending on what his alpha directs him to do. I think it would make me nervous and I shouldn't look into it. I think what I don't know won't hurt me.

I just re-read their site and lo and behold they do split day pricing. They offer 7:30- Noon or 2pm- 7 for $10! I mean, I don't know when I would take advantage of that, but its good to have options. I also learned that they with bathe the dogs for a price! Having done it myself they could not possibly charge too much, I will have to follow up on this before we spend three days in a car together because boy dog can get really ripe and I know that in the car, in close quarters I prefer to not have to be immersed in his stank.

In the mean time though, I think I'm going to schedule him a another dry shampoo bath and curry-combing. Its not a real bath but it helps.

I'll give them a plug because we like them so much The K9 Kabana

Agility Class, week 3

Today we learned that an un-medicated Rocket is a un-focused, un-disciplined and un-manageable Rocket.

I forgot to give him his pill and a snack before we left for class and I lived to rue that decision! He just was not the same dog from weeks past! Even with a busy day at daycare to help take the edge of his energy, he was a nightmare! Getting him to do anything he was asked was a trial.

He however, had a fabulous time and enjoyed every minute of it. I did not have a fabulous time and did not enjoy a minute of it. It was especially galling to be showed up by  the boy child and his manic dog! In weeks past I could at least feel that my dog wasn't the least well behaved dog in the ring... The other dog in class sits and stays and doesn't need to be on leash - she however does not seem to get as much joy out of the class as the  less obedient dogs. Yeah, your dog is sitting and staying but is your dog having fun? My dog is running around like a crazy person but look, he's getting on the obstacles on purpose, for the fun of it! How is your dog on the A-Frame? Hmm.

Next week 1) Drugs! 2) Food!

Easter Monday

Happy Easter Monday from the Easter Weimie!!

Friday Cat Blogging

Back in the day

April 16, 2011

I hadn't thought about it being the anniversary. I know I have a lot of pictures from the time but I think they are trapped on the old computer and are inaccessible - I need to correct that, there are a lot of things on that computer I want to be able to get at and its not hard, the machine still works and all I have to do is turn it on and deal with the cranky slowness of the old beast.

I was moaning about the general half assedness of my yard over the weekend - needs mowing,. needs Knock-Out roses along the fence line, needs the neighbors to chop down offensive garden shading tree, needs to be leveled, needs to be re-sodded, needs garden moved to other side of yard, needs, needs, needs.

And then I remembered

Ii could be worse and actually,  it made everything better. I got a new fence, I got a new shed and I got a lot of the hateful ivy out of my yard. It opened up the sky and allowed me to have more and better gardening opportunities. It didn't happen over night but it got better. I need to breathe and get a plan. When all this happened, after I stopped hyperventilating, I made a plan and I followed through. The plan didn't come together as fast as I wanted it to but it did come together, if I want to make progress back there I have to get it together and  decide what I want to to do and how I am going to get it done.

It went from what you see above to below.

I can't count on another Act of God to get work done, so I'll just have to  act with what I have. Its not going to get leveled and its not going to get re-sodded. I could just keep it mowed because I know I like it better when its neat and less jungly and I see Knock Out Roses for sale here and there and they aren't so expensive I can't just buy the six or seven plants I probably need. I do need to work out irrigation and doing something about the abysmal soil along the fence line.  It can be done and sooner or later, I will do it.

Garden Update 5 - The freezinging

I want a gold star for gardening. I just spent twenty five minutes in the cold and rain in shorts and sandles running around trying to find cover for my plants so they don't die on me when the temps drop over night.

Also, I will never plant early again. The old wives tale is to not plant before Good Friday and I see that as sound advice. Planting "late" is not going to negatively affect the harvest or the health of the plants. I jumped the gun so I ended up wading through puddles and getting soaked and cold to the bone. I could have just as easily planted in two weeks - but I got sucked in by on sale plants at Home Depot and now here I am. In their favor they are nicer and few weeks older than the infant plants I have worked with in years past, and so I think they should be okay... and if they aren't, its still early enough in the season that if I have to replace one here or there its not going to be too traumatic.

The potatoes have come along nicely, and I can't just replace them if they freeze so I made sure that they were fully covered and I hope its enough to offer the protection they need. It was reveled to me why I have so many flower pots around - they make excellent shelters for young plants! They are exactly the right size and I can just pop them back into the basement when it warms up again. They are a hearty plant though so I think even if they really froze they would maybe be okay. All the plants are going to be annoyed because I'm not going to be able to uncover them before at least lunch time.  I'm  choosing to see the time spent as "quality time in a terrarium" and not so much like "stuffed in the dark under a  plastic pot".

.I also used some old sheets and those are going to be harder to deal with post-cold snap. I came up with the pot idea after I covered the tomato cages with the sheets and my that time they were all ready sodden and the idea of taking them off and getting even more wet and cold and gross was not attractive or in the cards. I think it will be okay and I can just throw the whole mess in the laundry after work.

I would have taken pictures of all this but I didn't want to take the camera out in the rain. Not  because I thought I should protect myself from further cold and wet and gross but because I  wanted to protect the camera  from the cold and wet and gross. #priorities

Dogs being dogs.

We didn't have class tonight. The instructor cancelled it late Sunday because of the threat of storms. It turns out the storms were  more of a threat than a promise and we didn't get even a drop.  Rocket spent the day at daycare and learned a new skill.

Bagman . There is a new alpha at Monday daycare and her name is Annabella. There has been a large male pit-bull with an attitude problem in the group on Mondays and Annabella and her three henchdogs offered him an attitude adjustment  - by kicking his ass.

Rocket wasn't the instigator, "He's not like that" the daycare guy assured me, but as it turns out he is one hell of a team player. Annabella  led the charge,  and then Rocket joined in. He didn't really know what they were doing but he thought that it looked like fun . The pit wasn't that badly hurt, a nice cut over his eye and the knowledge that Annabelle kicked his doggy butt.

I didn't even get a call about this! They just sprung the news as I was heading out the door with him. They handled the fight with sirens and water hoses and it was over quickly. It must have been a beautiful moment.  Rocket is fine, his ear is a little bruised looking and  they kindly pointed out that he now has blood that is not his, on his collar. The whole thing makes me uncomfortable because I have very clear memories of Daisy getting her alpha on and how awful it made me feel. Is this going to be a pattern with him? Can I let him sniff sniff other dogs? Daisy went from baby bunny to angry weasel in  a heart beat.

 In Rockets defense, Daisy was seven when she was diagnosed with Addison's and part of that was that her adrenal glands stopped working and with them her fight or flight  instinct. She lost the flight instinct and was left with fight. I spent years terrified of running into other dogs. It was lonely for both of us but she never tried to hurt anyone either ( because she had no opportunities to do so). I hated living like that and I really, really hope that this was just about instinctively following his pack and not a new hobby.

The daycare guy did say the pit was behaving aggressively and was not an innocent in the whole affair, but now I have to worry about daycare and I had not done that before. I hadn't had to spend time worrying about if Rocket was being mean to other dogs or behaving in a unfriendly manner. I always ask about how he behaved and they always say he "Loves to play and has so much energy! He's just jumping around all the time. He just plays the whole time!" So, is he a pain in the ass to the other dogs? Does he get on their nerves? Does he get the other dogs agitated?

I didn't even have to send him today, we didn't have class but I wanted to run errands. The next time I might have to weigh how much I am bothered by the dog peeing on the floor. It makes me anxious but not as anxious as worrying about my dog getting in touch with his inner bagman.

Garden 2014 Update 4

What I didn't get done this weekend:

1. Mow either lawn, needed to, planned to, but didn't get to it. Will do this week.
2. Do my light load of laundry, I got the dark stuff done but ran out of time for the other. Will do this week.
3. I shopped for meatloaf fixings but didn't make get around to doing it. Will do this week.
4.  Added mileage on the exerbike, decided the toting and lifting and general labor counted as cross training. Will do better this week.

It sounds like I am going to be busy this week.

What I did get done this weekend.

1. Attended the Democratic County Convention. Clay Akin was there.
2. Went to the city and dug, lifted, carted and distributed (the hardest way possibly) six  heavy bins of dirt. This was two trips out there and way more manual labor than I am comfortable with. I discovered that mulch is lighter than compost.
3. Tilled everything.
4. got the irrigation hoses layed.
5. got the weed barrier down.
6. brought the bean trelisi up from the basement.
7. planted tomaotos.
8. bought a wheel barrow, one day too late.
9. Walked to Church.
10. Walked the dog.

Post soil amending and tilling

before

during

yes, they are planted too close together but I don't have room for them to planted the proper distance. Every year I plant them too close together and yet every year I manage a good harvest. I am going to plant peppers in the front with my Burpee sauce variety and more toms in the back.

I intentionally left the far sides open as they get too much shade and nothing grows there. I decided to cut my loses this year and not irrigate or plant those areas.

before

after

I want to point out the progress the potaotes have made.

It took a while but they came through.In the center area I am going to plant corn.

Out of nowhere I have real plants!

I have also bought onion sets (very cheap) but I don't know where they are going to go yet, possibly in bins.

Lil BUB's Big SHOW: THE FINALE

Go me

Five more miles.

Five miles in a row on the bike after dinner.

Yesterdays entry was caught in a Blogger time warp so it was posted very late. So that everyone can read it at their leisure. I bring  you

FRIDAY CAT BLOGGING! All Day Edition!

Did you have a looonnnggg week? Baby cat feels you! Sometimes hugging it out doesn't cut it, there are days you just have to SCREAM it out. Ace hopes we all have a great weekend to make up for  a frustrating week,.

Keeping it moving.

I briefly inspected my bike this weekend while touring the shed and I was not moved. It may have been out of the elements all winter but its certainly the worse for wear. The tires are both flat and in the past I have learned that on this bike, a flat tire means a bad tube and I can not do replace the tube myself and I do not always want to hear about how hard the rube is to fix should I find some one to fix it.  I'm also walking an hour all ready and maybe I don't need to spend so much time out in the elements.

I do have another bike. The exerbikle has been babysitting Rocket for months in the office and since it has done such a good job I decided to let it out of the office and back into my life. I had forgotten how not hard it is to peddle! My new goal is five miles a day in my lovely climate controled. I had been taking the dog for a second walk but I think its a good idea to  cross train when possible and so now I can. I moved the exerbikle into the living room and I can peddle and watch my DVR.

The dog does not "get" the exerbikle, it makes too much noise and it doesn't seem to produce anything. He is a very results oriented dog and he doesn't see the use in a thing that makes noise yet doesn't move.

Speaking of dog, here are two pictures I took while on our walk. We went to the museum and played with their landscaping.

Urban Pioneers

I followed through on my goal to get my garden supplies together before the weekend. I went off to Wally World and bought new hoses, the old hoses no matter how cautiously put away always rot over the winter and its pointless to try to save them, but I do.  I save them over the winter because I want to be thrifty but then I pull them out in the spring they fall apart in my hands and then I have to run out to the store to buy more. I decided to just buy new ones and cut out the middle frustration.

Anyway. I was in the parking lot of Wally and I thought to myself I really need to get the fabric staples to hold the weed barrier down and now I need to go to Home Depot. and then I thought Well, I did promise the dog  a walk when I came back . If I get the staples now its going to be too dark for  a walk by the time I get back home. . And then I said to myself I did not have a conversation with the dog about my plans or my schedule and I certainly am not "breaking a promise" to the DOG if I run the rest of my errands. I don't think we actually talked about this. and then I said The dog and I do not have conversations.

I went to Home Depot and got my staples and came home and walked the dog double time through the neighborhood,( be careful what you ask for because you will surely get it) because it was dark and power walking is Good For You. We were making the swing back towards the house when I was walking through an intersection and out of habit I looked up the street. I saw two rather large deer sculpture in one of the yards, and I said to myself I wonder what the neighbors think of the yard art. Because that is statement yard art  And then yard art crossed the street!

I've seen possum and fox and rabbits and now deer. I was a mile and a half from downtown Raleigh. This is not a wild life friendly place and now I have to worry about deer ticks. In downtown Raleigh. Yay for new and improved Urban Hell Holes, now with Lime Disease!

Agility Week 2

I found an new and improved route to the class and now I can safely say that I have indeed been behind Robin Hoods barn .We survived another week of class and Rocket was only moderately embarrassing!

He did very well with his jumps but not very well in  his sitting and staying before his jumps. He really does not like the idea of me going ahead of him, he wants to join me where I am and that precludes wasting valuable class time sitting and waiting to go. He feel he should just go, because the whole point is going not "staying". He can not understand why so much emphasis is put on "staying". Its confusing.

He does very well on the obstacles, a real rock star. What he does not do well is what happens after the obstacles. The pausing and staying aspect as opposed to the running to  what ever obstacle he thinks is the most fun this week.In his perfect disobedient, world he prefers to run joyously to the next obstacles, preferably a tunnel and maybe over to the pointy thing again, it was fun.

Tgis week are homework is working on his sit/stay and waiting for me to release him. We are going to do this by him having to wait to start his meal until I release him to do so. I am to put the food down and have him sit, he can't start his meal until I give him permission to do so. A huge turn around from what we used to do when I put his food down and then fetched him from where ever he wandered away to and then me begging and pleading for him to start eating. This week is officially Sit/Stay Week, not as exciting as Shark Week , but thanks to Treat Theory and the wonder of pepperoni, he will eat like a great white at a seal convention.

Garden 2014 Update 4

Another weekend another weekend spent doing absolutely nothing, well not "nothing", I got out of bed. I did successfully walk the dog a number of times, I did laundry, I went to Church, I mowed both yards for the first time this season, I got the dog new dog food and I put gas in the car.

In only forty-eight hours. Actually, I did a lot.

The potato plants continue to fight the good fight and are trying like hell to get to the surface. Next weekend I am going to go to the city and get more dirt for the big garden and probably try to get the hoses down ( buy new ones, because who am I kidding? I always have to buy new ones) and if I am very lucky, get the weed barrier in place and try to figure out how I am going to water the corn on a daily bases. I am thinking drip hoses like the big garden but if so, I will need to use the other spigot. Or, better idea,  I can use the fab sprinkler I bought at the end of last season and I can just plug and unplug that as needed.

Shopping list for coming week:

1. New dirt from city
2. Garden staples
3. drip hoses

To Do List for next weekend

1. Spread dirt in main garden
2. add dirt to small garden and bean location
3. Till everything
4. get drip hoses placed
5. put down weed fabric

The staples and he hoses I can get during the week, the dirt is a Saturday job.  I bought one set of tomatoes from Burpee this year, but they are really good, strong plants that I first tried out last year. I'm going to get the rest of the veggies from the farmers market. I haven't even started to plan the front flowers yet! I do know I am going to use the shoe hangers slash flower planters again, and I will have to replace the big grass plant and most likely the ferns. I am sad about the room mate ferns but I think they may of just came to end of their life cycle. I had the big fern for four years and the little fern for two, it also was just so cold this winter that even living inside the entry way, it was too much.  Sad ferns.

Friday Cat Blogging

Friday

Second evening trip to Walmart in two days. Sad now. The computers at work still do not work as well as before the "upgrade" and every day is a little more frustrating than it was yesterday, but in yesterdays defense, it is a lot better than it was last week.

This is a sexist thing to say : Too many of our IT people are forty year old women who didn't go to college but have taken a lot of  computer classes.  Watching them makes me sad.

I got next to nothing done today because two ladies spent two hours fiddling with my machine and their cell phones. Thanks to their labor I did regain control of my label maker but I have to get my scanner back on the leash.

Am hoping to sleep all weekend.


Oh, and April 4, 2014 marks the first time this season I wore shorts, not only wore shorts but swore shorts in public. I am also thinking of doing the seasons first mowing  of the lawn over the weekend.

Garden 2014 Update 3

I planted the spuds it feels like months ago ( in reality, 2/16), and now, after what seems like a very long time, I have sprouts! I had  thought that the seed potatoes I planted in the ground would do substantially better then the spuds I planted in the bins.

I thought that nicer soil, more space and the presences of earth worms and general being in the Earth would give them an advantage. The bins are doing better than the ones I planted in the earth. I credit this to the bins being above ground and in substantially warmer store bought potting soil. It started out warmer, was no subjected to freezing ground and the location of the bins gets better light in the late winter. The garden area gets nice light but not as much I am learning. It does however get better light in the early spring and summer, so I  am hoping this will bode well for the corn, if not my potatoes.

The bins hold early red potatoes. They are noticeably ahead of their Yukon gold cousins in the ground. Please not the two yellow "circles" around the other sprouts. I am crossing my fingers that as it gets warmer more of the seed spuds will sprout. I went back and checked and on the day I planted them looks like I planted them there was snow on the ground , and while it didn't snow again, it was bitter cold and nasty and I don't think that can help with sprouting.  These were all supposed to be harvest around May 8, but I don't see that as being attainable at this point, I'm looking now at the last week of May possibly first week of June.

In the top picture there are three sprouts, the bottom shot is of one along the other side of the garden, where it gets less sun. None of these were visible even last weekend. I thought the cold might have killed them and I gote a little sad about 1) not having potatoes and 2) wasting the time and energy  it took to get the ground ready and then planting them; but I remembered that potatoes are hardy and they reward hope.

Post Work

I was going to get errands ran this evening but then I decided to fall asleep in front of the TV with the dog. I got lots of stuff accomplished in my dreams . Well to be honest, even in my dreams I was a sloth- literally,  if I could remember my dreams I would hope that I dreamed off being a happy sloth. I've watched animal planet shows about sloths and they seem like happy creatures.

I think sloths and I have many of the same agenda goals  and hopes for the future although I would have to say my agenda is completely moss free at this time. I also do cut my finger nails and walk upright, so we do have some glaring differences that I hope in time we can work through. Possibly I will be less moss-sensitive.

I still in the run errands and I think that I might try a quick run to the store. But, I want to watch The Mindy Project and it comes on soonish so I'm torn - I do have a DVR, so really, start times are meaningless and I am free of such arbitrary  time constraints. I do what I want, and I want to go to the store.

And so I went  to the store and bought what I remembered I needed ( forgot cat food, naturally) and was very successful ( until I fed the cat and noticed his food had not magically re-generated) and came home and because of a misunderstanding, i.e  reading on Face Book that The Mindy Project was going to have two episodes and I saw only one recorded -  initially said some very rude things to my DVR.

As it turned out, there were two episodes but they flowed together there was no formal stop and start and so the DVR recorded an hour of show instead of two half hours. And we all rode off into the sunset.

Beginning Agility Week 1

Well, he is a beginner. A very enthusiastic beginner. Very enthusiastic, very excited, very happy beginner .  He jumped three jumps in a row with no problem and before today he had never jumped more than one at a time. It was kind of impressive to watch, he made me proud. He had problems on one of the obstacles that I didn't think would be a problem

The Dogwalk

This was tough for him, he wouldn't stay on it or get on it correctly (the one they used this week was lower than the working height) he has played on one of these before in Kinston, but I think he is shorter and wider, and he plays on variation of one of these at Dix but it is much taller and much wider. He actually walks on much narrower ledge when he plays on the planters downtown but I guess its just all about the environment and familiarity and over the next five weeks he's going to get more familiar with The Dogwalk. I was pleasantly surprised to see him comfortable walking on a locked teeter-totter, because he has been on one in the past at Kinston and he didn't love it. The sound of it hitting the ground can be a turn-off, hopefully the padded floor of the facility will help him work through that problem.

He didn't dp as well with the weave poles as I would have liked but that could be chalked up to the new environment, he seemed to be really into in the classroom setting but he has cooled on it since then.


Next week will be better and hopefully he will calm down a little. His enthusiasm is really great but he needs to be able to focus as well.