People have Rainbow Bridges too

14 April 2010 by admin.

Day 2 of our vacation was a much more solemn day.  Mom doesn’t talk about it much, but she had another reason for this special trip to Colorado.  She had promised my two legged dad that she would take him and his heart dog, Sassy, to a special place in Colorado for their final stop on earth.  Now I didn’t get to know my two legged dad very well because when I came home he was really pretty sick already.  Mom said he had cancer.  She tells me that it was because of my two legged dad that I came to live with her and the girls.  He had been in remission when he and mom decided they needed another bird dog and that was perfect timing because my two legged grandma was ready to have another litter (that was me and my brothers and sisters).  Mom had already put the deposit down on me and it was just weeks before I was born when my two legged dad found out that he had a very limited amount of time left.  Mom was ready to give me up when he told her in no uncertain terms that she was to go ahead and get me because she would need me.  I am sure glad he felt that way because I love my mom and sisters.  I can’t imagine not having them around.  Anyway, mom picked me up the end of July and I did everything I could to make her smile during the dark time.  Dad insisted I learn to swim, so we spent the last few weekends we had together with mom teaching me to swim and dad supervising from his chair on the beach area at Lake Travis’ Pace Bend Park.  I even wrote an earlier blog on my swimming lessons.  At the time, I was really too little to understand much, but I just knew I had to make mom laugh whenever I could.  She still calls me her happy boy to this day, and I am sure that is because of my early efforts. 

 

My two legged dad crossed the Rainbow Bridge in September 2008 when I was just a few months old, but it took almost a year before mom could make the final trip to scatter his ashes in a place he loved just about more than anywhere else on earth.  So, we rented a jeep and made the trek over Cinnamon and Engineer Passes.  I know why my mom calls it God’s country.  Here are some pictures so you can judge for yourself.

 And some pictures of the view from my dad’s resting place on Earth.  Pretty awesome isn’t it.

 

Cinnamon Pass:

 

 Engineer Pass (It was snowing when we got to Engineer Pass, but still magnificent):

 And for those folks wondering about my reference to the Rainbow Bridge, that is a place where all dogs go and someday get to meet up with their people.  My dad and Sassy met at the Rainbow Bridge on 10 September 2008. No one knows who wrote this poem, but my mom is partial to it and so was my dad.

 

The Rainbow Bridge

Author Unknown

 

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

 

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

 

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

 

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

 

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

 Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together….

 

Love you dad and Sassy.

 

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

It’s been a while….

13 April 2010 by admin.

Boy, it has been almost a year since I last posted.  I have been one busy boy, and my mom and sisters have been busy too.  After I got home from Bird Boot Camp we took it easy for a few months.  At least that is what mom called it.  We were actually trying to get Halo finished.  That means her Championship in the conformation ring.  We had a long dry summer of shows and mom said Halo was Reserve Queen again.  Finally, she did it in Canton, TX.  She finished.  That meant we really got to stay home for a while.  Here is a picture of Halo finished…I mean CH Madrone Heavenly Halo CD CGC.  Geesh, she gets mad if I forget any of the letters before or after her name.  I am proud of my sister, Halo, but don’t tell her I said that.  That’s my mom with Halo, and the judge is holding the ribbons.

I am also proud of my sister, Belle.  She is a certified therapy dog with Therapy Pet Pals of Texas.  She has been a therapy dog now for almost a year and goes every other week to the Austin State School to visit with the kids.  They love her there and call her Miss Belle.  Her favorite thing to do there is to entertain the kids by doing her tricks.  Their favorite is saying Howdy do to Miss Belle.  She then shakes there hand.  I don’t have any pictures of Belle and the kids because they have privacy rules and no one is allowed to take pictures with the kids. 

As for me, well where do I start?  I guess I should tell you first about my first vacation to Colorado hiking.  It was a real good time.  Belle and Halo got to go and mom invited our nephew, Louis, too.  We took the Shorthair Express (aka mom’s fifth wheel) for the trip and headed out to Lake City, CO.  It took us two days to get there, but once we were there…WOW.  We did three big hikes and a jeep trip over two passes. 

The first day there we took it easy.  We did a pretty flat 2 mile hike up William’s Creek to the beaver pond.  Mom said we needed to get acclimated since we had come from pretty much sea level to about 9000 feet.  Lake City is 8,666 feet and William’s Creek was a little above that.  It was a nice hike.  I was expecting to be tired, but as usual I had energy to spare.  Even Belle, the oldest, wasn’t tired. Here’s a picture of me and Belle waiting on Mom, Louis and Halo.  I was the one in front, and notice that I am not on a leash.  Mom said as long as I was reliable I could hike like a big boy.  I was about 1 and ½ years old when we went on vacation.

 

And this is a picture of Halo and our nephew, Louis.

And, of course, the Beaver Pond.

And a few of us playing in the pond.  Notice we found the mud too.  We even got to retrieve a stick for mom. The water was cold, but we didn’t care because we knew we would have a chance to run off the cold.

Notice who has the stick in this next picture. Yep, that’s me.  Belle and Halo were not happy with me because I kept beating them.

So we compromised and all brought the stick to mom.

And me on the way back down.  I was pretty tired when mom took this picture, but I was still in front of the girls.

Louis also took mom’s favorite picture on this hike.  She had been wanting a new one with me and the girls, so we agreed reluctantly to take a few minutes and take pictures.  This was the result.  It made mom happy, so it was worth it.

That was our first day on vacation, hiking in Colorado and I was pretty sure I was going to like the rest of the trip too. 

That’s if for now.  Tomorrow I will tell you about Cinnamon and Engineer pass and the jeep trip over the passes.  That was spectacular and it snowed on us too.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

WooHoo, I’m Home for the Summer

30 June 2009 by admin.

Wow, I had a great time at bird boot camp, but I was sooooo happy to get to go home.  I really wanted to deploy to California with Mr. Ronnie, but I was also a little worried about getting homesick.  I was also missing my sisters, allot.

Mom got to camp early Saturday morning and Mr. Ronnie picked out a couple of quail and I hopped into the kennel on the back of the mule, and mom and Mr. Ronnie hopped in and we drove out to the fields for some bird work.  Mom hadn’t seen me work birds in a couple of weeks, so I really wanted to impress her.  Mr. Ronnie still keeps me on a check cord even though I know whoa because I sometimes still get carried away when birds are around.  Mom held me behind the mule while Mr. Ronnie put out the first bird.  Even though I couldn’t see, I knew that is what he was doing because I could smell those birds.  Once the bird was planted mom led me out.  I was already picking up some scent so all I needed to do was zero in on the birds location.  We walked a ways and I was working off the check cord, then I had it.  Wham, I locked on point and at the same time I saw that big smile on moms face.  She was surprised because the last time we did bird work I was busting in and chasing birds.  Not this time, I gave her the prettiest point I could muster. Mom was still holding the check cord, but not very tight.  She was also giving me the whoa command while Mr. Ronnie went in to flush the quail.  The bird flushed and I was all set to chase, then that dang bird wouldn’t fly.  I was gonna get if for mom, but Mr. Ronnie told mom, “Hold him.”  He went in and grabbed the bird, then mom walked in and released me and heeled me off in the opposite direction.  Mom and Mr. Ronnie were really happy with my work, so they decided to let me run and hit all the swimming holes before mom and I headed home.  Mom told me later that Mr. Ronnie said I had allot of natural ability.  She told me I stayed out in front really good and worked the cover like a much older dog.

After all that work I was really tired.  I was happy I got to swim allot because it was already getting hot.  I live in Texas you know and in the summer it gets into the 100’s.  This year has been really bad with the temps already climbing to 105. Mr. Ronnie and mom discussed my continuing education.  He told mom she didn’t need to worry about bird work as I was great with that, but he wanted her to continue working the basic obedience stuff. That means more whoa training and heeling.  I will be going back for more advanced work in a couple of months, but for now I am home with mom and my sisters.

Oh I almost forgot, mom told me and my sisters we are going to the beach for the 4th of July.  I have never been to the beach, but Belle and Halo tell me it is really fun.  Lot’s of swimming and birds to chase.  Can’t wait to get to the beach.

Until next time…..

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Letter to my Ringo Boy at Bird Boot Camp

24 June 2009 by admin.

Dear Ringo,

The girls and I miss you so much.  You have only been away for about a month and it seems like forever.  I know you are studying hard and doing very well at bird boot camp.  I am so looking forward to seeing you this coming Saturday.

I wanted to write and let you know that Mr. Ronnie and I have been talking about the trip to California.  It seems that Mr. Ronnie is now agreeing with me that you may not be quite mature enough yet.  We are thinking about the possibility of you staying here with me and the girls this summer while Mr. Ronnie is away in California.  I know you will be disappointed not to deploy with your other shorthair friends, but look on the bright side, you will get to go to the beach over the 4th of July with me and the girls.  You haven’t ever got to go swimming in the ocean.  I know you will like it, probably even more than swimming at the lake.  So, this weekend when I come up to visit, Mr. Ronnie and I are going to discuss the next steps in your training.  If you do stay home this summer you will still have to study and work hard.  We will visit the bird lease in Cibolo and also continue your work on whoa, heeling and here.  I know it is not as exciting as going to California, but a part of me is really happy that you may actually be staying home.  As I said in the beginning of this letter, I really miss you and so do your sisters.

Love,

Mom and your sisters, Belle and Halo

PS - Can’t wait to see you this weekend.  I will be there bright and early.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Letter from Bird Boot Camp

19 June 2009 by admin.

Dear Mom,

I really miss you most of the time except when I am working with Mr. Ronnie and the birds.  It was fun seeing you last weekend.  I liked showing off my whoa skills.  Still hard for me to whoa though when there are birds around.  It is just so much fun to catch them.  I am really having allot of fun with Mr. Ronnie.  We work hard early in the morning because it is cooler and I get to go swimming in the tanks when I get too hot.  I also sometimes get to work with Paris.  She is the cute GSP that you met on Saturday when you visited.  I think Mr. Ronnie told you she got her name because she was queen bee in his house when she was little.  She is named after Paris Hilton.  She is really good on birds for a girl.  Oh, and she is kinda cute too.  She is a little older than me, just three months, but she sometimes acts older when she is ignoring me.  I think she likes me though.

Mr. Ronnie says we will be deploying to Northern California soon.  I probably won’t be able to write much when I am deployed as I will be working allot more on bird training. I think it is Special Ops training for bird dogs.  It is supposed to be much cooler in CA.  The place we are going to is a 600 acre totally fenced area which is setup for training dogs for bird hunting.  I should get some real quality time on wild birds while I am there.   I am looking forward to the trip, but I think I will miss you and the girls.

How are Belle and Halo doing?  Have they gotten to go swimming again?  I am jealous if they did because I really like swimming at the lake.  The lake is nicer than the swimming tanks here because it is so much bigger.  Tell the girls I said hi and that I miss them.  Tell Halo I really miss the fun and games with her, and tell Belle I miss laying around and sunbathing during the day with her.

Well I gotta go as it is getting close to dinner time.  I know you aren’t coming up this weekend, but I am looking forward to seeing you next weekend.

Miss you and the girls.

Love,

Ringo boy (that is what Mr. Ronnie calls me all the time)

PS - Tell the girls if they want to write a few blogs this summer while I am gone that it is ok by me.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

My birthday present…I am a year old now

7 June 2009 by admin.

I got my birthday present a little late this year, but it was worth the wait.

 

I am now a year old.  My birthday was May 30th, but I got my present today.  Mom wouldn’t tell us where we were going.  All she would say is we are going somewhere for a belated birthday for Ringo.  I think Halo knew where we were going though as she just kept doing that whimpering thing she does when she is excited.  I should have known too that it was something Halo liked to do, but I never guessed what my present was going to be. 

 

We got up early this morning and got ready to go.  Mom put our hiking collars on and we loaded up in the car and were off.  We drove for what I thought was a long time.  Not as long as going to the Nationals, but still we were excited so to us it seemed like forever.  Finally, we turned off of the highway and Belle and Halo knew where we were going.  They started getting really excited.  For me, it sort of seemed familiar, but not really. Finally, we got to the gate and paid the entrance fee to a really nice lady.  That was when I got my first clue.  She told mom the dogs had to be on leash except when they were in the water.  Swimming, we were going swimming.

 

After paying we headed into the park and turned off the main road and I saw Lake Travis.  We were heading to Pace Bend Park where I had learned to swim almost a year ago.  I was excited and a little nervous because I hadn’t been in a big lake since I was 4 months old.  Mom said I would be fine and not to worry. We went to the exact same spot out on a sandy peninsula.  There were some birds around, but I was so excited about the water that I didn’t even pay the birds any mind.  Well they weren’t quail.  Anyway, we jumped out of the car and never slowed down until we hit the water. Mom was right behind us with the bright red bumpers. We spent over an hour swimming and retrieving those bumpers.  It was a fantastic birthday present.

 

Here are some pictures.  This one is Belle, Halo and me in the back waiting for the throw.

And this is Halo with the bumper (she is still the fastest swimmer) and then me and Belle.  Belle and I were doing our best to keep up with Halo. Of course, Halo has an advantage because she is smaller than me and Belle.

And this one is me telling mom to hurry up and throw the bumper, please.

And this is Halo and me goofing around with the bumper.

And this last one, well I was expressing my enthusiasm for my birthday swimming trip.

I had a great day swimming and have been resting since I got home.  Mom was smiling all the way home and mumbling something about tired GSPs.  You guys probably know what she meant.

 

Well I am probably not going to be blogging much at least for the next few weeks as I am going off to bird school tomorrow.  Mom is taking be back to spend some time with my trainer.  She says she will be coming up on the weekends to work with me.  I will miss mom, but Mr. Ronnie has all kinds of birds at his place.  I think I will have fun at bird school, and when I get back home sometime in late July or early August I should be all ready to start the fall round of hunt tests and maybe even some field trials. 

 

So, I will try to get a blog with some pictures while I am at bird school, but until then just remember….Got Birds!!!!

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

My Sister, National Halo

6 June 2009 by admin.

Wow, it has been 3 months since I last wrote something for you guys.  Allot has happened to me in that 3 months. I have been to several hunt tests, a field trial, I made my first appearance in the conformation ring at the Nationals, and I am now one year old.

 

It has been a while since I have written anything, but I have been really busy.  First, we had the marathon run of dog shows for Halo as mom was trying to finish her.  Belle and I were along for the ride.  We went to Glen Rose which I wrote about, San Marcos, San Antonio, Fort Worth, and Midland (actually I was in bird school for Midland).  Halo won her second major in Fort Worth and then picked up two more points in Midland.  She only needs two more points to finish. In between the dog shows with Halo, mom took me to four hunt tests and one field trial.  I got three legs of my Junior Hunter and then figured out it was more fun to catch the birds than it was to point them.  Anyway, I think mom is getting ready for the summer round of dog shows as she wants to finish Halo before the end of the year.  Boy am I glad I will be in bird school for a big portion of the summer. Mom says I need to learn to point again.

 

Speaking of bird school and pointing, I spent April in bird school learning to heel, whoa and perfecting my recall.  The trainer was real impressed because I already was good at heeling, unless there was a bird around, and I had what he called the best recall he had seen on a dog my age.  April was a fun month for me even though I missed mom a little bit.  I lived in the kennel and had my own private run which was next door to an English Pointer.  I even got to sleep in a barrel filled with hay.  It was great.  Mom picked me up from bird school in late April because she wanted to take me and my sisters to the Nationals.

 

The Nationals are the big German Shorthair Pointer dog show that happens every year somewhere in the US.  This year it was in Denver.  Mom had plans for all of us.  Belle was entered in Open Obedience, Halo was entered in Novice Obedience and Conformation and me, I was entered in Sweepstakes and Conformation.  It was my debut in the ring.  Mom was handling Halo, so I got to meet Kristina Chandler.  She handled me.  I really liked Kristina because she had the best treats.  She could even get me to free stack.  I guess that is important because mom was really proud of my free stack. I had fun in the ring, but I have to say birds are a whole lot more fun.  I didn’t win anything, but mom said I did really good for first time in the ring.  One of mom’s friends said my mom was brave debuting me at the Nationals.  I think I did pretty good though. 

 

Halo didn’t win anything in conformation either, but she made a haul in obedience (more about that in a minute).  Belle…mom said Belle put on the performance of a life time.  I didn’t get to see it, but allot of people were talking about it.  Something about her retrieve on the flat where she was supposed to retrieve the dumbbell.  Apparently, she decided the exercise needed improving.  When Belle improvises look out.  Mom said she went out for the dumbbell nicely and picked it up, but when she turned around to return the devil was in her eyes.  At that point, she tossed (not a little toss, but about 10 feet up) the dumbbell in the air and the folks watching started laughing and clapping. She of course retrieved the dumbbell again and raced toward mom (I think she was supposed to return the dumbbell to mom), as she got about 5 feet from mom, she tossed the dumbell right at her feet.  I think that is pretty good, but I guess that was not what she was supposed to do.  The judge told mom later that if she could have qualified Belle she would have as she had never seen a shorthair with that much enthusiasm in the obedience ring.  Belle told us she had fun too.

 

Halo on the other hand stuck to the script.  After a complete bust at the early obedience show on Wednesday (Halo got up from her sit), she came back on Friday and nailed her performance.  Mom was walking in the clouds for at least two weeks.  Halo scored a whopping 196 in her obedience run and won her class, and she also won High in Trial.  She was the best Obedience dog at the GSP Nationals this year.  Her picture is even going to be on the cover of the Shorthair Journal.  As I said earlier she made a haul.  She got a blue ribbon and pewter dish for winnning her class, and she got a beautiful trophy, a nice bag from the Purina lady, and an enormous ribbon for winning HIT, that’s High in Trial.  Here is a picture of her and mom after the win.  It is hard to see the shorthair trophy, but it is really a nice statue (about 8 X of a shorthair pointing on a wooden base.  We were all really proud of Halo.

This one is me showing in Sweepstakes.  This was my very first time in the ring, ever.  That is Kristina with me.  She stacked me just like mom did all those times we practiced stacking at home.  It sure makes me look good when I get stacked.

Not bad, huh?

And here are some pictures of us in the fifth wheel in Denver at the Shorthair Nationals.  We are all watching TV after a long day of showing. I think Belle was actually napping.

And of course, Princess National Halo after her big win.  She was really tired.

We had allot of fun at the Nationals and are all looking forward to going again next year when it is in Gainesville, Florida.  Mom says it will be hard to top this years Nationals, but we intend to try.  Yippee, another road trip.

 

I am going to close off this post now because I want to do one more post about my birthday. Here is a hint; mom took us swimming for my birthday.

 

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

A Hunting We Will Go

29 March 2009 by admin.

Four Hunt Tests and a Field Trial later and I am now the proud owner of three really bright orange rosettes.  That means I have three legs towards my Junior Hunter title.  Mom says I should’ve had four, but I got birds on my brain.  I’m not quite sure what that means because I am now catching those birds and bringing them to her.  Makes it easier as she doesn’t even have to worry about shooting them any more.  More on that later.

The first day dawned and it was pretty nice.  It was supposed to be raining, but it was just overcast and damp.  I ran late in the day so we had allot of standing around and waiting, or in my case hanging out in my crate and waiting.  Mom walked some of the braces in the gallery.  I think she was nervous and wanted to make sure she knew what to do.  I told her not to worry that I had the bird thing pretty much figured out.

Well our turn came and I was braced with another dog.  Don’t remember much about that dog because I was so excited.  Mom let me go and I took off.  After about the first 5 minutes I figured I better slow down so I could locate some birds.  It was pretty hot by now so as I rounded a curve I saw a water rest stop on the course for us dogs.  I decided I better cool off a bit so I could concentrate better.  I went and got in that barrel.  The only problem was the water wasn’t deep enough to get my back so I just rolled over.  It was pretty nice like that, but then mom walked up and said, “Come on Ringo we’re burnin’ daylight.”  That meant I had to get a move on and find some birds.

So, I buckled down and got my very first find and point.  Mom flushed the bird and fired her blank.  Then we were off to find the next bird.  I did really good that day and got my first leg, and first orange ribbon.

The next day went pretty much the same way except it was bloody cold and windy.  Most of the Junior braces were coming back empty.  That was not good.  Thankfully we ran late again so there were birds scattered.  Still we were having gusts of up to 30 mph.  Mom was worried.  This time I was braced with a cute little Vizsla girl.  When mom released me I took off with that cute little girl and we played all the way up to the crest of the hill.  I don’t think mom was too happy about that, but she sure was a cute little red dog.  It didn’t matter though because I found and pointed two birds and got my second leg, and second ribbon.  Two down and two to go.

This is a picture of me taken the second day around lunch time.  Mom and some of her friends were playing around stacking the pups.  I was one of the pups.  I thought this was a total waste of time when we could be getting birds, but mom wanted to see me stacked so I tried to behave.

The following weekend we were back and I did a repeat of the previous two outings with one slight difference.  I found three birds and I pointed the first two, and then it happened.  I was pointing that third bird real nice when he decided to take off.  Well I just couldn’t stand there and let the bird get away, so I gave chase.  Next thing I knew I had the little quail in my mouth.  He squirmed a bit, but I didn’t let him go.  As I was prancing around with that bird, it dawned on me I had to do something with it.  So, I thought and thought and then decided I would just take it to mom.  She would know what to do with that bird.  I raced back to her and presented it really nice to her.  It was even still alive.  Mom took the bird and looked at the man on the horse (the judge).  He laughed and said, “You know he doesn’t have to do that yet.”  Mom kind of chuckled.  They meant I didn’t need to bring the bird back yet for my Junior Hunter.  I figured I must have gotten extra credit for that one.  So, I got my third leg and figured out I could catch birds.

Here is me and one of those pretty orange ribbons.

And this is me and Halo.  She was supposed to be acting proud of me, but I think she was a little ticked that I was getting all the attention.  I had just got back from qualifying for my third Junior Hunter leg.  I guess it is hard to share the limelight when you are a cover girl like my sister.

The next day mom called a total disaster. I still don’t know why because I found, caught and retrieved three really nice quail.  I was only one of a few dogs that even found birds.  I still don’t know why I didn’t get another pretty orange ribbon.  Mom kept saying, “If he had only pointed.”  My thought was, why waste the time pointing when you can just catch and retrieve.  And so went the next two Hunt Tests and a Field Trial, catch and retrieve.

At the end of Hunt Test and Field Trial season mom told me I was going to Bird Boot Camp.  I am not sure what that is, but I think it will be fun.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

The Canyon of the Eagles - Ringo’s Hiking Adventure

17 February 2009 by admin.

Mom woke us up early this morning and told us we were in for a big day.  She was off work because of President’s Day.  Mom’s friend Marcia was going too.

 

The alarm went off early this moring which was really surprising since mom was off work because of President’s Day.  It was kinda drizzly and cold outside, but mom got out our hiking and hunting collars and started loading up her day hiking back pack.  We were all pretty excited because mom only gets her hiking back pack out when we are doing a longer day hike outside of our usual hikes around the neighborhood. Halo started her incessant whine that she does when she gets excited.  She was getting on my nerves (geez we were all excited, but Halo had to whine about it) when mom told her to hush as we had a long way to go before we got to go hiking.

 

Marcia showed up shortly after that and mom and Marcia went and ate a big breakfast at IHOP around the corner, and then they came back and loaded us up in the truck. (Mom has a new F150 that has a big back seat just for us kids.  We have a dog bed and everything back there. Mom even put a bone back there to keep me busy.) Mom put Marcia’s backpack and her backpack in the back with us.  I was curious about those packs because they smelled really good.  Turns out mom had some biscuits for us, and venison jerky and other snacks for her and Marcia.  I kept trying to check out the packs, but mom finally had it and told me to “Leave it,” so I went back to chewing on my bone.

We road for what seemed a long time to me.  It was only about an hour and a half to Canyon of the Eagles.  Canyon of the Eagles is up on the north side of Lake Buchanan which is one of the Highland Lakes in Central Texas.  It is a huge lake, but is down allot this year because of the draught.  I thought maybe we were going swimming when I saw the lake, but mom just kept driving.  We turned off in the park and parked.  There are a series of 14 miles of trails in the Canyon of the Eagles park, and most close after March 1 because this park is the home to many birds on the endangered species list (golden cheeked warbler and the black capped vireo are two that nest in this park).  This park is also a winter nesting area for eagles.  Mom was hoping to see an eagle today, but since is was cold and rainy we figured we were probably out of luck. 

 

We all piled out of the truck.  I got out first because I shimmied through the front seat and slipped out the door.  I surprised mom that I could get out there, but she should have known I am a great escape artist.  I thought it was funny and tried to play a bit of tag with mom.  That didn’t go over to well and she was getting back in the truck when I thought I better get back over there.  I was afraid she would pack up and leave me there alone. Actually she had called me and I am good about coming when called, and I know mom would never leave me. Anyway, Marcia and mom got their packs on and we started out.  The hike we were doing was about 3 or 4 miles, but I know Belle, Halo and I would do allot more than that since we were all off leash. This was my first big off leash hike and mom said this would test my recall skills.  I knew I would do good.

 

This hike was going to take us in a loop and we were going to see a real live public observatory (for looking at the stars) at the top of the peak, and another view from the top of the plateau. The elevation gain on this hike is 700 feet and at the highest point is 1324 feet above sea level.  That is not much by Colorado standards, but here in Central Texas that is a pretty nice climb. It was ranked a moderate hike in the Texas Hiking book.

 

So we headed out along a dirt road that leads up to the observatory and we were looking for the trail head.  We didn’t know it at the time, but we walked right by the trailhead.  We had hiked about a half mile when Marcia and mom decided we had missed our turn off. They got out the topo map and studied it and decided to just keep going as everything was a big loop anyway21.  So, we kept walking and then we started to climb.  Belle and Halo said this climb was like some of the climbs in New Mexico, but without the altitude.  In other words it was just as vertical a climb, but not as high up.  There wasn’t supposed to be water on the trail, but I found an old cistern like tank that was full of water and had water running into and out of it.  So, there was also a good mud hole below it.  I was ahead of everyone else so I took the time to look at the tank and as I was reaching for a log in the tank I fell in, right into the green moss, but the water was nice and clear underneath.  I was climbing out when I heard mom say, “Oh Ringo.”  I climbed on out when Halo and Belle came over to see what I was into and to join in the fun.  At that point mom decided it wasn’t so bad as the water was running and not stagnant and was being fed by a spring.  So we all played in the mud and water, then it was time to hit the trail again. So, up we climbed over rocks and through the oak forest.  It was really a nice climb, but mom said it wouldn’t be near as nice when it warmed up and was prime country for rattlesnakes.  We didn’t have to worry about rattelsnakes this trip though because it was too cold.

 

After a while we finally came to a trail marker and Marcia and mom figured out exactly where we were on the trail map.  We were right at the observatory.  Here is a picture of the observatory.

Those things that look like solar panels are actually tables so people can set up their telescopes and look at the stars.  We got to run around and do laps here as this was a big open area.  Then we moved on.

 

The next big land mark was the “View.”  This was almost a mile and a half into the hike.  It was a spectacular view only the cloudy day made it a little disappointing.  This is where we were hoping to see some eagles in flight, but no such luck today.

Here is the view from the “View.”

That is Lake Buchanan in the background. We looked around here some and then headed on.  About 100 yards down the trail I found a great prize.  I thought it was a rattlesnake (now I haven’t been snake trained, so I wasn’t real sure it was a rattlesnake), and Belle and Halo who have been snake trained kept saying no it wasn’t a rattlesnake, but I kept up my barking until mom got there.  She saw it and said it was a snake, but just a big grass snake.  It was several feet long, and dead.  Dang, I thought I had found something cool.  Mom said it looked like a big bird of prey may have killed it.  Oh well, I guess I am glad it wasn’t a bad snake.

 

So we kept hiking and hiking.  Here a some pictures along various parts of the trail.

This one is Belle and Halo on the first part of the hike (the road up to the observatory) coming back to check on mom.

This next one is me and Halo after Halo scared up some birds.

So, after hiking on the road and then the trail for about two miles we were back down almost to the truck when Marcia and mom figured out where we missed the original trail head. They looked at the map again and decided that we had done the upper loop of the trail and if we took the trailhead we could do the lower loop and then we would have hiked close to all the hiking trail called the Juniper Trail.  We headed up the trail head, and boy were we glad we did because I found out about a new critter called an armadillo. 

 

I picked up the scent of the armadillo about half way around the lower loop.  Now I had no clue what it was, but it smelled interesting and it was definitely time for some excitement.  So, I started tracking it and mom and Marcia stopped to watch.  Of course, they didn’t know what I was tracking.  Belle and Halo were off exploring so it was just me tracking this critter.  Well I finally found it and rustled it up.  Boy, armadillos are fast.  Well, Halo heard me running after the armadillo and came to help.  We went right through the cactus and everything to get that armadillo and actually almost had it when it scooted down a hole.  Here is a picture of me and Halo with the armadillo cornered in the hole. 

Halo was digging furiously to get it out of the hole and I was watching and waiting to catch it if it tried to escape. Belle had joined us in this next picture, and Halo was in serious did mode.

Mom finally called us off as she was afraid we would be covered in thorns from the cactus.  And we were.  Mom got most of the thorns out, but she figured she would be picking thorns out of us that evening as this particular hike had allot of cactus and being shorthairs and mostly immune to pain, we were going right through allot of those cactus. Anyway, after the armadillo we figured we were done with excitement for the day, but just towards the end of the trail I finally picked up the scent of something I new, quail. 

This was right after I picked up the scent and turned, and the next picture is me pointing.

I held point until mom got up to me (I didn’t really want to go into the cactus).  She looked to see if she could see the quail, but she didn’t want to go into the cactus either, so she told me to come on and we would hunt more quail next weekend at the hunt test I am going to.  So, I broke off my point and we headed on down to the truck. Halo and I found one more covey of quail before we were done and we were pointing, but we just couldn’t wait for mom (at least I couldn’t) so I rushed in and quail went everywhere.  Unfortunately, mom wasn’t ready with her camera so you will just have to trust me on this one.

 

After that we walked on to the truck were we ate some snacks and drank lots of water and then piled into the truck to sleep all the way home. Mom said the truck was very quiet.

 

And that is how we spent our President’s Day.  

 

Next weekend is my debut weekend at a Hunt Test.  I am going to see if I can get a couple of legs towards my junior hunter.  Check back here after next weekend as I am sure I will have another story to tell.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

All Aboard the Shorthair Express to Glen Rose, TX

6 January 2009 by admin.

For Christmas mom got a fifth wheel and a new truck.  We christened it the Shorthair Express because we all get to go now.  We took the Shorthair Express to Glen Rose, TX just after New Years for the dog shows.  My big sister Halo was in the shows and hoping for her second major win.

 

Friday dawned, the day after New Years Day.  It was time to load up mom’s new fifth wheel for the maiden voyage of the Shorthair Express (thats what me and Belle and Halo call it).  Here we come Glen Rose and the Dog Shows. Mom got her new toy mainly so that she could take us all with her to the dogs shows, but she also says that we will use it for going on hiking trips and other adventures.  The fifth wheel is a 27 foot Keystone Cougar.  It looks kind of like this one (mom doesn’t have an outside shot of the fifth wheel yet so I got this one off the website so you would get an idea of what it looks like).

It is brand new and really nice inside.  There is plenty of room for all of us and mom too.  For this trip mom’s nephew came along.  His name is Thomas and we really love him allot because he always plays with us.

 

Anyway, as I was saying, Friday dawned nice and sunny.  Mom loaded us and all our stuff into the truck and we headed over to the RV storage place to get the Shorthair Express.  Our Grandpa, mom’s dad, met us over there so he could help us get all hooked up.  Well we were in the back seat of the super crew and all ready to go.  Mom backed up the truck and we tried to get the hitch to engage.  Nothing.  Mom talked to Grandpa about what was going on and she said the fifth wheel had to be a certain height for the hitch to work.  She had been trained at the RV place.  So, they tried raising the fifth wheel, still didn’t work.  Well, to make a long story short, after several tries mom and Grandpa couldn’t even get the fifth wheel to raise up anymore, so mom called the RV store.  They said no problem, they would send a tech right over to help out.  I think it is important to let you all know that this was mom’s first experience with an RV, so she was also learning.  I thought she was doing ok, but she was kind of upset.  So, we proceeded to wait.  The RV store was about 40 minutes away, so we had some time to kill. 

 

Grandpa got each of us dogs out to go to the bathroom, and then back into our area of the truck.  Mom had opened the windows so it would be cool for us.  She was standing and talking to Grandpa when I got the idea it would be really cool to go exploring in the RV storage place.  I told Belle and Halo, but they said we shouldn’t, but I didn’t agree.  You know sometimes my sisters can be such goody two shoes.  Anyway, I waited until mom wasn’t paying much attention and then I made my break. Up into the front seat and right out the driver side window.  Wow!!  Well there was a guy just down the way hooking up a boat, so I headed down to say hi.  About the time I got almost to him, mom looked up and I heard her say, “Look, another shorthair”, to Grandpa.  Then I heard her say, “Oh no, that’s Ringo!!”  I thought I was in it for sure.  Then I heard her playfully call me and turn and run.  Well I couldn’t resist.  I had to go see what she was up too.  When I got to her, she praised the heck out of me and hugged me.  I guess it was good I came back to her.  Anyway, she put me back into the truck with my sisters who were all smug.  I heard mom tell Grandpa that I was much easier than Halo and that trick worked every time.  I love my mom. After that little adventure, mom had Thomas really watch us so it “didn’t happen again.” 

 

Finally, the tech guy got here and we figured out that the fifth wheel had to be at 66 inches and the hitch had to be really straight and then hook up was no problem.  He also told us that the battery that runs the up and down thing on the fifth wheel was a rechargeable one and that it had not been charged good before mom picked up the fifth wheel.  He showed her a trick, just plug the fifth wheel into the truck and shazam it works.  So, about 3 hours later than we originally planned we were off to Glen Rose, TX.

We got into Glen Rose just at dark.  We were staying at a really nice place called Tres Rios.  It is called Tres Rios (Three Rivers) because it is a peninsula surrounded on three sides by three rivers.  Mom got everything set up pretty easy, so we were ready to eat, poop and relax.  It was nice and warm too, so we had a nice walk in the moonlight.  We didn’t really explore much though as we had most of the day Saturday to do that.  The only thing that didn’t seem to work right that night was the water heater.  It just wouldn’t work and it was too late to call the RV store, so mom said it would have to wait until morning.  Good thing it was warm outside.

 

The next morning, mom got up and fed us dogs and took us for a walk.  When we got back she called the RV store.  They tried to figure it out, but to no avail, so mom made arrangements to drop off the fifth wheel on the way home on Sunday so they could take a look at it.  (We found out later that the store guys had messed up in going over the RV and the heating element was burned out.  Mom still doesn’t know why it wouldn’t work on propane, but she will find out.) Now it was almost time for mom to take Halo to the show, so she announced that for the weekend we would just have to have cold showers.  So she went to the bedroom part of the fifth wheel and got ready.  In the meantime, me and Halo decided to rest with Thomas in the fold out sofa bed. 

I think Belle was chewing on a bone.  So, when mom came out she looked really nice.  Halo got excited and off they went.  They were gone a while, but Thomas played with me and Belle and took us walking.  When mom go home, she said Halo did really good, but no points.  Maybe tomorrow.  Then she said after lunch we were going to meet a friend named Dawn who has labs and walk along the river.  It was a beautiful and warm day for a walk and we had a good time.  I got to get in the river, but mom wouldn’t let Halo go in ’cause she didn’t want Halo (the super model) smelling like river water.  I even saw a blue heron take off.  If I hadn’t been on a leash I for sure would have caught that big bird.  Instead I pointed it really hard to make sure everyone saw the bird. We also saw some big fish rolling in the river and mom said they were probably white bass.  Thomas was ready to go buy fishing stuff so he could catch them.  That sounded like fun to me.  Mom said it would have to wait until next time as we had to get back and eat dinner.  She and Halo had to get ready for bed because they had to be up early for the show on Sunday.

 

So, here we all are hanging out in the fifth wheel relaxing on Saturday night.  Mom and Thomas watched a movie, and us kids had bones and just rested.

Saturday was a really warm day in Glen Rose and we had been running the AC all day, but Saturday night that all changed.  For those who don’t know Texas weather, mom says if you don’t like the weather in Texas give it a few minutes and it will change.  Well it certainly changed Saturday night.  It got colder than cold.  I woke mom up at 3 AM and she turned the heat on.  Of course, I also had to go to the bathroom which meant that Belle and Halo had to go too.  So mom bundled up and out we went.  The wind was whistling and it was freezing.  We hurried up and did our business because we wanted to get back in where it was warm.

 

Sunday morning mom and Halo were up with the chickens, but me and Belle and Thomas slept in.  Mom and Halo left about 7:30 AM because Halo was showing at 8 AM and were back around 9:30 AM.  Mom brought breakfast tacos for breakfast, but we didn’t get any.  She also said Halo did good again, but no points.  Halo was disappointed, but she said she did good and that the darn judge just didn’t know a beautiful shorthair when he saw one.  Mom said if Halo couldn’t win she was still happy because her friends dog won and got her championship that day. 

 

Well the trip was coming to a close and mom had to pack everything up (in the cold) and get the Shorthair Express rolling.  That didn’t take long and really the rest of the trip was uneventful.  It was good to get home, but I can’t wait for the next trip.  Mom says the Shorthair Express will roll again when she takes me to compete for my Junior Hunter title in February.  I can’t wait. 

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »