It went where?

Just today I remarked that this month was passing by way too fast. It's the twenty-second of September already! I just looked at the calendar...and found it's way worse than that!

It's the first day of Autumn.

I love the fall, but where did summer go? Just a week ago, we were still wearing sunblock and shorts in 90 degree weather. In the space of a heartbeat, the thermometer dropped, the sumac leaves began turning scarlet, and it's autumn.

Journal Jog #2

Last year, after a long summer of walking and talking, complaining and teasing, sore muscles and nice glutes, we ended the summer with our first-ever Journal Jog. The adrenaline kicked in and we stretched our leg muscles to their limit. The reward--we were thrilled to find we won silver medals in our team walk division. We all wondered why we'd never done the Journal Jog before--it's right in our neighborhood and we've lived here for ages. We had a ball and agreed to do it again.

Fast forward to last Saturday.

This is no time for modesty...with pride I can announce that our team kicked butt. We took 3 minutes off last year's time (okay, GinaMarie took 4 off her time, but then she's a teenager and therefore more fit even if she does complain more than the rest of us together). Yes, indeed, Carmelite Hill smoked the competition.

We now have gold medals to flaunt. Okay, they are tinier than last year's and look more bronze than gold, but they are indeed the celebration of friendship and triumph.

What's in store for next year's 40th running of the Jog? Well, we plan to actually train on the course for one thing. We will carry a stopwatch to check our splits. My personal goal is very ambitious. I want to do the 8K in an hour. That's a 12 minute mile, folks, and ya gotta be moving. And it would be nice if we all placed in our age groups.

I love my walking buddies. I'm grateful for all the laughter and support and the fun they
provide!

Best Friends

Remember when you used to be the center of the universe? Then your child grew old enough to want nothing more than to play with the kid down the street as many hours of the day as possible?

Turns out puppies do the same thing. Kharma will do anything to play with Echo. She hears her across the street and the whining and pawing and jumping and barking begins. If I make the mistake of opening the gate, she flies across the cul-de-sac as I give thanks yet again that we don't live on a busy street. If she's on leash, I'd better have a firm grip before my little freight train decides she wants to jump the track. Even our daily walks begin with her begging to go to Echo's house instead.

When they are together, they play till they drop. This photo was taken an hour and a half after they began their playdate in our backyard. That's how long it took for them to stay still for thirty seconds. About one minute later they had their second wind and were romping again.

In the park/pasture, they must run for miles as they either chase the frisbee or each other. Then they head for the black muck of the irrigation ditch for a refreshing drink and dip. Echo doesn't show the dirt, but Kharma can't just be hosed off, she actually has to be soaped clean before we can enjoy her white go-go boots yet again. And it frustrates me no end as she slurps a well-fermented slurry of cowpoop patty and nitrogen fertilized H-two-Oh. I don't really object to the patties; I think eating manure is a dog's inalienable right. It's more the idea that combine a little fuel oil with the nitrogen and you get a really nice explosion and here is my precious girl drinking it as well as splashing it all over her body. Makes me wonder why we shell out extreme amounts of money for a really high-quality, organic puppy food.

We're signing up for doggy classes although they don't start till later in October and we really could use them now. Perhaps we should just harness Kharma to a modern-day turnspit with Echo in front of her. We could undoubtedly generate enough electricity to run our house and Echo's too.

Mt. Rose

Yes, indeed, that's us with our friends on the tip top of Mount Rose at 10,776 feet!

The perfect September weather made for an excellent hike and even the breeze died down long enough on its notoriously windy summit for us to dine al fresco and enjoy the incredible 360 degree views.

It was worth the five steep switchbacks and the three long ones, the slippery talus slopes coming back down. On the positive side, the hike included the Galena waterfall halfway up as well as columbine and angelica and a chance meeting with three former neighbors also hiking to the summit.

We got to look down on Slide Mountain and the Chutes. Tahoe gleamed in the near distance. Peavine Mountain seemed so small that it took awhile before I realized what I was looking at. The Truckee Meadows seemed insignificant when viewed from such a height. We spied Mt. Lassen like a snowy mirage in the northwest.

What a perfect way to spend a day!