Above is a picture of Dixy intently watching the geese fly by.
Sara surveying the beach.
A random guy with his dogs, wakeboarding.
I have enjoyed my vacation immensely. Unfortunately it is over and I am back to work tomorrow. Oh well, more time off at Christmas time.
Nothing like hiking (I mean really hiking) a couple days in a row. Today Susan, Eddie, and I took the dogs for a hike in Black Diamond. It was great hiking weather again. There was a lot of fog for most of the hike but it wasn't too cold. I know I have put pictures of this park out before but these pictures were taken on a different hike than the previous areas. Our hike was about 6.25 miles of up and down landscape. It was the first time Eddie and Susan had been on these trails and they were quite impressed. I am fortunate to live 10 minutes away so am here often. It is nice to take new people here to see their excitement at the views. It helps me to not take my good fortune for granted.
As with yesterday's hike, I am pleasantly tired and will sleep well again tonight. The doggies are also tired and are resting in their doggy sleeping bags. I could do this everyday and not get tired of it.
Well, another Thanksgiving has been spent enjoying a hike and meal with friends. I can't think of a nicer way to spend it. Today Christine, John, Suzy, Stephan and I took the dogs to Morgan Territory Regional Park for a nice hike. We all arrived at about 9:30 to complete an approximately 6 mile hike. As you will be able to tell from the little photo show, there was quite a bit of clouds at the start of the hike. This is wonderful because it helps to keep all the hikers and dogs cool. It certainly did that for the dogs. They ran non-stop. We are really lucky to have places like this to hike with the dogs. They are much happier creatures with the right amount of exercise. Although the hike was long, the company was wonderful. Conversation flowed about numerous subjects. I had a great time. We had planned on having our Thanksgiving meal at the park after the hike. Once we got to the vehicles, we pulled out the food-cornish hens, potato salad, green salad, and a wonderful carrot/leek soup. There is nothing more satisfying after a long hike than a hearty meal. Boy, did we have that...hmmm. Christine was gracious enough to make a wonderful vegan pumpkin dessert. Very tasty!!
So now that the hike and meal is over, the blog entry is complete, I can go and take a little nap. What a satisfying day.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!!
I was at the store picking up dog food and what do I see...a Gumby figure. I couldn't really imagine this as a dog toy. Actually I thought it was a pretty silly idea for a dog toy. But I loved Gumby. Not the show but the figures. I had them as I was growing up. Gumby and Pokey...how funny. So I bought him. When I was bike-riding competitively, many of the cyclist had Gumby figures as riding companions. I don't know that today's kids would like them but they brought me back to a simpler time. Now I just need to figure out where to put him. 
Grady seems to have really become attached to Colvin. He always wants to be near her. The really sweet thing is that Colvin is perfectly fine with him in her space. Normally, this is Colvin's chair. Grady jumped up into it with her and it didn't seem to bother her a bit. She is a wonderful old girl.
Continuing to show her tree climbing prowess, Sara shows us how easy it is. Then she proceeds to walk down the narrowest part of the tree. This picture was taken right before she slipped off. As you can see, her brothers are very interested and amazed at what she is doing.
I do love watching these guys run. I love their energy and athleticism. Wish I could get some. :-)
Another Sara puppy struts his stuff. Red Dawn Mr Fritz had quite a showing at the Vizsla Nationals in Tucson AZ. There were a total 164 entries and he last to the final cut of twelve or 13 dogs. Pretty amazing for a dog under three years old. He was more than ably handled by Cheryl Krajcar. 
I always think Grady is the bottom of the totem pole in the household but I think he is smarter than I give him credit for. In this picture, he is letting Colvin clean him. It reminds me of Lions in a pride. It was sweet.
Here she is in the wheel of a 747 in a Florida airport. She must have caught on as it was passing on her rocket flight. Funny, she lost her spacesuit and really flattened out to the point of looking like a sheet of paper.
Once the plane landed, she made her way up from the wheel to the engine of the plane. Thank goodness the engine wasn't on. She would be shredded Pam.
She made it from the engine to the ramp. Apparently she has designs to get into the plane. Our similarities ended at resemblance because I avoid going in a plane at all costs. Not so Flat Pam.
She fancies herself as a pilot. What is she thinking. The altitude from the rocket ride must have effected her. Obviously that is impossible. She has only been on this earth for a couple of months. 
There is no way she could possibly have the require flight hours to get her pilot license.
Finally, someone convinced her to fly in the passenger area where she belongs and leave the flying to the professionals.
Dixy-"I am just relaxing."
Dixy-"I'm not tired. Really. I am just having trouble keeping this eye open"
Dixy-"Oh why fight it?"
As you can see, lots of shore. And of course, what would a day at the beach be if Dixy didn't have a tennis ball.
I love how foamy the water is. The tide would come in and the sea form would skitter across the shore. It was fun to watch.
Well the Red Dawn Kennel had another great day. Today, Duna got his second major (3 points) in style. He took Best of Breed. Duna was shown by Jean Hargis who he seems to have a nice bond with. Duna was nicknamed Peanut when the litter was here. He has always been a very sweet and thoughtful boy. I am really happy for owners John and Christine who have given him a loving home and every opportunity to excel. WOO HOO! 
Stephanie with Grady and Erin with Jasper (Grady's brother)
Stephanie taking Grady around the ring.
Grady standing for the judge and doing it well.
The judge moving Grady up to the head of the class. 
Yin Yang is an excellent test bed for altimeters; it's fast, tough, and can easily handle any 38mm motor. So out to the pad we went, I had everything set up and ready to launch, the altimeter was armed, and Pam was securely taped to the side of the rocket. I went back to a safe distance and the launch control officer counted down from five. Whoosh, up she went into the sky, a very impressive launch. It was when the rocket disappeared from sight that it occurred to me that the paper and tape on the outside of the rocket probably won't be able to withstand the aerodynamic forces. I run computer simulations on all my rockets to ensure they are stable and safe to fly. This rocket, with the motor I installed, was simulated to exceed 400mph and achieve approximately a mile in altitude above ground level. Hope Pam packed her own parachute! 
The search for Yin/Yang while short was quite a walk. It was a long way away but visible due to the brightly colored parachute. When I came upon the rocket the altimeter showed a peak altitude of 5438'AGL which was right on with the simulation. Now the bad news, apparently Flat Pam didn't make it back to the ground with the rocket. The only thing still attached to the rocket was her glove. No, I checked, and there was not a hand inside. So the search was on, here is a photo of the recovery area. The search was eventually abandoned at dusk due to a lack of visibility and a lack of volunteers. Also due to a large and angry population of rattlesnakes that seem to be everywhere, people were just not willing to risk their lives in search of a paper figure with a missing glove. (Go figure) 
I was so focused on watching Dixy and Grady run up and down the sides of the cliffs chasing after the tennis ball that I completely lost track of where the tide was. With my back to the water and my eyes on the cliff, I was suddenly overcome with ocean up to 15 inches on my legs. Needless to say (but I'll say it anyway) the muck shoes do little good if the water goes into them. So I proceeded to walk another 45 minutes back to the car with squishy, soaking wet pants socks and shoes. All in 57 degree weather...Good times. :-)
