Greyt Getaways • A country drive

Roxy had the honor of going on the first Greyt Getaway of 2010. We had to get about 20 miles out of town before the fog finally lifted.


We traveled along a country road between Mills and Lyons when we reached a field of about a dozen donkeys.


Fortunately, they were neither camera shy nor afraid of me, they trotted right over to the fence to see who the nut behind the camera was.


A couple of them must have recognized the camera and actually modeled for me.


They were absolutely adorable and shaggy.


In the next field a bull patiently watched his ladies on the other side of the creek.


We made a quick pit stop in Mills before getting back into the car and heading for home.


As we got closer to Salem the sun disappeared behind the dense fog, and for Roxy it was best just to sleep the rest of the way home.

Remember when

This whole blogging thing was supposed to be about me,

and me?

We where the center of all attention, the focus of the lens. And now

we're sharing the spotlight. The mom has joined the ranks of 365 photo. She's gonna take a photo every day for a year and I don't think it is always going to be a greyhound. She started Jan. 1. If you want to see what she is up to, here's the link.

Patience

The Budmuffin patiently waits for the week-end, hoping for semi-half-hopefully nice weather.

What do you miss the most?

Did you have a favorite part of your trip?


Sunrise to the east.


Sunrise to the west. "Nuff said.

Where's the brindle?

You continue to show us tons and tons and tons of snow and rust. So, where's the brindle?

Well Flo, as a matter of fact, the roads were sometimes long, but every curve we rounded, we saw the same but different, mountains. We were on our way to Death Valley when we saw the brindle in the mountains.

The layers formed beautiful stripes of color, sometimes horizontal.

Sometimes diagonal.

Sometimes the stripes were more subtle in the bluffs,

And sometimes they were wildly striking and random.

We saw plenty of brindle Flo, it was everywhere we looked.

You've got a friend in me

Nothing better than coming home to a flock of best friends.

Yes, it's true

Vacation is officially over.

It's back to the daily grind, slogging through the day.

Vacation is almost rusty memories.

Wonderful memories of days gone by

'Tis sad, but oh so true.

Another bedtime story please

Mom, while we were at Camp Lisa it was really cold, was it warm and sunny in Arizona?

Oh contrar Miss Minnie. We saw lots and lots of snow.

Our journey was delayed at least two days because of a huge snow storm.

By the third day, the roads were pretty good, at least for awhile.

Once we reached Seligman, ice on the interstate had caused an accident, traffic was stopped dead in its tracks.

Cars didn't move.

They were just parked at the side of the road.

By the fourth day the interstate had cleared up, and once again we were on our way.

Williams had even more snow than Seligman and the icicles were huge.

Paths were carved out in the snow the width of a snow shovel.

And the road to the Grand Canyon was clear with icy patches. That's why we took the train, why we missed seeing the Grand Canyon and why we ended up in Death Valley.

But ya know what? Once again we were assured that everything happens for a reason.

Seizures again

We're six days shy of not having seizures for 10 months.

We'd gone out to run Saturday errands and when we got home, I wondered if he'd had one. There's a behavior pattern. Restless, kinda cranky, demanding. Sure enough, at 6 pm, he had another seizure.


Seizures by themselves are scary and Flocko has grand mal seizures, so they are violent. In a multiple dog household, they are frightening. We have a system. Valium (I usually need it, but flocko is the one that gets it), some time outside, a snack, more time outside. He is unrelenting when he wants to go out.


In March he had cluster seizures. The vet described it as a break through pattern. It had been months since he had a seizure and once the first one broke through, they just kept coming.


We've armed ourselves with plenty of valium and are prepared for a potentially long night.

Did I mention I know where to find my vet after hours? Gotta love our vet, he's the very best.

The vampires are out again

Beware! Be afraid! Watch your backs! They are out there lurking in the shadows.


I was out for my pre-dinner run, anxiously awaiting my kibbles and bits when the phone rang. The next thing I know mom is volunteering me.

Sure I was excited to go for a car ride, but when I think car ride, I think waterfalls, pumpkin patches and covered bridges. Not and I repeat not the shiny, slick floor place.


But I took it like man. My mom, Paul and Nancy (wave to Paul and Nancy) would have been so proud. I stood so still with my head held high. The needle hit the jugular and I didn't even flinch. And you want to know what was most impressive? I beat the record, 500 gms of red hot stuff in 4.5 minutes.

Woo hoo! Way to get that job over with.


Now, with a class act like that, I was expecting steak and tail with a kitty cat on the side. But no, I got some healthy canned veterinary crap for my bright red blood.

Oh, and I'm sporting this ridiculous purple polka-dotted bandage thing. All the other greyhounds now laugh and call me names.

But on this foggy night, I have probably saved the life of a very cute 8 month old female puppy.


I just need to be left alone now. I must rest to regain my strength and replace all of those zillions of red blood cells they took away.


A guy like me can go to bed proud of the work I did today.

2009: It was a greyt year

Looking back, it was a greyt year. We took many adventures with the greyhounds, saw more Oregon than we have ever seen before, took the vacation of a lifetime and have a lot to look forward in 2010.

Here's the map for next year.

1. Get your kicks on Route 66. Take an adventure no matter how close or how far.

2. Share your fun. Life is meant to be fun. Grab a partner, a friend or a canine.

3. Take a risk. Don't be afraid to support a small business on the side of the road.

4. Embrace the sunrise. Not sure what's going to happen? Challenge the day with a "bring it on" attitude.

5. Reflect every sunset. Let the good things shine the surface and the bad things sink to the bottom.

6. Change the world. No matter how small, do something to make a difference in someone's world.