Millions of Little Doggie Steps

A few weeks ago, we hiked the Y with Ryan's parents. We decided to bring Dodger and Eddie along since Eddie would be going to live with his new family the following week. We knew it would be pretty tough for them - especially for Eddie since he is so little, but we decided it would be worth the try, and if we needed to carry them part of the way, then we would. We have hiked the Y previously with Dodger a couple of times, and though he has been a real champ, we had a carry him for a few of the stretches. With that in mind, we set off up the trail.


We stopped to rest at almost all of the switchbacks- just as much for our sake as it was for the dogs. Haha. But the amazing thing was, we didn't have to carry either of the dogs at all! Eddie needed some coaxing on a few of those switchbacks to get going again, but he did it. I was so proud of both of them! I am sure it helped that they were both celebrities the whole time... everyone was in love with the tiny dogs making their way up to the top. Everyone wanted to pet them and love them. I think Eddie especially appreciated this attention and after a while began looking forward to the next stranger stopping as it might give him the chance to rest or get a ride. At least that was the hope. But we kept him walking.

Both dogs were thrilled to get to the top... but for different reasons. Dodger was infatuated by the view. He sat tall and straight and looked out over everything like it was his own Pride Rock. He looked very regal. Very proud.

Eddie, on the other hand, as soon as we reached the top and I sat down, he climbed in my lap and passed out. Instantaneously. It was pretty funny. This picture was just lucky. We had to get his attention by making noise and calling his name. And yes, it was very bright - thus the wink. Shortly after this picture, a group of teenagers sat next to us. One of the girls asked me if she could hold Eddie, which I agreed to. I lifted the limp little guy off my lap and handed him over. Without hesitation, he curled up on her lap and zonked out. I think he probably would have stayed that way for several hours if we had given him the chance.

The walk back down was a little more adventurous and humorous. Several times Eddie would make a mad dash for any sign of shade and lay down the moment he reached it. He received lots of sympathy-attention, that's for sure. But don't worry. It wasn't animal cruelty. They had plenty of water and rest. It was just a tough experience for the little guy.
When we reached the bottom Ryan gave each of the dogs a drink from the drinking fountain, which they relished. I didn't get my phone out fast enough to get a picture of Dodger, but we thought Eddie's new family would appreciate this one. I was very proud of those little guys. They did so well!

Eddie has now been gone for about 3 weeks. Dodger has really missed him. They became pretty good buddies. Thankfully his new family lives here in area and we are already Facebook friends (thank goodness for Facebook, right? Haha) and we are planning some fun activities for the summer to let the boys romp around again.

In Passing

Life is busy. As I am sure it is for everyone. There are a ton of things I want to post on, and hopefully I will get to them all in time. I am finding it's difficult for me to sit down and post much because I sit in front of a computer for 12 hours a day at work, and when I get home, I have no desire to do it again. So, it takes me longer than I would like to actually sit down and write a post. I admire all of those out there that keep their blogs so up to date! I'll get there eventually. Is there a purpose to this little blurb? Yes, in that it helps me feel better about it. Haha. So hopefully soon I will be back with lots more stories. :)

Seasons

For most households, I imagine the word "season" still refers to the quarterly (or less if you live in Utah) change in the weather. Although admittedly, we use that definition in our house too, chances are, if you hear us talking about "the season" we are actually talking about any number of the following:

Camping season, hiking season, fishing season, turkey season, paintball season, elk season, shooting season, dutch oven season, and yes, basketball or football season.

For the most part, each of these items does have a corresponding weather season, but they are not inclusive. Generally speaking, we do not speak the word "w...i...n...t...e...r..." and largely pretend it does not exist. We don't really ski, snowshoe, sled, or otherwise enjoy the frigid temperatures much. I do, however, have a great love for hot chocolate which I firmly believe should not be restricted to just "the cold time of year."

Although it is only May, we have already rounded through several of these seasons, some which won't return again until next year, and others that have a more prolonged time of enjoyment.

First off: Elk Season (January - yes, technically in that unmentionable time of year, but a necessary evil).

Ryan and my dad were both able to get deprivation cow tags on some private property "down south" a ways. Weekend after weekend, and any day in between, the two of them would head off. Sometimes my brothers tagged along. Other times they didn't. They had a month to fill their tags, and although they saw the elk almost every time they went down, they could never get quite close enough. Other times the elk crossed the property line, and once or twice they were spotted across the freeway, waiting eternally for the traffic to thin enough for them to cross the road and head back up to their nesting grounds.

Near the end of their month, Ryan had called me to tell me that they were calling it a day after only a few hours of being out there. I was surprised, but didn't argue. About an hour later, I called to see what their status was, and to my even bigger surprise, Ryan responded in a rushed whisper that they had shot their elk and that he had to go. Just like that! I guess they were on their way down when Ryan split one direction with my brother Joey, and my dad went another with Paul and Philip. They both ran into elk on different ridges and both had their shot hit its mark. It was very exciting!

I have been elk hunting with Ryan on two or three different occasions, but we have never come close to getting anything. I think it's probably because I am a wimp and would probably cry if I saw him shoot something - even if it was to feed the family. Anyway, they worked together to get them cleaned up and brought home. They took them to a local butcher and we came away with steaks, roasts, sausage, jerky (lots of jerky for us) and ground elk. It is really yummy stuff!

Next: Fishing Season (March - when there is still snow at the base of the mountain).

For years we have had the tradition of going fishing over spring break to a little place called Maple Grove. The drive is an investment, but if you go early enough in the year - hence the snow still on the ground - the fish in the stream are hungry and huge. Typically we just do catch and release, but if we wanted to keep any, we would have plenty to choose from.

This year wasn't as great as years past, but I credit that to two main things. 1. We had an early thaw and I am positive we were not the first ones up there this year. 2. Due to heavy snows earlier, there were tons and tons of broken trees and limbs in the stream. More so than I have ever seen. Stream fishing is not like lake fishing where you can walk up to the shore, throw your line in the water, and still catch something. These fish are wild, jumpy, and smart. If you can see them, they can see you, and they won't bite. Unfortunately this year we had to give up one of our best holes just to clear branches out of the way. Oh well. It was still enjoyable and we still caught some great fish!

Next: Turkey Season (April)

Ryan drew a limited draw turkey tag this year and like with the elk hunt, took off every possible day he could. Day after day he was able to draw some turkeys out into the open, but then something would happen like another hunter tromping through his area and scaring the birds away, the bird he called out being too intimidated by his decoy Toms, or things like that. But he was undaunted.

One morning while I was at piano, I sent him a text to see how he was doing and within minutes he sent me a picture message of a beautiful Tom with the caption, "I got one!" Originally he was going to clean it up in the mtns, but he realized there wasn't a great way to do that without ruining the beautiful feathers and thus - no prime picture opportunity. So we met up at home where I proceeded to take lots of pictures and then, believe it or not, help clean the thing. Granted, Ryan did most of the work because I wasn't sure what I should be doing, but I did help. As I was doing so I casually said, "You know I must really love you if I am helping you do this, right?" He responded exuberantly, "Oh I know!" It was a stinky, gross mess of a project, but the end result was a big beautiful bird just right for a Sunday family dinner.

I didn't know much about wild turkeys before all this, but I guess one of the things you really want as a hunter is a big beard. What's the beard? you might ask. Well, it's that crop of hair that sticks out from the chest. It's a sign of their maturity. The one Ryan got was 7 inches long. Pretty darn impressive! That was quite the bird!

We did a bunch of research on line with my mom trying to decide how best to cook it and how to keep the moisture in since we had skinned it rather than plucked it. We found that most sites recommended putting it in a brine solution for a couple of days. We planned on doing so, but then Ryan decided he wanted to have it smoked. He found a butcher nearby that will do the brine and the smoking for around $12.00. Not shabby. So Ryan dropped the bird off and picked it up again a few days later. I must admit, it was a pretty pathetic looking bird when he picked it up. The smoking and packaging and crushed the chest cavity, so he didn't look nearly as big after that, but there was still plenty of meat on him. We ate him for Sunday dinner with my family. The combination of the brine and the smoking ended up making it taste pretty much just like ham, but it was still very good. And what a cool experience!

Now I must say, anyone that knows me knows that I am an animal lover. And so is Ryan. Generally speaking, I am not a big fan of hunting because killing animals makes me sad. But, I also believe that hunting to feed a family is a wonderful skill. I don't like sport hunting where the point is just to kill for killing sake, or for trophy sake. And thankfully Ryan agrees. Of course he is a boy, and I am sure he would love a trophy or two of his own, but he will never hunt for that reason alone. We will always eat what we get and be immensely grateful for it.

All in all I would say our seasons are starting out pretty good! Now that the weather is warming up, pretty much all the other seasons common in this household will come rushing in at once. Ryan has already started paint balling (sling shot) and in a few weeks we are set to go hike the Subway in Zions with family and friends. That is going to be a blast! The summer is always super busy for us with camping, hiking, fishing, dutch oven cooking, etc. Fall rolls around and things slow down and by the time that white stuff starts falling from the sky again - I am ready to be a bear and go into hibernation. But one thing is for certain - it is very rarely ever dull at our place.