Spring Hikes

Well, another case of "Colorado weather" here for you: I took a short and wandering hike with Byrdie and Higgins today, basking in the sunshine, celebrating the lack of 18 inches of snow and laughing at my playful pups as they weaved circles around me all along the way. I'm happy, but in retrospect not surprised, to say that Higgins enjoys the trails as much as I do. I was a little worried when I first brought him home as he wouldn't step foot in the snow and would rather be carried than walk through puddles. Now that he's comfortable with his surroundings at home and on the trails, it seems he'd run along with me endlessly and with no care for the conditions of the trails. Afterall, he is a Lab mix (did I mention that B. and I decided, based on H.'s looks, weight, and height, that he is a Lab/Great Dane mix?).

 This is a picture of the Big Blue Stem trail again. Looks a bit different than it did earlier in the week, right? The snow is nearly gone but left behind some serious puddles!

Higgins mastering the art of drinking from my CamelBak.

Byrdie's favorite part of spring hiking: swimming!

This one isn't so sure about the swimming thing yet. 

He'll settle for a good stick to chew on instead.

Here we have two pups digging for frogs which sounded a lot like Northern Cricket frogs based on this website's info, however if you read you'll see that they have not been spotted since 1979, so probably I am wrong. :) When we neared the pond you could hear hundreds of them chirping but as soon as Byrdie stepped foot into the water, not a peep could be heard.

Another beautiful spring hike in the books!

Celebrate Earth

Tonight, B. and I will join friends to participate in Earth Hour. We are heading to a local hotel bar and lounge that is putting on a candle-lit event with local artists playing and local, sustainable meals offered. 

And you?

Do your part. Tonight, 8:30pm local time.

March Madness

One might assume I'm referring to the basketball craze that sweeps the nation during the month of March, but really, I'm talking about another "maddening" phenomenon this month: I'm talking about this spring's weather pattern in Colorado. Admittedly, we usually do have some crazy snow storms that break up the milder warm spring weather, but this year for some reason, I'm having a hard time tolerating the final stretch of winter. I'm home today thanks to our second spring storm in less than a week. If you're wondering why a little snow would close a big University campus like ours, you should know that we usually don't have "snowfalls" in Colorado, rather we have "snowdumps". It starts snowing and you better hit the road for home (or the mountains, if you're brave) because the other 2.5 million metro-Denverites are doing the same. Roads muck up really fast, accidents happen and highways are shut down. There's no debating it, snow in this city sucks!

On Friday we had about 16 inches of snow beginning around 3pm (meaning my drive home was 2 hours of white-knuckled craziness) and lasting until the next morning. By Sunday the accumulation melted into messy, muddy puddles. And last night we had about 18 inches of snowfall, again starting in late afternoon and making for another treacherous commute.  These two storms in close proximity have left me frazzled and feeling defeated. Yesterday I decided I would never leave the house again...

In other news, today has been glorious thus far! :) This morning I woke to a few work-related calls and emails, sipped coffee and then hit the trails, pups in tow, for a snowy slushy run. Here are some of the photos (I had to take a little camera along - the winter wonderland sure looks lovely although I'm still cursing it):

Here's Higgins making fresh tracks on the beginning of the Big Bluestem trail.

 Byrdie and Higgins tracks on Big Blue Stem.

And this is about how far we made it running through knee-deep (Higgins-deep) powder.

Byrdie shows us just how deep the snow is on the trail.

So I think the day off is just what I need to smooth out my frazzled nerves and center myself: after all, I live in an amazing place! I should be more thankful.

 All throughout the run the refrain of this song played over and over in my head. Silly little song:

A nice little Sunday.

What a beautiful day! A late afternoon Sunday walk through the neighborhood with the pups. 

To the hardware store for a few items needed for our big remodel project (2.0)... And to the local brew pub for some tasty barley pop to wrap up the weekend (why not?)!

 The kids playing in the park, ultimate frisbee, the garage bands, the runners, the houses with sunlight glinting on window after window as we strolled along, the busy patio at the restaurant, the boy and his dad riding along on bikes together, the great dane looking much too similar to Higgins.
The sun, the sky, the earth.

Cheers to Spring!

Run Higgins Run

Alright, so this probably isn't as monumental an event as I'm treating it, but my mom has been hounding me (har, har, har), insisting I post more pictures of Higgins; all I have - since four days ago when I posted the last round - are pictures I took during a hike in Shanahan Ridge.  Last time I posted about Higgins, he was 3-months-old and a clumsy oaf. But now, now he's four months and with a handful of hikes and short runs under his belt, he's figuring things out.

Byrdie, the instigator:

And so, the game of cat and mouse commences:

But it's anyone's guess as to who is the cat and who the mouse:

No sooner than Higgins learned how to cruise did Byrdie teach him another trick (one that is hard to capture in the moment):

He's a bouncy, bounding son-of-a-gun! Aside from a couple of nasty "yard sales" in the gravel, he's a pro at leaping over the ditch alongside the trail.

Gotta love those frog legs.

I am really having so much fun with this boy. He's a little treasure, I tell ya!

We had a lovely two-hour hike, and as I walked down that final stretch of gravel toward home I felt that carefree, giddy sort of happiness bubbling up inside me. The kind that seems to slowly fade with passing time. I welcome it's return!

Small kindnesses.

Some much-needed rest & relaxation today.