Frosty Toes

(Ramona, CA) This weekend we were making the trip to Ramona in the RV. Normally it would be a breeze. But the weather here the last couple days has been anything but normal. It SNOWED here! Yup, in sunny southern California! So the road that we need to take to the trial is closed. We spent all last night and early this morning checking the road conditions – but the road is still closed. So we had to find a different route – it added quite a few miles but at least we have the chance of making it.

We did fine until we arrived at the ranch. The driveway and parking area are on a hill and it’s all dirt. Well normally it’s all dirt. Today it was deep thick mud with water running down the hill. We were very concerned about getting stuck. But if we didn’t move no one else would be able to get in as we blocked the entire road (it’s a VERY narrow road). So we decided to give it a try. It was very scary but due to some great maneuvering and handling by Mike we just made it. Later we would hear from others that they were holding their breath watching us try to make it in. We sunk about half way in our huge tires.



Everyone was very excited to be back at the ranch even though it looked much different than last time. Remember the dirt river I told you we walked in – well today it was an actual water river. In fact, it was going over the road that led to the arena. The only other way to the arena was over this small bridge…which also had water over it but not nearly as much as was flowing over the road. It made for interesting trips into the arena to get everything set up.



When we finally got through the river we had to walk through the ice to get into the areana.



But the dogs thought it was fun! They hadn’t seen patches of snow in a long time and we never make them walk through rivers so they thought this was a lot of fun. We’ve found that how much fun they have at an area determines how excited they are for agility. So they were really ready today.



Wazzu ran her fastest YPS (yards per second) ever in Weavers. I couldn’t believe this was my dog! She had her head down and she was single stepping it through the weaves – FAST! Wow, this was truly a blast – and she was doing it all from a fairly good distance. I hope I never forget this run.

Sparkie ran Weavers perfectly and fast of course! Sparkie is amazing as she can enter the weaves from any distance and any angle. It really is her best obstacle. I sure hope Boogie can be as solid on weaves as Sparkie.

Both girls ran especially fast and Q’d in Hoopers coming in 1st (Sparkie) and 2nd (Wazzu). Neither of the boys got to do agility today but they had fun walking in the vast land on this really nice property.

Oh, and today is Mike’s birthday! I was really nice and announced it during the agility briefing today (Mike just loved that – NOT!). I did say that regarding Mike’s age I wouldn’t reveal it but that he isn’t as old as his dog! Everyone liked that.

Poor Mike didn’t really get any kind of celebration as I can’t get out on my own to get him a card or a present. Poor guy even had to cook his own birthday dinner…which was actually just leftovers. But Sparkie got him two Q’s today which made him very happy.

Happy Birthday, Mike!

Debbie
2/15/08