If You Give a Dog a Bath ..

Hello!

The day I give Shadow a bath, he spends about two hours smelling like a pretty pretty princess .. then finds a swamp to splash around in ! Typical ! :)

The last two days have been all about biking, sleeping, and hanging out with (and chasing after) the puppies. I biked all the way to the dog park in Intermountain with Shadow by my side (on a leash) and Moon in my backpack (his little head sticking out - catching smiles and surprised remarks from other bikers and joggers). The first and last two miles of the trip they got to sprint off leash on a seldom-used dirt road next to the train tracks, which was great for releasing some of the initial excitement energy of leaving the house.

The bike ride with Shadow by my side on the leash was surprisingly easy; we managed to stay on our side of the bike path the entire time ! We were awkward at first, but then got into a really good pace together. He was just trotting next to me, checking in on my speed once in a while, leaving plenty of slack on the leash. I made sure not to ride too fast - especially down hills and around blind corners.

Crested Butte, CO 2011

Today both dogs escaped from the yard, and my toast almost burned down the kitchen while I ran to chase them down. Oops! These dogs have SO much energy!

I thought Shadow would be tired after running 9 + miles yesterday, but he wanted to do it all over again today. I didn't have it in me to repeat that adventure, but did two loops on the dirt road (about 8 miles) to give them (and me!) some great exercise.

The road winds along a beautiful river, to which we scrambled down via one very steep river bank and sat on some rocks for a while getting our feet and mouths wet. I was still feeling some anxiety and tension from the dog chase and burned toast incident. I allowed my feet to soak in the river for a few minutes, feeling the water stream past me and through me, imagining the current taking away any stuck energy within me to a place where it may be transmuted into something positive. The energy will flow wherever it needs to flow, I left that part up to Mother Nature. It felt so naturally calming and cleansing, my toes wiggling, splashing, and simply floating in the water, my hands touching the rock beneath me. I left the river feeling lighter and clearer, ready to ride, with two beautiful dogs at my side (one of who ran the remainder of the road with half a deer leg dangling from his mouth .. a souvenir he was proud of, it seemed.)

Thank you for reading!

Love and Light!
Sofie