Elk!

It's hunting season so the neighborhood elk herd has been "missing" for a couple weeks. However, this morning the cows showed themselves, in force. I counted 11 total (I've seen as many as 18 in our neighborhood). The bull was nowhere to be seen though.

Looking out my office window...

From my bedroom window

Close up of a cow, in the neighbor's yard

The elk are beautiful, but they're extremely destructive to native and non-native trees and plants. One of the cows was casually walking toward my garden outside the fence, with her eye on my apple trees! The elk have been known to jump our 6-foot fence before. So, I yelled "you get out of here Elk!" and I could tell she re-thought the situation and went the other direction. The "ladies" hung out about 15 minutes and then left after I told them they weren't welcome in MY yard. I'm sure they will be back tomorrow to raid my plants while I'm at work - that's what happened in August when I lost my dahlias, tomatoes, brussel sprouts, poppies, apples and cabbage. For some reason, they don't eat the weeds though.

I washed the hybrid today - it was pretty dirty. I need to wax it on the next nice day we have. I'll be driving it to Seattle tonight to have drinks and dinner with Jerill, Michael and Shawn since Michael will be leaving for Tennessee (his home) tomorrow.

Ciao!

Away to me

Sunday's herding lesson was great. I drove out the Hybrid to Carnation and I worked my trainer's dog, Scott for about an hour in a huge field with 5 sheep. I will be working Scott in my very first trial on November 15, so I am practicing with him as much as possible. He is a totally awesome, sweet dog.

Herding, even with a fully trained expert dog like Scott, is still challenging because I'm still such a novice. So, practice eventually makes perfect. Scott has thousands and thousands of working hours on him (on both sheep and cattle), I have maybe a hundred total now. So, Scott is showing me the ropes. Below is a professional picture of Scott working a ram with his handler/owner, Diane. My trainer is Diane - this is her website http://www.deltabluez.com/.

Eventually, I'll be trialling with my own dog, Mattie. Mattie and I are coming along but we have our challenges simply because I'm learning what I need to do (and what I shouldn't do) in order to make Mattie successful and ensure no sheep are injured in the process. Again, practice, practice, practice.

After my lesson, I attended the quarterly Seattle Purebred Dog Rescue volunteer meeting (http://www.spdrdogs.org/). We were shown some points on dog first aid (dealing with arterial bleeding) and were introduced to animal communication. For those of you who know me, I do believe in supernatural events and telepathy and stuff like that, so I am actually interested in learning more about this. I'm investigating local classes that teach methods and practices.

Anyhoo, after the meeting I met Jerill and Michael at the bowling alley (they were bowling!) and we went to dinner at a Szchechuan restaraunt in Bellevue and introduced Michael to Chinese Hot Pot. Jerill and I aren't particularly in love with super spicy Chinese food, however, this place is great and offers a hot pot that includes a plain broth in addition to the traditional it's-so-spicy-I-think-I'm-going-to-die peppered broth. At Hot Pot, the staff brings you plates of vegetables, noodles, raw fish and raw meat. Then, you cook it at your table, at your leisure. There is always too much food! Since you can't take the raw foods home in a doggie-bag, you have to cook the left-overs at the table, then you can doggie-bag it home. After hot pot, we headed to the Muckleshoot casino where I lost $5 playing penny-slots. I'm not a big gambler.

Yesterday, the Hybrid took me to MLT for work, averaging 44.2 mpg for the 96.8 mile round trip. I'm working at home today. Here is what is going on out at the birdfeeder... I think every BlueJay in the neighborhood is at my place today...

Spillage

This past September my grandma Mary Louise passed away. Jerill and I loaded up the dogs in the CR-V and took off to Montana to attend her funeral. The photo above is of Saint Mary's Lake in Glacier National Park in Northern Montana. If you ever get the opportunity to go to GNP, go. The mountains are spectacular and the drive through the park does not disappoint.

The flyball tournament today went well. All of our dogs (Roxie, Skookum, Brat, CD and Tac) ran well and we all had a lot of fun.

On the way home from the tournament I had my first major spill in the Hybrid.

Instead of being smart and dumping the lidded dog water bowl out at the parking lot, I decided to tote the water bowl with me for some stupid reason (it was still pretty full of water). And, instead of being smart and putting the bowl on the floor of the car, I sat it on the backseat. Well, I guess I took a corner a little too fast (thinking I was in the WRX apparently) and, without me knowing it at the time, the big water bowl tipped on its side. Thus, I came home to find the back seat soaked with about 2 cups of water. Yes, at least it was just water but still, I'm worried that my new car scent will now be dirty-dog-bowl scent. I love dogs but I agree, they do sometimes stink. So, that's the car's first major spill. I guess I should have sprung for the Scotchguard option afterall. And to top it off, I only averaged 38 mpg today (stupid Tiger Mountain).

Our out-of-town guest, Michael, got in late today, due to some mechanical problems on his first flight in Dallas (the landing gear wouldn't go down!). These delays forced him to miss his connecting flight. And, then American Airlines managed to lose his luggage. So, we didn't make it up to the Alpental Oktoberfest as planned - but we did get to the Mt Si Bar & Grill where they serve good food and Snoqualmie Brewery beer. After dinner we drove out to Snoqualmie Falls. If you didn't know, the waterfall is lit up at night (at least it was tonight).

To give credit where credit is due, I didn't take this picture - I found it on Flickr (but this is what the Falls looked like tonight!)


Mattie, our Smithfield Sheepdog, adored Michael when he first got to the house and they met outside in our driveway. For those of you who know Mattie and have/have tried to meet Mattie at our house, this is atypical behavior for her. However, not to disappoint you all, when we returned from dinner, she forgot she met Michael and decided he was now a threat to the peace of our home. Now for Dog Tip #1: Whenever you get to a point in your life when you think you might want a guard dog / protection dog, don't get one. But, if you decide you really do need one, get one that's come pre-trained and make sure you have an umbrella policy.

TGI Flyball

My Hybrid adventures took me to Mountlake Terrace today, where I work (48.4 miles from my driveway to be exact). I commute three days a week to and from "MLT" and work at home two days a week. If you ever have the opportunity to work at home (or "WAH") TAKE THAT OPPORTUNITY!! You will work diligently and you will get things done. And, your animals will not bug you 24/7 or bark/meow when you're on the phone with your boss.

So, the weekend is approaching and I have, as usual, a pet-filled-packed couple of days ahead. Tomorrow I'll be running a friend's dog in a flyball tournament. The tournament is local - near Auburn, WA. Of course, I'll be driving the Hybrid down there and hope to use just 1.5 gallons of gas on the 68 mile trip.

Flyball is a team dog sport. I used to competitively run my Shih-Tzu Maltese mix Lucky in flyball until I learned this past year from our vet that his knees are too wobbly to jump and he's getting arthritic. So now, he just does flyball demonstrations at dog shows and rescue events.

What is Flyball you ask? Well, flyball is a fast action, loud, fun dog sport. You have a team of 4 dogs, one being a small dog or "height dog" since the height of the jumps the dogs run over is determined by the smallest dog on the team. There are four jumps, set 10 feet apart from one another. Ten feet from the last jump is a spring loaded box in which one tennis ball rests in a pocket. The dog will leap onto the face of the box, releasing the tennis ball into the air. The dog then catches the tennis ball, runs back over the four jumps, and at the "start line," the next dog passes and does the same thing. Basically, the fastest team to complete the set with no errors wins the heat. For more info, visit http://www.flyball.org/ .

Now the sport is filled with Border Collies and Jack Russells and other working-type dogs typically labeled as being "strung out," "nuts" or "crazy." A typical Border Collie will run the entire loop (110') in about 5 seconds - some do it in under 4 seconds. My Lucky, pictured below in a race a couple years ago, averages around 8.5 to 9 seconds -- Shih Tzu's weren't developed for speed or agility but they sure look cute when they run! Races are timed to the hundredth of a second and in some instances, winners of a race are determined at that level!

My other dog, Mattie, can also do flyball (she's a total athlete) but since she isn't a "team player" we have found other venues to keep her occupied/challenged. More to come about Mattie and what makes her so special later.

After flyball, Jerill and a friend of ours from Tennessee intend to go to the Oktoberfest celebration at Snoqualmie Pass. I'm not sure what we're going to find when we get there, perhaps a few old drunks, some good German folk music and lederhoesen. Should be fun!

And the Sunday, the dogginess starts anew with a sheep herding lesson in the morning and a three hour SPDR meeting (http://www.spdrdogs.org/).

Ciao

Welcome to My Hybrid Life

Well, this is my first blog and first post and first time sharing my personal opinions out there in the big world.

My name is Janet Thorpe. I'm 32 years old. I'm a Gemini. I am a professional Market Researcher - right now for a health insurance company. I am married to a wonderful guy named Jerill and have an ever growing household of pets - 2 cats and 2 dogs. More to come on those guys later!

I've named this blog My Hybrid Life because recently I purchased a 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid, also apparently known as a Honda IMA (integrated motor assist). I can't explain how the car works other than the transmission is like a snowmobile - it doesn't change gear, it just continuously builds speed. The car has a 110hp engine and is a clean-green-machine. It's dark, sparkly grey with a nice tan interior. I ordered it and waited 2 months for it to be shipped over from Japan. I do like it but it's taking some getting used to.

I like cars, fast ones to be precise. So, trading in my WRX for a 110hp commuter car was a big step for me and took some serious consideration. Foremost, I was losing my rowdy, scrappy red car that I loved driving fast. Secondly, I wasn't sure if I would be able to live up to the image of being a hybrid-person - you know what I mean? Yes, I own Birkenstocks and yes, I have shopped at PCC for many, many years, but was I really a Hybrid person?

Thus begins my adventures of my new hybrid life.