Wednesday, December 27, 2000

dog parks are curious places. i remember when i lived in indianapolis, in and they opened a new one. some people were in an uproar.....the stink...the dog fights......the noise!!! the humane society put one fear to rest when they offered information about the nature of dogs. dogs tend to be territorial on their home front or when confined by leash or fence or whatever. i can certainly see that. when dogs are allowed to run free they are typically more interested in their freedom and all the neat stuff to smell...they forget all about hating each other...or their duty as a good watchdog. it becomes their time and they can let down their guard.


the indy dog park opened and for $25 a year you could get a bone-shaped pass and go whenever. you had to carry a leash, control your dog, and pick up after them...all reasonable requests. but the passes were limited in number and kyra and i had to make do running by the creek behind my complex. she partcularly enjoyed chasing the walnuts.


yesterday i was up before eight and i was hoping i could figure out a fun way to spend time with the dogs without the responsibility of rounding up the 2 girls who together out-weigh me. so i looked up the city of fort collins and found the park on horsetooth....no passes!! anyone can go....so we went. but not before i realized i couldn't find teton's leash. finally finding her collar i used some macrame rope to make a cheap rip-off of a leash. she's big and slow anyway and all i need to do is get her to the park....it would do.


when we arrived there were only 2 other dogs in the park....a little black and tan, just a bit smaller than 50 lb. kyra, and a tiny little beagle. teton ran across the 3 acre park...barrelling toward the other dogs and their lady friends....i choked....the moment of truth was now on us. will the girls be civil? would they be friendly and playful? or would there be trouble. little dogs are typically more yappy and i hate to admit it, but kyra has a tendency to take no shit. she's a very good dog and at 5 weeks old hung out with a gang of older dogs. she's been in fights....and she holds her own....but no one wants their dog to fight, and no one wants their dog to fight the dog of some overly protective, settle this in court, type of person. face it...dogs are dogs, and dogs sometimes fight...who really knows why, but i can understand the way they feel....


kyra: teton, i swear if one more dog sniffs my but i'm just going to hit the roof......


and sometimes it happens....but not too often. actually my dog has really only fought with a few dogs. she and summer had two little scuffles, but that was in indy and summer was basically living with us so you have to expect them now and then. and kyra and teton have had some pretty bloody little tiffs....i hate those the most. and once she got into it with a pit bull mix while camping in minnesota. i guess i saw that one coming. the dog was littler, but had a big attitude. we seperated them and kyra had to go to the car and think about what she did. sorry, but i don't want a little dog getting a hold on her and not letting go...


so yesterday was nice, and not entirely unusual. they were happy to be running. and they enjoyed running with the other dogs. i played follow the leader with them for awhile...running the length of the field and then back. all four dogs ran after me as the other two owners stood in the same spot and wondered why their dogs weren't playing before we got there. you have to lead your dogs sometimes.


another nice couple arrived with about 5 dogs....one that was really similar to my kyra. they asked where i got her. teton, our big girl, wore down a bit...and even the untiring kyra was slower in her stride. then came one more dog....then a lady with an irish setter....an irish setter that wanted to mount the ittle black and tan my girls had befriended. a little growling occurred and kyra and teton were on it....they had her back...and it could have been over, but the much larger irish setter refused to honor the black and tan's space....so i rounded up my girls and went to the car. they were getting tired anyway. and i wanted to avoid any problems. you see, when kyra makes a friend....she's on their side. she's the first to detect a growl...and the first on the scene. she's not a trouble maker...just a true alpha. and teton is her pack...and if you play with her and she loves you...even after a few minutes...she'll help you out, too. she's a solid dog....and the sweetest one i know.


after the dog park i decided to go to the greenhouse to redeem my gift certificate...and to the grocery. i took the dogs with for a little change in scenery. i remember when i used to drag kyra in the car all the time. she was great protection...not because she would ever hurt anyone, but because people didn't know she wouln't. now she only gets a few rides here and there. we've really got to start spending some quality time together...and now i'm at work missing my dog.....
posted by April Fraze 9:40 AM| link

Tuesday, December 26, 2000

when the boxes arrived friday before last it was easy to see that i am a spoiled little girl. twenty-six years old and my parents again went overboard this holiday season. perhaps it was because i couldn't get home...


christmas day began early this year. just like the little kid fom years past i was up before 8am. it was about the third time i had snapped awake...and i was tired of putting myself to sleep over and over again. after all it was christmas. christmas eve had left me serene. we had spent the eening among friends...had dinner, saw the new tom hanks movie (which i don't recommend), and opened presents. my friends know how i am with my family. they had really gone all out to make this christmas wonderful for the six of us. amy bought me a phone card so i could call home.....we didn't want to pay the deposit so we could have long distance so we use prepaid cards...unfortunately we're so poor we don't have the $ to buy a card....she said it was to call my parents...and i was touched. the night before she had given me a bromeliad attached to a piece of rock from medecine bow...complete with moss, twisty willow twigs, a frog, lizard, and a snake....and pieces of minerals that catch the light. she also gave me a rock that was engraved with the word "nurture". she said i was always talking about nurturing...and i am. it's a woman thing. when used in conversation i am usually referring to my love for plants and animals...and how they use up my womanly nurturing quality that most women my age apply to their children.


i was given some new dead/jgb shows....that i'm still dying to listen to......and the first taping compendium.......a gift that i am truly excited about. we had brownies...and we took some to the movie to curb our cravings.


so yesterday morning when i woke up it all began again...and i didn't really feel worthy of all the goodness bestowed on me. we've been so poor that it has been hard to do anything nice for anyone else. i burned some cds with the burner, made some tapes and did a little christmas cookie design....things kept turning out wrong...and i was discouraged. but in the end the peanut butter cookies are always yummy....and plants make excellent gifts.


something tells me that our parent's are concerned we'll get cold out here in colorado (kind of ironic since we've been warmer by far this winter than anywhere in the midwest)....brad's parent's gave us sweatshirts (much needed).....my mom bought brad and i a lot of fleece....including a beautiful red fleece robe for me with paw prints all over it. mom said it reminded her of me (and probably all of the pet hair she finds when she visits). and she got me a double-pile throw with a wolf on it....something i have always looked at when we were out. it's gorgeous. she managed to fit in all of the little quirks i have with the glass dolphin figurine and a butterfly necklace from dollywood. she knows my 3 animals.....and i wish i could explain some of the mystique that connects me to these three species. i admire the wolf for it's sheer will to survive. re-introduction of wolves......they are likely one of the best acclimators.....and their social structure is not entirely unlike our own. they are misread...and villainized....but their beauty still rings to those of us willing to put away the biblical references and fairy tails long enough to realize that they are not after our livestock...but that our livestock is after them.....


butterflies offer mystery...and love. they behold beauty in spite of themselves. the hope of transformation. their colors powdered on easily ruin...yet they are also survivors...holding on to the lovelness they have achieved. dolphins are the beauty in intelligence....socially they are evolved.....and their grace offers much therapeutic value. they are the three loves that i am happy to be reminded of at christmas time.


on christmas eve we let the dogs out a bit before midnight. the day had been quite temperate...as had thursday and friday where we saw 50 degree days. of course wednesday it was in the teens, but i don't mind. as i opened the door i noticed the white flakes gently gliding toward the ground. further inspection later on verified their continuation, and when i awoke yesterday they fell still....softly covering our tiny part of the world. all day long it descended....apprximately 3 inches in all....not a bad addition. my first white christmas in colorado. i believe we had snow last year in indiana as well....i remember my dad slipping out to hang the new bird feeder i had given mom in a spot viewable from his chair.


mom was the first to call about 8am...she was followed by granny and uncle sam....by brad's older brother, rob.....and by my aunt mary. i was happy to hear that my family all loved their gifts...my little brother, who i worried most about loved his vest...and his fiancee, krissi, loved her butterfly. mom loved her black hills gold necklace, and my dad loved his new shirts. granny loved her windchime. i feel satisfied and happy that everyone seemed happy with their gifts. to me this is the most important. amy and brad had us over for orange roughie...a wonderful dinner and we watched a rented movie..


christmas isn't over. there are things in the mail, things to be put in the mail, and a gift certificate to exchange. i'll probably get to the greenhouse today to cash the gift certificate in...because i am impatient.....but i'm waiting for the sun to do a little work on the roads...and i am very anxious to get the package from my uncle sam and the second from aunt mary. uncle sam is sending me a picture of my grandfather when he was 20 years old. he's leaning on a bike holding his guitar...wearing a long overcoat (and what appears to be little else). aunt mary has typed up some family history that i'm anxious to study. both priceless gifts for a budding researcher like myself. and to have a photo of my grandfather means so much to me. he passed away when i was nine and my house burned when i was 12...so we have only a few pictures in my mothers possession. talking to my mom she promised to copy a photo of my late aunt glenda and grandpa and also of uncle carl and uncle russ...my grandfather's brothers. to me there is no amount of money that could buy these treasures...and i hope to do them justice in a family scrapbook. for now i think they'll go on the wall...framed...in all their glory. "see this one...this is a picture of my papaw when he was 20...he and his brothers were orphans at a young age. they never had much but in the spirit of so many country songs they had love....and i was lucky enough to be on the receiving end."


at christmas time i once again revel in te joy that i have a family who loves me, a thoughtful boyfriend..and wonderful friends. it's hard to believe that anyone could need anything more. and i hope that everyone had a little piece of joy to light up their lives yesterdy.
posted by April Fraze 8:42 AM| link