Cold Walk and Chickens

Today Mocha & I went for a walk with her uncle to a place Mocha had never been before.  It was a hilly and cold walk, but at the end, she was rewarded by getting to see chickens!

She was VERY interested in them.  She stuck her nose right up to the cage, and lucky for her, no one pecked her.  I'm pretty sure she had never seen chickens before.  She has a toy chicken that she  chewed up, starting with the belly.  Maybe she was thinking these chickens might be tasty!

Running news:  I ran at 25F and a wind chill that made it feel like 18F.  I didn't know about the wind chill before I left.  It does make me run faster though - all I can think about is getting home and warming up.

Big snow scare in place for Friday - hope it goes another way!

Jacket Day

Today it is very cold here - it was 18F when we went for our morning walk, and got up to 23F (and windy) when we went to the trail.  Mocha wore her jacket today for both walks.  She looks very pretty in it:

Ann & I were going to run around noon, since we thought the temperature would be better (25F we were hoping), but since it was still so windy, we walked with Mocha instead. 

We also collected some pine cones for Ann's porch decor.  

Hoping to run tomorrow before the really bad weather (snow) comes in this weekend.  Maybe the weather-guessers are wrong. 

Cold Outing

It is very cold here today:  20F when I got up, and only up to 26F mid-day.  In spite of this,  Mocha & I did our usual walk and a trip to the trail.  By the way, it is also windy.... brrr.

We didn't see any other dogs at the trail, but we did see a few people, dressed for the weather, walking.  We didn't stay long, and when we got home, Mocha found her patch of sun:

I am hoping that tomorrow morning will be a little warmer, since it is a running day.  At least we don't have snow or ice!

Cold Cold Cold

Very cold morning run today!  At least there wasn't a wind chill.  I ran pretty well, and got home while it was still dark out.  Mocha was waiting for me, and wanted to go for a walk when I asked her.

We did a quick one, since it was so cold - no dawdling today.  We saw her friend Cooper, who had his jacket on (smart boy!), but we didn't stop to talk.  Mocha & I both wanted to get home to our warm house. 

I had made coffee before I left, and was glad to enjoy its delicious warmth!

Eye Ulcer

Last Wednesday, I noticed that Mocha's eye was red, partially closed, and watery.  I took her to the vet, and she was diagnosed with an ulcer.  The vet said she would treat it as a traumatic injury, and gave us some eye drops and pain meds.  If it didn't clear up in 3-5 days, other scenarios would be considered.

Well, today I took her back in for a re-check, and her eye is all better!  She hated getting the drops, but they worked.  And the pain meds were always accompanied by peanut butter, so they were something to look forward to.

She was good at the vet today.  We had to wait a while, and she spent her time observing the other dogs in the waiting room.  She got very relaxed and was lying on her side for a while. 

Now she's home and here she is, eye all better:

After the vet and before coming home, we went to the trail for a walk.  We went to a different part of the trail than we usually go to, and there were lots of new smells, sights, and sounds.  We didn't see any other dogs.  Mocha is now cozy and taking her afternoon nap.

Cold Morning Run

Good morning!  I ran today at 7:00 with Ann.  It was 33 degrees, but the wind chill made it seem a lot colder!  In spite of that, I had a very good run.  I had enough energy, even though I started out feeling hungry.  It was sort of light out when we started - I'm glad the days are getting longer now.  We didn't see any other runners, which is unusual. 

Before the run, Mocha was awake, so we went for a short walk.  As soon as we came out of the garage, she saw Max (Schnauzer) across the street, and started to get agitated.   Max doesn't pay much attention to her, since he is deaf, and may not even know she's there unless he sees her.  I got her to calm down before we continued on the walk, and today we went the opposite way than we usually go; otherwise, she would have been following Max the whole time, and trying to pull me along.

Now Mocha is back in bed, and I'm going to undecorate the Christmas tree today.

New Year's Eve Run

It's been a whole week since I've posted, and I don't have a good excuse - I'll claim Christmas hectic time.

Today I had a great run at the trail with Holly and Ann.  I felt good, and maybe this is because we ran later (8:40 a.m.), and I  had already had my coffee and my full breakfast 2 hours earlier.

I ran with Holly the whole way (I think she slowed down for me a little), and it was the fastest I had run that route for quite a while.  I even had 2 negative splits!  Felt great afterwards, too.

Well, what has Mocha been up to?  She had a good Christmas.  Several friends and relatives gave her presents, and she now has them all arranged on her kitchen bed.  She still likes her old toy, Chicken, but will also chew on a new toy for variety.

Mocha and I have been taking lots of walks on the trail.  Today we had a good one with lots of sniffing and going up and down hills.  We are trying to go longer so that Mocha gets more exposure and more excercise.

Happy 2016!  I will keep you up to date with Mocha and running news.