the dogs don't know it's valentines day....

some days it's best to just stick with the dogs. i've never been a fan of saint valentines day. it's just not a day that has ever applied to me. i'm fine with the celebration of love and all that. not sure the commericialization of love is ever helpful in actual love, but there are alot of people making alot of money on love and the prospect of it. i know one thing for sure. it's a reminder of something that most days i'm totally adjusted to not having.
sometimes people try to figure out what is wrong with me. why did i not marry and all that. i'm not sure lack of marriage is a sign of failure or of some personality defect. i've seen enough married people to know that just the act of getting married doesn't make one normal. who you are before you married is still who you are after you marry.
there isn't one reason i never married, it can't be figured out in a brief conversation. for me, i just never met the person i felt i could be married to. does that make me too picky. for some i guess yes, that does. i've observed that relationships are difficult in the best of circumstances and this is made even more difficult when the two people aren't a good match. i've also observed that very few of those blissful relationships exist. i suppose it's dreamy of me to have such lofty expectations. have always just felt being alone beats being with the wrong guy. having not found the "right guy", well that left me alone.
i'm not totally alone though. i have the best animal companions a girl could ask for and many wonderful friends. men may come and go, but my friends have lasted for decades.
so yes, this is all to make me feel a bit better about valentines day.....the one day i'm forced to face my aloneness.
for today, it was me and the dogs out n. bivouac way watching a dog sled race. love my little spot out there. i just have to hike in a few miles and i'm the only spectator. the dogs actually quite enjoy watching the teams race by. rio must listen for the silent sounds of dogs through the woods. often you will hear the musher call to thier team or it's just quiet and all you hear is the dogs breathing and thier paws on the snow.

the mushers also seem a bit surprised to see a lone spectator and her dogs out there. the spot i settle down on is visible to the mushers. want them to have warning of me. they have an entire team to control. in general, it's best to leave your dogs at home when watching a sled dog race. my dogs have always been very good when i've taken them out there. i would never take them to the iditarod start or restart. way too many dogs and people. a few of the dogs rushing by today did bark. was it at us, me or the dogs or just part of the run. one musher called out, "nice coat" as he sped past. i think he was referring to rio's coat. i didn't get the impression any of them were upset i was out there. last year, jeff king went past and gave me a wave. kinda cool to be out there alone when a famous musher like that goes past.

this is just another picture from another part of the trail. great to wear the dogs out on the way out to my photo spot. sorry i just had to go blow my nose. i get these sneezing fits and i think i was up to about 30 sneezes. i'm also a bit knotted up from my adventures yesterday. skipped skiing or swimming today. i have a winging scapula and my muscles get all flipped out when i overdo it. doesn't really stop me from overdoing it though. such is life. all felt great out walking.

as i sat there the clouds lifted, the sun came out and it was a beautiful day. guess it was quite windy at the coast, but for me it was a perfect day out there.

blossom and rio are looking in the direction of where the dog teams come out of the woods. it's always funny to me how fascinated they are with it all. what must they be thinking as those teams run past. most dogs would not sit still and watch such as they do. i'm really grateful to have such accomadating animals. i know i don't get as good of photos as when they aren't there as i could have gotten in closer to get shots, but it's fun to have them along.

a team in the distance heads towards us on our little hill.

same spot awhile later when the clouds have lifted a bit.

more pictures of the spectator gallery. there is some down time between dog teams. some hiker came along and chatted with me, that actually got the dogs excited more than the teams did.

he said there is a musher in wasilla or palmer that will let you take a team out for a loop on his property. he has his own training loop. the guy i was chatting with said he'd done it and he'd been tossed off the sled. the team totally knows the way home so they made it back no problem, he had to walk. it does look like fun. i'm sure i'd be a bit nervous at the speed and power of the team though. could be tough to stay on the sled.

took this one as i was leaving. you can see where i sit. i just sit on the incline on the trail there. not sure how many teams were passing by today. i watched several. the dogs can only take so much really. rio was getting chilled sitting there. guess if i brought a blanket or something. i think i'd go stir crazy after awhile as well though. it's a great stop on the hike though.

so this is the teams as they run past me on my little lookout. the dogs do occasionally look over at us. most of them are pretty focused on thier task. they do love to run. one team was having issues and that guy stopped the team briefly. it had nothing to do with my dogs though as i could see the team wasn't running well as soon as he came out of the woods.

this musher is helping his team along. it's like my kicksled action. must be a great butt workout!

these dogs were very focused on thier task. i just think they all look so cool.

baked the cookies finally. until i made dinner tonight, all i'd eaten today was cookie dough and capn crunch. very nutricious i'm sure. i did make lo mein though. it's one thing i cook fairly well. i stopped by the animal shelter to give them papers and glance through the cats. it was kinda crowded. one extra toed cat in there. hard to know what cat if any to get for pogi. he does seem to be a cat that likes having a companion, but cats are tough to match up. there was a cute lab pup. my friend gail would be perfect for it. she just recently lost her dog of many years, duke. i posted the dogs picture on facebook. maybe someone will be interested. he'll probably find a home quickly. most dogs in the shelter are either pit bull crosses or sled dogs. i asked why the cute 7 month old lab was there. the shelter volunteer said the guys wife doesn't like living with dogs after all. you'd think you'd figure this out before taking in a puppy. what if she gets pregnant and then decides at 6 months that this whole motherhood thing just isn't for her. strange.

i'll have to hit the shelter when it's not so busy next time. you can only do so much to help all the animals that need homes. wish people were more responsible and thoughtful when it comes to the animals, but then i see how many people can't be responsible or thoughtful with their own human seed. sadly, there are alot of idiots out there. idiots who will be getting valentines day cards, gifts and all that. babies will be concieved and the whole cycle starts all over again. bah hum bug....

lots of variety of sleds out there. i think this guy below can see me, but is trying to get a better look at us. probably sees the dogs and isn't sure if they will cause him issues.

as you can see, his dogs flew past without giving us a second look.

him again, must have a few of these out of order.

this guy is not concerned with me and looks to be checking his time.

watching these dogs is something one must do live to get. there are controversies surrounding mushing and i have my concerns as well. these short races seem the least controvercial. i think the longer ones are more stressful for dogs and invaraibly with over 1000 dogs running the iditarod there will be deaths. that is difficult to accept. also the unfortunate thing is after the season is over dogs get dropped at shelters. it's expensive to maintain a team. some don't like that the dogs sleep in those boxes outside. i think when they are made too much of a pet though they often aren't able to train them to run properly. these are actually not the best pets as they do require a great deal of exercise. when they go for thier "walks" they explode. they love pulling the sleds though.

when they don't want to pull, they don't. overall, i love the sport. i love to see what these animals are capable of. that doesn't mean my heart aches when i hear of a loss or when a musher gets busted for mistreating or not caring properly for his team.

like i said, look at em run and it's hard to deny they don't love it.

a guy on facebook jokingly said he'd pay me $10,000 for blossom. no way i could part with her for any amount of money. i suspect she'd miss me too. not many dogs have the life my dogs have.

the day has slipped away from me again. not sure i accomplished much today, but it was a good day anyway. cat litter changed, vaccuming done, cookies baked, dishes washed so i guess it wasn't totally a day without accomplishment.

impossible not to get outside and enjoy these days. that is always my excuse. i mean the dishes will always be there, but the beauty....why waste beauty like that. in ten years will i remember the beauty or that the sink was always clean. so, my sink is rarely clean.

sundays are for paper reading and omelets. yes, still reading an actual paper. hoping it never goes away, but sure it will eventually. the world evolves and you must adapt. eventually, you are gone and it keeps evolving with or without you. romance has evolved as well. not sure that is always been a good thing. seems romance is on the outs. i do make attempts on occasion by signing up for online dating sites. i find it all so tedious. i told my friends the other night i find dating to be like going to a store and trying on all size 6 pants when you are a size 8. none of them fit and you just torture yourself over and over. who needs that. i never was good at the game of dating.

it was also determined the other night that if we had a contest like on seinfeld, i would be the first to lose. these dinner outings can be so informative.

so happy valentines day to those of you who have found a great love.

me, well, i think i'll be sleeping with a tennis ball placed under my left scapula. that seems to have the most annoyed muscle at present.

eating a few cookies. admittedly, i overcooked several. always amazing considering i'm sitting 3 feet from the over. i just get so distracted and forget about the baking. at least i have some snacks for the dog walk monday crowd.

there was a girl out horseback riding on the trails today. i need to find a place that takes you out for a winter ride. i think that looks life fun. has been a few years since i rode a horse, but i think a winter trail ride looks great.

maybe i can try my hand at mushing as well. doubt i'll plan an iditarod start anytime soon though. i really like warm beds and plumbing too much to spend 2 weeks on the trail.

good night all...