Another Hike up Mt Rubidoux

Monday, January 12, 2009

I'm a bit behind on this blog, but partly it's because Ninja is actually getting better. Apparently there is this magic thing about when an Aussie turns two, he gets out of that puppy stage and all the lessons you've been droning on and on about finally start to make sense. So that means I haven't had a lot to write about lately. That's actually a good thing!


So on December 31, my daughter and I celebrated the New Year by hiking up Mt. Rubidoux. This time we took the steep route up. The road is getting a bit cracked in places. They stopped allowing cars on this road in 1996. Looks like it was a good idea! This trip was about 2 miles (one way), whereas the less steep trip is 4 miles.


It was an absolutely gorgeous day. Look at the view halfway up the hill. The mountains in the distance have a nice sprinkling of snow. Ninja was very happy to carry his pack up the hill. Many people smiled and commented on how smart it was to let the pup carry his own gear on the hike. That's one neat thing about this particular hike - there are always a lot of people around, so you don't feel isolated. Not that Ninja would ever let anyone hurt us, but it's nice to know it probably won't come to that on this hike.

Here we are stopping for a water break. Ninja seems to like the view here!

Mt Roubidoux Hike

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Is this one happy Mini Aussie or what? He's got his backpack on because we all went on a hike up Mt Roubidoux in Riverside on Saturday. We braved the chilly weather, but of course Ninja didn't seem to mind at all.

It was about 4 miles up and back and Ninja was flying at first but settled down as we got into a rhythm. At the top of the mountain there is a very tall cross you can see from miles away. There is also a huge American flag, and lots of plaques. Mt. Roubidoux is famous for its Easter Sunrise Services.

We climbed up the trail and had lunch at the top. We had picked up sandwiches from our favorite place, Butch'sGrinders, which is right by the entrance to Mt Roubidoux Park. The kids had turkey and cheese and I had an Italian sandwich. Of course Ninja had his share of all of our sandwiches and chips!

As we headed down it started to sprinkle. You could see the rain coming across the valley toward us, but luckily it never got too rainy. Just cold and misty.

I'll post more pictures of the hike shortly. I thought this was just such a cute picture of the pup!

Ninja and In N Out Burger

Sunday, November 16, 2008

A few nights ago my husband worked late and stopped at In N Out Burger for a bite on the way home. In case you aren't from Southern California, In N Out is a Hamburger drive-through that you either love or you don't. Ninja and I love it. I suppose I've spoiled him because he always gets the last bit of my Double Double. I purposely order a bigger hamburger than I can eat so he can have some. Sometimes I even order him his own burger.

So it should come as no surprise that when my husband came home late and set his food on the table, Ninja expected that he would get some. I was asleep. My husband set down the box of food on the sofa table. It comes in a little box with no lid. He went into the kitchen to wash his hands, then came back and. . . no burger. He told me he had a moment's confusion and thought perhaps the burger had fallen out of the box and was on the seat of the car. But he looked outside on a whim and there was Ninja munching away on the double double. The ensuing roar woke me up, sent Ninja scurrying away to the corner of the yard, and the neighbor's cats home in a hurry. My poor husband went to bed hungry but Ninja slept well with a belly full of hamburger.

Happy Coming Home Anniversary

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Tomorrow is one year since Ninja came to live with us. We had our first weekend together over Labor Day last year. As I recall he ate all the cat's food and spent the whole weekend sick as, well, a dog.

The picture to the left is what happens when Ninja wants to see what I'm doing with the camera.

This picture is what happens when I want to work on my dollhouse. At least he shows an interest, which is more than I can say for a lot of people I know! : ) But he's a healthy, happy pp so I can't complain.

Happy welcome home anniversary, Ninja!

The Crazy Dog Lady

Monday, August 18, 2008

Remember the post about blowing out the coat? That was months ago and it hasn't gotten any better. There's dog hair everywhere. I sweep and vacuum nearly every day. The next day it's back. My husband wants me to shave the dog. I hate to do it now- it's mid August. In a few short months it will cool off and what if it doesn't grow back quickly enough? Nope, not a good idea.

Yesterday we went to PetSmart and I bought a shedding comb just like the one in the picture. I was concerned that Ninja wouldn't like it. Boy was I ever wrong. Apparently this thing is like a doggy massage! He either plopped down in front of me and enjoyed the combing, or he jumped into my lap and licked my face in appreciation. Either way he comes running any time he sees the shedding comb in my hand.

It took about an hour, but I filled an entire plastic grocery bag full of long, soft, Aussie dog hair. And an amazing thing happened! When you pet my beloved dog there aren't clouds of hair flying off of him. He's curly, shiny, and just beautiful. For a tool under $7, it is an amazing result. I also didn't find clumps of hair in every corner of my house this morning. My husband doesn't mind petting him again. Wow- all of this for $7? Nothing to complain about there!

So, why did I title this the Crazy Dog Lady? Because that huge bag of soft dog hair has got my little crafty mind going. I think I said in another post that if I could find a way to make money from dog hair I'd be a wealthy woman. Well, I'm not looking to make money. . .but did you know you can spin dog hair into yarn and make beautiful, fuzzy and warm kitted things from it? It's called chiengora, similar to angora rabbit yarn.

I've done some research on it today and it doesn't look too hard. Funny, I found a lot of oppostition to having something knitted from dog hair. Sure, if you have a smelly, dirty dog, maybe it would seem gross. But if you have a beloved, pampered, clean dog (who gets bathed in lavendar or balsam shampoo every week) maybe it sounds a lot nicer. It sounds kind of cool to me, especially since Ninja has such beautiful coloring.

And if you ever read my other blog called mini mishief, you'll know I can almost never resist learning a new skill. So now I'm going to learn to spin chiengora by hand. Call me crazy. But wouldn't it be cool to have a scarf or a lap blanket years from now (please, God, many, many years from now) when my beautiful fur baby has left us to snuggle up with on a cold night? I think dog people get this. If not, well, enjoy Ninja's antics in my other posts and ignore this one. This one's for me. :)

Into the Creek

Friday, August 8, 2008

I really should take my camera to our Thursday night walks in the regional park. As I've mentioned before, my husband plays ball almost every Thursday and the kids and I (and Ninja of course) walk in this absolutely beautiful park, which is right next to the ball fields.

Last Thursday was an early game so there was plenty of time to walk, with plenty of light. There is 1 hour and 15 minutes allotted to each softball game, so that's a nice walk. This week we were joined by one of the kids of another player, who unfortunately didn't bother to inform his father that he was going walking with us. Normally I would have made sure, but I was happily walking my dog and chatting with my kids before I noticed this boy was attached to us. Did I invite him? No. Did I particularly want the responsibility of this kid? Not really. But I decided to be a good sport and let him tag along.

One reason I worry about this kid is that he is not dog people. I don't think it's his fault- he's only around 10 years old and his parents are not dog people. What "not dog people" fail to understand is that their actions almost always directly correspond to a dogs reaction, but not understanding dogs, they often label our beautiful fur friends vicious and aggressive.

The week before, this kid had talked sweetly to my dog and then wildly waved his hands in a chopping gesture around Ninja's face. Dog people know that this is a bad idea. Luckily I had Ninja on a short lead and as soon as the kid starting waving his hands I strongly cautioned him to stop. However, Ninja very loudly warned this kid with a growling snarl, which I'm sure sounded quite menacing, but of course I knew it to be a big warning with no "teeth" behind it. I tried to tell him! The kid's mom freaked and told me to keep my dog away from her kid. Of course trying to tell her that my dog was minding his own business when her kid challenged him resulted in the blank stare only "not dog people" can manage.

I have to be so careful, though, because the county is a "zero tolerance" county and if Ninja did bite, he would be put down. So around children, especially, I keep him close and put my hand on his head so that if something upsets him, I can stop any reaction right away. It's just not worth the risk, you know?

So, Thursday night we walked and just kept heading out. I wanted to see the side we hadn't gotten to yet. The park is over a mile long, so it's a great walk. About 45 minutes into our walk the kids saw a playground with a big slide on the other side of the creek. We found a place to cross with lots of rocks and very little water. The kids skipped over and headed into the playground. I started over with Ninja by my side. But not for long. Ninja sat down and dug his back paws in. I tugged on the leash. He pulled back. I coaxed. He ignored my efforts. Then he stood up and I thought we were making progress, until he went behind me, and next thing I knew I was in the creek.

I have no reason to believe he knocked me down, he just did not want to cross right there and in an effort to get away the leash caught my legs and I went down. My daughter shrieked, "Mommy, are you OK?" I was muddy, very muddy, but unhurt. Her next questions was, "Is your Coach purse OK?" Ah, a girl after my own heart. Why I took a purse, let alone a good purse is beyond me. But there we were. BTW, the Coach purse is the only "designer" purse I own and was a gift, but I do love it and I"m glad it "wasn't harmed in the filming" of this adventure.

So, remembering that dogs are very clever creatures, I unleashed Ninja and he bounded across the rocks without me just fine. Lesson learned.

To add insult to injury, my husband's game was over 20 minutes early and we were all on the far side of the park when he called. . .and the tag along kid's dad was mad. So we rushed back as quickly as three kids, a dog, and a very muddy woman can.

Maybe next Thursday we'll take a break. Then again, the days are already starting to get shorter and we won't be able to do this for many more Thursdays. Next time I'll take my camera and leave the Coach purse at home.

The Protector

Sunday, July 27, 2008

I've always said that Ninja was more likely to lick someone to death rather than hurt anyone. But I've definitely seen signs that he would protect his family, especially recently.

When he was about six months old, the kids and I took him on our daily walk to the park. It was about 7 pm, but Winter so it was very dark already. As we neared the park, we started down the hill that leads to the entrance. From there you can see the whole park. I noticed a figure dressed all in black sitting on a bench. No one else was around. My warning bells went off in my head, so I made us keep far away from this person.

As we were leaving the park, this person suddenly appeared near us and Ninja bared his teeth, growled, and gave a couple of warning barks. Then he planted his backside and would not let us go near this person. It was the first time I had ever seen him act this way.

Then last month we were walking to the park and some teenage boys were bothering a couple of girls in the park. I told the boys to leave them alone or leave the park. When they smarted off to me, Ninja again bared his teeth and growled at them. My beautiful, pure bred pup turns into a fearsome beast when those teeth are shown.

Just last week I was walking to the door to take out the trash and when I opened the door, there was a young kid there wanting to sell me something. But you know how you get startled when you open a door and someone is there. I sucked in my breath and Ninja barked frantically. My guess is that he picked up on my fear and warned the visitor to back off.

Ever since that night he barks when someone is at the door, unless it is someone we know. It's a good warning system!

The other thing he does which always surprises me is that he growls at people on motorcycles in fluorescent vests. The first time he did this we were in the car. He likes to put his front paws on the center console between my seats and watch what is going on. I heard this low rumble, like a big truck going by. I couldn't see any trucks. I realized that it was a low rumble coming from Ninja. He was looking to my right and glaring at a man in a fluorescent vest on a motorcycle. I've seen him do this several times since. I'm not sure where it came from or why he doesn't like motorcycles, but I'm sure he thinks he's protecting me.