Gettin' Back

Its been a tough week for the ol' Ninja Pony Dad.
It started out with an infected root canal.....the work was done last week, felt fine, but then got increasingly more painful by Sunday. Monday morning my face was swollen, and I was experiencing the transition to un-happy camper. Saw the dentist...got it headed in the right direction....but didn't need the detour.
A day later, my horse Jupiter developed an abscess in his rear hoof. I know almost nothing about an abscessed horse hoof but I do know that when a 2000+lb animal is limping its not good. Due to the diligence of Lori (my honey) and our farrier (Scott Booten) Jupiter is on the mend too. It seems that all the moisture we have had lately has had an unpleasant effect on Jupiter's hoof.

Now back to the blog....with all the distractions and illnesses I haven't really felt like writing, or commenting on other posts.
First of all I want to acknowledge KB and her dog K .... yep, the look in her eyes.... a stunning look if I've ever seen one and it reminded me of a couple of things. The day I adopted Maizie....it was her eyes peering out from the cage she was in that did it. This poor girl was skinny, had bad body language and was not the type of dog I was looking for. She looked at me as I talked to her....and completely rattled me. Beautiful brown eyes.We went to the parking lot ....she went right to MY truck, when I got her home she ran around in circles on the grass for a long time......she was home.
Our next adoption was Johnny...aka Johnny Ballistic....he is a Red Heeler and was acquired by us when Lori went to Every Creature Counts and asked for a "medium sized male dog that likes to play" The two women behind the counter turned toward eack other and both exclaimed "Johnny!!" Johnny was to be Maizie's playmate as our other two dogs were older and not up for the antics of young Maizie. I was working out of town at the time and didn't know we had a new acquisition until I returned and this small red guy latched on to me like we'd known each other all our lives. Another "not what I was looking for dog" and, quite possibly, the best friend I have ever had. he accepted me immediately..no question. He loves Maizie. When you adopt animals its difficult to figure how they got to be where they did. Johnny has a chip, someone must have cared about him, he is partial to men...(altho Mommy ranks really high) and he runs along my mountain bike on the right side by the derailleur. He looks right thru me and has a look (I'm trying to post, but our service is really slow today) that says "cmon Dad,let's kick some butt"
I think KB hit the nail on the head again as I have begun to see that Johnny's agressiveness is actually masking some sort of fear...he used to run toward autos and still toward strangers. I 'll have to try your techniques to see if thats what's happening here.
Rode my cross bike today.....was supposed to join either friends or teammates down below at 8AM for either cyclocross practice or a 95 mile road ride. I woke up early, fed the horses all the while feeling like I was in some sort of painful trance (stiff, achey) went back to bed.
So, I rode this afternoon instead. I rode as the clouds were gathering and thunder provided the backround music. No lightning, maybe the storm is going that way...it is a cross bike after all. Hmmmmm, it didn't tke long to make this little adventure look like it was taking place on a rainy fall day in Belgium. The cars on the dirt roads were giving me plenty of room "look out dear there's a crazed cyclist ahead" as mud spray splattered all over.....smiling was completely out-of-the-question as one pretty much eats what he grins at on a day like this! I had a blast! And I didn't realize how muddy, wet and cold I was until I got in the shower...hands tingling from the hot water.

I read this the other day and I'd like to share it...

Thinking is more interesting than knowing,
but less interesting than looking.

Goethe