More Snow...Please Stop

Snowpocalypse 2012 has hit Seattle, all 15+ inches and counting of it. We have been snowed in the last two days and it is not looking like were getting out anytime soon. This winter strom has brought us the following:

• 15+ inches of snow
• An ice storm
• power outage-- now going on 16 hours without power
• downed trees

Here's hoping this snow stops so that we can start the digging out.

Champion Status

Sixteen months ago we started a wild journey on a whim with Odin that has been filled with highs and lows and Saturday it came to a conclusion as he completed his AKC show championship by going Winners Dog and Best of Winners with his handler Kevin Chestnut for a 3 point major win at the Sammamish KC dog show in Puyullap.

There were 8 entries in the class dogs with 4 of them including in Odin and Loki in the Open Dog class so competition was very tough as they were all good looking dogs and we never know what the judge is looking for or how Odin would behave since he is not a fan of the show ring. Luckily for us he decided that he was going to behave and looked great.  After a couple of passes around the ring the judge selected him first in his class which meant step one was complete. Another pass around the ring with the other class winners and the judge moved Kevin and Odin into first position for the last pass around the ring and then awarded him with the Winners Dog purple ribbon.  After a triple check with the ring side attendant to ensure that the major had held we let out a huge sigh of relief that he had won and finished his championship. After a round of hugs and congrats it was back int he ring to go up against the champions and the female winner to try for Best of Breed or Best of Winners.

Twenty minutes later the blue and white Best of Winners ribbon was Odin's and he had completed his final regular show and would now get to retire from showing. I may bring him out once in a while for special events like the Washington or Oregon Specialty shows but for now it's back to the field.

Congrats to our special boy on becoming Ch. Odin!

First Snow

We got our first (and hopefully our only) snowfall of the winter here in the Seattle area this weekend. Our house seemed to be in the special snow zone delivering us with 8= inches of the fluffy white stuff in the past 24 hours.

A lot of friends described our snow as it's so pretty, it's wonderful! But, each of those phrases are typically said with a HUGE caveat: if you don't have anywhere to go or you don’t live here and don’t have to deal with our lack of snow preparedness.

Unfortunately, we had not stocked up at the grocery store and had to make the 15 minute trek to/from the store to get the basics. With 8 inches on the ground, the trek was not going to be easy or fun. Since we knew the Jetta would not be capable of getting back up the hill to the house we opted for the 4 wheel drive on the truck. Even with the truck the drive included sliding and tire spinning and my grabbing the door with eyes closed as Ben took it very slow.

After a break from our trek, we decided it would be fun to take Odin for a walk and to get out and explore the winter wonderland.

Looking Back at 2011

With 2012 in full swing, it's time to take a look back at the highlights of 2011.

It was a busy year for us filled with a good balance of work and play.Lots of time spent in the office for us both, but we certainly got our fill of busy weekends, lazy weekends, and time spent with family and friends.

The theme for this year seemed to be the year of the dogs. We had over 50 show, field and hunt test events that the boys competed in. We also covered thousands of miles traveling between Eagle Creek, Oregon and our house in Snohomish for training and of course all over Washington and Oregon for events and to drop doggies off at their respective handlers. We were also blessed to meet and make many new friends through our dog activities who share our interests.

Some highlights of the year for us included:

• Ben and I celebrating 12 years together and 9 wonderful years of marriage
• Ben buying his "big boy toy"-- a New Holland Tractor
• Hosting a couple of parties at our house including the first annual Ugly Holiday Sweater party
• Loki turning one and Odin turning three
• Loki getting his Junior Hunter title and 2 points towards his field championship
• Odin getting 9 points towards his show championship including one major win (only need one more major to finish, were soooo close...)

We wrapped up a wonderful and eventful 2011 with a fun filled evening spent with Stacey at the Everett Silvertips game and then a quite evening at our home to watch the ball drop and to ring in the new year.

We can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for us. A few things we're already eagerly anticipating are Loki being a part of the Western Futurity event in both field and show in April in Madras, Oregon, finishing up Odin's show championship and working on his Master Hunter title, celebrating our 10th anniversary with a trip somewhere, and a wine tasting weekend with my best friend this summer.

Happy New Year!

Coveys of Quail

Yesterday, on advice of our trainer's wife we packed up the truck and headed over the mountains to the Scotch Creek wildlife area in Omak to try our luck at some quail hunting. Weather was good with the sun shining for the most part and no snow.

We decided to head out with Odin to do some initial scouting of the area and to see what we could find. After making our ways about 2 miles out from where we parked Ben and Odin walked up on a covey of ~8 quail that quickly scattered. We tracked their path for a while before heading off in search of more. After more hiking and Odin working hard we decided to head back for lunch and to get Loki.

After lunch we headed off in a new direction with both Odin and Loki hoping that they would work together rather than just chase each other or take off like last time we tried to run them together. This time we took a new approach and sent each off in their own direction which seemed to work well. Ben decided he wanted to take his chances with hiking up the draws to see if we could find any other coveys and sure enough half-way up the first draw Odin and Loki flushed a covey of ~10 quail. Ben took 2 shots and ended up with getting one quail. The boys and us hiked the 6 more draws before deciding to call it a day to make the 4.5 hour trek home.

We'll be back to Scotch Creek next season for more hunting for sure.

Merry Christmas!

I hope this holiday season finds you surrounded by those you love, safe, warm and happy. We're off for a day filled with both ,my and Ben's families, presents and yummy treats.

 

Merry Christmas!

Just Loki!

Loki and his wonderful handler Terri Erickson showing off their first win together. Loki went winners dog at the Greater Clark County KC show on December 10th for his first show point.