Mackey's 1st campout - March 29-30, 2008

First, Ivory, Mackey and me, just outside the shelter. Sarah took our picture; she was there with a friend of hers who hiked the AT to Connecticut last year before getting Lyme disease - he'll finish it this year - and their three year old dog Jody. Who spent a great deal of time running around with Mackey. I should have gotten a picture of Jody too. She was a very pretty girl.

Second, a picture another guy took of Ivory and Mackey and me outside the tent; you can see the little dusting of snow that had just fallen. You can see it better in this picture:

Then we hiked back out and drove to Charlottesville. Mackey and Ivory slept in Dr. Leslie's apartment while Dr. Shane treated Dr. Leslie and me to lunch! What a way to spend a weekend!

Highland Maple Festival - March 8, 2008

Us, at the Highland Inn

Pride of the Mountains since 1904

68 W Main St.

Monterey, VA 24465

On the first weekend of the 2008 Highland Maple Festival - the Fiftieth Annual - we saw, with the exception of hazy hot and humid, every weather Virginia has to offer. So during a great day outdoors, the only picture we took was indoors! We saw pouring rain, a huge flash of lightning, a roar of thunder, 45 minutes of crisp, clear, sunlight, a thirty minute long raging blizzard, and 60 mph winds - all in twelve hours, all in the same small town in the mountains of western Virginia. And we had buckwheat pancakes and fresh maple syrup!

The cat's out of the bag...

One of them is, anyway.

Miss Annie

A more accurate title for this post would be I Miss Annie. Nicky died on November 9 of 2006 and Annie just five weeks later on December 16. Annie was twelve years old when I got her in 2000 and her previous owner described her as "a very dog-like cat." To a person of my particular sensibilities, there can scarcely be a higher compliment. Or in Annie's case, a more accurate one. She was friendly, outgoing, cheerful, loved to be around people and was just a joy to spend time with. I've got a few better pictures of her; I'll put one up when I find it. There's one I particularly enjoy that I call "Fire Worshiper." Annie would just park herself in front of the woodstove and stare at the flames. When I find that, I'll put it up. For now, there's this one. Annie was one-of-a-kind. But they all are. Here she is, all six purring pounds of her:

Since I left their names off before...

...here are more pictures of my new feline companions, Handsome and Dashing. Dash, for short, although he'll answer to nearly anything, and purr about it too. Handsome is the big tabby and Dash is the little Creamsicle colored guy. Incredibly, or incredibly to me, anyway, they're entirely unrelated - Handsome is almost a year older than Dash and they came from different homes. I always like the animals in my house to be compatible, but these guys set the new standard:

Snoozing together










Little cat, big yawn









Back to sleep









Little cat, big stretch

Triathlon 2008

My next triathlon will be the Beach 2 Battleship Iron Distance Triathlon in Wilmington, NC on November 1, 2008:

What we seek is balance

According to the Buddha. My house is most balanced when I have two dogs and two cats and as of about 2:00 this afternoon, thanks to Betty Baugh's Animal Clinic, it's back in balance. I went down there this afternoon on the advice of my old friend and mentor Barbara and picked up these two handsome young guys:













The darker one is a little bigger in the vicinity of eighteen months. He's moderately wary, although more of the dogs than he is of me. Mackey finds him a little bit intimidating. He's lying on my lap while I type, with his chin resting on the keyboard. The lighter one is close to six months and purrs deafeningly and is all kitten. More later. More writing, not more cats and/or dogs.

Christmas hike on the Appalachian Trail

Mackey's first hike on the AT! He was outstanding - just did a fantastic job. First, a picture of both of them, stopping for a drink of water from a convenient bowl in a rock:












Next, naturally, Ivory:











Finally, Mackey, dashing, as he often does, and always is:

Our first REAL hike

Today was our first morning hike, which is when we enjoy the river most. Also it was around 45º and drizzling which means pretty much the only thing you get are dog people. And when we ran into old friends and a couple of new ones we asked to get our picture taken, in hopes of getting a good one. As it turned out, I was happy with all the pictures we got, so here they are. As usual, click on the pictures if you want to see a bigger version:










Suzanne took the one above, while Cody waited patiently.













The people who took the above picture were nice but I'd never met them or their dog - and I still don't know their name!













The person who took the above picture was also a stranger before today, but now I know her name is Katie. Regrettably, I didn't get the names of any of her three dogs. Amazingly, she lived for two years in Galena, AK, which is a checkpoint on the Iditarod trail - I think on the northern route, which they take in odd numbered years. You just never know who you'll run into at Pony Pasture.













The above picture was taken by - get this - a person who I know his dogs names but not his name. Although I do know he's a Virginia Tech fan and he does a lot of bicycling, so that's good. And he's got a great looking Bernese Mountain Dog named Cody and I think a little Golden named Theo.

And that was the last of our pictures today; I think we're pretty saturated. I was wearing my 2006 Yukon Quest baseball cap that was autographed by Lance Mackey at the Quest that year when I was up there, and I was wearing my 16 dogs, 2,049 miles, No Problem Lance Mackey sweatshirt so I could show people Mackey's name on the back. For those of you who don't know what that sweatshirt means, and where Mackey got his name - although I mentioned it in another post - Lance Mackey used the same 16 dogs to first win the Yukon Quest 1,000 Mile Sled Dog Race then two weeks later win the 1,049 mile Iditarod Sled Dog Race. 16 dogs, 2,049 miles, No Problem.

OK - HERE's our new companion

Mackey - Pony Pasture - 11.24.07

I hadn't really intended to get a new dog this soon but for some reason the stars just lined up and here he is. He was born on 6.1.07 so he'll be six months old next week. And he weighs 46 pounds and he's cheerful and outgoing and friendly. It's around 1030 and he's snoring at my feet. He's starting out in life with a lot more advantages than Nicky did and if he makes even half the improvements Nicky made, he will become one of the world's great dogs. He is named after Lance Mackey, the first person to win the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod in the same year - an astonishing feat of dog athleticism.

He's already had one great walk at the river plus one to the pet cemetery and he's worn out. And so am I, and he and Ivory and I are getting up early to head back down to the river for our Sunday walk. Stay tuned - more updates soon. Have a great day,

Jay, Ivory and Mackey