Down the road with Smooch ~ October 2014

 It's official – the grass this year is taller than Smooch.

 Walking around the fenceline is challenging. The path has all but disappeared.

 We tread lightly, always on the lookout for snakes...

 ...or whatever else might be hiding in the grass...

 ...like a couple of masked banditos.

I find walking to be very relaxing. Smooch, not so much.

 She's the designated pathfinder, another job that she takes much too seriously.

 Junior!

Maybe, maybe not. We were too far away to be certain.

Then we ran into a cow.

 Smooch is so over cows.

Then we found an entire bird wing in the middle of the road.

Most of our walks aren't nearly as interesting. I was glad to have brought along the camera.

Down the road with Smooch ~ February 2014

Every day after I'm done working, Smooch and I go for a walk. It's as much a part of the daily routine as brushing my teeth. 

I wouldn't know what to do between 5 and 6 p.m. if I didn't take Smooch for a walk. I look forward it, she looks forward to it, 

it's what we do. I listen to an audiobook or a podcast on my iPod while Smooch listens for coyotes.

Yesterday I was finishing up "The Wisdom of Donkeys" – a very good book but the worst narrator ever. 

If I ever meet him in person, I will wring his flat, monotone, unemotional neck. Now I will buy the print version 

and really read it so I can underline stuff and dog-ear pages. Such is the downside of audiobooks.

I really like this new photo I took of Smooch, but the color doesn't add much to it at all.

Some pictures, like some books, are just better in black and white.

Down the road with Smooch ~ January 2013

Date: January 2, 2013

Route: Around the fenceline with a shortcut through the pasture

Distance: 1.25 miles

Time: 5:00 - 5:45 p.m.

Temperature: 28 degrees, which felt like 10. Either the weather station lies, or the cold is affecting me more as I age.
I shall choose to believe there is a problem with the weather station.

Wind: None

On the iPod: The House at Riverton by Kate Morton. Enough like Downton Abbey to satisfy my fix for period dramas of the post-Edwardian aristocracy until season three starts on Sunday.

Attire: Long-sleeved shirt, fleece sweater, jeans, baseball cap, two wildrags, quilted barn jacket with the hood up, two pairs of socks, sneakers, mittens. Think Michelin Man. And I was still cold.

Me: Smooch wanna go for a walk?

Me: I'll take that as a yes.

Smooch's seventh birthday is coming up in a few weeks. 

Unlike some others we know, she doesn't appear to be affected one bit by her age.

I wish I knew her secret.

It might be eternal optimism. 

The prospect of something or someone coming down the road keeps her young.

We I cut our walk short because I got too cold.

Perhaps lying on the frozen ground to take pictures had something to do with that.

Anyway, we detoured through the pasture and the corral to make our way home.

George came out to see who was trespassing.

Down the road with Smooch ~ October 2012

"Down the Road with Smooch" used to be a monthly post that chronicled for posterity the who-what-where-when of our daily walk. 

The series died a natural death last January but was hereby resurrected yesterday evening when I realized I had no pictures for today's post.

Date: October 24, 2012
Route: Around the fenceline, with a shortcut through the pasture
Distance: 1.5 miles
Time: 5-ish to 6-ish pm
Temperature: 75 degrees 
Wind: 11 mph out of the south (I love my weather station)
On the iPod: This American Life podcast   
Attire: Long-sleeved shirt, denim jacket, shorts, sneakers, George's favorite pink cap.

The weather couldn't be more perfect. I'm still running around in shorts every day, the windows in the house are open 24/7, 

and the woodstove hasn't been used yet this fall. Surely I will pay for saying this out loud.

The tumbleweeds have started to tumble...

...and Smooch stops often to lick the unlucky paw that happens to connect with a sticker.

The reason we walk around the fenceline is to check fence. Here we notice that something has tried to go through the electric tape, 

and we have no earthly idea what it could be. We imagine an alien with one tiny horn and walk on.

It dawns on me that I haven't had to fix fence in several months. Then it dawns on me 

that I haven't seen a cow in the vicinity for several months. Funny how that works.

Smooch stops to dig a hole in the road and I patiently wait for her to finish. 

After all these many walks (1,580 in round numbers), we have come to an understanding. 

She waits for me while I take pictures, and I wait for her while she digs holes and licks stickers out of her feet. 

It's the secret to a happy relationship.

Speaking of happy relationships...we head back home via the path through the pasture, 

and Lucy stops eating her dinner to come out and greet us.

Down the road with Smooch and Stephen King

Mornings just aren't long enough in weather like this to do everything that needs doing. All the important stuff – like barn chores, walking Smooch, and going to town and back – have to be done "on the freeze," as we say. Wait too long and you risk getting into violent arguments with the muck cart, having your shoes sucked off, or your truck mired hopelessly in the mud.

Saturday morning, Smooch and I sacrificed our walk and headed to Walmart at 5:00 with three critical items on our list: a card reader to make my new camera work, a salt brick for Mr. P, and groceries. As much as I whine about Walmart, there's something to be said about being to able to buy all of the above at 6 in the morning at the only place in town that's open. Anyway, the new camera is working now,
Mr. P has another reason to hang around, and I won't go hungry this week.

Sunday morning, Smooch and I headed out on the freeze for our first walk of the year. We took Stephen King's new book "11-22-63" on my ipod. I'm not a fan of Stephen King by any stretch of the imagination, but when I read the reviews of this novel, I couldn't resist. Holy moly, what a great story. I'm about a quarter of the way through it and can't put it down.

Our first stop was Mr. P's tree. It's been a few days since I've seen him, 

but he left teeth marks on the salt brick, so I know he's around.

He's also made a few more deposits in the bank at the base of his other tree. 

Smooch: Mom, I think aliens are landing in the pasture.

Me: No, hon', that's just a reflection from dust on the lens. 

Smooch: You need to take better care of your equipment.

Me: One conscience in this family is enough, thank you very much. 

Keep your thoughts to yourself and help me look for Mr. P.

Much of the snow melted Saturday – it was a balmy 54 degrees.

It was 26 degrees Sunday when Smooch and I were walking. 

Somebody had driven down the road "on the thaw" and left an impressive set of ruts.

It crossed my mind that we might find "somebody" stuck in a ditch if we walked far enough.

Alas, we made it once around the fence line, then things started to get squishy and we called it done, 

which was really too bad because I wanted to stay out there for many more chapters.

Down the Road with Smooch ~ November 2011

"Down the Road with Smooch" is a monthly post that chronicles for posterity the who-what-where-when of our daily walk.

Date: November 8, 2011
Route: To the northwest corner of the ranch and back.
Distance: 2 miles, more or less
Time: 5-ish to 6-ish pm
Temperature: 34 degrees
Humidity: 30 percent
Wind: Not a bit.
On the iPod: The Winds of War by Herman Wouk
Attire: T-shirt, long-sleeved shirt, wild rag, barn coat with hood up, jeans, sneakers, mittens.

Observations:
1. It's cold. It's dark. It's November.
2. Walking Smooch from November through March isn't as much fun as it is from April through October.
3. Just when I thought Smooch couldn't be more alert, she gets more alert. This might have something to do with porcupines. They're one more thing she's added to her very long list of things to be on the lookout for. 
4. Mylar balloons can travel about 40 miles (the distance between civilization and the 7MSN) before they deflate, descend and get stuck on a barbed wire fence or cactus. If I had a nickel for every dead balloon I've found and thrown away, I'd probably have a dollar.

Saturday encore ~ Down the Road with Smooch, September 2010

I started the "Down the Road with Smooch" monthly blog post last September and managed to maintain its regularity for 12 months. 

I failed when I reached month 13, so I will repeat this post and try to get my groove back come October.

*** 

Every day, almost without fail, Smooch and I go for a walk. It's a toss-up as to who enjoys it more. For Smooch, it's an opportunity to sniff out what's happened around the fenceline in the past 24 hours; for me, it's an excuse to step away from the keyboard during, or after, a crazy day.

I usually don't take my camera but have decided that once a month it will be worth the extra weight around my neck to record our walk for posterity. Assuming I follow this regimen every month, and assuming I remember to blog about it, and assuming I still have a blog, it will be fun to look back on the chronicle of Smooch-walks through the ages when I'm old and gray older and grayer. (Roll your mouse between the margin and the pictures to see the befores/afters.)


Post processing: 1. PW's Old West action at 65%; 2. MCP's High Definition Sharpening action

Date: September 6, 2010
Route: East to county road and back
Distance: 2.5 miles
Time: 5ish - 6ish pm
Temperature: 81 degrees
Humidity: 35%
Wind: yes
On the iPod: "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" from Sept. 4
Attire: Sneakers, shorts, long-sleeved shirt, baseball cap
Observations: Pasture grass high and dry; tumbleweeds taking over the road; neighbor's cows still rude.


Post processing: Photoshop had nothing to do with this

Down the Road with Smooch ~ August 2011

"Down the Road with Smooch" is a post that chronicles for posterity the who-what-where-when of our daily walk, on or about the first of every month. We're late again. No surprise there.

Date: August 10, 2011
Route: To the northwest corner of the ranch and back, with a detour through the pasture to remove fly masks.
Distance: 2 miles, more or less
Time: 7ish to 8ish pm
Temperature: 88 degrees
Humidity: 12 percent
Wind: Not a bit.
On the iPod: The Thornbirds by Colleen McCullough. I remember reading this book originally in the late seventies, while sitting in the waiting room of a Midas Muffler in Alexandria, Virginia. They could have worked on my car all day for all I cared because the story was that good. Thirtysome years later, it's still a great story.
Attire: Shorts, tank top, socks, sneakers, baseball cap. If you follow these Down the Road with Smooch posts, you're probably wondering if I ever wear anything else. I don't. At least not in the summertime.

Three inches of rain have fallen since the July edition of Down the Road with Smooch. It's possible to sit and watch the grass grow.

Smooch: You make a better door than a window, mom. How am I supposed to see who's coming down the road?

Me: Smooch, when was the last time you saw somebody coming down this road?

Smooch: February? But you never know. I must remain ever vigilant. It's my job.

Smooch: You've been stepping out on me. I can tell.

Me: Yes, I have. Those are Lucy's hoofprints. If you'd promise not to run away, you'd be able to join us.

Smooch: I promise!

Me: You lie.

There's a story behind these tire tracks. Here's the condensed version: I saw smoke Tuesday afternoon. Hopped in Ranger to investigate. Drove down road. Saw flames. Turned around. Went home to get truck (it goes faster). Drove to flames.
17 slash piles were on fire, obviously an intentional burn, but the yahoo who set them didn't stick around to keep an eye on them.
Lucky for him, the wind didn't kick up, but I'm still burning with rage.

 Anyway, back to our walk. Rain does the most interesting things to the parched ground.

 It also brings out the wildflowers and mushrooms. Mushrooms in the desert! Who knew?
Must be all that cow poop natural fertilizer.

Have I told you that Smooch wants to be a paw model when she grows up?

The grass is always greener at the low spot in the road.

Home on the range...in the dusk...in August...after it finally rains. Sigh.

 Smooch: This is the part of the post where it ceases to be about me, isn't it?

Me: Sorry, hon', but we've got to go take off those fly masks.

 Lucy: It's about damned time. The flies went to sleep a half hour ago.

Smooch's ears may be short, but she can point them in any direction. 

 Hank: Where have you been? And what's up with the dog? Since when does she get pasture privileges?

Me: Come on, Smooch. Mission accomplished. Let's walk on home.