My grandparents had a gorgeous honeysuckle vine that I always stuck my whole head into when it was in bloom just so I could inhale all of it. The billion bees buzzing from blossom to blossom never bothered me because I had watched my grandfather "catch" them gently in his hand and then watched them drift away when he opened it while we weeded their enormous garden many times. So why, several decades later, do I know without a doubt that my wheezing is prefaced to the sight of a gorgeous honeysuckle vine when I'm out for a run? Alas, no matter how much I wheeze I still attempt to catch as much of the sweet scent I possibly can and drift back to those young days and the memories of the love of my grandparents.
For some reason, I have to settle into the first mile every time the weather changes for a period. It's like I have to build my stamina up to a new condition each time we have a sudden weather change. It used to be very frustrating, but I've learned to take it in stride now. I wish I could say the same for my dogs who are always surprised by my "inability to deal". I took Maddie out this evening first. Poor dog, she caught the brunt of my mumbling "ease up", "walk", "easy now", "okay, that will do, slow down"... Of all the dogs I've had there is only one who disliked walking more than Maddie, and that was her dam. She was a little frustrated with me and got a few fly by grass snacks to ease the tension. I think I saw one of her paws form a distasteful symbol usining only one digit at one point.
Mira was the benefactor of my "2nd mile rejuvenation" and the two miles I had her out were pretty smooth with her stopping more than I. She decided to take her time for whatever reason, perhaps the air has blown all new scents to the mailbox posts, or perhaps Maddie gave her some signal when we got home and she decided she should take it easy on the old lady this evening. Whatever the reason, she was happy to work, but equally happy to explore the scents of the neighborhood. So much so, that I discovered tonight in the amount of time it takes her efficiently sniff a mailbox post, I can drop up to 10 BPM on my heart monitor. It became a game for me tonight to see how quickly I could recover when I stopped.
I plan to enjoy the rest of the honeysuckle season, happily wheezing along! Those childhood memories of scampering up the stairs until I could reach the belly of the vine with my face fully in the middle of the blossoms are some of the best memories of my life.
For some reason, I have to settle into the first mile every time the weather changes for a period. It's like I have to build my stamina up to a new condition each time we have a sudden weather change. It used to be very frustrating, but I've learned to take it in stride now. I wish I could say the same for my dogs who are always surprised by my "inability to deal". I took Maddie out this evening first. Poor dog, she caught the brunt of my mumbling "ease up", "walk", "easy now", "okay, that will do, slow down"... Of all the dogs I've had there is only one who disliked walking more than Maddie, and that was her dam. She was a little frustrated with me and got a few fly by grass snacks to ease the tension. I think I saw one of her paws form a distasteful symbol usining only one digit at one point.
Mira was the benefactor of my "2nd mile rejuvenation" and the two miles I had her out were pretty smooth with her stopping more than I. She decided to take her time for whatever reason, perhaps the air has blown all new scents to the mailbox posts, or perhaps Maddie gave her some signal when we got home and she decided she should take it easy on the old lady this evening. Whatever the reason, she was happy to work, but equally happy to explore the scents of the neighborhood. So much so, that I discovered tonight in the amount of time it takes her efficiently sniff a mailbox post, I can drop up to 10 BPM on my heart monitor. It became a game for me tonight to see how quickly I could recover when I stopped.
I plan to enjoy the rest of the honeysuckle season, happily wheezing along! Those childhood memories of scampering up the stairs until I could reach the belly of the vine with my face fully in the middle of the blossoms are some of the best memories of my life.
The "doggie finger" happens around here all the time :D
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