The Beginning of the End of a Decade

Yep, today begins the celebration of the exit of the 40th decade of my life.  It's been a great ride and I'm planning on enjoying every minute of the next 12 months before I welcome the next decade.  I'm in my 49th year now, officially, and I hit it full stride this morning.  It was a day off from the office and I decided to hit the pavement with the dogs around 8:00 this morning.

There's more traffic in the neighborhood around 8 am than I would have expected.  Don't know why that came as a surprise to me, since I'm usually one of those exiting the subdivision between 8 and 8:05 in the mornings, but I was surprised at how many vehicles passed us.  Most of them returned my wave and only one cut me closer to the curb than I'd like to be.

Maddie - chillin' after a run

Mother Nature provided a sweet gift with a 48 degree morning today.  Dew was heavy on the ground and in the air, but Maddie was up to 1.5 miles without much concern.  When she did tire to a slow trot and let slack into the line, her pace was faster than a my walk, yet slower than my jog.  We found a comfortable balance for both of us quickly and she proceeded to say good morning to the squirrels and birds.  She will bounce twice to the end of her line when she spots one.  If they don't move quick enough to a tree, she'll give a little woo/yelp combination and hit the end of the line in a lunge.  Typically, that does the trick and they are swiftly up a tree or in flight.  I call it "rodent herding Siberian style".  It causes no harm to them, gives her a great deal of satisfaction and me a lot of giggles.

Mira - waiting to go at the door

I dropped Maddie off at the house and took Mira out for a two and a half mile loop through the neighborhood.  Mira took her time this morning with plenty of  "drive by's" (she darts into a yard, grabs a bunch of grass and munches on it while we run).  If I had a head on picture of her while we run with grass hanging out both sides of her mouth I could start my own "you might be a redneck if..." series.  She's a nut. 


We all sat in the great room and cooled down before we stretched and got ready for the rest of the day.  It was a perfect start to the day and a great way to begin this final year of a fabulous decade!