Friday, March 26, 2010

Cloud Eruption

We headed to the ridge. I attached Kona to her long line, hoping the extra room would rev up her spunk after a couple rough days of mystery mouth. After I sent Kona off to explore, I stood up and saw clouds to the north that looked as though they erupted from one pocket of ridgeline.
There wasn't another cloud to dot the sky. As we moved up the trail, the clouds shifted but stayed isolated, hovering over the distant ridge.
At first, Kona looked back at me with suspicion. She wasn't sure about the lady on the other end of the leash who tried to open her mouth and took her to the vet. But it wasn't long before Kona wooshed through grass and dodged burned sumac. She was on her game.
I paused at the top of our first mega-mini hill.
Kona stopped her wild frolic when a good sniff caught her attention.
I checked in on our erupting sky and found a straggling cloud that poofed upward.
On our way back, we crossed paths with two other dogs. The Ridge is one of the few places where we can spend the morning without running into anyone. Kona seemed excited about sighting two fellow canines. After we passed each other, Kona paused at the top of the hill to watch the dogs as they ran the other way. I was glad that Kona was excited about her buddies, but even with the freedom of her long line, didn't chase after them.

Heading into the east, we watched the clouds shelter us from the sun.
At the bottom of our steepest hill, Kona went to work. She added to what must have been another dog's creation. Kona flew by the hole on the way in, but she was relaxed enough as we headed out to put in her share of scratches.
Kona took advantage of the final minutes of our hike. She bounded through grass, disappearing over the lip of the trail. Then she bounded back in view, only to repeat the process.
While the mystery mouth continues, it felt good to get back in the swing of things. I was happy to see Kona full of spunk and energy. I'm feeling confident that Kona feels pain only when she tries to open her mouth past a certain point. She's not your typical stoic dog and I don't think she would have had such a good romp if she was in constant pain. While I hope she heals soon, I'm glad we're able to continue on with our routine.

7 comments:

LauraK said...

Glad she is feeling better! Riley is quite the digger too, and she and Kona remind me so much of each other. Some of your pictures I just look at and think- wow they have the same profile, or legs, etc. Such cute girls :)

Unknown said...

I'm glad she's feeling better. She is such a good girl :) It's great that she enjoys her morning hikes so much.

Roxanne @ Champion of My Heart said...

Love those clouds sprouting. Up here, the fire dept gets lots of calls from newbies to the hills about "smoke" on the mtn. They waste a lot of time doing "smoke investigations" that turn out to be clouds.

That digging photo is just too cute. We shot some video of Lilly digging once. It's a great way to keep shoulders strong.

KB said...

"Meg-mini hill"! Boy, I can relate to that term. The tiniest hills felt like mega-mountains to me today...

I'm glad that Kona is full of spunk and energy. I'm sure that you wish that the mystery would either disappear or be solved. But, in the meantime, at least the two of you are having fun on the trails together!

D.K. Wall said...

So glad that Kona is able to get out and enjoy the runs. Here is hoping that exercise will give her body time to heal itself.

Sara said...

I'm glad you went out and ran with Kona. As you know, exercise is the best stress reliever, and hopefully that helps her. If her mind is less stressed, Kona's body will be able to devote more energy to healing her mouth.

Kathy Mocharnuk said...

glad Kona seems full of spunk and energy, good to hear that!!!!! Yea for digging holes, sounds like she was continueing someone elses very important, good work!