It's been a little tough keeping up with Charlie's energy level this winter, but Doggie Day Care has turned out to be a godsend. Once a week, we take him to day camp where he gets to run around and play with other dogs. The bonus is that he comes home exhausted.
Charlie is almost 9 months old, and has definitely moved into the "teenage" phase in dog development. He tends to be quite willful (probably spoiled), so I signed him up for a dog training class. We've only been to one lesson. I'm not sure he learned anything, because we both could hardly hear ourselves think over all the other dogs barking. The teacher is very good and very patient, though I think he was reaching for the aspirin bottle after our first lesson.
Charlie likes to help Bruce with chores, especially loading the dishwasher at night (he likes to lick the plates... yuk). We've been trying to teach him to quit eating the mulch out of the back yard, but not having much success.
I've spent the last couple months trying to improve my diet so I can go on longer bike rides this summer. I've been testing out high-protein recipes. My favorite is this breakfast waffle. It's just one of those mini-frozen waffles. I toast it, spread it with almond butter, layer on a dollop of cottage cheese, and top it with blueberries. Absolutely delicious and contains about 16 grams of protein.
In between snowfalls, we've been doing a little yard cleanup and assessment. Last year I planted 3 pinon pines. They are supposed to be low-water bushes - great for our high desert climate. But we got so much rain last year, that I think it drowned 2 of the bushes. The nursery I bought them from gave me a credit so I can replace them when it quits snowing.
Luckily, it's not really that cold out even with all the snow, so I doubt it will harm the buds on my Bradford pear tree. Some of my neighbors' crocus have already bloomed, but the trees and bushes are holding off on leafing out. Good thing, especially with today's snow.
