Yet another warm and sunny day. Yet another day of finding it difficult to stay inside and get work done. (That’s work, broadly defined.) I’m still working on the UA Press proposal. Oddly enough, it’s gotten harder to revise with each consecutive draft. Today, I felt like I was in a car and it was spinning its wheels. I was, in a manner of speaking, going nowhere fast. I’m undoubtedly trying too hard to get it right, but I’m not sure what right is. But I must get it right. I’m now arguing process is an integral aspect of composing theory. More specifically, it needs to be acknowledged that the internally driven aspects are as important as the externally driven aspects. For example, an external is

having a quiet place to write while an internal is what you need when you get there – self-reflection and rehearsal being two such things.

It all makes sense to me. It’s going to be a race to the finish because come spring (for real), I plan on falling apart because I’m going to have far less time to get writing done. I’ll have gardens to maintain, dogs to train, and horses to ride. Yee haw.

Today, Pete went and had Rainbow’s stitches removed. He later said that the veterinary technician took them out, outside well knowing that Rainbow doesn’t like veterinary offices. A wise choice, nice that they considered our older dog’s well-being. In Rainbow’s absence, I rode Tinni on the trails and took Jenna and Ryder with me. The trails are holding up, but I suspect that they’ll soon be too soft to ride on. Tinni screeched to a halt when he saw an older fellow with ski poles cross our path. This shows just how rare it is for us to meet up with people in the back 40. And Ryder did take off after a truck. But, otherwise, it was an uneventful outing. We concluded the ride with Ryder waiting at the trailhead for the rest of us.

After Pete arrived home, we took Rainbow, Raudi, Hrimmi, and Signy on an outing. Raudi was a bit of a handful going down hills – I even had to get off her and walk the last hundred yards. We need to work on developing a more consistent pace.

At 4 p.m., Pete and I drove out to Reflection Lake for an informal search and rescue training session with Ryder. It was then sunny, but starting to cool down. Ryder did very well – Stacey Re, who prior to our session had some very specific ideas as to how to go about getting Ryder more motivated when she needs to be motivated, did not disappoint. For instance, she took the tug toy and used it in a lure-like fashion, pulling it along in front of Ryder. This worked. Ryder went at it like a fish would bait.

Three times, Ryder moved with considerable enthusiasm in the direction of her subject. This in spite of numerous distractions, including another search and rescue dog working a trail, and rush hour traffic on the Glenn Highway. All ‘n all, a good session.

I’ll be up early tomorrow because I need to get Pete to town. He’s going to be an Iditarod volunteer and will be stationed out at the Rohn checkpoint, which is an hour flight from the Willow start point. I’d go too but one or the other of us has to keep the dog and pony show from falling apart. This time, it will be me.

Next: 59. 2/28/14: Dog Training: Border Collie Cognition