LIFE'S BETTER IN THE MOUNTAINS

Friday, October 17, 2014

We Love Lucy


We had severe weather earlier in the week.  Extremely high winds and 7 inches of rain before the storms subsided.  Seeing our trees swaying back and forth like blades of grass was a bit scary.  Fallen leaves and tree limbs were everywhere as the storm blew away much of the colorful Autumn foliage.

On the first nice day, we decided to take Lucy to the Biltmore Estate to walk the trail along the French Broad River.  It is such a lovely place and especially beautiful this time of year.  As we drove down the mountain the day became more gray and foggy.  We decided to go somewhere closer and ended up at the Pink Beds in Pisgah National Forest  (HERE).  The area was deserted except for us.  So we broke the rules and let Lucy run off lead in the large grassy picnic area.  We feel safe doing this because she immediately runs to us if she sees any other people and she is consistent at recalls.  She doesn't chase squirrels or other animals and the picnic area is sufficiently far away from the parking lot that we could see anyone approaching.  And we are always prepared for poop patrol.


She took off like a rocket, smiling all the way.
(If you enlarge the photos you can still see the shaved area from her hospital visit.  The hair is finally filling in)




 She kicked up her heels




 She stops every now and then to see where my husband is.




 We made her stop and rest, but she wasn't going to take it lying down.


We love the fact that Lucy is well-behaved enough to be allowed some freedom to run even if it is technically illegal.  One place we would never break the leash rule, no matter how empty the area, is at the Biltmore Estate.  When you arrive with a dog in the car, the staff will tell you very politely about keeping the dog on lead.  And then he/she gives an additional cautionary statement...that if you are caught with your dog off lead, they will confiscated your annual passes.  'Nuff said.

We are absolutely thrilled that Lucy has not had any seizure activity and nothing abnormal at all.  We are getting more content that it was an isolated occurrence and idiopathic in nature.

Our thought for today comes from our beloved friend, the late Fred Rogers:

We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility.  It's easy to say, "It's not my child, not my community, not my world, and not my problem."  Then there are those who see the need and respond.  I consider those people my heroes.

We all share this planet together.  What affects one area, affects us all.  We, here in the richest country on the planet owe our help to those less fortunate.  It IS our child, it IS our community, it IS our world, and it IS our problem.  Try to do something to help, no matter how small.  A lot of people doing small things becomes very large indeed.



HAVE A SAFE AND WONDERFUL WEEKEND EVERYONE!

 

15 comments:

Ms. A said...

She looks absolutely blissful!

Anonymous said...

Lucy looks absolutely thrilled and happy to be running free. Wonderful photos.

Love the quote.

Friko said...

Thanks for your comment at my blog. I was very pleased to see it.

Here, in the countryside on the Welsh/English border our dogs are free to roam off the lead. My Millie and her predecessors were never happy to be led, although all of them were obedient and walked at heel if required.

There’s nothing better than to wander at will in the hills and fields, with my dog by my side - or a bit further afield - feeling at one with nature.

NanaNor's said...

Happy Friday to you. So glad that Lucy is doing well! I love it that you can take her to the park and let her run free. My dog Sadie was like that, would come running as soon as I called her. She did like to roll in animal poop though. Now days, I'm never sure whether some dog might attack Hunter so I don't let him off leash.
Have a great weekend.
Noreen

Arkansas Patti said...

She looks positively delighted and doesn't even seem to mind having her picture taken.

Mary Lee said...

You keep her so well groomed! She is a gorgeous girl.

I'm glad she had a chance to romp!

troutbirder said...

There is nothing quite like the joy of seeing your dog run free. Fortunately we have numerous areas where we can do this though I always have the training collar on in case of unforeseen events....

Vicki Lane said...

I love the joy of a dog running free!

Busy Bee Suz said...

She is such a good girl; you've trained her so well. Needless to say, our boxers are not that well behaved. :) and you can only blame the parents.
I checked the link and that is such a beautiful area!
Have a great weekend.

Carolina Linthead said...

Lucy is great in these pics! Very happy to hear she is doing well thus far. Her kicking up her heels made my day!

~Kim at Golden Pines~ said...

The beautiful smile on Lucy's face is a reminder that it's okay to break the rules every once in awhile. Glad you all had an enjoyable day!!

Tara said...

a very happy girl, indeed, and I am so glad to hear that her health is good. Whew. We run our Golden (and other dogs) in a school field behind our house. I love to watch them when they first get out - taking off like bullets, even the three legged one. Their exhuburance always cheers us up -- and anyone else watching.

KGMom said...

AsI I read your blog, I can't help but love Lucy, too. What a good girl she is!

KB said...

I'm so relieved that Lucy has been fine since that seizure. She sure looks healthy and happy in your photos!!! What a big smile!

That's a lot of rain. I'm glad you didn't have flooding. Due to wildfire scars, 7" of rain would a catastrophe here.

The Bug said...

I love that second picture of Lucy - her joy is contagious :)