Happy Christmas

As they say in lands across the great pond... Happy Christmas from the macandbeardog blogspot. All four of us have, as of today, completed an epic holiday journey across the country, beginning in Gardnerville, NV and commencing in Charleston, WV. The best part, obviously was Kansas. We did find joy also in the snowy mountains of the Basin and Range and the moonlit peaks of Colorado's highcountry. I also was excited that Bear and I were left off the last four hours of the journey. Not that I did not want to spend time with Shirlette and Darla (the matriarchs of the Hanna/Phoenix union) in the lovely WV, but merely because Bear and I were OVER being in the car. We all enjoyed one afternoon/evening together at my parent's new house in Cleveland, OH. The quote of our arrival was, of course, "Here's the liquor cabinet. I'm not going to serve you." Always a good time at the Finnerty holiday gatherings. And with the Sierra Nevada and the Celebration Ale decorating the garage floor in festive shades of red and green, we knew it was Christmas. Why we feel the need to celebrate the birth of Jesus with liquor and beer, I'm not sure. Perhaps in recognition of future miracles involving the water and wine. It's all I've got to justify holiday drinking. With that being said, bring out the board games, open the beverage of your choice, and enjoy the holidays!

Some Priceless Peptalks

It's better than Peyton Manning...

Mo for Sale?

Hmmm....Begs the question, "How much is the first Mo?" I know finances are tight right now and all but..... And for a non sequitur finally some snow in the Northern Sierras, whoo hooo!!

Desert Rats

We tried our hands at being desert rats for a few days. The best part about being a desert rat is actually seeing the desert rats. The trip to Joshua Tree marked my first kangaroo rat sighting since 2004. Monumental. Its okay to get excited. Take a minute. Okay... now that the excitement has worn off a little, let's continue. We had the pleasure of 5 days in J-Tree thanks to my friend Cynthia's uncanny ability to land jobs in super cool places. So, good company, great turkey, and I even got my own room. A significant upgrade from life in the bay area. J-Tree is full of some of my not so favorite things, like plants that will kill you, but thanks to the recent rain, the harshness of these plants was softened by the occasional bloom. Speaking of harshness, the best part of this park is by far the harsh, although ridicuously sticky, rock. Not so much on the hand holds, though. We spent 3 days hoping that miraculously, our feet would stick to nubbins and our hands wouldn't bleed too badly. Or, in the absence of nubbins, we jammed our fists, arms, and feet into painful cracks, hoping the jams would stick. Sounds fun, huh? It was sweetness. The battle wounds alone were worth it. Incidentally, I promptly ripped off the scabs of the battle wounds during the groundfighting portion of our defensive tactics class. And this week, I also nailed my shotgun qualifications and even enjoyed it! Things are looking up as the snow falls in Tahoe and I only have 10 days left! Woohoo! Pic is Clay rocking a 5.10 dino. Sweet.

Bear's Adventures with Horses

So, I've been living at this place now for a little over a month and the freedom is fantastic! Everyone leaves me and Toby in the yard ALL day long. We have walnuts to eat, birds to chase, and fences to dig under. Toby seems to excell in the hole digging, but I'm getting quite adept at using my mouth. I found a gopher the other day, but he was too fast. The other day I figured out how to dig under the fence and go visit the horses next door. They let me roll in stuff. But then when my mom got home at 930 at night, I had to get hosed down. I was not pleased. Pretty soon I'm going to get my teeth on Captain the Cockatiel. I'm working on my balance. Soon I'll figure out the lock on the cage. So give me time. I'll catch the bird. For now, the horses seem pretty easy targets with their constant eating and chewing. They'll never suspect.

The Office

So you may or may not have experienced the classic TV show, The Office. If you find yourself in the latter group I do suggest it. It is a humor that takes some getting used to and is full of awkward scenes that kind of make you squirm. Although I do spend my days mostly in an office now my experience is really nothing like that. But we did have a Black Bear wandering around outside our office the other day which made the time sitting at my computer a bit more exciting. One lady driving by actually flagged me down to make sure I knew there was a bear outside our office. Anyways you can check out the video of it all below. Oh yea and the newspaper reported that the dog you see in the video is actually trained to keep bears treed until they can tranquilize them. Clearly not playing the 'good idea bad idea' game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2PQVNkX5ls

So, this is fun?

Actually, its not too bad, saved by intermittent bursts of hilarity and the three legged wonder dog, who is funny doing just about anything. Particularly chasing his new doggie disc. Sometimes there is an occasional face plant, but he's getting better at it.

This week, I survived pepper spray. Oh, suck. I would rather be beaten, tazed, or made to run a marathon in Death Valley than do that again. It felt like I had sand in my eyes for 3 days. Not even living on islands for 2 years prepares you for that. But they're starting to focus again, and after rubbing my eyeballs with Johnson's baby shampoo, the burning did eventually subside after 55 minutes of excruciating pain. Mostly, it was sweet.

Today is drive fast day. Going okay. Made it through the course only hitting one cone. Wonder if that was the pregnant nun. Hear you get more points for those.

And a recreational triumph (who'd-a-thunk, in wine country...) Climbed my first 5.10a in 7 years. Yep, I'm bragging. It hurt and I was excited. My finger tips are still sore! I forgot how much I love climbing. Plan to do lots more in the next 4 weeks. Woohoo!

Thats this week's skinny. Missing snow. Wish I was skiing. :)

Photo is me with my eyeballs pried open into a fan to make the hurting stop. Neato. I love Ranger Academy.