I due diavolini, 2 pet dogs: settembre 2011

1 Sep 2011: On Tuesday 30 Aug, we all went on a bike ride-walk on the trail later in the afternoon. We enjoyed our exercise & being outdoors. There had been a tempesta on the previous Saturday with rain & winds of 80 km an hour, or at least that was what Silvano our vicino had said. The storm did not last very long but it caused our temperature to cool off some, which we like. It did much damage in the local area with tree limbs fallen down. In the fields next to the trail we saw corn fields knocked down.

The girls were darling on the trail. They found something brand new to interest them, acorns which they tried to eat as if they were squirrels. After riding & walking for about 1.5 hours we headed back to the car. There Bill took our photos, maybe I will put one on facebook.

I spent the better part of today grooming the girls, bringing out their natural beauty. Yesterday Bill put together our late Rocky’s old bed for the girls to sleep on downstairs. It is a metal frame with a canvas cover stretched on top. We need to buy more of the hard-to-find covers that fit. After the pups were done with their sprucing up, I saw them standing awkwardly on the floor. Bill saw to his horror of horrors that one of the bed legs had collapsed leaving the pups afraid to get back on their bed. So of course Daddy fixed it for them so that they could get their after-spa treatment beauty rest.

13 Sept: Sunday we went hiking in a place called Forra Del Cellina which is by Lago di Barcis Lake. A forra is a very narrow gorge. It is close to us & only took us a short time to get there, with the girls riding in their little box in the back of the Mini. Bill let me out in front of the entrance to the first tunnel. When he parked the car, he was lucky enough to find a close spot because someone else had just pulled out. This place has no entrance fee which we really like. People are required to wear helmets but we wore our own bike ones, which saved us 1E each, so about $3 for the two of us. We also really like that dogs are allowed to go inside. We are so used to so many places not allowing pets. This place is open most days of the week in summer, but for fall, winter, & spring it is only open on Sundays. They have an excellent web site with up to date info.

We also carried a small flashlight for use in the dark tunnels but didn’t use it much. The girls were so excited to be going to a new & different place. The walk is paved with guard rails all around. We looked up at very tall rocky cliffs with trees & bushes on part of them. We looked down at a very narrow gorge with the Cellina river running through it. There were big boulders in some places. In the spring the river becomes white water in some places, with some people rafting.

The outbound part of our hike was mostly downhill, which meant the return part was mostly uphill. By this time I was mostly tired & hot. We had stopped a few times to take water breaks & to rest during our hike. We also took some photos of the place & of each other.

This area has caves where people can go on a guided tour. There are pipistrelli or bats in the caves.

Before we went home, I went to the visitors’ center to use their very clean restrooms, while my family looked out over the lake. Not far from the center there is a restaurant with tables outside, where we saw many people including German motorcycle riders.

We arrived home about 17:00 & Bill fed the pups, while I made myself some espresso & a p & j sandwich.

Monday afternoon Bill cut the grass which usually makes Honey bark. The night before I read online something about aroma therapy & how it can be used to relax dogs. So I put some oil of peppermint, oil of lavender & almond on my hands & rubbed them together. Then I rubbed Hon & Ted which they seemed to love. I don’t know if the oils really relaxed them or if they just liked Mommy’s special care.