Today isn't following our new patterns with Terry taking Emma for the day and me taking the teams out to run. Terry is up at the farm dealing with cows and pigs and I am all alone with Emma (which is somewhat typical - having no local family to visit). I decided to bundle her up and finish my dog chores and then I decided while she was in her backpack that we were both dressed more then adequately for the warming weather and we headed up to the farm. Great exercise for me to carry the pack, ugh!!! Things were going along at the farm, lots of people, lots of dead pigs so far (sorry to all you sensitive folk). Emma got out of her pack and enjoyed visiting with Katie Esty and everyone who could take a break to say hello.
We headed home. Pretty tough to get Emma out of the driveway bcs she saw a big white truck and was bellowing for Khloe. It was the wrong truck so I convinced her that Khloe was not there and was maybe at her home (across the street from the farm) and we finally got moving again. THEN she would not leave Alisha's (Katie and Khloe's mother) driveway. No one was home though. But Emma did not understand that, she was pounding on the front door and all but crying (Kuwoweeeee Kuwoweeeeeee!).
Finally we got moving again and I decided to take the long way home through the woods on my old back-trail/puppy walk trail. We had to hike over a big pile of wood chips left by the power company's brush and tree work (why did we let them dump this right at the trail???). Piles like that stay warm and are squishy so that was a challenge for both Emma and myself. Then it was smooth sailing on the crunchy snow covered leaves. Emma walked a long ways! We examined pine cones and water and all sorts of animal tracks. It was fun to enjoy Emma in a context that is usually reserved for puppies as young as 5 or 6 weeks! Finally Emma got tooooooo tired to walk, actually yawning and sleepy. I made it home in time to change her diaper and have her fall asleep on the changing table!!! No way I could get her to sit in her high chair for lunch. Poor girl is going to wake up with an empty tummy. But we had such a lovely time. We will have to enjoy that special trail again sometime soon. Maybe next time I will bring Angus and let him run free back there. I'll bring the pack too, because it is really a long way for a little girl who is only 19 months. I wish I took the camera with me to get some photos, she was very cute in all her bundles and my big mittens half way up her arms.
