A mid winter day in Wisconsin

I'm not a dog person.  I grew up with my dad's hunting dogs, but I've never really liked dogs much. They demand more attention than I'm willing to give them and I have no idea how to train them to be well behaved so my experience with being a dog owner has not been too positive.  When the kids were younger, we had a black and white cocker spaniel for about 12 years and she wasn't too bad. We were her third or fourth owners--she suffered greatly from a multitude of allergies--and one of the previous owners had done some training with  her so she was pretty easy to manage.  The final straw in my dislike of dogs, however, came during the days when I was a runner and a pair of dogs came up behind me and bit me in the back of the knee. That was over 20 years ago and to this day, if a dog comes at me, running and barking, I absolutely freeze.  

So, now we are dog sitting Fergie, my daughter's dog, for a couple of days.  I have fallen in love with this dog!  I really can't believe it!  Johanna has done such a good job of training her and caring for her, that she's just a joy to have around.  This morning, I took her for a walk on one of the local trails here in Menomonie.  The temps are in the high 20's, little to no wind, and very gentle snow fall.  

The skies have been overcast for the past couple of days, with no sun in the near future, so the landscape looks rather dismal.  This trail is an abandoned railroad line and it's now a non-motorized trail, perfect for taking the dog out since the streets in my neighborhood are too icy for me to walk.  

The trail follows the Red Cedar River which flows through the city. Fergie seemed to like her walking course quite a bit.  She's got a "gentle leader" which goes over her nose and clips on the back of her neck.  I like it because she doesn't pull on it like dogs will do if the lead is attached to the collar.  And you can see that she's all dressed up in her Christmas ribbon--Jo's touch, not mine!

So, that's what I've done this morning. I have plans to do some sewing this afternoon, but maybe I'll stay upstairs and watch a football game first.  I'll let you know tomorrow what happens.