Week Seven (better late then never): The Flying Pig Marathon

Once a year, every year, I awake very early to the sounds of cowbell and long rips of "Wooooo!".  It's the sounds of crowds gathered in Eden Park cheering on runners of the Flying Pig Marathon.   Normally, I cover my ears and try to ignore it.  But this year, I decided to gather up the dogs and walk down to the park to see what all the hubbub was about.

The Flying Pig Marathon, which started in 1999,  is a 26.2 mile race across the city of Cincinnati.  The route begins downtown, loops up around Mariemont, then circles back through Hyde Park and Walnut Hills.  Since I'm not a runner, I've never really paid much attention to the race other than to try to figure out how to get around my neighborhood with all the street closures.

Once I made it down the street to view the runners coming through the park I was so glad I did!  Not to be corny, but I really was amazed to see hundreds of everyday people running this marathon.  It was rainy and cold, but they were running through this beautiful setting undeterred by the weather.  I joined the cheering crowd along side the route and shouted words of encouragement myself; and after all these years, I found the source of the cowbell.

Week Six: Armleder Dog Park

Armleder dog park is my favorite dog park in Cincinnati. There's nothing fancy about it; it's pretty close to where I live and there's lots of space for the dogs to gallop and play.

Armleder is large enough that you can sit on the grass without getting run over by a pack of romping rovers.  There are plenty of shade trees under which you can lounge with your tired-out pooch after they've run themselves ragged.  In warm weather there's also fresh water available both inside and outside the gated areas.

This Friday afternoon Andrew and I took Olivet & Meynard out to Armleder.  It wasn't too crowded, and there were just enough dogs in attendance to make it fun.  The weather was perfect and we had a delightful time.  Andrew threw tennis balls to Olivet for about an hour until she finally ran out of steam.  Meynard had a great time playing with the other dogs.

I'm thankful for SPCA Cincinnati who fostered Meynard for 3 months before we adopted him.  I met him while volunteering to walk the shelter dogs there, and he was my favorite dog from the get-go.  I would start each shift by checking for Meynard in hopes that he had been adopted.  My heart would sink every time I realized that he was still there.  Unfortunately, he was just one of the many "long timers" that hadn't yet met his new family.

Eventually I realized that he might be waiting on me to take him home.  So, that's what I asked for from Andrew and Olivet for Christmas.  We brought Olivet up to the SPCA to meet Meynard and she was fine with him (a Christmas miracle!)

Meynard was 5 years old when we got him and came "pre-programmed" with tricks and manners.  He's a shining example of how adopting an older dog can be just as rewarding, if not more so, than adopting a puppy.  And he's been a great big-brother to Olivet.

So far I'm on Day 2 of  Happy Herbivore's WHOLE Days challenge.  I feel pretty good.  You can check out my thoughts on the 30 WHOLE Days Challenge page of this blog.

I did allow myself one small appliance purchase for this challenge.  (I'm an appliance junkie - it's just a fact).  I bought an old school hot air popcorn popper so I could make popcorn without oil.  I was worried I wouldn't like plain popcorn, but I do!  I forgot I used to eat plain air-popped popcorn at my babysitter's after grade school (before microwave popcorn even existed!).  It's by far my new favorite snack.