IZZY

Summer vacation—days of sweet smelling flowers and evenings of warm shirt sleeve weather outdoors with friends and family. Sounds peaceful and relaxing doesn’t it? What happened?

I accepted a gift from my neighbor. He’s been bugging me about this for over a year now. “Try it out for a few days, and if you don’t want her, we’ll take her back.”

Hubby says, “That sounds like a car salesman’s hook.” I laugh, and think, I can resist. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll give her back.

My gift is Izzy, a full blooded German shepherd pup and she is a FULL time job. It’s a good thing that I have the summer off from substitute teaching or I would be a total wreck. And, no, I can’t give her back. Demanding, mischievous, defiant as a small child—testing and trying me at every step. Growing so fast that I barely keep her collar adjusted fast enough for the size of her neck. Can’t pick her up anymore to cuddle her—she doesn’t fit the lap (I’ve had 40 years of Lhasa Apsos and now have to get over the idea of a lap dog). Nips and bites meant as play have scarred my arms so much so that Fred says I need welder’s gloves when I handle her. This is not the fun part.

“Keep on, be persistent. She’ll be worth it. They are so smart. She’ll be such a good companion. She’ll be a great watchdog, look how her ears are developing ". . . and on, and on. I feel like I am being dragged along by a leash of hope even as I drag Izzy along because she doesn’t want to walk. Who ever heard of a German shepherd that doesn’t want to walk? Cesar Millan, Dog Whisperer, I need your help! I’m doing everything all wrong here.

Okay, so I go back to the basics. Cesar says I’ve been anxious—she won’t trust me if I put out anxious energy—Rules, Boundaries and Limitations, Cesar’s mantra. Hmmm. So, I think, remember when I started teaching. Decide on the rules, then step by baby step, teach the rules with rewards and consequences—and don’t let up for a second.

Today is a new day. I’ll give it another try. Izzy forces me out of my comfort zone, forces me to be consistent—not a bad thing when you are retired (or semi-retired); forces me to come up with new challenges for her, while challenging me to be assertive, positive, and never let her see me sweat; a puppy teaching this old dog some new tricks.

(Izzy at 9, 11 and 12 weeks old)

MAUI

It’s been a long dry spell for blogging. Before catching up, here is my second installment on our trip to Hawaii:

Our second week in Hawaii was on the island of Maui. This was our third trip to Maui and I had promised myself that on this trip we would visit Haleakala, the inactive island volcano. It’s one of the promoted things to do on Maui; get there at dawn to see sunrise above the clouds and then watch the changing colors of the landscape as the sun rises. You are told to dress warmly as the mornings up there are quite cold before dawn. What they forgot to mention is the wind. It intensifies the cold many times over. When you plan a trip to Hawaii, you don’t think to bring winter parkas, hats and gloves but that’s what is needed to be comfortable up there.

We started our drive at 3:00 a.m. Fred doubted we needed to start out so early, but I like to plan for delays and it was a good thing we did. The drive was way longer than what I'd assumed from reading guide books.

As we drove across the island from our lodging in Lahaina, I was surprised by the huge fires of piles of burning sugar cane stalks dotting the lowland. (wish I had a picture)

Haleakala rose above the cane fields with a string of headlights snaking up its side (reminding me of the scene in movie, The 13th Warrior, as the enemy came down the mountain in the night. All you could see were the slow moving lights of the blazing torches as they descended the mountain).

I wasn’t prepared for the exhausting tedious switchbacks. Each time we thought we were getting close to the top, we’d take another turn and see more miles of slow crawling lights ahead. If you decide to take in this site, take a tour bus. Haleakala is 12,000 feet above the ocean.

After arriving at the top rim of the volcano in the dark, we jockeyed for position with everyone else amidst flashlights and lighters. We found the “best spot” and wondered why we were so lucky to get that top spot since we were not the first arrivals. In about two minutes in we knew. We couldn’t take the icy wind whipping over the rim any longer and had to move to a lower, warmer spot. Camera at the ready, we waited and waited in the freezing morning air, huddled together for warmth, fearing the sun would never rise before we froze. But then it started, and the cold became less important.

(When you drive from sea level to 10,023 feet, you drive through as many different life zones as you would if you drove north from central Mexico to Alaska: internet information)

It was a nice visual experience but on this day it was not one of those spectacular sunrises bragged about, just merely beautiful.

After the sun was up, the viewing station opened up and we went inside, more for warmth than for edification. The view over the interior of the crater was a Mars-like landscape of colors. Impressive.



Heading back we saw the famous Silversword.

http://www.mauidownhill.com/haleakala/plants/silverswords.html

and small pheasant-like birds called Chukars.

I had always wanted to see the Silversword since reading a Phyllis Whitney romance novel many, many years ago that featured this strange plant that grows no where else.

I bought this photograph by a local artist, on our last visit to Maui, of a field of Silverswords at different stages.