[Alopex] Folks on Twitter wanted to hear more about the time I chased a fox on unicycle across a Missouri prairie, so here's the full story!

It was the late 1990s. I had moved to Columbia, Missouri after completing my bachelor's degree. Previously, I'd been into juggling a lot, and I'd started getting into unicycling while working on my bachelor's, but in Columbia I hadn't found other jugglers to pass clubs with, so I turned more to unicycling, and especially off-road unicycling. I discovered a great set of challenging single-track mountain bike trails in the Three Creeks Conservation Area, south of the city, where I frequently went to practice dodging and climbing on one wheel. Few people ever seemed to be there (and this still seems to be the case, based on online reviews I've found), but it was a beautiful bit of country. The parking lot was on a bit of a ridge that descended on either side through rough, craggy, winding gullies that connected to seasonal streambeds. There were a couple creek crossings where you were basically plowing through a field of grapefruit-sized rocks. I don't think I ever made it across them while actually riding the unicycle — too unstable.

http://www.singletracks.com/mountain-bike/trail-map.php?id=3672

Here's the trailhead. I'd usually descend through a trail that headed off east (right) of the parking lot, into that little square of wooded area (switch to satellite view) then down to the slopes and streams south of the parking lot. I'd work my way to a river that flowed year-round to the south-west of the parking lot, then ascend to the fields on the ridge above and back. In satellite mode, you can see the gravel maintenance road that traverses the string of fields following the ridge back to the parking lot.

Here's where the fox story starts!

One day late in summer, I was making my way back along the gravel road back to my car. The prairie grass was tall, and the road cut a trough through it. I was bookin' along, focused on getting back to the car, when suddenly a red fox pops out of the grass in front of me, on the right side of the trail. He (perhaps she) had been running and was totally unaware of my presence. I surprised him, to say the least, and he immediately turned to run away from me, down the trail. Since I was already moving in that direction, and since riding a unicycle means maintaining momentum or falling off, I naturally ended up chasing after him.

Sadly, the chase did not last for more than a few seconds. The fox wised up, realizing that continuing down the trail was not the best way to escape me, and with a flick of his tail, darted back into the grass on the right side of the road and disappeared.

Sadder still, it was too quick to even think of getting a photo. These days, if I were to get back into off-road unicycling, and if I had one of those helmet-mounted video cameras (like GoPro) rolling, I could have caught a few frames, but back then, there was no chance of preserving the moment other than in memory.

Yesterday's fox-sighting moment, which revived my unicycling fox chase memory, was a bit more prolonged. It was a cold (single digits above 0 Fahrenheit) snowy morning, perfect for biking to work because very few other people were on the bike trails and the snow meant I could finally put my studded tires to proper use. I was passing through a tiny bit of prairie near the Fort Snelling historic site, and I spied a red fox standing casually along the edge of the trail ahead of me. He (again, perhaps she) seemed puzzled, but hardly concerned. As I got closer, he trotted through the winter grass to a parking lot a dozen feet beyond, then turned to watch me pass by. I couldn't help but keep looking back as I passed. It was a nice healthy, fluffy red fox, with a light-colored face.

It's too bad I haven't had more such encounters more often than once every 15 years or so!

[Alopex] Bizarre dream time! This morning, just before waking up, I was in a dream where I was at a furry convention and the GOH was some semi-famous movie director. The con also just happened to be taking place in a hotel where the director had filmed one of his earlier movies — something furries would like, a comic adaptation or perhaps a video game like Donkey Kong, The Movie.

The director was leading a group of people around the hotel, talking about how the movie was shot in great detail at various locations. (Do you remember a hotel banquet scene in Donkey Kong, The Movie?) Anyhow, at the end of the tour, as the crowd was breaking up, the director offhandedly tossed out that his next project was filming "Dogs Days" and he rattled off a list of top-name talent that was going to be involved.

Unfortunately, I don't remember the list of names, because my brain was immediately thinking, "Wait, there could be other 'Dogs Days' stories out there. Did he really mean the Blotch's 'Dogs Days of Summer'? He might, because, well, this is a furry con after all." So I worked my way up to the director and asked, and he clarified that indeed it was the Blotch's story that he was going to be working on.

I was also surprised and a bit disappointed that the Blotch hadn't shared with us such wonderful news.

And then I woke up. I really tried to remember what the list of actors was that the director had rolled off, and the only one that I'm pretty sure I heard was Patrick Swayze. Of course, since Swayze died recently, it would be rather hard to have him act out a role, but digital reanimation is getting good enough that perhaps Robert Zemeckis could do something frightful to look at.

(I'm not really a particular fan of Swayze. In fact, I didn't know he was dead until Googling to confirm the spelling of his name for this post.)

So what do you think of a live-action adaptation of Dog's Days of Summer? Who'd you want to see playing which roles, and especially, where would Patrick Swayze fit in?

[Alopex] Hi! Ben a while, hasn't it?

It's been eight months, actually. A lot has gone on in that time. It all seems to blend together much of the time, with work, then Sofawolf then work again, but thanks to our pups, we can't stay glued to our computers full time. Here's a visual retrospective of life since January.

(Please excuse any typos you see below. It's late, I've been working on this post for some time, and I want to get to bed!)

( Let's Go! )

[Brer] We watched some movies over the last couple of days:

Alpha & Omega = 3.5/10

Plot/Story = 1.0/3.0
Characters/Actors = 1.5/3.0
Style/Design = 0.5/3.0
Bonus = 0.5

I would have liked to have enjoyed this, but I knew I wouldn't. From the bad animation to the first grade treatment of wolf behavior to the awful comic relief goose things, this falls somewhere only slightly above "The Missing Lynx" (which was borderline painful). It's sad when the supporting actors (Garth and Lilly) actually have a more believable arc than the two leads. I'll give them a grudging 0.5 bonus points for making it about wolves, but that is nowhere near enough to save this.

Despicable Me = 7.0/10

Plot/Story = 1.5/3.0
Characters/Actors = 2.5/3.0
Style/Design = 2.0/3.0
Bonus = 1.0

I didn't want to like this, cause the minion things are downright obnoxious -- so clearly the marketing department LOVED them. Despite all attempts to make this film stupid, however, Gru and the ragamuffins win out in the end. I dinged it on plot for being trite and not internally consistent (the ship's greater mass did NOT make it revert to full size appreciably sooner than the minion, and two events is not a sufficient sample size for Dr. Old Guy to suddenly figure this out). The design ethic fell flat in a lot of cases for me, but then nothing can ever beat The Incredibles for that. Bonus 1.0 for sheer surprise and the 80% lack of body function jokes -- and the cookie robots, which looked delicious.

Secret of Kells = 9.0/10

Plot/Story = 2.5/3.0
Characters/Actors = 2.5/3.0
Style/Design = 3.0/3.0
Bonus = 1.0

I had no idea what to expect from this other than Irish music, which I got (special assist from Kila). Nice story, amazing woodcut/manuscript illumination styled animation, and did I mention the music? Oh and Irish accents too. I was enthralled throughout, even during the "WTF is going on?" psychedelic worm-monster battle scene. Also, I do have to wonder if the vikings looked like that. Bonus for the music (did I mention the music?) and the accents.

The Place Promised in our Early Days = 6.5/10

Plot/Story = 2.0/3.0
Characters/Actors = 1.5/3.0
Style/Design = 2.5/3.0
Bonus = 0.5

I feel bad giving this a 6.5 as it is anime so I am not meant to understand it. Still... Characters were their usual "take them at face value" sort of anime characters, and the story was the usual incomprehensible collection of stuff that happens. I had an especially hard time remembering which person was which in this one. It was very pretty, with lots of details in the backgrounds and lots of silent bits -- which anime is usually very good at. I gave 0.5 bonus points for the lack of giant robots, people with eyes that never open, or star-effects on everything shiny. Oh and for the most impossible plane I have ever seen.

[Brer] Link from loranskunky's LJ:

A 5 min flash cartoon called The Pig Farmer by Nick Cross. **WARNING - NSFW for violence and cartoon boobies (cartoobies?)**

Okay, this is JUST a cartoon, I know that. And what I say below the cut is going to sound nutty, but it is illustrative of the importance of story, if nothing else. **WARNING - Contains politics**( Read more... )

[Alopex] A lot has happened in the six months since I last posted anything to LJ. Brer covered a lot of it in his most recent post, so I'll just skip to the fun part for which I have photos! [Edit: I didn't realize when writing this that Brer's post was locked to friends-only]

This Christmas, the full Sofawolf team dragged Blotch, the Blotch pups Jaeger and Porter, and the Kyell Gold/Kit Silver duo up north to the Gunflint lodge, about as far north as you can get in Minnesota without being in Canada. We enjoy the Gunflint because it's dog-friendly and also has a very nice little restaurant attached to the main lodge. Unlike our previous winter visit, the drive north was uneventful, above 0 degrees F, and quite enjoyable. We even managed to spot a fox, a bunny and two moose on the drive up the Gunflint Trail from Grand Marais to the cabin. Once checked in, we had three days and four nights to enjoy the beautiful winter wonderland.

( More photos and occasional words about them... )

[Brer] Just a quick post to say thanks to all the folks who sent their well-wishes recently, whether via LJ, directly, cards, or Vulcan mind-meld. You are all like chocolate after a Dementor attack.

Life moves on. As long as I don't listen to Death Cab for Cutie or dwell too long on old photos, lyrics, or poems found online I can keep the eyes from misting up. Her ghost is everywhere of course -- the inevitable result of almost 14 years of companionship. I expect to hear or see her every time I turn around, but she's not there. It has ceased to be a jagged experience though and is more a wistful twinge.

Wizard is taking it as well as most dogs do. He knows she is "not here" and misses her company, and I think part of him will be looking for her anywhere we go for a while, expecting her to be "there" (well, if not HERE then she must be THERE -- dog spatial dynamics). I think part of him knows how bad she was feeling at the end though too, and that may factor into it. Or maybe I'm just anthropomorphizing (go figure, eh?)... We have caught him on her old bed sniffing quietly at her scent now and again, though it should also be noted that it took him no time at all to take over the bed in question either (he always preferred it to his own).

We're gonna be taking him away for some longer hikes over the next few weekends, including some overnight stays out of town. I want to re-bond with him a little bit and re-assert what is the new normal for the pack. That, and now that we don't have to adjust our hikes for the sake of Rio's capabilities, we can get back to doing some longer and more challenging routes.

There will be a puppy sometime in the future for sure. It feels entirely two odd having only one dog between the two of us again. But, with travel plans pretty much every month between September and January, AND a major Sofawolf release schedule to maintain, it's gonna have to wait until after FurCon.

Thanks again, all!

[Brer] At approximately 11:13AM this morning, with the help of our wonderful veterinarian, we assisted Rio to her final rest. All that could been tried to give her (and us) a little more time had been tried, and her future only held discomfort and decline. It was still the hardest thing we have ever done.

She touched everyone who was fortunate enough to know her, and my world feels a little bit smaller and quieter without her in it.

After leaving the vet's office we took Wizard for a long walk during which we reminisced about her time with me and her time with us. It seemed as fitting a tribute as any. I hope her spirit is somewhere green and cool, with plenty of streams to splash in and smells to investigate. I hope I get to join her there one day.

I am working on an Epitaph, which I will post in a couple days. It is slow going when you can't see the screen for more than a few moments at a time. For now I will leave you with this:

[Brer] First of all, thanks for everyone's kind words. They brought tears to my eyes, but also a smile. Rio has seen me through a lot of changes in my life, and when she is gone there is going to be a hole there that will never be filled.

After making arrangements today with the vet we took Rio and Wizard for a short (distance) walk (but still more than an hour long) at one of her favorite local places. Her face was so swollen she looked more like a Great Pyrenees than a Husky and her gait was erratic, but she was in good spirits and did lots of sniffing and sucking up to me for treats. She splashed in the river, walked in the sand (not so much dancing, despite her name) and had a good time, while we kept fighting back tears.

We had a quiet somber lunch and then drove to the vet's office. The vet took one look at her and said "Wait a minute, this doesn't look like lymph node swelling. This looks more like an allergic reaction." After much discussion we decided to hold off for today and give one more potential palliative remedy a try. We don't at this point really have any idea what she may have gotten into, and the reaction seems to be atypical in a lot of ways from a standard allergic reaction. However, I trust the vet when she says "No the lymph nodes are more over here, here, and here, and they all feel fine" so that at least tells us it is "something else".

It's not a "everything's gonna be fine" moment. It is more of a "things are not quite what they appeared at first, but what they are is unsure, and they may still be just as bad -- but we have one more tool we didn't think we had that may just hold this thing together for one more lap." At the end of the day she is still a 13.5 year old girl with not much muscle left in her hindquarters and some kind of (very likely cancerous) growth filling up her mediastinal cavity. The end result is not in question.

That being said, if she can pass them in relative comfort and doing so doesn't put her at undue risk of developing a sudden condition that puts her through a lot of pain, I am happy to accept whatever days or weeks fate deems us worthy of enjoying. If it ever looks like SHE is ready, I'll be there to help her in a heartbeat. (We now have all the necessary contact information for the emergency vets and a bunch of other plans in place we didn't beforehand, so...)

Again, thanks for all the condolences, they help a lot. Enjoy the photos, we'll keep putting up new ones as we find them... Right now I am going to go lay down for a little while, as I was never overly fond of rollercoasters: physical or emotional.

[Alopex] After 13.5 years on this earth, Rio is getting ready to take the long journey to whatever comes after this life. She's had a good, long run, and I'd like to think that she's enjoyed most of the times she's had with us. Walkies have been many, though I'm sure not as often or as long as she'd have preferred. But walkies have included some neat places, including oceans and big lakes and mountains and fields of flowers—hopefully places as exciting smell-wise to her as they were visually to us. With skijoring, she's enjoyed the thrill bred into her breed of a fast romp through the snow. And when it was too hot for snow, she's enjoyed snoozing in the sun, curled up in the grass.

The last several months have been tough for all of us. Rio got a bad infection in spring that nearly took her from us then. She did something to her front paws, perhaps exacerbated by the infection, which caused her great pain simply dropping down the two steps to our back yard. For a time, we had a makeshift ramp to help her outside. In general, her arthritis has been worsening, and she's been losing muscle in her hind legs. She no longer joins us downstairs when we have dinner in front of the TV, and she needs help getting into the car, even though we bought a minivan with a low entry anticipating this part of her life. She's bounced back after her recent illnesses, regaining enough energy and general perkiness to enjoy more outings with us, though nothing like the 8-mile trek through the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness in Michigan we did a year ago. On Saturday, she made a 2-mile loop around Jensen Lake in the Lebanon Hills Regional Park much closer to home. We were happy to get in that long of a walk with her enjoying herself the whole way, and managed to take a fair number of photos along the way.

Last week, Rio developed a cough, and our initial fear was heart disease, which in dogs can result in coughing when the enlarged heart crowds out the lungs. However, her X-rays revealed a very different cause—a tumor filling her chest cavity to such an extent that the vet couldn't tell if her heart was enlarged or not, from both angles from which X-rays were taken. The tumor is apparently a mediastinal lymphoma, for which nothing can be done. Over the weekend, it spread to her lymph nodes under her arms and lower jaw, causing extensive swelling. She had a rather restless night last night, finding it hard to stay comfortable. When the vet clinic opens this morning, we'll be calling in to see whether there is anything more we can do for her—perhaps something to reduce the swelling and buy her a little more time of relative comfort.

We have prepared ourselves to say our final good-byes to Rio several times this spring/summer, and she has surprised us with her resilience on several occasions, but it seems that Rio has fewer tricks up her sleeve than before. I've put together a bit of a photo highlights reel composed of images taken since Rio entered my life, back in January 2002, when she was already 5 years old. Jeff will add photos of his own too, and over time, I'll be updating the album with additional photos and geotags to the current ones. It has been fun, reminiscing over the many trips we've taken together, even though it's often hard for me to see the monitor...

To those of you who have met Rio in person, and for those who have enjoyed her exploits vicariously over the internet, we hope you enjoy these images and memories.