Birthday Girl!

Birthday Girl ~ Artemis

today was the two year anniversary of Artemis joining me and Franklin, so i have dubbed it Artemis's birthday.  you will recall, that Artemis got her name from the Greek goddess of forests and hills.  indeed, Artemis has chased down a critter or two in her two years with us, and today was no different.

hey, look ~ there's horses over there...

i'd heard that with all of the high-pressure weather, that the trails in Park City are in great shape for skate skiing, so that's what we decided to do.  first, however, was a quick trip to see Dr. Wilson at Foothill Animal Hospital to get a yearly check-up and shots, then to Hillside Tire to visit the boys and get a headlight fixed (we brought them donuts afterwards), then to PetSmart for some new toys and treats, then up to Park City!

the weather up there wasn't as clear as i was hoping, but the air was definitely cleaner than the pollution-filled Salt Lake Valley that results from high-pressure weather scenarios as we are currently having.  actually, a small storm started to blow in as we were headed home.  but first, let me tell you about Artemis's day...

me & Franklin, before Artemis decided to skip through the fence

of course, no adventure would be complete without a bit of critter chasing, but i must tell you that "no critters (or horses) were harmed in the making of this adventure".  we skated (and the dogs ran) for about 6 miles.  three miles into it, i stopped to eat a tangerine and drink some water and snap some photos.  Artemis had other designs on the day.  she had spotted the horses feeding on some hay in a nearby pasture, behind a barbed-wire fence, and didn't think twice about skipping through the fence to "say hello" to the horses ~ and just as the rancher was backing up his pickup truck to the fence line!

Hot Dog on a stick ~ no horseplay allowed!

we had heard him shooting his gun up on the ridge only moments before, so of course my thoughts moved to the worst-case scenario.  my words to Artemis, when she did finally come back to me, and decided that no, she wasn't really in the mood to chase horses today:  "ranchers don't care if there is one less yellow dog in this world... in fact, they might enjoy that!  so stick around, lady!"

we skated back to the car, having averted certain danger, and had a lovely time.  Happy Birthday, Artemis!