Yesterday I noticed an odd circular print in the snow just off the trail that goes from the main dog park gate to the shed atop the hill. The print is about a foot off from the kill site where I found the yellow-tailed flicker. There are still a lot of feathers, big wing and tail feathers and smaller downy fluff scattered in the snow, along with small locust bean pods. I guess no one wants to eat those.
Because the weather has been relatively calm and not a lot of dogs have come due to the extreme cold, the site has been very stable. The circular print looks like a ring of feathers, much like a bird of prey touching down, perhaps in a swooping attack. Tonight, a bone-chilling polar vortex descends upon us and relieves us of the balmy 30 degrees we've been enjoying for the past two days. Winds are expected to gust up to 50 mph so the prints will probably not survive.
This morning, we went to the dog park as always, and were locked out of the park because management changed the lock codes, then swore they had emailed the new codes to us all. Which they hadn't. While I was standing at the gate yelling into my phone, with my two dogs frantically trying to paw the entrance open, a man walked in through the exit road with two small Doberman-looking dogs. I had never seen him or the dogs before. My bigger boy became irrational and wanted to attack the intruders. I'm still screaming at the park employee on the phone to give me the goddamn gate code. I can't drag my dogs back to my car as they're too riled up. I need to get them inside the park.
Park employee has to check with her supervisor who has to consult the list of renewing members. (I renewed weeks ago.) She finds my name and proceeds to tell me once again that the codes have been emailed and I curse her out and tell her they haven't. Finally, she tells me the stupid code over the phone and I get my dogs inside just in time. The stranger and his two dogs are walking back. I have my dogs in separate pens because until I give the reactive one a "calming chew" there is the very real danger that he will take his frustrations out on his smaller, more passive brother, who is unwilling to share the same space with crazy dog. At least until he chills out.
After 5 minutes of running along the fence when another dog and person walks by (we know this one by sight so it's not as infuriating), a big drink of water and a tasty melatonin chew, my big guy has calmed down. Just in time as a dog friend arrives at the park. Now my other pup is comfortable enough to join everyone. Whew. All this could have been avoided if the park people had sent the code out properly. I'm sure we'll go through this again same time next year.
Before I go to the gym, I stop off at the Park office to straighten out the dog park code issue. I tell them to humor me and email themselves from the park email server. When they look closer after insisting the email was sent this morning, they realize that it only went to 3 recipients, and not the entire list of dog park users. Uh, yeah. I'm finally able to get to the gym and it's really late. School has let out and there are clusters of very small, very young boys scattered throughout the free weight area. Luckily, not too many people interested in the cardio equipment.
It's freezing at the gym. But after 35 minutes on the elliptical, singing my tunes, I'm thoroughly warmed up and a bit drenched. My glute aches a little, my right foot is partially numb. Those annoyances get much worse at the Stretch Cage when I do pull-ups. Today, the first 8-10 aren't too painful and I can maintain my form. But the last few really hurt, the ache from my glute down the calf and into the entire tingly foot. It hurts a lot. The free weight area has dozens of pint-size boys and I'm not in the mood to deal with that. But I don't head right away to the Aerobics Room. Instead, I do 10 minutes on the Step Machine. It's been a long time, so I actually set it to level 4 (40 steps per minute) down from 5. It's painful to start, but by the end, the sciatica actually feels better. Guess I'm adding that back in now.
Of course, the relief is all ruined by some of the core exercises I do in the Aerobics Room. Like Dead Bugs, which lately really aggravate that sciatic bundle. Bird Dog planks also numb my foot. Push-ups feel better when I can spread my legs shoulder width apart, otherwise there's a lot of lower back and sciatic pain with feet close together. I have an appointment with the orthopedics doc next week. I wonder what he'll tell me about the MRI scans. I hope it's something that will allow me to increase my physical activity, cuz it's been very frustrating.
6 February 2026 2:17-3:55
Late Friday Before the Polar Vortex
Bare Basics w sciatica
Precor elliptical #1 (2:54)
Program 3
Time: 30 + 5 (5284)
Distance: 2.75
Cal: 299
Precor HR: 145, 194-80
Fitbit: 44-134 (right foot numb)
HGPU 15 (w/ sciatica after 12 )
Easing back Matrix StairMaster (L) (3:05-3:15) right ft numb etc
Manual timer 8+2 cool down
Speed 4 (40) / 2 (33-29) / 1 (24)
Steps 382
Floors 23
Cal 59
Hr 126
20 Piriformis/Hip flex
10 Hamstring stretches
DeadBugs 20 x 5 (sciatica!!!)
10 Piriformis stretches
Child’s Pose
Cat/Cow stretch 12
Child’s Pose
Fire Hydrants 30 x 2
Bird Dog Planks 60s x 2
Arm rotations 20
Push-Ups 30 (legs shoulder width)
Air Squats 25
Skip Neck Stretch / eye yoga
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