Early spring hike from March 17, 2012 - first hike of the year with shorts and t-shirts!

We went climbing a couple weekends ago at Sandrock, AL and had a great time!  Michael and I had not been climbing for years (although we did meet at the Georgia Tech climbing wall!).  Katie was in town from Colorado, too, which made it extra special!

Tuesday afternoon at the front door.

My allergies have been insane this past week with the unusually warm winter weather.  It was so bad last Monday I went home sick from work an hour after arriving at my desk.  I spent my sick day studying dynamics and differential equations for my Analysis of Engineering Systems class and hanging out with the dogs.

The family took a muddy (but great!) hike this morning on the Wild Flower Trail before it started raining again.

Old-Timer Joe is back home with his family, who were so excited to see him!  Michael and I enjoyed our time with O.J., and we miss him terribly.  However, it's probably for the best as is.

No word from anyone on O.J.  He seems to be enjoying himself here at Hacienda Middlewood.  Pika and Nacho think he's okay - not good or bad but okay.  Nacho was a real help yesterday while I was trying to make up the bed - putting new sheets on the bed and cooking are his favorite household chores.  

Afternoon nap while we were out of work last week due to the power outage...

Note:  I added Labels to this post and blogger republished it as a new post; not sure what's up with that. 

Michael and I found this guy late last night walking down the middle of Whitesburg Dr., a busy street in southeast Huntsville.  He wasn't wearing a collar and isn't microchipped.  We've posted adds in The Huntsville Times and Craigslist, but I've got a bad feeling we're not going to hear from anyone.  We took him to the vet this morning to get him checked out and then over to Goin' To The Dogs and Cats Pet Supply for a nail clipping and thorough bath.  He's very sweet, but we really don't need a third dog.

We're calling him "Old-Timer Joe" for now.  Or OJ for short.

LOVE.

A few more photos from our AT backpacking trip in October!  The top three photos, taken by me, are from our campsite.  The bottom gnarly tree, taken by Michael, is from the second day of hiking.

We're engaged!

Michael, Pika, Nacho and I went on a beautiful hike today in the Land Trust - we did the Arrowhead/Natural Well loop.  I really hadn't been out in the woods since our trip to North Carolina, so it was extra refreshing!

Nacho just celebrated his one year anniversary with our family!  I bought him a rotisserie chicken.

Pika is on the mend!  Nacho is still worried about her, but she's doing just fine considering what she went through.

Our precious Pika had a run-in with a branch in the yard that resulted in a large section of her left side being sliced open.  Approximately 30 stitches and a $800 vet bill later, she's all sewn up and feeling much better!  She's been wearing t-shirts to protect her injured area; we've tried several on her so far, and the purple is her favorite.

Some fun from last weekend:  Hymn for Her at Lowe Mill, Nacho enjoys a bone, Pika helps plant a dogwood tree, and both dogs help with yardwork!

Our heelers were such good sports about the 37 hours in the car during our trip from Alabama to New Mexico and back!  Michael was also a good sport about taking most of the really awful driving shifts in the late night / early morning hours - I'm a lucky girl to have him!

Nacho v. Turtle

It's been a wild past couple weeks.  Most recently, we lost power in north Alabama for five days - and we were lucky compared to many.

Since my last post, we celebrated Michael's 32 birthday, I finished spring semester classes, and we visited Michael's aunt and uncle in Atlanta.  We have made significant progress on our garden and yard - look out for pictures soon!