BajaNomad - Meanwhile, on Cape Cod

Meanwhile, on Cape Cod

pauldavidmena - 1-18-2026 at 07:41 AM

We have 10 days before our next trip to Baja. Winters on the Cape are usually very quiet, and our proximity to the water tends to moderate the amount of snow we get. We moved here in 2017 and rarely had to break out the shovel. Over the next few days, that will change...

North central CA....drought, floods, drought!

AKgringo - 1-18-2026 at 10:07 AM

Here in the Norcal foothills (just west of Tahoe) we got a late start to our rainy season, which officially started on Oct 1. My ponds were way lower than usual for this time of the year, and none of the seasonal streams were flowing.

Then came a couple of "atmospheric rivers" that overwhelmed the drainage of local rivers, followed by another dry period that looks like will extend to a month without measurable rainfall in the middle of our wet season!

Blue Canyon is the closest official weather station to my property, and they report just over 42 inches since Oct 1, almost all of it during a three or four week period!

It sure is a pleasant winter right now though!

I can't remember the name of a small town in Humbolt County, but as of last week they had accumulated 73 inches since Oct 1!

JZ - 1-18-2026 at 10:27 AM

We spend a lot of time at our house in Colorado. Which is in the foothills of the Rockies at about 7,000 foot elevation.

Two times last year it snowed ~50 inches in 7 days.

So this year I got a plow for my RZR and of course it's hardly snowed at all so far. Something like 22 of 27 days in December were 60+ degrees and sunny.

Gonna be about 80 in LA today.

JZ - 1-18-2026 at 10:34 AM

The dogs love the snow.

mtgoat666 - 1-18-2026 at 11:25 AM

Nice and warm here in sunny san diego! Shorts weather!
:bounce:

[Edited on 1-18-2026 by mtgoat666]

pauldavidmena - 1-19-2026 at 07:33 AM

We ended up with about 3 inches of wet, messy snow. I can do without it, personally, but our dog loves to chase the ball in it, which we'll get to do after we eat breakfast.

JZ - 1-19-2026 at 09:24 AM

Very nice. Your dog is going to be a happy boy.

pauldavidmena - 1-19-2026 at 01:32 PM

Poppy had a good time, but tired more quickly than we expected. We threw the ball on a tennis court that belongs to a seasonal neighbor - with his permission - but I think much of the snow had already turned to slush, making it fairly slippery. She also has the annoying habit of making a game out of getting the ball from her, which reduces the number of throws we end up making. Still, we had a good time, and we'll all sleep well tonight. There's an old saying: "a good cattle dog is a quiet cattle dog."

lencho - 1-19-2026 at 01:42 PM

Quote: Originally posted by pauldavidmena

There's an old saying: "a good cattle dog is a quiet cattle dog."

Does she herd her "masters"? :light:

pauldavidmena - 1-19-2026 at 02:06 PM

Quote: Originally posted by lencho

Quote: Originally posted by pauldavidmena

There's an old saying: "a good cattle dog is a quiet cattle dog."

Does she herd her "masters"? :light:

She herds me if I get too close to my wife - her true master.

surabi - 1-19-2026 at 02:40 PM

Quote: Originally posted by pauldavidmena

She also has the annoying habit of making a game out of getting the ball from her, which reduces the number of throws we end up making.

My most recent dog also did that. I think that with some dogs, you actually have to train them to bring the ball or frisbee back and there are ways to do that, although I never bothered. Mostly my dog seemed to think that after the first couple of throws it was boring and pointless and quickly lost interest. "So you throw the ball and I get it and then you throw it again and I get it again, ad nauseaum? Yawn."

Whereas other dogs think it's tons of fun and will do it as long as you are willing to.

There are also non-traditional games you might never think of that you can play with smart dogs who get easily bored, or are old and/or arthritic and don't have the stamina for things like running around chasing a ball but like a new challenge. Lots of ideas online.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tMcEKTLbWHs

[Edited on 1-19-2026 by surabi]

[Edited on 1-19-2026 by surabi]

[Edited on 1-19-2026 by surabi]

JZ - 1-19-2026 at 02:52 PM

You train them with a treat to get and drop the ball.

When they come back you say "drop it" and then show them the treat. Gets them trained pretty quickly.

surabi - 1-19-2026 at 03:24 PM

That works with some dogs, not all. If the dog doesn't come back with the ball, but retreives it and then lies down with it yards away from you, as my dog did, you have to first train them to come back to you with it. If I indicated I had a treat for her, she would drop the ball where she was lying and come for the treat.

The training I read about in that case, involves using an extendable leash, so the dog is led back to you with the ball, then you can continue with your drop and treat training. It won't take too many leash training rounds for a smart dog to understand that they have to actually bring the ball back to get the treat.

[Edited on 1-19-2026 by surabi]

JZ - 1-19-2026 at 05:58 PM

Dogs in the snow.

Took my oldest pup to Telluride. They are super dog friendly and let them ride the gondola.

Big snow last year.

pauldavidmena - 1-20-2026 at 06:37 AM

I realize this is way off topic, but we've had three Australian Cattle Dogs, all of whom are fully capable of bringing us a fetched ball and dropping it. Poppy did if for several minutes yesterday before deciding that it would be more fun to play keep-away with Mom. Sometimes I think they're being stubborn, but in reality they're independent thinkers and often have the canine equivalent of ADD.

A few years back, my wife and I were active in Cattle Dog rescue and had a chance to evaluate an overweight Blue Heeler at a shelter in New Bedford, MA. He was extremely ball driven - my arm wore out before he did. A friend of ours adopted "Roly Poly," worked with him for a few months, and renamed him "Rally" after he slimmed down.

AKgringo - 1-20-2026 at 09:40 AM

Quote: Originally posted by pauldavidmena

I realize this is way off topic, but we've had three Australian Cattle Dogs

It's your thread, your dogs, so I think you are still on-topic until you get into name calling, scolding or going political!

By the way, my neighbor just adopted a small Blue Heeler from the local animal shelter. That girl is such an intelligent, relatively calm, love bug, that I can't imagine how she wound up in a shelter. She could move in with me anytime!

Telluride?

AKgringo - 1-20-2026 at 09:44 AM

JZ, did you ski "The Plunge" while you were there?

(Paul, this is what Off-Topic looks like)

JZ - 1-20-2026 at 11:55 AM

Quote: Originally posted by AKgringo

JZ, did you ski "The Plunge" while you were there?

(Paul, this is what Off-Topic looks like)

Nope. I'm avoiding stuff like that these days. Lol.

pauldavidmena - 1-21-2026 at 08:24 AM

Quote: Originally posted by AKgringo

Quote: Originally posted by pauldavidmena

I realize this is way off topic, but we've had three Australian Cattle Dogs

It's your thread, your dogs, so I think you are still on-topic until you get into name calling, scolding or going political!

Well in that case, one of many nicknames for cattle dogs is "velcro dogs," as they tend to bond very closely with one or more of their people. Poppy has bonded with my wife, but has declared me a disobedient cow, with need for constant correction and "guidance." We've worked with several trainers, but we're dealing with a behavior that has been hard-wired to a certain degree. She's not quite five, and is about 3 years removed from a hoarding and abuse situation, so we're trying to take the long view.

Lee - 1-21-2026 at 09:51 PM

Might as well add my 2 centavos.

Trained my 9.5 y.o. Lab to fetch a ball or frisbee and drop it in my hands. If I don't accept it, she stands there until I do and follows me if I'm walking waiting to give me the ball/frisbee.

She figured out what I wanted through past plays. Early on, she'd return the ball/frisbee and not let it go until I said ''drop it.'' Then it would be on the ground.

pauldavidmena - 1-22-2026 at 09:48 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Lee

Might as well add my 2 centavos.

Trained my 9.5 y.o. Lab to fetch a ball or frisbee and drop it in my hands. If I don't accept it, she stands there until I do and follows me if I'm walking waiting to give me the ball/frisbee.

She figured out what I wanted through past plays. Early on, she'd return the ball/frisbee and not let it go until I said ''drop it.'' Then it would be on the ground.

Lee - you're not wrong about being able to train a dog through repetition and consistency. Despite being highly food-motivated, Poppy won't eat from her bowl until I tell her "okay." Without a backyard, we just don't get enough reps playing fetch to make it reasonable.

I'll also add that while some Australian Cattle Dogs are highly biddable, most of them are "independent thinkers," which is a nice way to say "stubborn." Trainers familiar with the breed advise against some of the techniques requiring dominance on the part of the human over the dog, including alpha rolls, choke chains, etc. Being highly intelligent, they are most likely to remember the offense and act out accordingly. Again, we're taking the long view, trying to overcome her lack of socialization and bad training.

AKgringo - 1-22-2026 at 10:04 AM

I'll add another 3 centavos (inflation adjusted). Despite the general characteristics or traits of any given breed, if you raise a litter of puppies to canine adolescence, you will see different personalities develop.

pauldavidmena - 1-22-2026 at 10:46 AM

Quote: Originally posted by AKgringo

I'll add another 3 centavos (inflation adjusted). Despite the general characteristics or traits of any given breed, if you raise a litter of puppies to canine adolescence, you will see different personalities develop.

We don't know too much about Poppy's formative first 2 years. We do know that she was born to a Cattle Dog-specific breeder that produces a lot of litters. Here is a picture of Poppy around the time of her first adoption (or should I say "purchase") at 8 weeks old.

She was purchased by a known hoarder in Mississippi who used an alias. As per terms of a previous arrest, she was not permitted to own any dogs, but purchased Poppy and a male ACD for the purpose of getting right back into backyard breeding. Fortunately, an investigator suspected as much and tried to put together a case to put the owner back in jail and place the dogs in rescue. By the time this finally happened, Poppy was probably a year and a half old, and had spent much of her life in a crate hidden from the public. After the bust, Poppy went to an all-breed rescue in Mississippi before being fostered by a breed-savvy vet in New Bedford, MA. By the time we were in the picture, she was in Portland, Maine for a "foster-to-own" that didn't work out.

She was not quite two when we finally adopted her, but she certainly missed out on a lot of important socialization. That's not to say we're off the hook for her anti-social behavior, but we think it will take longer than you average dog.

AKgringo - 1-22-2026 at 11:07 AM

Good on you for giving her a chance! I would do the same thing, and in fact, I did that ten years ago.

My current dog is a lovable challenge that I agreed to "foster", but the owners never came back to take her home.

pauldavidmena - 1-23-2026 at 10:01 AM

Here's the latest forecast for southern New England.

I should point out that "low confidence" for 12 to 18 inches still means a mess! I hope the roads are clear enough for us to fly out to Cabo on Wednesday morning.