Peasy Tales: His First Rodeo

It wasn’t my first rodeo. That happened way back when in South Dakota when I was still in utero. Naturally, I didn’t see much, however, so junior rodeo events here in Willcox, Arizona, have been a big part of my winter enjoyment since 2015. It's a big part of the culture of southeast Arizona, where ranch life is still real, and the high school sports teams are the Cowboys and the Cowgirls for good reason.

 

Of course, we can’t know for absolutely certain that our new little rescue dog has never been to a rodeo before, but it seems like a pretty safe bet. How would he react? With his extreme shyness, I wasn’t sure he’d be getting out of the car at all, what with crowds of people and running horses and bawling calves and all kinds of noise and hubbub -- and especially a gaggle of little children pretending to be puppies and romping up and down the noisy metal ramp to the grandstand and generally having a wonderful time. So much going on! While he was in the car, though, two people came up to the window, and he didn’t freak out, which is big progress, for him. 

 

So much going on!

Rodeo time is happy time!

So, when the noisy “puppy” brigade cleared out, and things got calmer at our end of the grandstand, I decided to try Peasy on his leash by the rail. Ringside! And he did pretty darn well for his first rodeo! He wasn’t quite sure what was going on, but he sat when I asked him to sit, and he didn’t have anything like a meltdown, just remained wide-eyed and mesmerized.

A doggie-nosed window

Front seat view

 

Sorry I don’t have pictures of Peasy by the rail, watching the action. Because I hadn’t been able to handle dog and camera and get pictures of dog all at the same time, I thought we might go back for a second day on Sunday and I could enlist David as photographer, but that will have to wait for the next rodeo, because Sunday turned out to be a different kind of day for our pack....

However – and Lynn is gonna love this! -- a dog trainer I met earlier in yesterday at the feed store, a woman who had three Aussies with her in the store, came out to where she had parked next to us, looked at Peasy, and said, “Oh, yeah, he’s an Aussie, for sure!” I’d told her we’d been going back and forth and that opinions had been divided between Aussie and border collie. (Other dog people have been just as sure that he’s border collie.) Well, the border collie is part of the Aussie’s heritage, so – whatever! He is all dog, there’s no doubt about that!

 

Having Peasy do as well as he did in new situations on Saturday helped me to feel more optimistic about his future, whatever it turns out to be. He is such a sweet, funny, cute little guy -- but he also has so much to learn that sometimes I feel overwhelmed. He and I might get signed up for some professional lessons sometime soon. I think he's worth it.

Rodeo time is family time.

Overnight we had a monster of a storm, winds so strong they sounded like they wanted to tear the roof off the cabin. Along came – what was it? Rain? Hail? Sleet? In the morning there was new snow on the ground, and my first thought was that it must have been a cold morning for cowboy church out at Quail Park. That’s the first Sunday morning event of every weekend junior rodeo, though we seldom arrive before noon ourselves. Peasy and I got outside for my walk and his first run and romp of the day and then came back indoors, where I sewed his bear back together for him and made Valentine muffins for David, and the three of us lay around the shanty, cozy inside while the mountain winds blew, waiting for the sun to break through the clouds again.

Love, Love, Love

The Friday following Valentine’s Day is finding me uninspired. Not cranky or gloomy, just short on ideas. And that, for me, is the signal to go to pictures, so what you see here is an old bulletin board that filled up over the course of a few years on Nagonaba and Waukazoo Streets, accompanying me on my move from the former (back) to the latter. I don’t have a good place to display it these days, but digging it out of storage and revisiting for a few days the postcards, photographs, and assorted odds and ends brought back many happy memories.

If you look carefully, you’ll see Nikki, our old dog, relaxing at a sidewalk cafe in Appalachicola, Florida. And there is Martin Melkild, showing some of his carved figures. There are Monopoly cards, and there are postcards showing many fascinating places I’ve never visited (the cards were from friends or correspondents I’ve never met), and there are old family snapshots.

There are friends and family members who are no longer among us, and there are babies and little children, some of them bookstore visitors, now grown up. There’s a lot of dog stuff, too—cards, photos, cartoons. (Why would that be?)

Sweet!

Valentine’s Day was quiet but nice. David got me a decorated cupcake! I talked to my mother on the phone, and a nice new customer visited the bookstore. (I must say, there is nothing like a warm human voice.) In the evening, we watched the first two episodes of the latest “Downton Abbey” on DVD, snug as bugs, while winter raged outside.

How did Sarah take it all? As always, in her stride. She really isn't sulking here, only waiting for her folks to get their act together and head for the door. 

Giving a LOOK!