Lela's Big Surgery

Under the umbrella of "dog ownership/guardianship," there are two things I hoped to never, ever encounter with my own pups:

1. A torn ACL (knee ligament)
2. Copraphagia (poop eating)

Lucky me, with my current pack I have Joey, who LOVES to consume his frozen turdies, and Lela... who somehow, someway, ripped her ACL and shattered the underlying cartilage this year.

I had noticed for a while that she was hitching her gait a bit, especially when we jogged. I chalked it up to arthritis; after all, my greyhounds had started going lame around 6 or 7. We started glucosamine and it got better. But then things got worse, and after I returned from Iceland we did some x-rays and a "drawer test" to find out that unfortunately it wasn't arthritis so much as a knee ligament.

Ugh.

Surgery was scheduled for mid-October. It was hard. Because Lela has a sensitive stomach and couldn't handle the NSAIDs, we used only a mild Gabapentin during her healing. It was weeks before she tried to even put a LITTLE weight on the leg. We did leash walks, daily massages, and all the prescribed exercises. My poor girl pined when Joey got longer walks and she only got a slow meander around the front yard. But... but... the long haul paid off. Lela can now get on and off furniture, do some light runs in the yard, and barely limps! We still have to hold off on rough-housing and really strenuous stuff, but the main drag is behind us.

She was --IS-- my cutie-patootie trooper. :)

-Jen

Iceland Peeps

Two of the juvenille peeps I saw in Iceland this August/September, up near Husavik and Siglufjorour. I bought a bird guide but still, am not 100% sure. Can anyone help?

Juvenile Black Guillemot?

Juvenile Brunnich's Guillemot? Or could it be a Little Auk?

UPDATE: Thanks to Bird Forum.net members who identified BOTH of these as Black Guillemots! The bottom photo a first winter juvenile, and the top an adult in winter plumage! 💓💓💓

-Jen

Iceland

This fall I took an incredible trip to Iceland with one of my BFFs, Tracy.

This was Trace's dream trip: Renting a camper van and driving the Ring Road, which encircles the country. We took two weeks and had a blast. We went in September, which was right after the heavy tourist season and just when I guess all the great birds leave the island, so that was a disappointment (for me). We did see some puffins, though! And SEALS.

Hiking the Hellnar-Arnastapi coastal trail on the Snaefellsnes Penninsula

Traditional Icelandic farm near Skogar, on the south end of the island.

Herring gulls and juvenile Black-headed gulls.

One of the many curious seals we saw on the Hvamminstrangi Penninsula!

Jokulsarlon glacier- amazing.

Grimsey Island, up on the Arctic Circle.

Trying to photograph puffins in a horrific Atlantic storm, lol...

Common Eider on the North Atlantic.

Charming back streets of Reykjavik, the capital city.

Making breakfast on a rainy morning :)

Hiking Grimsey Island in the North Atlantic.

Myvatn's moon-like geology...

Church in North Iceland...

Common Redshank searching for breakfast in West Iceland.

Glacier climbing in the south. Crampons and hiking axes... luckily we survived with no broken bones or accidentally chopped toes!

Alafoss wool & yarn factory, outside Reykjavik.

What I loved about the trip: We really got to see the whole country (well, except the Westfjords and Central Highlands areas) and experience so much. Since traveling still makes me a bit anxious, renting a camper and driving --stick!-- was a real confidence boost. It was great to spend this kind of time with one of my BFFs and see so much. Both of us agreed that the Northern areas that we explored- Grimsey Island, Hvamminstrangi Penninsula, and Trollaskagi Penninsula- were our favorites. The harbor towns, the ships, the birds, the seals....!

What I didn't like about the trip: I was stupid and under-dressed (50 degrees in Syracuse is a LOT warmer than 50 degrees in Iceland, can I just say that?!?!).  Iceland was EXPENSIVE- we averaged $17 for a gas station lunch of small drink, hot dog and fries- wow. Doing a roadtrip like this meant we just drove, and I found that I didn't really like moving so much, so fast. We never got to stop and really REALLY explore one area beyond a few hours... then, it was back on the road. And another big disappointment was not seeing more animals but I did get to see a young Guillemot, I think, and that's what I'd been pining to see the whole trip. So that was a super +! :)

Overall though, it was a great, fun experience I'll never forget!

Next year I get to pick the trip, and so we will be going to NAMIBIA, in south west Africa. This has always been my #3 country (after Poland and Panama, and I've seen both of them now) and Etosha National Park on my bucket list forever after seeing some photos of the water holes many, many years ago. Squee!

Onwards and upwards,
Jen