Dear Maia and Isaac,

I am not a big fan of winter.  I always figured they should merge December, January, and February into one month . . . then it would be spring faster.  But, no, it is the middle of winter and the 44th of Decembuary.  It was also the first hike of 2019 because the 1st-day hike was too snowy and cold.

We went to a big park in Delta, CO, called Confluence Park.  It is where the Uncompahgre and Gunnison Rivers join.  It is a good Decembuary hike because Delta doesn’t get much snow.  It was actually sunny!  I work in Delta and direct a nursing program now – so it was a little like driving to work on a Sunday. But, I love my job so it wasn’t too bad!

The lake is mostly frozen over, so the ducks were all out on the ice making a lot of noise.  Maizzy and Sazi did pretty well – I got about 10k steps.  They got even more!!!

So, I learned some things about my dogs this winter.  First, I got a DNA test for Kachina on Black Friday – and she turned out to be 25% chihuahua, 25% maltese, 12.5% yorkie, and 37.5% terrier mix.  No doxie in her.  Malchi-orkie Terrier Mix.

Then, I got curious about Maizzy so I sent her DNA in and got the most hilarious result – she is 75% chihuahua, 12.5% poodle, and 12.5% hound/terrier.  She is also a double gene dwarf – so I think the hound is doxie.  And, POODLE???  (Chipoo hound.) Now I know why she gets so curly when she gets out of the tub. Her kneecaps sometimes are on the insides of her legs and she can’t walk well.  But, today she walked the whole way.

I haven’t sent Sazi’s in yet.  She is suppose to be all chihuahua – so I would do hers mostly to see if she has the dwarf gene like Maizzy.  Her legs aren’t short for her, but she has real back issues – called intravertebral disc disease (IVDD).  The dwarf gene also causes IVDD). When she hurts her back, I have to carry her everywhere for 8 weeks.  She was doing well enough to walk the whole way today.  I’m glad they walked because I have a back like Sazi’s and carrying them is a pain.

So, next month is our trip to Moab to hike.  It will be like spring there (hopefully) – and Decembuary will be almost over.  I think what I hate about the most about Decembuary is that the map shrinks when roads get bad and I miss my adventures.  But, for today, we touched the sun.

Love, Grandma Hartt