Pee Wee 2

Since I was out of the pool all week, I decided to make another trip to the pond Saturday. Normally, I try to stay close to the house on the sixth day to spend some time with Penny and the cats. Usually, it is my big weight lifting day. But with the weather so warm and my need of training so great, how could I pass up a dip at the farm? I took the dogs, Bear, who has been before and swam with me on his last outing, and Pee Wee, a new rescue passed down to us from our son, Forrest. Pee Wee has a long story behind him. He weighs 23 pounds and looks like he is a cross between a feist and and pit bull. According to the vet, he is approximately one year old and he has scars all over his small, brown body. My hope and aim is that he will never again get beat up but will live out his days in safety.

I lifted weights around noon time and hit the upper body pretty hard so I was a little leery of swimming too far. Before we arrived at my parking spot, I let the hounds out and Pee Wee came alive. I saw right away that he is fast, likes to run, and is a high-energy dog.

The water temps had risen a little, 62 on the warm end, and the pump was turned off so I knew it would not be as warm in that corner as before. There was still a difference between the north and south sides but they had equalized some. Now the west end was the coldest part of the pond. I swam 2.25 miles, my longest open water swim this year, and I averaged 30:06 per mile, not bad after a major lifting session. I should be set for something longer Monday because the weather is supposed to stay warm the next couple of days. The two sides will continue to equalize and the whole pond most likely will rise two to four degrees. It should be perfect and without a Monday night class for the first semester I can remember, I don't have to hurry. I can swim until dark if I choose.

After the swim we took a walk, and I got to see more of what Pee Wee is about. He has some hunting instincts and he runs and ranges like a bird dog while staying off the road and in the brush most of the time. Check out the two videos below. This makes me want to take up hunting again. A hunting dog is one of the great joys of life. Running and swimming have replaced hunting and fishing in my life, but if running stays on the shelf, I might try to make a squirrel dog out of Pee Wee.