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Hi Friends and doggie lovers.  We’re ready for summer and excited to partner with Merck Animal Health! We enjoy sharing stories of Lexi, and how much we love and spoil her.  Now that the weather is warm and fantastic, we’re off on more road trips, hiking, and outdoor adventures with Lexi.

Since Sierra’s passing in 2020, we’re always itching to explore new trails, rivers and frontiers. Lexi especially loves sharing the same enthusiasm for adventures that her older Boxer sibling Sierra had. And every time we’re exploring, Sierra’s spirit is always with us. These adventures are our heartfelt way of honoring Sierra. But heading to the great outdoors also comes with some serious planning and responsibilities.

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In the past we’d been exposed to amazing tequilas and even incredible raicillas (a wild agave Mexican moonshine), but hadn’t meandered through a mezcal tasting expedition. Until 2011 when we had the opportunity to photograph and explore the Food and Wine Festival in Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo Mexico. Through our experiences there we found a love of Mezcal. Sans the worm. Although when dried, ground, chilli-ed and salted, the mezcal worms do make an excellent pairing with a nice mezcal! But don’t worry, if even than makes you a little squirmish,  know that most quality mezcals won’t have the worms anywhere in sight. It tends to be a marketing ploy of fairly modern creation to attract the hormonal and stupid… of which there is no short supply. Especially during spring break.

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It’s been quite a cold winter at the cabin and the chilly outdoors isn’t exactly Lexi’s favorite place to be. We’ve been on hikes in the snow and though she loves romping in fresh snow, she’s FREEZING. But we’ve figure out how to keep her warm 24/7.  Lexi is staying warm with her favorite jacket! Actually, we call it a blanket. Lexi is always cold (ridgies don’t have an undercoat like many doggies) and after seeing her shivering even inside the house, this is her Winter jacket that she doesn’t mind wearing all day long.

She’s long and thin so all the large sizes fit her chest, but they’re still too short. So we had to buy the extra large jacket, which is too long but keeps her warmer. Aside from the frigid Winter in Northern California, we’ve been having some really nice sunny weather here in Southern California. Not to rub it in, but it’s one of those luxuries of living in Southern California. And best of all, our garden is doing pretty crazy healthy. And what about the croissant? No, she didn’t get any chocolate croissant, but she sure was mesmerized by it.

Stay warm Friends!

Diane and Todd

Lexi’s Winter Favorites

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Two weeks into 2021 and we’re relishing in hot weather reminiscent of an August heat wave. After the chaos of 2020, nothing is a surprise anymore. We’re staying busy and safe, hoping you all are doing well yourselves. Southern California weather has given us healthy fruit trees, thus swimming in fresh citrus. From blood oranges, mandarins and meyer lemons, we’re drinking up a storm with all the fresh vitamin C. The last year has been both challenging and uplifting in different ways. We’re taking it one day at a time and making the most of every moment together.

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How To Care for Old Dogs

It’s been a rough New Year for our little family, especially for Sierra. The last two weeks have been especially challenging but yesterday was the first full day day that we didn’t cry. She started walking on her own and eat again. It’s tough to watch your fur baby slowly deteriorate for almost 2 months, stop eating and lose over 10 pounds. Sure, she’s 14 and a half years old and has led an amazing life. But none of those years of joy and love prepares you for the heartache that comes when they’re suffering. 

We were crying for days. On Saturday we brought her into the vet, believing that we had no other choice but to have her put down. Her brain and spirit wasn’t broken, it was just her body. She didn’t eat, couldn’t walk, had diarrhea and had all the symptoms of a dying dog. Luckily, our vet said there is one last option that could give her back legs a little more mobility and possibly stimulate her appetite. She could have a little more quality time because he knew what a fighter she was and how alert her mind was, with the exception of her dying body. That option was a steroid injection, followed by a few weeks of taking oral steroid pills. Our tears stopped and said yes to it all. Hell, yes.

Yesterday was a good day. She had a little dinner, we took her on a little walk and she enjoyed every minute of it. When she looked tired we carried her back in her little wagon and off we went to continue the walk in the fresh air. We’re an adventure family, always exploring and it’s always together. Sierra will never be left behind because her spirit of wanting to be with us is what keeps us together. 

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Blackberry Ice Cream Recipe

Know the difference between an average blackberry and a Stehly Organic Farms blackberry? Amazement.  Pure eye-rolling amazement. As if Mother Nature herself reached down and handed you a blackberry and said, “Here. This is what a blackberry should be.” Plump. They have a deep, round sweetness that is counterbalanced perfectly by the classic blackberry tang. But just a subtle tang, not enough to overstay its welcome and overshadow the flavor of the berry.

We were first introduced to Stehly Farms when on assignment for Whole Foods.  They are one of the local farms which the southern California Whole Foods carry. They are proud (and rightfully so) of their local farmers and are bringing attention to these amazing people behind the scenes.

In our early morning exploration of their farm, Noel (one of the two brothers owning and operating the farm) drove us about where ever we wanted to see and photograph. You can imagine all the garden geek talk going on in that truck. Not that we like amazing citrus, avocado, or berries. We’re only marginally obsessed after all.

At one point he mentions that he thinks the blackberries may just be starting to ripen. “Blackberries?”, we perk.

photographing the cute Stehly children

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Fly fishing began as an excuse to spend time with my dad back in 2013. Not that I should need one, but given that he’s a couple hour flight plus a 5 hour drive to go visit, I don’t see him as much as either of us would prefer. The added incentive of us going out fishing together seemed like good motivation. Like just about any fly fisherman who started in the last decade or two (or at least so it seems), the desire to learn to fly fish began with the movie “A River Runs Through It”.  We grew up fishing for rainbow trout in the creek with ran through our ranch, but the only fishing I knew growing up was bait fishing. We’d catch some grasshoppers or collect periwinkles from the creek, bait ’em and try to hook a trout.

Bait fishing was fun as a kid, but as an adult there was something special about fly fishing that struck a chord within me. Here I was, 20 years after seeing the movie, still filled with the desire to learn to fly fish. So about 4 year ago, determined to take the time and enjoy my dad’s company more, I signed the three of us up for fly fishing classes (me, Dad, and Diane). And why not make an adventure out of it and learn to fly fish somewhere none of us had ever been before. Somewhere as beautiful and apropos to the skills we were trying to learn. The Orvis fly fishing school in Edwards, Colorado fit the bill perfectly.

It was a cool late September weekend when the three of us met up in Colorado. The air was brisk, but the instructors were friendly and patient. Over the next couple days they taught us the science and skill sets to get started in fly fishing, and more importantly taught us the rhythms which brings elegance to fly casting. Not that any of us taking the class began with elegance. There were the three of us (Dad, Diane, and me) plus an additional 3 other novices, a set of college buddies who every year embark on bonding trips and adventures. I think every one of us were a mess and tangle waiting to happen on our initial casts. But within an hour of casting practice and tutelage, all of us were starting to feel the timing and rhythm of casting a fly line.

Those initial days have lead us down the roads of adventure ever since. Not an easy thing, being that fly fishing in Southern California (particularly in the most common form of chasing trout, steelhead, and salmon) is not a quick trip down the road. But it has given me a repeated motivating excuse to get together with Dad, or a find a pinpoint on a map for Diane, the pups, and me to head off on a trip. The initial learning curve has been long and occasionally frustrating. But at the same time, wondrous. There is no rush to find shortcuts or magic fixes. I enjoy the process of understanding and learning the nuances of the water, fish, and casting.

In Episodes to come, we’ll share some of our adventures and learnings. It has been something which has brought joy and introduced us to places and people we’d likely never have seen or met, and has made for things worth sharing.

Here’s a video of a fly fishing road trip we did with the pups a couple years ago. More to come about this trip in future Episodes of Fly Fishing:

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It was last Thanksgiving that we wanted to take advantage of the holiday where everyone was going to be gathered around the feasting table. We thought it would be a brilliant idea to hop in the truck with the pups and visit these super popular National Parks during the off-season. The weather would be perfect and cool for the pups and we’d have both parks all to ourselves! Maybe it’ll be snowing and we’ll get to see Bryce Canyon in it’s Winter glory! Nope, we were wrong on basically all of our assumptions except for the Winter glory part.

Holy geez cow. It seemed like tens and thousands of other people had the same, brilliant idea that we had. Both parks were flooded with excited adventurers like us. After talking to some park rangers, we “kinda” did have a good idea to be traveling at the end of November. BUT during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, visitors to the parks sky rocket and create a mini-peak season during Thanksgiving. So we weren’t alone, but we still made the most of our trip and it was wonderful.

Dogs aren’t allowed on non-paved trails in National Parks and only allowed on designated paths, but that didn’t stop us from having an amazing trip. The views were spectacular and the pups still enjoyed hanging out on the paved paths with all the other visitors and their pups. Bryce Canyon was tremendous. Gosh, we can’t say enough about how gorgeous all the red rock formations were when topped with snow. It was dustings of powdered sugar everywhere throughout the park and in some parts, the snow was pretty thick on the mountains. If you guys are wanting to visit with your pups, make sure it’s not during the hot Summer because it can be really uncomfortable for the pups where temperatures in Bryce Canyon during Summer can reach day time highs in the mid 80’s F. Sure, that’s ok for humans but for dogs, it’s like wearing a jacket in the middle of the hot Summer sun plus the heat coming off the pavement doubles up their discomfort. So our November trip was perfectly planned for the pups. No panting dogs in the car and that itself was a pleasurable road trip.

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