Tom and Patti Saunders
Dog's Breath Acres 2001 Annual Report
2001 Annual Report
So, just what did we all do during the last year? Not a whole lot, but we never seemed to have enough time to do it. I've finally retired from the soccer wars, after 27 years with the same Lake Sammamish Soccer Club team. The aching bones (particularly a knee) were interfering too much with more important things, such as hiking in the woods. The team had a 62% winning percentage over the years, not too bad. I guess I've played on more than 150 teams in all sorts of sports, starting with Little League baseball in 1956, through shot-putting in college (best throw: 44' 4 3/4"), to the Deep River Inn dart team, the Monkey Farm football team, and many others, but have had only one undefeated - untied season.
Just a couple of bigger vacations in the last year: In February we drove down to Death Valley, and in July we flew back east for a trip to New Hampshire.
I had a pretty good year birding-wise, considering that we didn't go on any special bird trips around the country (well, the Bicknell's Thrush in the White Mountains might count). Added eight new ones to my life list (now at 663), and an Oak Titmouse in California ticked number 500 on the ABA list, if anybody's interested. A fun one was the albino Yellow-billed Loon that seems to spend every winter down by Tacoma.
There were no big projects at Dog's Breath Acres last year, although the yard grew in size a little. At some point, over the years, as the mowing changes from exercise to a real bother, the yard's expansion will stop, kind of like a closed-end universe, and start to shrink, perhaps down to a tiny patch of grass near the front door, a sort of green hole which will suck in all our gardening skills. Patti's rose garden is more glorious than ever, and we managed to eat of few things from her vegetable garden, with no ill effects (that we know of).
Scott and Joelene are graduating from medical school in June. They've been spending the last year doing rotations at hospitals around the country, we've kind of lost track exactly where. Scott's heading towards cardiology and Joelene looks like obstetrics. They're busy right now interviewing at hospitals for residency, once again all around the country, so who knows where they'll finally end up. Scott commuted from Boston right after September 11 to help out in hospitals in New York.
Allison and Mike are also doing well. We had Thanksgiving dinner at their home in Everett, all prepared by Mike. There are rumors that in a past career he was once a cook, the meal was great. Mike's landscaping business keeps him busy, and Allison has been promoted to Engineering Assistant at her small company, which is doing quite well despite the poor economic times.
Mandy and Simon are very healthy, considering their advancing years. Mandy broke a bone in her ankle a year ago, but she's trotting through the woods as lively as ever, and seems to have fewer aches and pains now. We think the glucosamine pills we put in her dog food that the vet recommended really work, so I've been having some too (pills, not dog food).
Our only known plans for next year are for a trip down to Arizona in February. Patti's friend Claire, who lives outside of Tucson, has organized a trip for ten of us, all old friends of Patti's from high school days in Arkansas, down the Grand Canyon. We're going to hike down to Phantom Ranch at the bottom, spend two nights there (probably contemplating the hike up the whole time), and then trudge out. A prerequisite for the this trip is a bit of fitness, so we've been hitting the gym quite a lot. The miserable continuous rain here has been precluding any conditioning hikes, so we'll probably drive down there early and spend a week or two hiking in the sun before attempting the big descent. Wish us luck!