When I was a child, my dad used to tell me to “go outside and blow the stink off!” It was his way of keeping us active and avoiding the depressive, long, boring days of winter and cold weather. After lying around for several weeks and helping Rocket adjust to his new medications and routine, we needed to “get outside and blow the stink off!”
It did, indeed, feel good to get back out on the trail and do some late winter hiking. Rocket, still a little unsure of his surroundings due to the medication, did very well on his maiden post-medication hike. We were worried that the medication would change him, maybe make him lethargic or less responsive, but he remained his old self, and we didn’t really see much change in his reactions to hiking and the typical sights and sounds of nature on the trail.
As it turns out, “getting out to blow the stink off” in cold weather does a body good! After our hike, we went home to a cup of hot chocolate and a movie by the fireplace. Frank and Rocket barely stayed awake on the ride home and once in the house wasted no time settling in on the couch in front of the fire, too!