It's graduation day for Sam, a young golden retriever who has been training with Ted Hoff at Cottonwood Ranch and Kennel. In this video Ted puts Sam through his paces, emphasizing the necessity for doing the training in a calm atmosphere. Ted also...
Lunar Waning and Solar Waxing
The last week of this rather explosive lunar cycle delivers both a waning Moon and a waning appetite for other people’s drama and trauma. We are ready to just ‘take care of me and my stuff’ and put everything else in the backseat as we roll along the journey called Life. Cottonwood Ranch and Kennel sits at an elevation of about 6000 feet, nearly half a mile lower than Telluride. So the winters there are typically a little milder than up here in the high country. But there was still enough snow last month...
The last two weeks – from the late degree Pisces New Moon on Mar. 15th to the Aries/Libra Full Moon of Mar. 29th, we have been rocked with scandalous news, accusations and testimonies from a variety of sources on a variety of subjects – all of them having to with either sex, violence, abuse or good-old-fashioned outrage. We have seen iconic figures and institutions topple from pedestals and ivory towers tumble to ground zero, where they must fight to survive. Special interest groups spout vehemence and angry politicians rally the disgruntled. Our friend Ted Hoff shares weekly videos with dog training tips, training sessions, or just views of a dog's life at Cottonwood Ranch and Kennel. This week Ted's young yellow Lab puppy, Drake, is getting training in retrieving. Looks like fun, and that's...
Visible Planets: Morning: Saturn Evening: Venus and Mars
Tattoos, Guns and Ammo or Peace, Love and Justice?
The last full Moon of March and the first full Moon of Spring deliver tailwinds of adjustment to our perspectives and environment, both personally and socially. The illuminating quality of full Moon lunations shine light on what we need to see and what we need to deal with before we can move forward. And sometimes we get stuck there; as the information exposed and situations experienced simply stop progress, require time and attention, deeper understanding and new awareness. We are often awakened to conditions that had been hidden from view – intentionally or unintentionally - swept under the rug or simply in the process of becoming.For the past several weeks we have watched Ted Hoff of Cottonwood Ranch and Kennel work with his dogs, showing us the training techniques he uses to keep the dogs sharp and interested. Ted emphasizes that working breeds need a job to do....
March 18 to 25, 2010
Visible Planets: Morning: Saturn Evening: Venus and Mars
Vernal Equinox and the Creative Spark of Spring
On March 20th, at 11:32 a.m. MDT, the Sun enters the cardinal fire-sign of Aries and the emerging season of spring begins. We experience a day of equal light and dark, a brief 24 hours of celestial balance and cosmic equilibrium. We are entering the season of increasing light, planting and growth. It’s a time when we instinctively feel renewal and rebirth, intuit the awakening of our Mother Earth and are ready to explore, discover and go forth.
I always think of Michaelangelo’s painting The Creation of Adam this time of year. Mutable Pisces – the numinous, invisible and divine – gives way to primal Aries – the creative spark of selfhood. The gestation period is over. The amniotic waters of winter have broken. Man is born anew.
Cottonwood Ranch and Kennel's Ted Hoff always sends us some great stuff about training dogs, dogs playing, a dog's life at Cottonwood. This week's video falls into the latter two categories. But the training piece is always there in the background. Socialization (and...
March 11 to 18, 2010
Visible Planets: Morning: Saturn Evening: Venus and Mars
Mars Direct in Leo and the March 15th 25º10' Pisces New Moon
The big news this week is the return to forward motion of our solar system’s “red” planet Mars. Retrograde since Dec. 20, 2009, this heralds an end to several months of subtle – and, at times, not so subtle - struggle regarding personal motives, desires and intentions. And as the tide shifts, we can look forward to an extended period of step-by-step progress in the most individually prized and precious areas of our life.
Ancient god of war and ruler of all things masculine, Mars energy stimulates, motivates and propels. It is the balancing yang of the feminine yin, complement to Venus, valiant warrior in times of trouble and instinctive life force attempting to get our soul’s needs met. Primitive and primal, Mars is all about battle and survival. It’s where we are willing to fight for what we want, defend what we value and pursue what we love. It fuels our sense of self, sustains our physical vitality and encourages us to take action – especially where personal agendas are at stake.
