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morning run:
Gracie
Shirley
Posey
Ernie
Elewah
Lily
Jack
(7)
Elewah is a pain in the ass. I think I have vowed this before here, but I swear I will never take her again with her pups. They got thrown in together today because I was running late and just decided to take whatever dogs were outside for expediency's sake; I didn't feel like going through the hassle of dragging her or her pups upstairs after we had gotten everything set. It wasn't a total disaster, but Elewah did set the pace (FAST) and dragged her pups up ahead with her a bit too much for my taste. Everyone else was good, and Elewah wasn't terrible or anything. Near the end a fox crossed the road about 20m ahead of us and Elewah (on point of course) took off after it into the dense bushes at that intersection, dragging Posey and her pups with her. Remarkably, Gracie did not join the festivities, which I found interesting and gratifying. Still, in the end everyone who chased came out of the brush and back to me in fairly short order. Hot out because we left late. Flooded and bitey.
GRADE: B
morning run:
Alice
Lucy
Ginger
George
Ernie
Ziggy
Monkey
Molly
(8)
Mostly fatties in a thoroughly flooded monte. We went a reasonable distance - not a short one, like I have been doing with the fatties, but not a long one, either. Went out via the dirty road, south past the intersection, and around to the turn west near Bag End. We took Elewah's shortcut through to the shire and then back around to the tortuga turn and home the way we came. Ernie barked at some birders on a moto, but he stopped when I told him to. Molly needs a lot more work on the leash. The sisters kept up and had a good time. Everyone swam a lot, and frequently there was no choice.
GRADE: B
morning run:
Oscar
Otto
Archie
Chester
Rufus
Eve
Monkey
(7)
Monkey got thrown in because she's starting to show signs of chubbiness, so she's now on heavy rotation (hah). She was stellar until the very end, when she gave me a little attitude at the gate. Rufus was unbelievably worked up at the gate when we were leaving, but calmed down quickly as usual; we need to work on that. The monte is INCREDIBLY FLOODED. We took the alternate route North down the dirty road because it's less flooded, went east of the intersection and then South and all the way around back North to the Au Soleil Couchant access road. It's mostly high and dry on that route, but there were a couple low spots that disappeared into the charcos. We didn't bother with the beach today. Lots of flamingos. Bugs weren't as bad as I thought they would be, but were noticeable after yesterday's rain.
GRADE: B
morning run:
Gracie
Bette
Truman
Rita
Frijolita
Lily
Jack
Molly
(8)
I've said this two or three times now, but the monte was the most flooded I've ever seen it today (heavy rains yesterday afternoon). I took this crew out with eight AGAIN, because I screwed up counting when I was letting them out. I really didn't mean to, but then everyone was separated and being good and the dogs in this group are mostly on the "A" list; I foolishly thought that the good ones would influence the newbies. Out past the intersection, Gracie and Bette ran off into the flooded iceplant flats and scrub to check something out while I was deciding whether to go North or South, and when I called them only Bette came back. This led to about 30min of my shouting Gracie's name and tracking her through the swampy muck until her trail led into brush too dense to follow. By that point I figured she had just headed home; she had, and was waiting for us at the gate when we got back. She hasn't done that in a while and I'm not happy about it. Everyone else was stellar past that point, though, and all stayed with me while we looked for Gracie, through some challenging, swampy terrain. We came home via the beach at Au Soleil Couchant. Lily ran far ahead and then turned around and came all the way back to me when I called her, several times, which is good progress. When we turned off of the beach to follow the maginot line (cow-avoidance) I learned that there no longer IS a maginot line: it has been incorporated into the property to the North and fenced off. Since we were already there we just cut across anyway, but we can't do that again.
GRADE: C
morning slog:
Alice
Lucy
Ginger
George
Ernie
Shirley
Reggie
Ziggy
Elewah*
(9)
I left with the first eight; Ziggy got tacked on because he is SO loud when left behind and sometimes it's just easier. It tires him out, and he's good on the road. The monte is even more flooded than the last time I went, due to heavy rains Monday afternoon/evening. I grabbed Reggie on the road behind the shrimpery and put him on the leash for a long while, just to make sure he didn't hurt himself. Once we got out past the intersection I let him off and didn't let him out of my sight; since it was mostly slogging through water up to his chest at times, it wasn't an issue. I had Shirley and Reggie on either end of the leash for a while at one point because she just won't listen and gets too far ahead. Elewah had been let out last night to see her buds, who arrived "home" late (full moon, we could all see). Today we heard her and the Brethren bark at us from far away to the south when we got to the end of the dead goat trail. I called her name a couple of times, but they sounded much too far away for her to hear, so we just carried on North. Apparently I was wrong, because she caught us out past where I let Reggie off of the leash, which was nearly 2km from where we heard her first (but not as the crow flies, and that's probably more how she came). We did a short loop out past bag end to the Au Soleil Couchant access road, down to the beach and home. Not very long but tiring none the less.
GRADE: B
morning run:
Monkey
Molly
Maggie
April
Ziggy
Gowron
Alice
Elewah
(8)
I threw Elewah in out of weakness, I guess; she just started sleeping upstairs a couple of days ago and I guess I felt like I didn't want her to feel trapped, or something. Doesn't always make sense; anyway, she was good, and I'm not going to do that too often. I threw Alice in because she's fat. I'm trying to get the sisters and Ernie in on more runs as much as I can because they're all fat. April was on the leash the whole way, which wasn't far: out North to the Au Soleil Couchant road, into the monte to the first turn south and back home via the shire. The majority of the way was flooded, up past my knee in some places, so even though it wasn't a very long run, it was a lot of exercise slogging through the mud and water, especially for the littler ones. Molly and Monkey both gave me a little bit of attitude coming back in at the gate, but generally everyone was good and had a good time.
GRADE: B
mid-day swim:
Greta
Gowron
(2)
Greta did 8 laps in calm seas. The bottom is still squishy and gross in places, and the water was even a tiny bit chilly (for here). Gowron was okay, but did a lot of screwing around and didn't listen particularly well... she's just so damn cute it's hard to get mad at her. Dangerous. She could rule Japan by herself.
GRADE: B
early afternoon walk:
Zasu
Miles
Tito
Monkey
Jack
(5)
VERY hot out there after around 2pm, even if there are clouds in the sky. Roni bravely ventured forth with this little crew; luckily, there weren't many bugs, but the clouds and the heat trapped under them turn the monte into an open-air microwave oven by early afternoon. Down to the shrimpery, around the dirty road and back again (due to puddles too deep for Miles or Tito) is more than enough in that heat. Everyone did well.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Oscar
Otto
Archie
Chester
Ernie
Osita
Frankie
Elewah*
(8)
I had let Elewah out earlier to see her buddies, who were hanging out on and around the beach near the cows. I didn't see her out there when the rest of us left, but she picked us up right away, so she was obviously hanging around. We went straight out North towards Playa Maya/Xixim, but I had no intention of doing the full loop today. I figured a good place to turn around would present itself, and it did: Frankie didn't want to ford the deep crossing about 1km south of the stone bridge, so that's where we turned around. That puts the length at around 10k, since the stone bridge is a little more than 6km. We came back via Elewah's shortcut through the shire. There were heavy rains yesterday, and the monte was as flooded as I've ever seen it. Very few bugs, curiously enough. Everyone was good. Ernie deserves special mention, since this was a long one for him (I threw him in because he's still too fat and needs it).
GRADE: A
morning run:
Gracie
Bette
Posey
Godzilla
Rufus
Lily
Jack
Elewah
(8)
Hurricane Karl blew to the south of us last night, to little effect here. The monte was quiet this morning, and there were even more flamingos than usual in the charcos just 1km away (right to the east of the circular intersection). No people whatsoever. Bette had to go on the leash just past the first kilometer because she ran off to do something wet and disgusting; she was good afterwards. Lily thought she might chase some birds past the intersection, so SHE went on the leash there for a while; she was good on the leash, and (mostly) good afterwards. We took a southern route around the middle charcos and back north to Au Soleil Couchant. Near the intersection with doce someone on a moto blew by heading North about 20m before we got there. Elewah decided to chase them, and even though she had no chance whatsoever of catching them I was still irritated with her (but I must remark: WOW is she fast). She needs to wear a collar when she goes on runs, and I don't want to take her together with her kids for a while, because they both followed her a bit. No harm done, and everyone was fine thereafter, but I don't like so many lapses on one run.
GRADE: C
morning run:
Alice
Lucy
Ginger
Ernie
George
Shirley
Blue
(7)
Technically it was the Gracie/Bette line's turn, but the fatties are looking a little ... fat. Also, it was getting late and hot and it made more sense to go for a normal-length one with the fatties than a truncated one with the Running Dogs. Everyone had a good time and did well. Lots of bugs and LOTS of flamingos. Even though we haven't had any rain in a few days the monte is still mostly under water.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Monkey
Molly
Maggie
April
Ziggy
Frijolita
Eve
(7)
We've had two of Mudo's girls recuperating with us post-surgery since Saturday, so it's been hard to get out; they are getting along famously with everyone now and healing nicely, so today seemed like a good day to take the fourth line out for a spin. Frjiolita and Eve are always stellar, and set a good example for everyone else, who behaved themselves and had a good time. April was on the leash the entire way and did well. We didn't go terribly far, but far enough, and we did it quickly. Lots of swimming in the flooded charcos and on the beach. Lots of flamingos in the monte.
GRADE: A
late morning swim:
Greta
(1)
The ocean is at one of its ridiculously low tides right now, and there is a ton of seaweed gumming up the works; stinky in spots, with a spongy bottom. In a word: gross. Greta did six laps, and it was hard for her. She, in turn, made it hard for me; I had to carry her down from upstairs all the way to the beach (she did NOT want to go), and then carry her a LONG way out to swim each lap... well, it seemed long, anyway.
GRADE: B
morning run:
Oscar
Otto
Archie
Chester
Rufus
Truman
Rita
Elewah
(8)
Longest run ever (13k according to Google Earth). We went north until we finally hit the access road just to the south of Playa Maya (maybe 200m south), took it down to the beach, then south 4k to the tortuga sign and back home via the monte: a super-sized Lollipop run. It turns out they do work the salt charcos that far out, and it sure looked like tough going to me. The dogs were all angels and had a lot of fun. I was fairly wrecked on the beach, but I managed to pull it together by the tortuga sign. It is really beautiful out there. Bugs were pretty bad in spots.
GRADE: A
mid-day swim:
Zasu
Greta
Gowron
Maggie
Ziggy
(5)
Greta did 7 laps like a champ and even larked around a little. Zasu swam quite a lot, getting a bit of her mojo back; she stayed out later than everyone else. Maggie does not listen well, and she and Ziggy also distract each other a bit too much, but they still did well and swam a lot. PupG was an angel, although she is easily influenced (*cough* MAGGIE).
GRADE: B
morning run:
Alice
Lucy
Ginger
George
Ernie
Reggie
Frankie
(7)
Good group. Reggie was on the leash quite a bit as a preventative measure, since he wounded himself so badly on his last outing several weeks ago. He's all healed up now and we want it to stay that way, so he was either on the leash or not out of my sight (I let him off to go jump in the charcos and screw around a bit... he is a dog, after all). We basically did the Lollipop route: down to the tortuga sign access road, then east into the monte in a great circle coming out at Au Soleil Couchant, back into the monte at the tortuga sign and home the way we came. There was no wind, so the bugs were back, but it wasn't as bad as it has been recently (still pretty bad, though). Lots of flamingos, very few people. Nice run.
GRADE: A
mid-day swim:
Zasu
Greta
Gowron
Ziggy
Molly
(5)
Getting back in the saddle after a little bit of a lay-off. Zasu was not her usual enthusiastic self, but she did swim a fair amount. Greta did 7 hard laps. Everyone else was ridiculously cute and had a good time; Molly swam especially well, and is becoming quite a water dog. Water was a bit cloudy, bugs bad at times, still beautiful and fun for all.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Gracie
Bette
Shirley
Henry
Posey
Osita
Eve
Blue
(8)
Shirley talked me into it, Henry had already been promised, and this is a really good group, so once again I took eight. Not going to make a habit of it, but it was fine today. We saw no people whatsoever the entire length of the run, and did a fair bit of off-roading in some of the northern charcos. I keep forgetting that Osita and Eve don't like to ford crossings over their heads; this complicated things a little bit, but we ended up forging a new trail through some pretty cool woods as a result. The wind really picked up during the run, so the bugs were not a problem for the first time in months. Henry is a little trooper, and deserves a medal for some of the crossings he made today. Flamingos everywhere, and very close to us at times.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Monkey
Molly
Maggie
April
Ziggy
Lily
Jack
Elewah
(8)
Alright, I admit that taking this many untested dogs at once was a bad idea, and that's without considering what a nut-job April is. The latter made me pay for letting her off the leash out past the intersection, where she disappeared for 15 minutes and left me screaming my head off. As much as I love the sound of her name, hearing it reverberate off of the swamps while I shout myself hoarse is not my idea of a good time. She showed up no worse for wear, and everyone else vamped admirably; naturally, she was on the leash for the rest of the run, and will remain on the leash for the rest of her natural life. Ziggy was having some butt issues, but he's a trooper. Everyone else behaved well, especially Molly (her rookie run). We didn't really go that far, but the monte is completely flooded so there's a lot of slogging through water and mud up to your knees. Let's cal it a win, anyway.
GRADE: C
morning run:
Oscar
Otto
Archie
Chester
Rufus
Frijolita
Godzilla
Elewah
(8)
The past couple days have been hard (work, not feeling well), so I was dead set on going today regardless. We left late but had some cloud cover, so the heat wasn't really a factor. This group is good for exploring, so we went farther north than we have ever been except in Jeep: out past no-man's land to the north, where the road is under water more than half the way for at least 2km. It starts to dry out and is passable after that, at least for long stretches. I kept wanting to see what was around the next bend, but somewhere out there I realized we had gone a LONG way north, so we turned around. Beautiful, all kinds of birds everywhere (but no flamingos to the north, curiously). We were probably about as far north as playa maya when we turned around, maybe a little to the south. Everyone was stellar. Hard one.
GRADE: A-
