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morning run:
Oscar
Otto
Archie
Chester
Rufus
Tuesday
Frankie
(7)
Tuesday still cannot be trusted. I let her off the leash a little past the 1km mark, and she was fine for the almost entire run; she listened to me, let me give her pets and water, and generally had a good time with everyone. We went out to the northern hidden trail, down to the beach, back into the monte at the tortuga sign and home. Right past the tortuga sign, Tuesday started to shy away from me and got farther and farther ahead; she would not be reasoned with, and basically had us sprinting the last 2km home. I don't know what started her off. We were all having a good time running around the bend from the tortuga sign towards doce; I had no intention of putting her on the leash yet, but she seemed convinced I did, or something. It was almost like she got paranoid all of a sudden, although that doesn't seem very dog-like. In any event her behavior sort of crapped on what was an otherwise nice run. Not too long, not too hot outside, very few bugs, fun terrain to run through. Who knows why she did that.
GRADE: C
morning run:
Gracie
Bette
Posey
Godzilla
Blue
Truman
Reggie
Elewah
(8)
I threw Elewah in because this is her kind of crowd. The dogs were angels, but this run turned into an epic without my realizing it. My intention was to head North in the monte towards Playa Maya and turn around out there before the stone bridge somewhere. Instead, as we were getting close to the point where I wanted to turn around I noticed a road heading off to the West, although it obviously had not been traveled in quite some time; the weeds were over my head in spots. I mistakenly thought this was a road that connected with the North charcos. Instead, it is a road that winds down to doce, although it does sort of connect to the road I thought it was initially; I think I must've passed by the intersection and not noticed because it was overgrown or flooded. In any event, we ended up on doce about 1km north of where the hidden trail lets out (subject of our previous run); I didn't know how far North we were at the time. Earlier I had been bitten by ants, of the same variety that attacked Ernie over a year ago now; I was only bitten half a dozen times, but those ants punch way, way out of their weight-class. I mention this because I don't know if it was a factor, or if we had just left too late and gone too far, but it was while running down doce looking for the head for the trail that leads to the beach where I started to feel a bit sluggish. We took a false turn, and then finally found the trail to the beach, which we took. At this point I was feeling fairly crappy, but I wasn't sure if it was late enough that we would avoid unpleasant people on the beach or not, so I cut back into the monte at Au Soleil Couchant, adding 1km to the already much lengthier than expected journey (12km according to Google Maps). We ended up coming home by every possible short-cut in the monte, sometimes fording crossings that were over the dogs' heads for 50-100m at a stretch (they were so cute behind me). I had to walk part of the way, and drank the rest of the water myself to get home. The dogs had a great time, at least, but the total time was over 2 hours, which was kind of a bummer for Roni. That road is definitely a place for us to check out together... there is a lot of cool stuff out there to photograph.
GRADE: A
morning run:
George
Shirley
Gowron
Ernie
Ziggy
Lily
Jack
Monkey
(8)
Ernie barked like an idiot at a huge bull that the local cow-people just let wander around loose in the monte, along with the rest of their now-sizable herd. Otherwise everyone was stellar. It was an odd group: representatives from the Fatties, the Running Dogs and Shorties. They all really had a good time. We caught some cloud cover, so it wasn't too hot; George drank most of the water anyway, but he kept up well. We went out via the shire to that hidden trail from the Northern charcos to doce; this time, however, I finally managed to figure out where the head of the trail on the other side of doce was, so instead of running down doce for 500m we crossed over and did a bit of off-roading to the beach. There is definitely a trail there, but nothing larger than a mapache has been on it for years. It was swampy, spiny and beautiful, if a bit dicey in parts. We came out on the beach about 200m south of the palm tree, ran down to the tortuga sign and home via the monte. Roni and I should go out there with a camera sometime. Bugs not bad. Flooding severe in places but subsiding.
GRADE: B
morning run:
Alice
Lucy
Ginger
Henry
April
Maggie
Ziggy
Monkey
(8)
Lucy had a little limp by the end, but she was good out of the gate and really wanted to run; she swam a lot, and seems to be over what was ailing her. April was on the leash until we got out past the shire, where it is still flooded, at which point I let her off provisionally. On probation. Never out of my sight. She behaved herself, and was off the leash until we got near the beach, where she was no longer listening as well. We took the obvious way out to the East, North a bit, down the Au Soleil Couchant access road, then all the way home on the beach.
GRADE: A
mid-day swim:
Zasu
Greta
Lucy
Henry
Gowron
Maggie
(6)
Greta did 7 laps in calm seas, Lucy swam a fair bit, Zasu not so much. Maggie came out far a couple times. Everyone was sort of out of sync.
GRADE: C
morning run:
Oscar
Otto
Archie
Chester
Rufus
Ernie
Osita
(7)
What a group. I put Rufus on the leash before we even crossed doce, and by the time we got to the shrimpery intersection he was fine and I took him off; it's just those first 100 meters where he's completely out of his mind. I wasn't feeling all that great to start with, but the dogs inspired me and we ended up going all the way to playa maya via the monte and home on the beach. I didn't intend to do that, but we got to the stone bridge in no time flat, and since that's the half-way mark it doesn't really matter whether we go ahead or come back once we're there. Ernie, chubster that he is, did 13k basically standing on his head. He did drink most of the water, but he was never lagging and was obviously having a good time paling around with Chester. For my part, this is only the second time I've gone that far and I was much better off this time around; I didn't feel like puking or passing out when we got to the beach, and was able to maintain our pace all the way home, so I call that a personal win. Flooding going down steadily everywhere. Bugs not that bad.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Gracie
Shirley
Rita
Frijolita
Eve
Frankie
Elewah
(7)
Bette sat out with a cough, so Shirley gleefully took her place. This was Elewah's kind of run, a Northern 10k out towards the stone bridge with other dogs as fast as her... of course, she would always prefer to go the full distance, but some days that just isn't a good idea. We didn't see another living creature except for the odd lizard and the inevitable birds. The bugs weren't bad at all, but much of the monte is still flooded; usually the two things go hand in hand. Shirley drank a lot of water (Elewah is number two on the water-drinkers list). Everyone had a good time.
GRADE: A
evening walk:
Zasu
Miles
Henry
Tito
Maggie
Gowron
(6)
Miles dawdled a lot, Maggie dawdled a little, but in general everyone was good. Mom, Gowron and Zasu went down to the beach at the end and stuck their toes in the water, but only Gowron truly felt the call of the sea. Cute little crew.
GRADE: B
morning run:
Alice
Ginger
George
Chester
Ernie
Monkey
(6)
Lucy looked like she wanted to go but then decided it against it right outside the gate, so I came back and let her into the yard. She still isn't right after her intestinal illness. Ginger was right as rain, and she had the same thing (but not as bad). The monte is less flooded each day, although still pretty flooded most places. We went out North to that little "hidden" trail that goes from the charcos to doce; it's still half underwater, but it goes up and down so it's a fun run. Doce, on the other hand, is no fun at all, but there's only a few hundred meters to go there. We went back into the monte at Au Soleil Couchant and came home the usual way. Everyone was good and had fun.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Henry
Blue
Reggie
Maggie
April
Ziggy
Monkey
(7)
Excellent group, although we missed Molly (recovering from her surgery). Did the southern ~9k, mainly to avoid areas of heavy xmul concentration with all these hairy little dogs. April was on the leash the whole way until we hit the shrimpery trail on the way home. Everyone was good. Flooding is going down. Bugs were not that bad for once.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Oscar
Otto
Archie
Rufus
Truman
Lily
Jack
(7)
This was a stellar group. I put Truman in instead of Chester because he really needed to go; I must say the pace was a little less frantic as a result, although we still made good time. We did the Southern 10k; there are still a lot of flamingos in those charcos, much to my chagrin. I've been going North more lately, so I thought I'd check it out again, but I'll go North again next time. Still, everyone was good and had fun.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Gracie
Bette
Osita
Godzilla
Gowron
Frankie
Molly
(7)
Excellent group. We went north and found a road that runs parallel to the Au Soleil Couchant access road, but further to the north; I saw it on Google Maps and was wondering about it. Although it is roughly half under water over its length, it has a lot of dry patches and it isn't too deep anywhere; very overgrown, to the point of effectively being an off-road run for a lot of it. It goes from the first Northern charco past the shire all the way to the doce. On gmaps it looks like there is a trail to the beach right across from it, but right now you cannot see it and it is basically impassable there. We ran South down doce for a couple hundred meters until we found the Au Soleil Couchant intersection, and then went back into the monte and came home the usual way. Everyone acquitted themselves well.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Alice
Posey
Shirley
Ernie
Maggie
Ziggy
Elewah
(7)
Elewah should only come on long-distance runs for a while; I should've taken April instead, and I feel bad about it. Once again, I felt pressed for time and things just sort of worked out how they did. Nobody did anything terrible, and we didn't go for a very long one, but Elewah just jacked the pace up too much. On a 13k run she settles down after around 8k, and I think we may have gone 8k total today. We had to double back at Au Soleil Couchant because I saw someone with what might've been dogs down at the tortuga sign, and I didn't feel like dealing with it right then; we went back into the monte and came home the way we went out. The flooding is gradually receding everywhere, but most of where we go is still under water.
GRADE: B
morning run:
Oscar
Otto
Archie
Chester
Rufus
Tuesday
Monkey
(7)
Good group, went fairly far (10+k). Took the northern route out towards playa maya, but did not get to the stone bridge, which is the halfway point of the 13k loop. It is less flooded, but still quite a bit under water. Tuesday was only on the leash within ~1.5km of the house; otherwise, she was off and did well. Rufus also did a little better at the gate today.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Gracie
Bette
Alice
Frijolita
Rita
Gowron
Molly
Elewah
(8)
I threw Alice in because she's fat, and she was asking nicely at the gate when everyone else was being a jerk. She kept up and had a good time. It was another medium-length run, perhaps approaching 10k (9 and change). Still extremely flooded in parts. Elewah continues to prove herself a pain in the ass (reminds me so much of Gracie a couple years ago). She was always too far ahead and jacking up the pace, which was quick to begin with. At one point Elewah and Gracie had something treed in the impenetrable brush and woods behind the observation platform/palapa in the southern charcos, and Elewah was calling for backup. Everyone who answered the call came back to me quickly, and the guilty parties were not far behind. I was glad to see that Molly was not in Elewah's thrall like her pups are; she always came back to me in preference to following Elewah. We avoided the beach, but there was plenty of swimming in the monte.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Alice
Lucy
Ginger
Henry
George
Ernie
Tuesday
Frankie
(8)
About 500m out, just past the turn onto the dirty road, I noticed Lucy lagging. She had been up for the run at the gate, and although she was a bit slow to that point that is normal for her. She wasn't limping, just slow. By the time we passed 1km it was obvious that she wasn't going to make anything like a real run. I couldn't quite figure out what was wrong, but she just didn't want to run. She was fine with swimming in the charcos, but not running. We cut it short at the tortuga road and headed home on the beach, where she also swam a lot. Not sure what is up, need to watch her. Her gums look good, and she seems in a good mood. Everyone else was good, including Tuesday, who was off the leash for a lot of it.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Truman
Blue
Eve
April
Maggie
Ziggy
Monkey
(7)
Good group. April was on the leash for all but the last 50m coming home, but was good about it and had a good time. It was a decent length, via the southern charcos. I had forgotten how many flamingos were there the last time we went, and we did bother a couple coming around the horn to the south because they were so close to the road. We should not go that way for a few days, I don't like to bother them even a little. It was about half and half slogging through water and mud and running on dry ground. Everyone listened well, and for the first time Monkey gave me no trouble at the gate coming home.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Oscar
Otto
Archie
Chester
Rufus
Osita
Godzilla
Molly
(8)
I thought it would do Molly some good to go on a run where every single other dog is well-behaved and proven. Instead of trying to put her on the leash, I stopped about a dozen times along the way, made her come all the way to me from wherever she was and give me a kiss before we continued. Next time out we'll try the leash again. Everyone else was good. We did the southern 10k, basically, except we skipped the beach and came home in the monte. I hate to mention this, but I feel it should be noted in time: today we came across a group of about half a dozen dead dogs at the corner where you turn on to the dirty road behind the shrimpery. I believe they had been shot and dumped there, and it must've been yesterday, because we went that way the day before and there was nothing there. Nobody we knew. Grim. The dogs didn't pay it much mind. Still flooded. Still buggy.
GRADE: A
