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morning walk:
Miles
Greta
Kevin*
(2.5)
Roni took these two out for a jaunt into the monte around the shrimpery for some fun and to collect passion flower. Kevin the cat (one of Sugar's four kittens) decided to tag along and ended up going the distance, meowing his head off. Neither Greta nor Miles minded and Kevin's naturally intrepid nature led to some pretty cute photo ops. The bugs were horrendous after rain late yesterday and the weather is strange today: extremely humid, overcast, a bit warm. Greta's hip was bothering her a bit past the shrimpery so they didn't go too far but then a walk in the bugs with The Master Dawdler always starts to feel a bit l-o-o-o-n-g once the bugs make your position and start to tuck in in earnest. Roni got a decent amount of passion flower and everyone had a good time.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Bette
Linda
Amber
Zoot
(4)
Roni took these four out for a walk across the land bridge. It was a good group: nobody ran ahead too far or did much other than have fun and stick with mom. Passion flower continues to impress: we had to do a lot less wrangling at the gate with the ones who stayed behind and the ones who went were not nearly so manic. Very nice.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Blue
Eve
Truman
Frijolita
Gowron
Lily
Luna
Hazel
Tori
Murci
(10)
Northern charcos: ~8k. We left with Tori on the leash; Murci's muzzle came off before the shrimpery and Tori came off the leash soon after. We took the northern route out via the blue.bag trail and came back via the intersection and the alt. land bridge. Everyone really behaved themselves well the whole way and ran their asses off. We avoided the swimming hole on the way home because I saw some dudes over there working as we were heading south on the palapa road; instead we took the bag.end crossing to the jeep berm, which we hadn't been to in a while. It was extremely slippery out there in spots as the monte continues to dry out and more slimy mud becomes exposed; I had to pick my way forward carefully once or twice to keep from falling. I decided to get Frijoloita, Truman and Tori on leashes coming home; both Frijolita and Truman have leadership status among the other dogs and frequently like to screw around close to home and Frijolita needed some time on the leash anyway, just as a reminder. This worked out well: no unauthorized greeting parties or sorties and we all arrived at the gate together.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Alice
Posey
Godzilla
George
Archie
Shirley
Stella
Murci
Roxy
(9)
To the beach at Au Soleil Couchant: ~5k. This was a shorty for Shirley and Archie with the dual purpose of getting Roxy out on a run. She has so much energy now that she's over both ehrlichiosis and heartworm that walks aren't enough. Alice convinced me to let her come at the last second and didn't make me regret it; she lagged a little but kept up and had a great time. We took the blue.bag trail heading out. There was a solitary old dude working in the charco just to the north of the crossing and I noticed Roxy looked like she wanted to bark at him; he was far enough away and we were moving quickly enough that I just had to call her a couple of times and she forgot about it but I decided I should get her on a leash sooner than later... we're still getting to know her but she was definitely a barky little stray before she came on board. I managed to get her on the long leash and switch Stella to the short one well before we turned towards the beach and they stayed that way for the rest of the run. The ocean was churned up and stinky; the tide was low and large mounds of rotting seaweed were strewn everywhere. This suited the dogs just fine and they had a blast on the stretch south between Au Soleil Couchant and the tortuga sign. Alice doesn't give a crap about waves and swam to her heart's content. As we cleared the sign and started east I was assaulted by an awful, nauseating smell. Too late I realized it was a large pile of fish offal and filth some cosmic comedian had dumped in a hollow to the north of the road. Godzilla had already rolled enthusiastically in it before I knew what was happening; I had to pick fish bones out of her tail before we could continue, and the vertiginous, retching horror haunted us for the rest of the run. Whenever Godzilla came near my eyes would start to water; she was extremely pleased with herself. The rest of the run was a bit of a blur; Roxy was perfect on the leash when we ran by that fellow on the way back. I put Murci on the other end of the long leash with her on the coco trail and everyone was good to the gate. Good girl Roxy! Zilla got a bath immediately upon arrival.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Gracie
Otto
Tuesday
Frankie
Daisy
Twiggy
Monkey
Steve McQueen
Hazel
(9)
Northern loop: ~7k. Tuesday was on the leash the whole way as usual and was stellar; Daisy left on the short leash but came off early at the turn north to the wooden shack. The pace was high for the first 3k: Tuesday was only interested in running and everyone else, even Monkey, agreed. I was trying to decide which northern route we should take as we were getting out to the border between what I call the southern and northern charcos when I noticed I only had eight. It took me a few seconds to realize it was Monkey who was missing: I had just seen her minutes before when I looked behind me to make sure we were all together. Somewhere between the road that goes to the swimming hole and the turn onto the palapa road she decided to ditch us and head home. I wasn't sure of that at the time, of course, and spent 20 minutes dragging everyone else around calling and looking for her, running various awful scenarios through my head. In the end the area in which she might be was pretty small, we exhausted most of it and it was obvious that she was not in hailing range. I took us home via the most direct way (the swimming hole) and, sure enough, she had beaten us home by 15-20 minutes. I don't know what got into her. It was deliciously cool and overcast, which she normally prefers for a run. There weren't a lot of bugs. We were on a route she's run many times before... still, she isn't talking so I guess we'll never know. Everyone else was perfect and stayed with me through the whole thing. If not for that it would've been a perfect, high-paced run.
GRADE: C (at least we all came home)
morning walk:
Alice
Ginger
Bette
Rita
Ernie
Molly
Maggie
Ziggy
Bosha
Roxy
(10)
I took this group for a walk between the land bridges. We left with Ernie and Bette on leashes. Bette is an angel and came off right across the road; Ernie stayed on until we crossed the land bridge heading out. Roxy is obviously feeling good now; she was way ahead of the rest of us the whole way out across the land bridge, so much so that I had to run to get ahead so I could catch her once I let Ernie off the leash... I think she should go on a few short runs with Shirley and Archie. I did finally get ahead of her as she forded a charco and once on the leash she was her usual self: happy to be along and into everything with everyone. We came home on the coco trail. I left Roxy on the whole way home and had Ernie on the short leash by the time we got to the shrimpery and they were all perfect to the gate: stayed with me, crossed the road together, ignored barking and noises from other dogs. Nice, short walk on an oddly cloudy day.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Blue
Eve
Truman
Osita
Chester
Rufus
Jack
Tori
Murci
(9)
Northern loop: ~8k. I hurt my right ankle on Saturday while basically doing nothing: I just slipped a little while making an awkward, dog-related movement and was instantly in so much pain it made me queasy. Luckily Roni is a pro at this kind of thing and wrapped my ankle like she does hers; that plus an icebag, two ibuprofin and another day's rest seems to have restored it completely. Roni re-wrapped it before I ran and it held up to the stress just fine. I was a little ginger on it at first but it felt good on the run and it was a fast one. Rufus was the only one who left on the leash; Murci had her muzzle on for the first 200 meters. I took us out north via the blue.bag trail but I wasn't settled our route until I was sure my ankle was fine and everyone was doing well; we left a little late and it was a bit hot in the direct sun. It turned out everyone really wanted to run but I didn't want to push the distance so instead we pushed the pace on several long stretches. We looped around north to the head of the palapa road and crossed at the bag.end land bridge to the swimming hole. Everyone was really good the whole way; they drank a lot from the bottle and stayed close to me. We came home via the dirty road. I had Tori and Truman on either ends of the long leash and Rufus on the short one by the time we got to the final trail. I chose those dogs because they're the ones with a propensity to charge off in chase of some stray within 200m of the house and it turned out to be the correct call: we got barked at by a stray up near the soldiers' as we crossed the road (I think the one we got sterilized) and another to the south just on our road; if those three had been off the leash they would've formed a greeting party for sure but instead everyone else stuck with me and we all arrived at the gate together. Good run.
GRADE: A
departure:
Xmul*
(1)
Xmul had a nice visit and good run. She was elated to see Nicole on the beach. Such a sweet, lucky dog.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Otto
Eve
Frijolita
Posey
Gowron
Elewah
Lily
Xmul
Hazel
(9)
Northern charcos (backwards): ~8k. Xmul had a sleep-over last night so naturally we wanted to get her out for a run; she was on the leash as usual and a good girl the whole way. Everyone else was similarly good. We ran into an older fellow on a bike heading north as we were heading south towards the hidden trail and everyone behaved themselves; Elewah ran ahead and barked a couple of times but stopped when I told her to and Otto even let him pet him on the head a little. We took the blue.bag trail in both directions to avoid areas that have been the scene of recent freak-outs by Elewah and this worked well. At the very end, just 20m from our house we spied the little brown stray that hangs out to the south of us; she was in the intersection sniffing around and got chased by Elewah and Lily, mainly. There was a lot of barking but no hostilities; in the end Elewah and Lily came back reasonably quickly. The pace was high today; everyone was really up for it. The monte was beautiful and quiet and the bugs were not noticeable.
GRADE: A
morning walk #1:
Zasu
Miles
Henry
Tito
Ginger
Blue
Greta
(7)
Roni took this crew on a walk to the land bridge and environs. Miles was his usual infuriating self, not so much on the way out as on the way back. Greta was an angel; she left on the leash but came off quickly and stuck close to her human the whole way. It has not been so brain-crushingly hot of late and the bugs have not been that bad but it still was a bit hot and a bit buggy. Henry was happy to go in his new haircut and arrived home xmul-free, both a real relief and a testament to Roni's dog-hair-cutting skills. Cute group.
GRADE: A
morning walk #2:
Amber
Zoot
(2)
This walk was basically due to Miles: it is too aggravating to have these two along when Miles is in full dawdle-mode. They were both good about being left behind on the first walk and equally good about going out on the second walk. They really are a little dog-electron cloud around Roni: even when they're excited at the gate they never orbit but so far away from her as they leave. Roni managed to pick a bag full of passion flower on the way until the bugs finally made her position and started attacking in earnest. Zoot and Amber had a great time.
GRADE: A
arrival:
Xmul*
(1)
Xmul came over for a visit; she'll be here until Saturday morning.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Reggie
Daisy
Luna
MoMo
Mega
Steve McQueen
Tori
Murci
(8)
Southern charcos: ~8k. This group came together suddenly when I realized I could trap Mega and Steve in the launchpad easily; I let them in with Murci, Daisy and Mo all in a rush and then Roni and I wrangled everyone else. Daisy left on the leash and stayed on until we were heading east into the monte proper; she was a good girl throughout. On the road south from the land bridge we got barked at again by dogs across the charcos to the west; Tori, Mo and Luna ran across to do a little meet and greet but came back quickly to me. Other than that we didn't run into anyone or anything. We ran the whole palapa road, circled back around to the swimming hole and came home via the alt. land bridge. I had Tori and Luna on either ends of the long leash and Reggie on the short one just at the shrimpery and everyone was perfect to the gate.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Alice
Ginger
Rita
Osita
Molly
Stella
Maggie
Linda
Bosha
Roxy
(10)
I took this group for a walk between the land bridges and a little more. Since Ernie was not along it was my intention to go all the way around to the blue.bag trail but Roxy scotched this plan. The other walks she's gone on have always been between the land bridges so this time she dutifully darted across the alt. land bridge before I could get to her to put her on the leash; I can't blame her, she was just aiming to please. I hooked her up on the other side and she was an angel the rest of the way. Since we didn't go the way I'd planned I took us up towards the coco trail; we took a short diversion towards the wooden shack to the north just to give them all some more time to screw around, then turned back and came home via the coco trail as normal. Everyone was great and had a good time.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Gracie
Godzilla
Frijolita
George
Archie
Shirley
Monkey
Lex
Hazel
(9)
Northern charcos: ~7k. We took a slightly shorter route through the northern charcos today to keep the distance down for Shirley and Archie. Archie will probably have a little limp later but he enjoys it so much it seems worth it; he hasn't had a limp the day after in a while as long as we don't go too far. George also likes this distance although today he could've gone longer. It was still chilly when we left and the cold invigorates the larger dogs, especially George with his magnificent coat. We ran to the turn for the hidden trail but then looped right back around to the south onto the palapa road, crossed at the bag.end land bridge and hit the swimming hole coming home. We left with nobody on the leash. I put Shirley on for a little while when we were far out in the monte because she just wouldn't slow down; she came off in a kilometer and stayed a bit closer from there on. Hazel and Shirley were on either ends of the leash at the shrimpery to keep everyone together on the last trail home and it worked out perfectly. A happy and surprisingly up-tempo group on a bright, chilly morning.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Otto
Blue
Posey
Chester
Rufus
Jack
Frankie
Twiggy
Tori
Murci
(10)
Northern charcos: ~8k. Blue got thrown in as 10th dog at the last minute; she's always good and really wanted to go. We left via the land bridge and came home via the blue.bag trail, taking the more or less usual route through the northern charcos. Rufus left on the leash and came off around the main intersection heading out; he was a good boy the whole way. I had Tori and Murci on the long leash and Rufus on the short black one by the time we got to the shrimpery coming home and everyone was perfect to the gate.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Alice
Ginger
Bette
Ernie
Molly
Magie
Ziggy
Bosha
Linda
(9)
I took this little crew for a walk from the land bridge to the blue.bag trail. I was only going to go between the land bridges because of Ernie but he was having such a good time that I didn't want to cut it so short. Instead I had him on the leash for much of it to keep him from running so fast and so far ahead... he needs a pain pill now but I think he'll be alright tomorrow. Everyone was angelic the whole way and had a blast.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Eve
George
Archie
Tuesday
Monkey
MoMo
Hazel
Tori
Murci
(9)
Northern loop: ~7k. This group sort of came together strangely. I didn't bring the second leash so it was Tuesday the whole way and she was really good; she likes this distance now. It was getting a bit hot towards the end but George did well anyway; he drank a lot of water but kept up and had a good time swimming wherever there was water. The swimming hole is still decent at least and everyone but Tuesday did their fair share of frolicking. We didn't take the long way home this time and used the alt. land bridge instead, mainly for George and Archie. Everyone did well and ran hard. Archie needed a pain pill later but I think he'll be alright tomorrow.
GRADE: A
mid-day jaunt:
Alice
Ginger
Greta
(3)
I took these three on a meandering walk down to the land bridge and back; the dual purpose was to (a) get Greta out and (b) pick some more passion flower leaves, as things are drying up now and we want to make sure we have enough dried to last us. My three charges were angels and had a great time just sort of screwing around. I ended up gathering a fairly large bag of passion flower leaves before the bugs finally made our position.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Otto
Gracie
Rita
Posey
Godzilla
Rufus
Shirley
Daisy
Xmul
(9)
Northern loop: ~7k. Xmul topped off her sleepover with a nice run this morning. I had Rufus on the black leash and Xmul on the long one for the first kilometer or so; Rufus was good once I let him off. We don't want Shirley and Otto going on very long runs but this distance seems to be okay for them as long as they don't do it too often; shorties most of the time with the occasional longer run work out well for them. Shirley was ahead almost the whole way and had a great time. We left via the land bridge, took the ridge north and hit the swimming hole, looped around to the north on the palapa road, cut across at the bag.end land bridge and went by the swimming hole again. We took the slightly longer way home via the blue.bag trail just for some variety. I put Rufus on the black leash again at the shrimpery and everyone was perfect to the gate.
GRADE: A
departure:
Xmul*
(1)
We got back from the run with half an hour to spare before the appointed hour. I walked Xmul down to meet Nicole and her charges on the beach and there wasn't so much as a bark from either Xmul or our dogs back at the house - very nice.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Frijolita
Truman
Chester
Reggie
Gowron
Luna
Hazel
Tori
Murci
(9)
Northern charcos: ~8k. Nobody left on the leash for once. Both Tori and Murci had their muzzles on to cut down on the crazy barking before we left; they came off even before we got to the shrimpery while we were still on the first trail. Everyone was really up for a run today but I was a bit sluggish for the first couple of kilometers; I finally shook it off as we were getting to the swimming hole and felt okay after that. I was going to head south but there were so many flamingos on the land bridge that I called everyone back to me from the intersection and took the dirty road instead; everyone that had run ahead turned more or less on a dime and came with me - no flamingos were chased. We took the other land bridge instead (flamingo-free) so I just kept heading north. We hit the swimming hole in both directions and made decent time the whole way. I put Tori on the long leash and Hazel on the short one before we got to the shrimpery on the way home and everyone was good to the gate.
GRADE: A
morning arrival:
Archie
Linda
Xmul*
(3)
To the tortuga sign on the beach and home via the monte: ~3k. Xmul is having a sleepover with us tonight. We want to bring her back for short visits a little more often this year to make it go smoother when she comes back; she has so many humans looking after her who love her that we actually have to coordinate to adore her properly. I ran down to meet Nicole, Xmul, Mel and Rudolph with Archie on the leash and Linda loose. Pleasantries were exchanged without too much trouble and we separated with me and my three heading north at a reasonable clip (Linda is such a trooper). Archie came off the leash just past the army base. The beach isn't that pleasant right now. There are large mounds of rotting seaweed everywhere that were thrown up onto the beach from recent storms. There's a thick layer of the stuff under the sand in many places which makes footing unsure and frequently disgusting... naturally, the dogs don't mind that. We more or less picked our way through the soggy surf to the tortuga sign and then took the pace up a little. Xmul was good throughout, as were Archie and Linda. We took the blue.bag trail home; I put Archie on the leash at the shrimpery to keep him from lagging and rolling in something disgusting behind my back. Nice shorty with some cuties.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Posey
Eve
Blue
Otto
Tuesday
Daisy
Twiggy
Murci
(8)
Northern loop: ~7k. This was another near-perfect run. Tuesday was a good girl on the leash the whole way and showed no signs of her paranoid behavior. We left via the northern route again, took the long way to the palapa road and doubled back home via the bag.end crossing and the swimming hole. It was really quiet in the monte again today: no people, no visible marmots, only a few flamingos. We didn't go quite as far as normal in part because Otto/Twiggy were along and in part because it was starting to get hot after the first 5km. No matter, everyone was happy and had a blast. I put Tori on the black leash coming home and we were all good to the gate.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Gracie
Godzilla
Frijolita
Chester
Frankie
Daisy
MoMo
Hazel
Murci
(9)
Northern charcos: ~8k. This group was perfect. We left with Daisy on the leash to keep her from mixing it up with the other dogs in her excitement and this worked out well; as with Tori I leave her on until I feel slack in her leash and then she's fine. We left via the blue bag trail and came back via the alt. land bridge and the dirty road. There were no people in the monte and very little else - it was deadly quiet out there and very pretty. We hit the swimming hole in both directions and everyone enjoyed it thoroughly. The pace was high but everyone listened well, especially Murci who was on point for most of the run. I managed to have Murci and Hazel on either ends of the long leash and Mo on the short one by the time we got to the shrimpery and everyone arrived at the gate together with no fuss.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Alice
George
Osita
Otto
Archie
Shirley
Monkey
Amber
Tori
(9)
To the beach at Au Soleil Couchant and north: ~6k. Amber threw herself into the mix unexpectedly so we took advantage of it; we are pretty sure that passion flower has something to do with her improved mood and behavior. Right away she was a good girl, sticking with the pack and listening. Tori was on the leash until we turned north towards the wooden shack; she was also muzzled because of her barking at the gate before we left but I took it off quickly, on the run before we even got to the shrimpery. Once I felt some slack in her leash I let her off and she was good from there on. This was an adorable little run; they were all so well behaved and cute as they rambled through the monte. We hit the beach at Au Soleil Couchant and headed north. I was thinking we'd go up near the palm tree but to my shock it is no longer there! A recent windstorm must've brought it down... perhaps the same one that screwed up our water system. I had Amber on the leash before we got to the beach to make sure she didn't get freaked out and bolt for home; she was perfect like that the whole way home. I put Tori on the black leash at the coco trail and everyone stayed together to the gate.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Posey
Blue
Gowron
Rufus
Jack
Lily
Twiggy
(7)
Southern charcos (backwards): ~8k. We thought it would be a good for Rufus to go with less other dogs sometimes so I could focus more on him; this turned out to be a fine idea and we'll do it again. Rufus left on the leash and he was really fired up for the first 200m. Gowron does not help: her habit of (seeming to?) tease whoever is on the leash when we leave by doubling back and barking in their face as we try to run is aggravating. She was just about as fired up as Rufus... her tiny body cannot contain it all sometimes: she has as much energy as dogs three times her size and goes on the longest runs without tiring. Rufus kept wanting to bowl Lily and Posey over with his shenanigans after I let him off the leash so I put him back on for a little to remind him and he settled down in another 500m. This would have been much harder if I had another dog along that had to be on the leash. They were an exuberant group. The chilly weather, wind and clouds always makes the running dogs want to run more. The wind was strong enough in places that large banks of salt foam have formed; it was also chilly enough near the big charcos to make me take notice. I wanted the option of going north so I took us north first via the swimming hole; when we got out there it was so pretty and deserted to the south that it seemed like the better option. If we had left earlier we probably would've gone through no-man's land but this was certainly fun enough for everyone. On the way home we got barked at by a dog apparently hanging out with the lone group of salt workers we saw today, in the charcos just to the west from the tar-paper shack near the "terreno federal" sign. Rufus led the charge to return fire and acted like a jerk when I called him to get him on the leash; he danced around and made me chase him down so he stayed on the leash until we got home. He'll have to be on the leash within ~2km of home for a few runs - I've obviously been too lax with him and he needs more attention. Despite the misbehavior it was a nice run on a chilly day and it just ended up being some excessive barking... although I did lay out an impressive 50m sprint (after running 7k) to catch up to him. I'll be feeling that.
GRADE: B
morning walk:
Ginger
Archie
Ernie
Ziggy
Molly
Stella
Bosha
Linda
Roxy
(9)
I took this group for a walk between the land bridges. Ernie left on the short black to keep him from hurting himself; I let him off after the first land bridge and he was fine. Stella, of course, was on the long leash for the duration and had a good time. Roxy really ran around a lot but was a good girl; I put her on the leash right before we crossed the second land bridge on the way back and she was even better than last time. She's smart and a joy to putz around with both on and off the leash. I switched Stella to the black leash when I put Roxy on the long one and they were good tha way to the gate. We came home via the coco trail for a change and everyone had a nice time. Good group.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Truman
Rita
Eve
Elewah
Luna
Hazel
Tori
Murci
(8)
Northern charcos: ~8k. It was fairly harmonious getting out of the gate. Murci and Tori were on muzzles to keep barking and noise down before we left and Tori was on the leash to clamp down on shenanigans. Everyone's muzzles came off at the shrimpery and Tori came off the leash after we crossed the land bridge. They were all perfect the whole run. Elewah showed no signs of paranoia and stayed with the rest of us all the way to the gate coming home. Murci spent a couple kilometers on the leash for making an aggressive move towards a flamingo; she didn't actually chase it but she made it think she was going to and that's not allowed, either. She needs more leash.time in any event; she listens well but is so exuberant she forgets the rules and needs to be reminded. We came home the long way via the blue bag trail. One of the many older dudes nicknamed "Chino" was hanging out at the wooden shack as we were coming home and everyone was good. The pace was fairly high in places but Rita doesn't like to go too fast so we had to slow down a couple of times for her. She doesn't get but so far behind and could probably catch up if she wanted to but I wanted her to have a nice time. The charcos are still mostly fresh, at least the deeper ones, but things have dried out a little since their apex. The monte was beautiful and the bugs were only noticeable when we stopped.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Posey
Frijolita
Chester
Reggie
Tuesday
Gowron
Daisy
Mega
Murci
(9)
Southern charcos: ~8k. Mega just asked to go today with no crating or cajoling: it has been months since he's done that. We suspect that passion flower has something to do with it; we're still learning a lot about it. Tuesday left on the leash as usual and both Murci and Daisy left on muzzles to keep them from being so aggressive in the initial excitement. This worked out well: I removed both of their muzzles quickly at the shrimpery and they behaved well for the rest of the run. This was an upbeat group. We did the normal southern charcos route and everyone had a blast. Mega rolled in some awful poo on the southern part of the run but he horsed around so vigorously at the swimming hole that he effectively gave himself a bath, a real treat for yours truly. I put Reggie on the black leash at the shrimpery and everyone was perfect to the gate.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Alice
Ginger
Archie
Ernie
Molly
Bosha
Linda
Roxy
(8)
I took this group for a walk between the land bridges. We left with Ernie on the leash and as usual this was a good idea: there was no unauthorized storming of the castle and we all crossed the road together. Roxy was good from the beginning. She and Bosha have become friends recently. They have strange little games that only they play and they had a good time horsing around together today. I let Ernie off the leash after I was sure there were no flamingos hanging around near to the land bridge and he was good from there on, albeit very enthusiastic. Both land bridges were partially flooded but the alternate one to the north less so than a couple of days ago. We took the ridge north and everyone was overjoyed to smell and pee on the world. Roxy rolled in some poo a few meters north of the alt. land bridge and I thought it was a good time to try her on the leash; I didn't want to fight with her coming home and she's pretty smart so what the hell. She figured it out in about 2 seconds and was a pleasure to walk and jog with on the leash; I left her on until we got home and she gave me very little trouble. At one point I put Ginger on the black leash to try and cut down on the screwing around near home and Roxy wasn't as happy about walking on her leash with another dog on the leash bumping into her; I let Ginger off the leash at the shrimpery and Roxy was content to the gate. Everyone else was really good.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Otto
Gracie
Godzilla
Rufus
Jack
Twiggy
Hazel
Tori
Murci
(9)
Southern charcos: ~8k. Rufus was the lone dog on the leash as we left; his crazed excitement at the gate dissipated quickly once we were on the road but we're going to have to change up how we wrangle him to try and get the total energy level down... it's a little too much like a rodeo sometimes. It's overcast, blustery, a bit chilly and there was a spluttering mist in the air as we took off: perfect weather for a high-paced run with this group. I didn't want to go more than 8k with Twiggy and Otto along but that was plenty. It was a fast group but we kept running into serious flooding in the monte early on that required us to slow it down and slog through. The current was running north to south between the charcos that are spanned by the southernmost crossing, which is odd - it usually flows the other way, but today it was almost a torrent going in the opposite direction. There were many clusters of flamingos in the charcos to the south, probably taking refuge from the weather in the relative calm of the monte but it was plenty windy; there were piles of salt foam being blown around on all the shorelines from the wind whipping across the flats. We took the berm across to the swimming hole and there was a lot of enthusiastic horsing around in the water through that whole area. We took the cut-over to the alt. land bridge on the way home. I put Rufus on the leash just as we were nearing the end of the dirty road because I heard voices and a moto somewhere close by. Sure enough Angel (he of the chickens) was parked with some dude on moto-trike right at the shrimpery intersection. I kept my charges in check verbally and everyone was perfect; Murci barked once and stopped when I told her to knock it off. I was even able to exchange pleasantries with Angel as we rounded the corner south heading home. The wind took care of the bugs for most of the run and the cooler weather helped keep the pace up. Nice run, good dogs.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Zasu
Bette
Ginger
Greta
Ziggy
Monkey
Linda
Amber
(8)
Roni took this crew down to the land bridge for some light larking around; little did she know it would end with an epic Running of the Gretalope. Greta left on the leash to keep her from running too much and hurting herself. She settled down and came off the leash quickly but was laboring by the time they all got to the shrimpery. Roni took the pace down as far as she could for Greta but everyone else really wanted to get down to the land bridge so this was a constant struggle. Much fun was had along the shore of the charco and even Greta got a dip in. On the way back she dragged again so Roni kept everyone in check with equal parts diversions and dog.kabuki. Sadly at the very end things went from slow to too fast... Everyone else beat puppy.liebling to the head of the last trail so Roni let them go screw around farther to the south while Greta caught up. When she finally did Roni tried to shoo her towards home so that when she called everyone else back they would all be more or less together. Greta crapped on this plan by taking Roni's gesture to mean "RUN LIKE BLAZES YOU BEAUTIFUL MONSTER AND DON'T STOP UNTIL YOU GET TO THE GATE," which she did: she took off at a surprisingly high rate of speed given her unfortunate anatomy. This would not have been that big a deal if Ginger hadn't been doing a lot of screwing around on her own to the south; Roni had to yell for the laggers and take off after the great, galumphing gretalope, who is dangerous in the short distances and had a killer head start. Everyone arrived at the gate sweaty and out of sorts although most of the walk was good. Bette's constant running ahead and Ginger's mischievous shenanigans do not combine well with the stately pace that Greta should keep... at least Ginger's feeling good enough to be mischievous.
GRADE: B (not really sure actually)
departure:
Xmul*
(1)
Roni handed Xmul off to her Canadian moms this morning on the beach. Xmul was a good girl as were her pals back at the ranch. We'll miss her but she always has a good time with Marie and Nicole and we'll have her over once in a while for kicks.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Posey
Blue
Eve
Elewah
Xmul
Luna
Hazel
Tori
Murci
(9)
The long and winding road (the hard way): ~10k. This is probably Xmul's last run with us for a little while; her Canadian moms are back in town and she'll be going with them soon so I wanted her to have a nice run. This group was built for both speed and distance, we left early and it is cooler now than it has been for a while... all of this added up to: HAUL ASS. We didn't think of stopping for water until well past the 2k mark and our stops in general took no more than a few seconds: everyone just wanted to run. I had not completely made my mind up about going the full distance but when we got to the turn where the decision must be made Posey turned the corner north and shot me a look that said "LET'S GO DAD!"; everyone else was obviously in agreement so that was pretty much it. The monte was beautiful, silent, still damp with morning dew and, amazingly, not too full of mosquitoes. We left via the blue bag trail and it was my intention from the beginning to come home that way as well for Elewah's sake. She is obviously still a bit paranoid from the leash incident; in fact she was hanging back and acting strange way out on the most distant part of long and winding road. I resigned myself to the idea that she would probably want to dart off close to home and come home by herself but I wanted her to stay with us for most of the run so I just encouraged her verbally and kept moving; she got over her paranoia in a kilometer or so. The deep monte is still plenty flooded and there were isolated groups of flamingos in several charcos out there but no large groups in the big charcos like I thought there might be. We took the long way down the Au Soleil Couchant road coming home, split off to the south on the parallel access road and came home as we left. Elewah stayed with us until the shrimpery, which I counted as success. When I looked back for her at the turn onto the final trail she wasn't there; she took an alternate route in the last 200m and arrived at the gate about 10min after the rest of us. Everyone else was angelic and stayed with me. The pace of this run was really high and everyone had a great time. I certainly hope they're tired.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Ginger
Osita
Ernie
Molly
Tito
Ziggy
Maggie
Bosha
Linda
(9)
I took this group for a walk to the land bridge to horse around and pee on the world. There was obviously something interesting in the bushes just across the washed-out road; many of them charged across and investigated. Tito was not one of them and in fact got huffy with me when I suggested he come out even halfway, where it was hardly flooded: he shot me a look, turned around and started heading for home. We all finally caught up to him near the shrimpery coming back but it was annoying having to chase down a chihuahua. Hilarious. Ernie was on the leash at the beginning and the end and was good when he was off. Everyone else was similarly well-behaved. Ginger seems to be having less trouble than she was a few days ago - not quite such a leftist today. Ziggy looked fantastic in his new haircut, thanks to Roni: he and Linda look shockingly like each other right now, especially at a distance. All in all a nice shorty with a bunch of cuties.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Alice
George
Chester
Reggie
Gowron
Archie
Shirley
Frankie
Steve McQueen
(9)
To the swimming hole: ~6k. We left with nobody on the leash, a rarity of late. This was not an especially fast group so I wasn't too worried and we were all fine by the shrimpery. I took us across the now-inundated "land bridge" and hit the swimming hole the usual way, coming home in the monte via the blue bag trail. Frankie barked at someone on a bike as we were nearing the tortuga crossroads: very annoying, so she went on the leash for the rest of the run. I put Reggie on the short black leash for the last trail home to keep him from tearing home in his excitement to see mom and tell her about all the places he pooped. We all arrived at the gate together. Alice and George lagged at times but were both really up for it; Alice was on point on the way home so she couldn't have been but so tired. It was a bit cooler out than it has been for a while so the huskier/older dogs had no troubles.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Gracie
Truman
Rita
Rufus
Jack
Daisy
MoMo
Xmul
Lex
(9)
Northern charcos: ~8k. Leaving with Xmul and Rufus both on leashes is like some kind of training exercise that would've appealed to Roman gladiators: we go crashing through the wilderness at a high rate of speed so I just focus on keeping my feet under me and my mouth closed (you never know what might fly in there otherwise). I let Rufus off when I felt some slack in his leash as we turned north towards the wooden shack and he was good for the rest of the run. Daisy was good off the leash, especially in the first 200m when she usually takes runs at other dogs in her over-excitement. Instead this time she stayed close to me along with everyone else and we pushed down the trail in fits and starts, at times crazily fast only to stop suddenly as everyone surged together. Once on the shrimpery road things evened out and everyone was really into running. I was thinking perhaps the hidden trail but the slog down to the beach is going to be absolutely terrible right now after the rain we've had: I don't think even I am that grizzled. The monte was nice after a hard rain yesterday so I decided on a loop to the north; the charcos had a lot of fresh water in them and the general stench from things drying out was gone. We took the same route we would take to get to the hidden trail but instead continued on north and looped around gently to the south through the charcos; the "road" we normally use on this route was completely overgrown and under water in many places. It was a bit slow in spots because it was so slippery; even the dogs have a hard time running on that stuff so I walked us through the worst parts, in water up to my shins in some places. We went by the swimming hole coming home but I took us back via the blue bag trail instead of the alt. land bridge... we've had awful luck on that one little stretch from the intersection to the alt. land bridge the last few runs so I decided to avoid it completely. Since Rufus, Jack and Truman all like to charge north on our road when we get home I nipped this impulse in the bud by putting Truman on the other end of the leash with Xmul and Rufus on the short leash again as we reached the coco trail heading home. This worked perfectly: everyone stuck to me like a little cloud on the last trail home and we all arrived at the gate together.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Zasu
Bette
Ginger
Monkey
Linda
Amber
Zoot
(7)
Roni took this crew out for a walk down to the land bridge for some horsing around. Ginger is still not completely steady on her pins; she has finished her treatment and needs to go back to be seen again soon since she's still not 100%. She certainly does not agree with this assessment and doesn't know what we're talking about... so she lists a little to the left sometimes: so what? She was always a (Groucho) Marxist anyway; I mean we do call them the RED SISTERS, right? Monkey and Linda had to be washed afterwards they were so sticky with salt and mud: obviously a successful patrol. Amber and Zoot orbit Roni like electrons but are a bit too quantum-esque sometimes: she was concerned that Zoot would run Ginger over a few times in his endless pursuit of butterflies. They wandered around quite a bit and everyone had plenty of time to careen through the shallows of the nearest charco: a doggie wonderland of water, salt, mud and marmot poo. They were all good crossing the road in both directions and were ridiculously cute.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Otto
Eve
Archie
Shirley
Twiggy
Mega
Hazel
Tori
Murci
(9)
To the beach at Au Soleil Couchant: ~6k (perhaps 7k). We left a little late but everyone was really up for it. Mega had to be trapped in a crate and put out near the launch-pad as usual but once we left he was perfectly fine: he listened, drank from the bottle, swam out to get me every time we hit the water on the beach and had a great time. Tori left on the leash and things went much more smoothly that way: everyone else ran ahead a bit but we rallied quickly at the shrimpery. I let Tori off as we turned north towards the wooden shack and she was no longer foaming at the mouth quite so much. We took the monte to Au Soleil Couchant, headed north on the beach for a bit (about halfway to the palm tree), turned around and ran to the tortuga sign and came home the way we left via th blue bag trail. Shirley was a nut on the beach with her chasing lizards so I put her on the leash for a spell; she came off as we left the beach and stayed a bit closer. The bugs were definitely noticeable whenever we slowed down... note to self: remember to pee before we leave because exposing yourself in the monte is not a pleasant affair. I put Hazel and Murci on either ends of the long leash and Tori on the short black one as we got to the turn for the coco trail and everyone else fell into line with that. We arrived at the gate together with no shenanigans. Good group on a shorty with a high pace and lots of swimming.
GRADE: A
death:
Spot
(1)
Spot was not a dog but he was an honored member of the pack nonetheless. He was a singular cat, one of the first animals Roni and I rescued together. He and his brother were found as kittens in the parking lot of a gas station in Pittsburgh. Spot had a spot on his chest so we called him "Spot" and the other (who had no spot) "Not". Not was a gentle and affectionate cat who died young, while we still lived in Pittsburgh. Spot, on the other hand, had his own ideas: he did things we've never heard of other cats doing. He used to steal unopened bags of lentils and raw potatos and drag them into our basement as a part of some strange kitty religious observance. I'm not making that up, he did it repeatedly. He was ornery, opinionated, unfazed by dogs and an excellent hunter. He lived 17 years and moved all over the continent with us. He was spectrally thin in his last few months. It was out of the question to take him to the vet again: the last time we did that he was so miffed he took off for two weeks. We thought he was dead - he was already quite old (12 maybe?). Suddenly one day he reappeared looking better than he had in years. He stayed like that, ornery and aloof until just two days ago when he took a turn for the worse. He died in his sleep on a bed Roni put together for him, with both of us worried sick for days. We both admired him and his spirit of determination. Roni and I are both ornery in much the same way he was, a fact that was impossible not to acknowledge. We knew he was probably going down for the count but there was no talk of taking him to the vet: it would've been insulting and pointless. He's buried overlooking the ocean just on the other side of the fence. We loved him with all our hearts and miss him terribly but are glad he's no longer suffering.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Zasu
Miles
Greta
Amber
Zoot
(5)
Roni took this group out for a walk down to the land bridge and environs. Greta left on the leash but is a good girl and listens well once underway. Amber and Zoot continued their good behavior on walks: they larked around nearby while Roni negotiated Greta through the gate and closed it, didn't cross the road before her in either direction and behaved generally like a tiny electron/dog cloud, orbiting their human as if she were a proton (with Zasu and Miles cast as the neutrons). There were still flamingos in the nearest charco. It was hot and buggy but no matter, everyone had a good time and behaved perfectly.
GRADE: A
late morning run:
Rufus
Xmul
Daisy
Tori
(4)
To the beach at the tortuga sign and then some: ~6k. It was late but Rufus really wanted to get out so we did a short one to the beach via the monte and up almost to the big palm tree. Xmul was on the leash the whole way and Rufus for the first 200m. Everyone was really good, kept a high pace and had a good time.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Gracie
Posey
Blue
Frijolita
Chester
Tuesday
Gowron
Elewah
Murci
(9)
Long and winding road: ~10k. This was an extremely fast group early on: all of these dogs are built for speed and even Chester, the old man of the group (at least 10 years old) was up for anything. The first two kilometers were among the fastest that we've run. We headed north on the coco trail to the parallel access road to start with; I was thinking maybe curling around and doing the southern charcos backwards but when we got to the turn everyone (Posey, Murci, Elewah) really wanted to keep going north. I had the camera on me and there happened to be a lot of flamingos in those charcos to the north so I figured what the hell and we kept heading that way. When we got to the far end of the northern charcos we just kept going. Surprisingly there were no flamingos in the large charcos way out on the interior road to Xixim; I expected some dramatic shots out there but it was just a lot of water, mud, bugs and us. No matter, we hauled ass down the long stretch south with plenty of slogging and swiming for everyone. I was extremely aware of Elewah and intended to take us home via the blue bag trail to avoid any memories of her being on the leash... sadly Frijolita scotched it all. At the main intersection on the way home some dogs could be heard barking at us from the south; we couldn't see them but both Elewah and Frijolita were obviously interested in what they had to say. I told Frijolita to stop it and come with me and she looked at me, turned her ears off and took off towards the barking dragging Elewah with her: incredibly bad. She skates by on a faux good-girl rep but she's actually pretty bad when there's anything bad to be done. If she hadn't taken off Elewah would've come with me and we would've been home a full 15min earlier. Instead I yelled for her and Elewah to come back; Frijolita did eventually but all the yelling and screwing around with other dogs got Elewah all worked up and I saw her dancing around in the distance, obviously not inclined to come with. I put Frijolita on the other end of the leash with Tuesday (after puting Posey's collar on her, since she had none); Tuesday was not happy about that and Frijolita dug her heels in and didn't want to run on the leash so it was a fun 200m until we managed to get across the alt. land bridge. I was resigned to Elewah coming home on her own but then Tuesday decided to slip her collar and the wheels officially fell off. I didn't even pretend to chase Tuesday, I just gathered everyone else who, except for Frijolita, were all angels: they listened, stayed with me and didn't screw around any more past that point. We got home and I put Frijolita into a crate for 30min to register my displeasure. She will not be going out without a collar and will not be off the leash within 1km of home for a while. Tuesday and Elewah showed up at the road-side gate more or less together 15min later. I would say no harm no foul but Frijolita should really know better: it wasn't just that she screwed me over, it was the willful and conscious way that she did it, knowing full well (like her siblings and everyone else) that she was not supposed to do that. The majority of this run was beautiful, fast, challenging and fun but the last kilometer was hellish and a pain in the ass. Ultimately it's all my fault.
GRADE: C (most of the dogs were good) / F (me for not coming home with all my dogs)
morning run:
Blue
Rita
Archie
Shirley
Monkey
Twiggy
Hazel
Tori
Murci
(9)
To the beach at Au Soleil Couchant via the swimming hole: ~7k. I threw Archie and Shirley in on a slightly longer run for them; it doesn't seem to have affected them negatively and they certainly had a great time. For once we left with nobody on the leash which was nice for me, since I'm on the leash too when I have someone hooked up. I definitely didn't have my normal thunderbolts-for-legs today. I felt rickety and old at the start but the dogs carried me along with their enthusiasm and the pace was reasonable. Monkey swam the entire length of the swimming hole while everyone else jumped in and out from all sides. I wasn't sure about going all the way to the beach but when we got to the three-way intersection where the choice must be made everyone was obviously voting for the extra km so what the hell. I had Shirley on the leash at that point to keep her from punching herself out and to keep everyone a bit more together; I let her off on the beach but hooked her up again when we got close to home. The ocean was rough but most of them didn't care and threw themselves into the waves to come out and get me. Monkey screwed around a bit too much for my liking on the final trail. I ended up taking everyone all the way home and then heading back out with the black leash to bring her home in chains. I put her in the box for a few minutes afterwards. I'm sure she made a point of not learning her lesson; I would expect nothing less from Monkey. It wasn't so hideously hot and the bugs weren't terrible when we were moving.
GRADE: B (Monkey)
morning walk:
Alice
Ginger
Greta
Ernie
(4)
I took these four to the shirimpery intersection and then we screwed around for a bit so everyone had time to run around and have fun. I left with both Ernie and Greta on leashes so they didn't run like lunatics and hurt themselves. I let Greta off first after crossing the road and that was a mistake: she took off and I had to chase her almost the whole length of the first trail. Ginger's balance is still off from her continuing illness so I watched her closely. At a full run she tilts quit a bit around even small corners and was scaring me a little as she ran to catch up while I tracked The Gretalope. She managed, though, and once we were on the straight and narrow again she did well. I managed to confine Greta to the leash again and let Ernie off; he had blown off a steady column of steam the whole way and didn't seem quite as crazed. He ran around a bit and will probably have a limp but he had a really great time. Ginger was mischievous and funny and was glad to be out after being stuck at home for so long. This illness has really bothered her and us: she's coming to the end of her pills and she has definitely improved but still is not 100%. Alice did her usual bear-like screwing around the whole way. We arrived at the gate with only Greta on the leash and everyone was really good about it. Our pre-walk dog.kabuki performance was also exemplary, thanks mainly to heads-up play by Roni in the role of The General. At least we know now Ginger is fine for short walks. The bugs were bad and increased in intensity as they made our position in droves; they hounded us to the gate. I forget what walks are like so it's good to be reminded: running in the bugs is a hell of a lot easier than walking in them.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Eve
Godzilla
Rufus
Jack
Xmul
Steve McQueen
Hazel
Tori
Murci
(9)
Southern charcos: ~8k. Another fast group, this time with Xmul on the leash the whole way. We left with Rufus on the black leash so the first ~2km were a bit like having a team of horses under harness. It was slippery on the stretch of road from the land bridge to the road heading south and Xmul/Rufus hauled me down there: a proper pratfall. It was mostly Rufus' fault so I left him on the leash until we were well on our way into the monte and there had been slack in his leash for a while. Nothing much was injured but my pride and I was sporting an impressive mud racing stripe from my ass to my shoulders for the rest of the run - monte chic. Once Rufus came off the leash the run got easier and yet somehow faster. Like all recent groups this one really wanted to run so we did a lot of that without stopping too much. The charcos were swollen and overflowing so there was plenty of fresh water to horse around in and everyone did so with great abandon. There's no way to get a vehicle of any size in there at all so we saw no people. The salinity of the larger charcos has come down to the point where the krill that the flamingos eat is starting to bloom in earnest: there were lots of flamingos everywhere. I'm proud to say none of our dogs bothered them; Murci's attitude sometimes is a little too agressive on the shore so I was on top of her verbally the whole way and she was good. No flamingos were chased or harassed in any way. The swimming hole was so full Xmul was able to swim the whole length of it without her feet touching bottom. There were many cannonballs and lots of shenanigans. We came home via the alt. land bridge. I got Jack on the black leash before the shrimpery and had Murci on the other end with Xmul. Everyone was good to the gate.
GRADE: A
morning jaunt:
Alice
George
Archie
Shirley
Molly
Maggie
Monkey
Bosha
Linda
(9)
Tortuga crossroads: ~3k. This was mostly a run with a few stretches at a slower pace to keep everyone together. Shirley was always too far ahead and Alice was lagging behind so I put Shirley on the black leash before the blue bag trail. The bugs were noticeable in spots so we picked up the pace to compensate. Everyone behaved perfectly and had a good time.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Otto
Truman
Tuesday
Gowron
Daisy
Luna
Hazel
Tori
Murci
(9)
Southern charcos: ~8k. Our Internet died on the 22nd and just came back, so I'm catching up in bulk and some of the details are sketchy. This was extremely fast group - Tuesday was of a mind to run. We hauled ass with very few stops all the way to the swimming hole where everyone had a blast. Tuesday was on the leash the whole way and Daisy and Murci took turns on the black leash in spells.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Gracie
Posey
Chester
Elewah
Lily
Xmul
MoMo
Lex
Murci
(9)
Southern charcos and then some: ~9k. This was another high energy group and it went really well until the very end. Elewah and Lily (mother and daughter) were happy to run together and everyone else was right there with them. The monte is good and soaked now: the charcos are all swollen, and every road into the monte proper is impassable except on foot... just our kind of setup. We crossed west from the palapa road at the berm but it wasn't much of a berm anymore, just a narrow path with a mud border. The swimming hole was glorious and everyone had a blast horsing around in it. I had a feeling Elewah was still sensitive about the last time we went out together when I put her on the leash at the very end; I had no intention of doing that today as I have come to the conclusion that there's no point and that it was a mistake to try it. Elewah was her own dog long before she met us and despite the fact that she is now one of our pack she's still a retired Queen of the Monte. In retrospect I should've taken us home another way than last time but instead we took the exact same route past the "enchanted" charco across the alt. land bridge. It was there I noticed Elewah was really lagging: she was taking her time swimming in that charco and didn't want to come back to me. I tried to reassure her but she got a paranoid look remeniscent of Tuesday and took off back across the alt. land bridge heading east. I turned tail and everyone else turned with me as we all gave chase, but to no avail. Elewah ended up dragging us back through the intersection and around the horn to the tortuga crossroads. We were all hauling ass at that point but I decided before we got to the actual crossroads that I wasn't going to pursue her farther: if she wanted to run to the beach and come home on her own I was going to let her do it so long as nobody else followed her. This is exactly how it played out. I was proud of Lily for following me and not her mother as we all turned south on the road to the blue bag trail. I was of course worried about her when we got home and went down to the beach to look for her after everyone else was in... she was nowhere to be seen but by the time I got back into the yard she was at the gate on the road side so she must've ducked around somehow. I'll avoid the alt. land bridge with her next time and see if it helps. We all ended up running at least an extra kilometer but I still feel like it was my fault. In every other way it was a good run.
GRADE: B
morning run:
Frijolita
Rita
Rufus
Jack
Daisy
Twiggy
Hazel
Tori
Murci
(9)
Southern charcos: ~8k. This was a high-energy group. We left with Rufus and Daisy on leashes; they both came off relatively soon. I put Daisy back on once for a little bit after she was a bit too boisterous with a running mate but other than that she was great. The charcos were even more swollen than on our last outing and there were more flamingos everywhere. We passed a large group of salt workers who were just getting ready to work out at the large salt shack where the Au Soleil Couchant road begins; everyone was good and stayed with me. I had Tori and Murci on either ends of the long leash and Rufus on the black leash coming home on the coco trail. Hazel ran ahead a little but we were more or less together all the way to the gate. The bugs were worse in spots than they have been; if you stand still long enough in the monte they'll eventually make your position and then it's pretty bad... we just kept moving so it didn't seem too awful.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Alice
Bette
George
Ernie
Molly
Maggie
Ziggy
Stella
Bosha
(9)
I took this group for a walk between the land bridges. I let Ernie off the leash sooner than I did last time; he was just dying to go screw around on the other side of the first land bridge so what the hell... if he needs a pain pill later then so be it. Stella was on the long leash for the duration and was a good girl. The land bridge was partly washed out for the first time in months. You could still get a vehicle across it now but if we get another rain like the one we had yesterday it will become impassable. The smaller land bridge to the north was still high and dry. Everyone had a blast screwing around in the puddles and munching on the grass. I took the coco trail coming home because the bugs on the dirty road have been worse than anywhere else of late. Ernie went back on the short black leash at the shrimpery and everyone was really good to the gate.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Truman
Blue
Eve
Reggie
Daisy
Xmul
Hazel
Tori
Murci
(9)
Southern charcos: ~8k. The Heroic Trio (Hazel, Tori, Murci) were REALLY wound up again; Murci is especially crazed and should go as often as I can manage for a while. If she were a person she'd be an Olympic athlete and the rest of her little crew is pretty much the same. Xmul obviously needed to get out and even though Blue went out yesterday I took her on a run because I felt she wanted to stretch her legs... Maybe I read too much into her but she was extremely excited when we left and wouldn't stop whining and bolting around for the first kilometer. Murci's muzzle came off at the shirmpery as always but she was still too energetic. Her shenanigans with Tori as we were heading east across the southernmost crossing drove Tori into me from behind and took me down; it wasn't a hard fall but I managed to cut myself anyway and was highly annoyed with Murci. I put her on the leash for a solid kilometer and she did manage to calm down a bit but she was still on point for the whole run. Maybe there is something in the air because several of the other dogs were also highly excited, including Reggie: his yippie/high-five routine did not stop for the whole run. Daisy ran faster than usual and was even ahead of me in several spots. The charcos were all swollen and we saw significant numbers of flamingos for the first time in months. We all especially enjoyed the swimming hole on the way home, which was finally worthy of its name again. Murci did several cannonballs and Tori tumbled in like a goon while she was rolling in the iceplant on the edge. I put Reggie on the black leash coming home because he's frequently too excited on the final trail and crosses the road ahead of everyone else; instead Hazel, Tori and Murci took up the slack and crossed a little ahead of the rest of us. At least one of The Trio should be on the leash on the final trail home. They weren't bad at least, and the rest of us got to the gate only a few seconds after them. It was overcast and a bit cooler than it has been in weeks: a welcome change. The bugs were only bad in spots and the pace was high enough it didn't matter that much.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Zasu
Blue
Tito
Greta
Monkey
Linda
Amber
Zoot
(8)
Roni took this group out for a walk down to the land bridge. Greta should not go farther than that and it was already excessively hot and buggy, even though they didn't leave late. The weather has been a tad cooler generally the last couple of days but only compared to the surface of the sun. There were a couple shenanigans near the road heading out (Zasu, Monkey screwing around despite oncoming moto); it wasn't so bad but it was irritating, and Roni had to let Greta's leash go to deal with it, allowing her to run too much. Greta kind of punched herself out by the shrimpery but soldiered on anyway and obviously had a good time. Linda and Monkey had to have nasty charco water rinsed off and the bugs were terrible.
GRADE: B (too much screwing around at the road)
vet trip:
Tuesday
Petey
(2)
I've missed writing down a couple vet visits recently and will try to do better now. Tuesday went in to get a mysterious lump removed from her leg. It had been there for a while and had changed size so it had to go; we should hear back in a couple of days on the lab results. Petey went in to have hs right ear dealt with. He's a freak and paranoid and has had a long-running issue with something (nasty liquid) way down in his ear. He wouldn't let the other dogs clean his ears and he wouldn't get us touch it at all. It was quite something to wrangle him to the vet and I had to help Sandra and Vic (her helper vet) calm him and get him into position so she could give him a shot to put him under. His ear was a mess, especially deep down. Sandra cleaned it thoroughly and he seems to be doing better now, but we'll need to wash it out with diluted vinegar every week for a while. All in all a tiring day for me and Roni.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Frijolita
Godzilla
Gowron
Frankie
Daisy
Luna
MoMo
Tori
Murci
(9)
Souther charcos: ~9k. We left with Daisy on the leash and everyone was really good; PupG did not repeat her bad behavior from yesterday and we made good time early on. I let Daisy off the leash on the main road heading south and she was fine the rest of the way. This was a harmonious and happy group that stayed together and listened. We were doing so well on the palapa road that I decided to take us all the way to the beach at Au Soleil Couchant; the fact that PupG dipped herself in every available mud puddle and Frijolita rolled in poo was also a factor. Everyone was enthusiastic and happy the whole way; Murci listened better since I put her on the leash for a spell on her last run. We came home via the blue bag trail. I put Tori and Murci on either ends of the long leash and Luna on the short black leash at the start of the coco trail and we all arrived at the gate together.
GRADE: A
morning swim:
Greta
(1)
Good girl.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Gracie
Posey
Eve
Gowron*
Elewah
Lily
Xmul
Lex
Hazel
(9)
Southern charcos: ~8k. PupG was out of her mind in the first five meters and actually got into a scuffle with Xmul, who seemed shocked by it. Naturally she was not allowed to continue on the run with an attitude like that... Roni was right at the gate when it happened and she came out and collected the little miscreant before Xmul and I took off to catch up with the others. After that it was a pretty good run but the end was a little stressful. Elewah is the only dog here who hasn't been on a leash... she came to us under strange circumstances and stayed partly wild for a lot longer than the rest. We've always felt about her like she was a retired Queen of the Monte. She and Gracie were the most visible and dominant females in this territory when they were wild, each in her own era; Gracie immediately took to the leash when I first tried it with her but Elewah never did. On the way home I could not help remembering that Elewah kind of screwed me over the last time she was out by turning her ears off close to home and perhaps the time before that as well. Since I had the black leash on me (which requires no collar) I thought I might try to finally have her run a little on the leash, just from the dirty road to home, where she generally screws around too much. I waited until she misbehaved (darted off around the enchanted charco and made me yell for her) and slipped it over her head when she finally came back to me. She was not happy, to put it mildly, but I insisted and we made it home with her on the leash, doing her best bucking bronco impersonation. She ended up injuring her foot pad somehow and really worked herself into a lather. I thought it was important to at least get her on the leash a little but afterwards I felt bad. She does dart off sometimes close to home but she knows where she lives she was really upset by the leash. We'll have to see about that. For the most part it was a nice run.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Alice
George
Otto
Archie
Shirley
Monkey
Linda
Tori
Murci
(9)
To the beach at the tortuga sign and back: ~5k. I threw Tori and Murci in with the oldies/gimps because they're both so crazed and need the exercise; Murci was on the muzzle until the shrimpery as normal and I left with Tori on the leash to make sure there were no hi-spirited shenanigans with the older dogs early on. I let Tori off as we tured north towards the wooden shack and she was good from there on. We took the blue bag trail coming and going, hit the beach at the tortuga sign and then ran north on the beach to Au Soleil Couchant. That's far enough for Shirley, Archie and Linda for sure; George and Alice also should probably not go too much farther than that. Nobody minded and they all ran and swam like nuts. Monkey's feet are definitely bothering her. We don't know if it's some kind of fungus or perhaps a latent allergy but she's always chewing at them; the weather has been miserably humid and hot and all the hairier dogs are suffering to a certain extent but we're watching Monkey especially. She certainly enjoyed swimming in the ocean and she ran like a chubby little gazelle. We ran into a jogger heading north on the beach as we were heading south and everyone was really good; I saw him from far away and had Tori and Murci on leashes well before we were in hailing range, so that was perhaps a factor... he seemed highly amused by the dogs (you'd have to be made of stone not to be, they were ridiculously cute). I had Tori and Murci on either end of the long leash and Shirley on the short leash on the coco trail and everyone stayed together to the gate. Nice run with some fun, well-behaved dogs.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Rita
Chester
Tuesday
Rufus
Jack
Twiggy
Hazel
Tori
Murci
(9)
Southern charcos: ~8k. We left with Rufus on the black leash and Tuesday on the regular one so it was a crazed first 200m. Rufus came off of his leash while we were still heading south and was a good boy the rest of the way. Tuesday was in a mind to run and the pace was high. We saw a truck and a couple guys on the berm as we were heading north on the palapa road. I recognized them and I'm sure the dogs would've been fine but Murci was consistently too far ahead and I wanted to get everyone together so I put her on the black leash and took us around the fish-eye to the east which avoids the turn to the berm. With Murci and Tuesday on the leash the pace came up for everyone and we ended up making it all the way around the southern charcos and were heading south to the swimming hole when we ran into those dudes driving north. We ducked in to the swimming hole before they passed us and nobody noticed or cared (except the driver, who was obviously amused by us as he went by and waved). Other than that we saw nobody. I had Tori on the black leash on the last leg home and that was a mistake - it should've been Jack and/or Rufus, both of whom led the charge north on our road as we were reaching the gate. They dragged Tori with them, and then Twiggy who ended up turning her ears off. I got everyone else back in and went to get her with the leash... I was not happy with her for being so bad at the very end but it was just a lot of nothing in the end. Everyone ran with great enthusiasm. The bugs were noticeable in spots.
GRADE: B (bad ending)
morning walk:
Alice
Bette
Archie
Ernie
Maggie
Ziggy
Molly
Monkey
Bosha
Linda
(10)
I took this group for a walk between the land bridges. I left with Ernie on the leash and kept him on until we were all the way across the second land bridge coming home; he really wanted to go jump in the "enchanted" charco and he was already breathing hard so what the hell. He had a blast regardless of the leash but maybe he'll be less limpy now. I put him back on the leash coming home on the dirty road (already too far ahead!). Otherwise everyone was off the leash and perfect. They waited for me to cross the road in both directions and listened throughout.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Truman
Reggie
Luna
Xmul
Lex
Steve McQueen
Hazel
Tori
Murci
(9)
Southern charcos: ~8k. I don't know why I always forget how loud Truman is at the gate before we leave until we're standing there and he's barking in my face. His voice has a certain quality that is difficult to describe; it is incredibly annoying and got the other dogs worked up to a ridiculous degree, especially his fellow choir-members Reggie and Tori. Once we got on the road they settled down quickly, although Reggie was hilariously enthusiastic the whole way. He kept doing his little "yippie!" routine, bumping into the other dogs while yipping as though he was high-fiving them. Xmul was on the leash the whole way and really ran her ass off. It was hard work maintaining any slack in the leash but everyone else was happy to help by keeping the pace up. I thought we would go the whole way around but the dogs voted for the short-cut across the berm to the swimming hole and they were so cute I saw no reason to say no. The charcos there next to the berm are deep enough that even Reggie managed a canonball as we ran by. We came home via the alt. land bridge. I put Tori on the other end with Xmul and Reggie on the black leash for the last 200m home and everyone was good to the gate.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Henry
Greta
Tito
Linda
Amber
Zoot
(6)
Roni took this group out for a shorty to the land bridge. Greta should not go much farther than that and it was already hot enough to not take Zasu/Miles. Greta ran ahead a little (!) once off the leash and dragged Amber and Zoot to the shrimpery but they were good and just hung out. The bugs are starting to get bad now and the nearest charcos stink something fierce; Linda had to be rinsed off (but she looked quite pleased with herself). The dogs were really good and gave Roni enough slack to pick a bag full of passion flower leaves.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Gracie
Otto
Tuesday
Shirley
Monkey*
Daisy
Hazel
Tori
Murci
(9)
To the beach at Au Soleil Couchant: ~6k. Monkey hurt herself at the very first turn in the road from our house heading out. We think now that she stepped on one of the especially nasty thorns that grow in a thick patch right there; they do hurt a lot and she is a bit of a spazz. Roni came out and collected her while I was still there and the rest of us carried on; she seems fine now so it must not have been very serious. Tuesday was of course on the leash the whole way and was an angel. It was late and therefore hot when we left so I didn't want to go too far; also a couple of the dogs (Otto, Shirley) should not go on very long runs and the beach is a favorite with all of them so this route seemed natural. We took the blue bag trail in both directions. Everyone ran and swam with great enthusiasm; swimming in the ocean seemed to mitigate most of the effects of the heat so we did a lot of it. I put Tori on the short leash coming home on the coco trail with Hazel on the other end of Tuesday's leash to keep us all together on the last trail home. Nice, short jaunt on a Saturday.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Ginger
Bette
Archie
Ernie
Molly
Maggie
April
Bosha
Linda
(9)
I took this group for a walk between the land bridges. It was a bit overcast but when the sun poked through it was pretty damned hot. We left with April on the long leash and Ernie on the short one; Ernie came off when we got to the shrimpery but April was on the whole way and was a good girl. Some dogs that sounded pretty close by to the east barked at us quite a bit while we were on the ridge; everyone was great, listened and stayed with me regardless of their taunts. I put Ernie back on for a stretch there just to make sure but it probably wasn't needed. We came back via the coco trail. Everyone was great and had a good time.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Gracie
Posey
Blue
Eve
Rufus
Jack
Luna
Twiggy
Xmul
(9)
Southern charcos: ~8k. It was a bit chaotic getting out - Rufus was crazed and they were all pretty excited. Once we got going they calmed down almost immediately. I had Rufus on the black leash and Xmul on the long one for the first kilometer and we pretty much hauled ass until we made the turn into the monte. Once Rufus came off the leash he was great - no taking runs at anyone, just a lot of happy horsing around and running. I tried to keep slack in Xmul's leash the whole way and everyone else was happy to oblige. For a change we crossed from the palapa road to the swimming hole via the berm but then cut back and continued north to the road instead of heading home from the swimming hole; I saw a truck with a bunch of salt workers in the distance from the palapa road and our normal route would've taken us right by them. This group had no bad actors but I didn't feel like dealing with the other issues (ahem) and everyone was really up for running so what the hell... we took the interior route in the monte to the blue bag trail. I put Jack on the black leash near the wooden shack just to continue to work with him on being better about going on the leash and he was indeed better. He just needs a reminder once in a while. Everyone was good to the gate and had a great time.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Chester
Tuesday
Gowron
Daisy
MoMo
Lex
Hazel
Tori
Murci
(9)
Hidden trail: ~8k. We left and came back via the blue.bag trail. Tuesday and Daisy were both on the leash until we turned north on the road to the tortuga crossroads, where I let Daisy off. She was good the rest of the way. We started out fast and got to the turn west quickly, especially given that we went the long way and not via the swimming hole. Past that point Tuesday didn't feel like running as fast and the pace dragged a little for the last half of the run. Perhaps she didn't like the heat... when we weren't under a bit of cloud-cover it started to get quite hot and the humidity was ridiculous regardless. The slog through the overgrown path to the beach was slow and spiny but once on the beach everyone had a great time. Tuesday kept wanting to go into the water even though she doesn't swim all that much; I obliged her most of the time and nobody else minded. I ended up with Tori on the other end of the leash with Tuesday and Hazel on the black leash by the time we got to the coco trail; Hazel was still too far ahead by that point and it's always a good idea to have Tori under control when we're getting close to home. Everyone was really good the whole way and was tired afterwards. The bugs were bad in spots.
GRADE: A
morning jaunt:
Alice
Otto
Rita
Truman
Osita
George
Archie
Shirley
Frankie
(9)
To the beach at the tortuga sign and back: ~5k. I didn't want to go too far because Alice had a limp last time and Archie shouldn't go very far anyway. Instead of heading to the beach at Au Soleil Couchant we went to the tortuga sign and ran up the beach a bit, turned around and came home via the blue.bag trail. We ran slowly for most of the way, stopping to walk and screw around here and there where the bugs weren't so bad. Everyone swam a lot in the ocean and had a good time horsing around. I put Shirley on the leash on the coco trail coming home because she was still too far ahead. Otherwise everyone was off the leash the whole way. Good group on a shorty to the beach.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Amber
Zoot
(2)
Roni took these two out to just work with them by themselves and maybe pick some passion flower. This worked out very well on both accounts. Amber and Zoot had a blast and were picture-perfect, listening and staying with their human the whole way despite all the crazy smells from the moist monte and the bugs. Roni also came back with a decent amount of passion flower so hurray there as well.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Gracie
Frijolita
Osita
Elewah
Lily
Luna
Steve McQueen
Tori
Murci
(9)
Southern charcos: ~9k. This was a fast group to put it mildly. We left with Tori on the leash so she didn't harass Lily; I let her off at the turn into the monte proper and she was good the rest of the way. It was nearly a perfect run. We hauled ass the entire way, only stopping for water three times. Since we were making such good time and there was nobody along with issues we ran the whole length of the palapa road, west all the way to the beach and came home via the blue bag trail. Everyone listened and it was fun to spend most of the run with nobody on the leash. We encountered one (surprised) salt worker parking their moto on the palapa road; nobody so much as sniffed at him and I barely managed a "nice morning!" as we shot by. I had Tori and Murci on either ends of the leash by the time we got to the shrimpery but sadly that wasn't enough: the spoiler was Elewah. She decided to skulk off into the monte directly to the north of the last trail home and would not come out for a solid 5 minutes, after everyone else was with me. She finally came back covered in something disgusting and spent some time in the box upon arrival. Her shenanigans gave Luna ideas and she bolted for the beach at the last turn, so I had to put everyone else back in and then go fish her out of the surf with the leash. I should always bring the black leash with me, it's perfect for collar-less dogs like Elewah. Other than the last 5 minutes it was a really great run.
GRADE: B
morning swim:
Greta
(1)
Our little mermaid swam well.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Blue
Eve
Godzilla
Rufus
Jack
Xmul
Mega
Lex
Petey
(9)
Southern charcos: ~8k. As usual I had to trap Mega in a crate and drag it to the edge of the launchpad... he's such a strange dog. We left with Xmul on the long leash and Rufus on the shorter black leash; it's a little like being dragged by a team of horses but they were really good in spite of their enthusiasm. I let Rufus off when we turned off of the road into the monte and he was great the rest of the way. I cut the distance a little short this time, turning off of the palapa road onto the berm and hitting the swimming hole instead of going the whole way around; this was mainly for Petey because he's had a limp after going out the last couple of times. Mega was really happy and had a blast on point most of the way; he even did a cannonball at the swimming hole and drank from the bottle several times with everyone else. There were salt workers at the charcos nearest to home on the way back and everyone was really good. I put Rufus on the black leash again at the shrimpery just to make sure we all arrived home together and it worked out just that way. Good group.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Ginger
Otto
Bette
Shirley
Archie
Molly
Maggie
Ziggy
Bosha
Linda
(10)
I took this group for a walk from the land bridge to the blue bag trail via the intersection. Molly left on the leash; I let her off across the land bridge. I finally had to put Shirley on the leash out by the wooden shack to keep the pace down - she's just nuts and works herself into a lather. The hard rain yesterday left the charcos slightly less salty (Linda said so). They were a cute little crew and behaved themselves the whole way.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Posey
Tuesday
Gowron
Daisy
Twiggy
Steve McQueen
Hazel
Tori
Murci
(9)
Hidden trail: ~8k. We left via the coco trail and the blue bag trail for once. Some dude was out at the wooden shack; he comically hauled ass to get inside the shack when he saw us coming even though I told him repeatedly that nobody bites or is mean... he probably won't move that fast again all day. The dogs were angels, of course, and paid no attention to him whatsoever. We skipped the swimming hole this time so the distance was a little longer but nobody seemed to mind. Tuesday was in a mood to run early on and we made ridiculous time to the turn for the hidden trail. The hidden part of the trail across doce was really overgrown; if you didn't know there was a trail there you would swear we were just bashing our way through the brush but we carefully picked our way down to the beach without injuries. Everyone was really up for it and swam and ran like lunatics the whole way. We came home the way we left; the guy at the wooden shack was gone on the way home. I put Hazel on the other end of the leash with Tuesday on the coco trail and Tori on the black leash as well just to keep us all together. Nice run, happy dogs.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Ginger
Otto
Bette
Ernie
Molly
Maggie
April
Ziggy
Linda
(9)
I took this group for a walk out to the wooden shack to the north. I left Ernie on the leash until we were on the way home and he seemed a little less crazed than normal when I let him off. I had April on a separate leash the whole way; she had a good time but there's no way I'd let her off around here, she'd be chasing some marmot through the monte in a hot second. Ernie had a limp hours after the walk and got a pain pill; if he's okay tomorrow then I call that a win. They really were all very good.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Zasu
Greta
Tito
(3)
Roni wanted to take Greta out with her while she walked down the trail and found places to gather passion flower. Naturally, Zasu talked herself onto the team as well as Tito. Tito and Greta were really good but Zasu was awful at the end: she turned her ears off coming back home on the trail to go investigate a vehicle and ended up acting like an idiot in the road too far ahead for Roni to get to her. Really, really irritating. She's going to have to spend some quality time on the leash for the next few walks at least... I don't hope that she'll change her mind but maybe she will change her behavior a little. Otherwise a nice and successful outing on two fronts: (1) passion flower picked, (2) Greta didn't have a limp afterwards and had a good time.
GRADE: B (Zasu)
morning run:
Gracie
Blue
Frijolita
Truman
Lily
MoMo
Xmul
Zoot*
Hazel
(9)
Southern charcos: ~9k. Roni and I were surprised that Zoot put himself out there when the dogs were being wrangled; he acted like he wanted to go but he stopped on the trail about halfway to the shrimpery, turned tail and headed home. I knew where he was going when he turned around and I had a feeling Roni would be watching for him (she was) so I just carried on with the other eight. Maybe he'll work his way up to it gradually, who knows - he's a strange one. Everyone else was absolutely perfect the whole way. We took the same route as yesterday: south to the last turn into the monte, north the whole length of the palapa road, west on the Au Soleil Couchant road all the way to the beach and home via the blue bag trail. Xmul was on the leash the whole way and was an angel; we ran fast enough that there was slack in the leash most of the way. I put Hazel on the other end of the leash at the tortuga crossroads coming home because she was too far ahead even after ~8k... she just has huge amounts of energy. Everyone stayed together all the way to the gate.
GRADE: A
