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meet and greet quickie:
Tori
(1)
My friend Mudo and his cousins helped us out for a couple of days pulling out all of our fence and concrete posts at the shrimpery; we've decided to pull out because we keep getting screwed with and we don't have the energy to be watching it constantly. I went down there with Tori twice during the day and she acquitted herself very well: Mudo brought one of his many dogs (Palomo, a real sweetie) and Tori got along fine with him while Mudo and I talked. Good girl Tori.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Eve
Blue
Chester
Reggie
Gowron
Elewah
Hazel
Tori
Murci
(9)
Southern charcos: ~8k. We left with nobody on the leash. As we passed the shrimpery I saw the door to the storage closet, which so far had resisted the attacks of the local thieves, was torn off and leaning against the doorway. This makes two Tuesdays in a row that someone has done something to us down there and we're really upset about it; we're pulling up stakes and refocusing our efforts to find something that is ours. I was, again, very angry by the time we turned the corner and tried to burn it off a bit by picking up the pace. Everyone on this run was really up for it so we went the whole way around from the beginning of the palapa road in the north to where it ends in the south, coming home via the land bridge. We saw some rental SUV out in the monte at the start of the palapa road; apparently there were some birders around or something, I don't know. I had to call Elewah a bit to get her to stop trying to chase them but she relented quickly and everyone else was good; Murci went on the leash when I saw the vehicle in the distance and I left her on until we were past them but she was definitely less freaked out than she has been in the past. I put Tori on the leash at the southermost crossing because cow-sign was everywhere and she should be on the leash more anyway... we ended up not running into the cows but I could tell they were close. The bugs were a little worse than they have been (rain last night) and there were flamingos everywhere. The dogs were great.
GRADE: A
quickie security patrol:
Daisy
Twiggy
(2)
I took these two out just down to the shrimpery and back to survey the scene. They were angels together outside of the fence.
GRADE: A
morning beach jaunt:
Otto
Rufus
Twiggy
MoMo
Tori
(5)
Up the beach to Au Soleil Couchant and back: ~4k. We did this quickly and everyone was pretty good about it. I left with Rufus on the leash but let him off past the soldiers. The ocean is fairly churned up and stinky right now so there wasn't as much swimming as usual; we ran more or less flat out almost to the tortuga sign and stopped very little. Mo is getting a little chubby so I'm going to try and throw her in on little runs like this more often; she's always a good girl and has a blast.
GRADE: A
morning jaunt:
Alice
Lucy
Ginger
Archie
Shirley
Bosha
(6)
Between the land bridges across the ridge: ~3k. I mainly wanted to make sure no more had been stolen from the shripmery but it seemed like a good opportunity to slip out with a few that should only go on shorties. We left with Shirley off the leash so she wouldn't make that awful noise; this worked out well and I caught up to her quickly to get her on the leash. I let her off again after we had crossed west across the alt. land bridge but she dove into the brush so I put her back on. Everyone else was stellar and had a great time running and swimming. I slowed it down to a walk in a few spots to give them a chance to screw around in the charcos; there was much swimming. It was late when we went out and the sun was high and hot but everyone swam a lot and nobody minded.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Posey
Truman
Frijolita
Lily
Daisy
Luna
Hazel
Tori
Murci
(9)
The long and winding road: ~10k. Lily was loud at the gate and was getting the whole house worked up so I sort of released the hounds prematurely and we were off like a shot. As we passed the shrimpery I noticed that someone stole almost 30m of the 3m high fence we put up there; this is indeed adding insult to injury and I was incensed by the time we turned the corner. I think we ended up cranking out a 10k in record time because I just wanted to run and be in the monte with the dogs and forget how shitty humans can be. This was Hazel, Tori and Murci's first time out there, I think; the northernmost charco before you get to the long and winding road was really swollen and we had to wade for 50m before we finally reached it. Once past this point it was high and dry all the way to the inner road to Xixim and environs; none of the roads farther out there have seen any kind of traffic in a long while and there were spines and hidden mud pits everywhere. Once on the north/south road Tori took off north for reasons unknown (I'm guessing a marmot) and led most of them 100m or so north; Posey stayed with me and the rest were back within a minute so I wasn't too angry. I put Tori on the leash for a few kilometers anyway just to keep them in check; it was flooded in many places and I fell in Chester's pit when I was sure I was clear of it... pretty funny. It was a bit chilly out and overcast so 10k didn't hurt too much; we went by the swimming hole both ways and saw nobody out there. I put Murci on the leash when we were close to home and everyone else was good to the gate.
GRADE: A
mid-day beach run:
Archie
Rufus
Jack
Tori
Murci
(5)
Up the beach to Au Soleil Couchant and back: ~4k. Roni and I organized this so that I got out as quickly as possible; most of the dogs had no idea I had gone. We left with Rufus on the leash as usual but I saw there were tourists on the beach up near the HoJo so I quickly switched Rufus (who was stellar off the leash) for Murci, since she still gets scared of people. She did me proud and ran right by them with everyone else, ignoring the dogs at the army base as well; being on the leash makes her feel more secure but she didn't balk at all this time so I'm hoping she's getting over her fear. I let her off once we were well north of the people and we ran full-out to Au Soleil Couchant from there. The ocean is churned up and a little stinky right now but everyone still managed to swim a few times. On the way south I put Murci back on again before we got to the tourists and left her on until we got home. Everyone else was great and we got barked at fairly rudely heading south at the army base; nobody reacted and we were past them in a flash.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Zasu
Miles
Lucy
Bette
Tito
Godzilla
Monkey
Linda
Roxy*
(9)
Roni took this group out for a walk around the cow pasture; Roxy left the gate with them but took off on her own and came back ~20min later. Everyone else went with mom and had a good time in spite of the xmul and the bugs, both of which were horrible. Linda had hundreds of xmuls stuck in her coat by the time they got home; it's hours later now as I'm writing this and Roni is still getting rid of them. Monkey was fairly bad as well but her coat is more forgiving. The bugs were incredible but everyone seemed quite happy and proud of themselves.
GRADE: A
morning swim:
Greta
(1)
It was calm enough today to go for a swim, albeit still a bit choppy; the water was shallow and a bit chilly but at least it didn't stink. Greta did really well.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Godzilla
Frijolita
Reggie
Gowron
Stella
Daisy
Lex
Hazel
Murci
(9)
Southern charcos, short route: ~6k. A quick one to get some energy out. We went south from the land bridge, took the middle road to the jeep berm and came home via the alt. land bridge. I left with Stella off the leash but she screwed me over for 10min near the southernmost crossing so she was on the leash from then on. Other than that a nice run. Pretty out and lots of flamingos.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Ginger
Gracie
Rita
George
Otto
Archie
Ernie
Bosha
Tori
(9)
Short southern loop: ~6k. I had several that should not go too far and Rita's feet are sore and I wanted to avoid too much water; it isn't terribly salty right now but sometimes the shallower stuff seems to bother her. We headed out across the alt. land bridge like we were going to the swimming hole but instead of heading north we went east across the jeep berm, took the middle road south to the fork heading southwest, then looped back around on the serpentine heading north and went home the way we went out. Rita was in good spirits despite her allergy woes and it seemed good for her morale; everyone else was in their glory on a chilly, sunny morning. We ran into one large truck heading out to load salt as we were getting to the end of the serpentine; I stood in front of the truck to keep the humans in it from being jerks (they are) and the dogs followed my instructions and all got around it quickly. I put Tori on the leash shortly after that and left her on the rest of the way home. Other than the truck there was nobody out there but us and the birds; the charcos were calm and clusters of pink flamingos punctuated the reflections of the clouds. We did our best not to disturb them when we had to pass close; I was really proud of how well Ernie and Tori listened.
GRADE: A
afternoon security patrol:
Alice
(1)
Roni and I heard strange banging noises to the east in the direction of the shrimpery; given the troubles we've had over there it seemed prudent to go check it out; I took Alice along and went on a bike, which she likes a lot. It turned out there were many noises to be investigated, none of which ended up involving us... some city workers were engaged in another futile attempt to get the city water to come out here, some other dude I know was chopping down a dead tree in the monte farther to the east and some soldier was trying to steal the metal door off of one of the shrimpery out-buildings farther to the east than the plot we've rented. I reminded him that the land does have an owner and that seemed to discourage him enough to knock it off. It was a good idea to investigate, anyway. Alice was an angel and good to have along.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Truman
Eve
Chester
Tuesday
Rufus
Elewah
Twiggy
Luna
MoMo
(9)
Southern charcos backwards, short version: ~7k. It was a bit chilly today and everyone was energized - we were all a bit loud until they finally settled down enough to go. We left with nobody on the leash and I decided to leave it that way for the first time in a long while with Tuesday; I just let her have her head today almost the whole way. I put her on the leash as we were starting across the southernmost crossing going east to west, about 2km from home; she was good the rest of the way and I didn't feel like she got into her "paranoid" mood. Maybe next time she can be off the leash the whole way. Everyone else was stellar and really had a good time. The monte was beautiful and devoid of people due to the cold weather (for here). We ran through another salt foam "snow" storm on the bag crossing heading to the palapa road - really something to see. Lots of flamingos tucked away here and there in all of the charcos, which are still full to overflowing.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Posey
Osita
Reggie
Daisy
Petey
Steve McQueen
Hazel
Tori
Murci
(9)
Northern charcos: ~8k. We finally managed to get Steve and Pete out again; no idea why the tribe is being so damned difficult about this recently... only Lex seems to have any sense at all. Once on the road they were great and had a good time as did everyone else. I took us north this time for a change; we hit the swimming hole twice, once in each direction, and went out to the end of the northern charcos, forded them (not too high but slippery) and curled back around south to get to the road again. There was a fair bit of off-roading and I wounded my right foot in the brush on a pointy stick; irritating and painful when we had to run through salty water but not as bad as the last time. I put Tori on the leash three times because she wasn't listening well enough; she gets really pumped up, especially when the rest of the Heroic Trio is with her (Hazel, Murci) and needs reminders on the leash periodically but she didn't misbehave per se. Everyone swam and ran with great enthusiasm and the pace was high. Reggie is an angel and a really good influence on everyone; at several points he held up and had everyone else hold up with him somehow which was helpful and sweet. Murci is turning into a really good girl but I still have her on the leash near home or when there are people around... I put Hazel on the other end of the leash as we got near the shrimpery to keep the pace down on the final trail and everyone was good.
GRADE: A
morning beach jaunt:
Gowron
Rufus
Maggie
Linda
Zoot*
Amber
Tori
(7)
Up the beach to Au Soleil Couchant and back: ~4k. Roni managed to get Zoot into the front yard so I pounced on the opportunity on a run-Rufus-up-the-beach jaunt. Sadly, predictably, it was an abortive attempt: he didn't even make it to the soldiers and was back at the gate by the time we were past them. I knew this would probably happen so I didn't make any attempt to go back for him and carried on. Everyone was excellent the whole way up and back to the new construction to the north of the HoJo. For some reason Amber got The.Fear just north of it, tucked her tail and bolted south down the beach. I was a little upset with myself that I hadn't gotten her on the leash earlier because I had ample opportunity and knew she was always a pain coming home, but I figured she'd just go to the gate... no dice. Instead she decided inexplicably to charge up the beach towards the construction site. I had Tori and Rufus on either end of the leash by this point and was challenged to keep everyone together; I tried to get Amber to come back down to us but she embedded herself in the brush there, so I took everyone else home... I thought perhaps she might sneak around in the monte and beat us home but when we got back she wasn't there. Other than her shenanigans it was a really great run but not coming home with all your dogs is never good.
GRADE: F
search and rescue party:
Archie
(1)
Search pattern: ~3k. We waited a few minutes for Amber to appear and when she didn't I went out to look for her. She was almost certainly between us and the construction site but she might've darted east into the monte to avoid people and dogs. Since Archie was in the front yard and he's such a good boy I took him; we left with him on the leash but he came off quickly and was a real companion. We went north to the maginot line and then cut east to the road; the xmul on the trail there was unreal - obviously nobody has been there in a while. I had to stop to pull spines out of Archie twice before we got to doce. We went north on the road to the construction site and I called for Amber; I did hear some barking to the south of us a few minutes later so she might've bolted south when she heard bus but I'm guessing she was already gone. I searched the road for anything like her tracks and ended up noticing a break in the fence on the eastern side of the road; it turns out you can get into the charcos between the wooden shack and doce from the road there so Archie and I went on a little adventure. We forded the charco without disturbing the cluster of flamingos to our south and ended up on the road that leads from the little wooden shack to the dead goat intersection. Archie is a great adventure.dog and really had fun doing all of this. Amber ended up getting home at the beach side gate just as we were arriving back at the road side; she must've sneaked around the soldiers on the beach as we saw no sight of her on the usual route back home. She's smart and knows where she lives but it is aggravating to not know where all of our dogs are.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Otto
Godzilla
Shirley
Frankkie
Twiggy
Daisy
Hazel
Tori
Murci
(9)
Short northern loop: ~4k. Across the land bridge, immediately north through the charcos to the main road and the intersection, continuing around to the tortuga road and home via the blue bag trail. A shortie to get some high-energy dogs out before I go to Merida. Everyone was really good and had a good time.
GRADE: A
mid-day walk:
Zasu
Miles
Henry
Tito
Lucy
Blue
Monkey
(7)
Roni took this crew out for a walk on an overcast day. The xmul is incredibly bad on all the trails and roads in the monte and Henry needed a haircut afterwards as a result... the rain has had many effects. Miles dawdled to an unbelievable degree but everyone had a good time running around anyway.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Alice
Rita
George
Chester
Ernie
Jack
Hazel
Tori
Murci
(9)
Northern loop: ~7k. We took an odd route on a blustery, overcast, cold day in a slight drizzle... okay, "cold" is relative given the crazy weather to the north, but for here it was noticeable. Nobody minded, and certain dogs like George, Alice and Ernie were energized by it to a comic degree. We headed out across the alt. land bridge but went east across the jeep berm instead of our usual route, forded the large charcos between bag end and the palapa road, ran to the end of the palapa road north and circled around to the swimming hole, coming home the same way we went out. Everyone was really good. The water was a bit chilly and very high, as we continue to have rain; Alice insisted on swimming across next to the alt. land bridge in both directions and in general everyone really enjoyed horsing around in the water. When we were on dry land the pace was reasonable; Alice and George always lagged a little but the caught up enthusiastically on several occasions. I had Murci and Hazel on either end of the leash by the time we got to the shrimpery and that kept everyone a little closer on the final trail home. Everyone was really good although there was not much opportunity to be bad: we were the only ones crazy enough to be out in the monte today except for birds and marmots.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Ginger
Frijolita
Blue
Rufus
Elewah
Frankie
Bosha
Lex
Tori
(9)
Souther charcos, short version (backwards): ~6k. Same route as on 25.12.13 but backwards: we headed north first across the alt. land bridge, took the berm east and then cut south immediately, taking the western fork in the road to reach that strange little cove with the weird trail that winds through it. We left with nobody on the leash but I had to put Tori on briefly early to get her to calm down a bit; she came off in ~100m or so and was fine thereafter. This was not as fast a group as yesterday although there were several fast dogs so it was a bit uneven at times. Everyone was nearly perfect until the very end when we ran into the cows again, just east of the land bridge on the way home. They were in the brush across one of the small charcos that borders the road (really more a mud track right now); Frijolita and Tori mostly led the charge and me on a less-than-merry chase. They turned their ears off and left me slogging through mud up to my knees in places until I caught up back to the south; most of them had come back to me but Elewah was the last hard-core barker and I was not happy with her. She now has a collar on and is likewise not happy with me; we'll see how that goes but she can't just turn her ears off and do what she pleases with no consequences. Frijolita was most disappointing because she really should know better; she is one of those dogs that skates by on a good-girl reputation when she frequently decides to be bad if it pleases her. She ALSO lacked a collar so she now has one as well... Once I had my charges disentangled from the cows (no harm done obviously, they're huge and uninterested in dogs) we forded the crossing at the land bridge and got home without incident. Not the best way to end a nice run but for the most part is was good and everyone had a good time.
GRADE: B
morning run:
Truman
Eve
Godzilla
Tuesday
Twiggy
Daisy
Hazel
Tori
Murci
(9)
Southern charcos: ~8k. It has been a few days for a variety of reasons... weather, injuries, both of us just not feeling great. Today it is still overcast, blustery and a bit rainy but it felt possible at least, so we did the round-up-the-dogs dance and I got these nine out for a hell of a run. Recent rain has topped off the charcos: everything was as flooded as I've ever seen it, some places even more so. We've gotten more rain since last May than this region has seen in a long while and it hasn't really stopped for more than a few days at a time. It was a little cold and the bugs weren't bad so it was at least pleasant to haul ass and thanks to Tuesday that's what we did: haul ass. Roni thought this might've been a record although she wasn't watching the clock. We did the full monty, running the entire length of the palapa road and circling around to the swimming hole on the way home. Tuesday was REALLY up for it. She was off the leash the majority of the way and was so consumed with running I don't think she had time to consider becoming paranoid until we were past the swimming hole; by then I had her back on the leash. I put Hazel on the other end when we got to the shrimpery heading home so she didn't drag everyone ahead on the last trail and it worked out reasonably well. There were a few flamingos and other waterfowl but otherwise the monte seemed empty except for us. Nobody dawdled, everyone ran and swam like lunatics the whole way and had a good time.
GRADE: A
