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morning run:
Truman
Posey
Frankie
Elewah
Daisy
Xmul
Luna
Hazel
Tori
(9)
To the beach at Au Soleil Couchant via the swimming hole: ~6k. My foot was bothering me a bit more than I thought once we got going; it doesn't sting anymore when I run through salty water but I realized I shouldn't push the distance by the time we had gone a couple kilometers so I cut it short. It was hot out anyway and everyone was up for a trip to the beach so it worked out fine. I let Xmul off the leash around the swimming hole and on the beach a little bit and she was a good girl. We came home via the blue bag trail; I put Hazel on the other end of the leash before we got to the coco trail and everyone was good to the gate.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Godzilla
Rufus
Daisy
Bosha
Mega
Steve McQueen
Hazel
Tori
Murci
(9)
Northern charcos: ~8k. My foot is still hurt from cutting it Wednesday; stepping in salt water hurts like a bitch but it was good enough to run on carefully so what the hell. It was chaotic getting out. I trapped Mega in a crate and dragged it out there and that actually went okay; Rufus, Tori and Murci were crazed and difficult to wrangle into some semblance of readiness but we finally got going with Rufus on the leash to keep him focused. Mega did well and had a really good time; he was on point most of the run but listened well and drank from the bottle every time I offered it to him. Bosha also was notable: she was actually in front with Mega for a lot of the run much to my surprise. We went north via the swimming hole but there are still too many salt workers over there so we came back via the parallel access road and the blue bag trail to avoid them entirely. I had Hazel and Tori on opposite ends of the leash shortly after the wooden shack and left them that way to the gate. We were a bit slow because of my foot but nobody seemed to mind much.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Alice
Ginger
Otto
Archie
Shirley
Ernie
Ziggy
Maggie
Molly
Monkey
(10)
I took this group for a walk between the land bridges. We were quiet coming off of the ridge and across the alt. land bridge so as not to rouse Angel's pups; everyone was good about it. In fact this was an angelic group. Molly slipped her collar in the excitement at the gate but that was my fault not hers... I had her on quickly and let her off soon after. I put Shirley on the hook coming home to keep the pace down.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Zasu
Tito
Ginger
Rita
Blue
Reggie
Linda
Monkey
Amber
Zoot
(10)
Roni took this crew out for a walk around the cow pasture; Ginger got thrown in at the last minute (because GINGER) but everyone else was chosen mainly to encourage Amber and Zoot to want to go again. It seemed like our dog.kabuki theater was going to come up empty at first but we persevered and the dogs resolved themselves into the right groups more or less. Zasu really cannot be reasoned with at the gate; she is the oldest dog here and we can just kiss her ass if we don't like it (my literal translation). She needs to be held back or restrained when there are so many energetic dogs in play at the gate because she Must Be First and will get herself run over in the fray. Roni injured her foot on the gate protecting Zasu from precisely this; it doesn't appear to be serious but this is also how I've ended up dislocating my toe etc. to start a run. Once they were on the road everyone shaped up and behaved perfectly. Amber and Zoot had lots of fun for the second consecutive walk; Zoot came home covered in some disgusting filth. Everyone swam a lot in the charcos and was tired and happy when they got home. It was starting to get beastly hot before they left but it was also a pretty morning and the bugs were not bad. Exceedingly cute group - Roni got some great pictures. We're both glad that Amber and Zoot seem to be getting over their bizarre caminophobia. Amber especially is great company on walks and runs; she's smart, listens well (when she's not freaked out) and likes to interact with and be around her human.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Gracie
Posey
Frijolita
Lily
MoMo
Xmul
Steve McQueen
Tori
Murci
(9)
No-man's land: ~9k. We haven't gone to no-man's land for years now; this is not the season for tourism out there so there was little chance of us running into anyone and I took a well-behaved group to make sure there were no shenanigans. I was interested in finding some of the flora that Roni and I have been reading about which is native to the mangroves and no-man's land is where the mangroves start. It was with new eyes that I saw it and the few things I recognized made me want to learn more and go back. I let Xmul off of the leash for a brief stretch when we were farthest out but had her back on well before we left the deep monte. This turned out to be fortuitous as we got barked at by unseen dogs just after I had her back on the hook; since Xmul was not in play everyone else came back to me quickly and we carried on. It was hot and bright for most of the run; the dogs tore through the water and jumped in every puddle. When we got to the place where the path through no-man's land joins the long and winding road I knew we should hit the beach to give everyone a swim and a chance to cool down so we took the Au Soleil Couchant road all the way to the beach, headed south to the tortuga sign, cut across the charco west of the blue bag trail and came home via the coco trail - quite a slog in parts but nobody minded. The water was clear and everyone horsed around a lot. The bugs were only noticeable in spots. I had Tori on the other end of the leash with Xmul before we got to the coco trail and everyone was good to the gate.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Truman
Eve
Gowron
Elewah
Daisy
Lex
Petey
Steve McQueen
Hazel
(9)
Hidden trail: ~8k. We almost didn't go today. Roni and I were both a step slow and kind of tired. It was PupG who convinced us with her pathetically cute entreaty at the gate. We did promise her yesterday when she was bumped... the scary thing is it seems she remembered. I intended to take a couple of other dogs than the ones that came but we wanted to get it together quickly and minimize chaos on the way out so I just took the nine that I had handy; I did manage to get Petey out by tricking him into a small crate and carrying it out to the launchpad so I considered that enough of a win for the roster. It was nice not having to leave with someone on the leash; we were all across doce in a flash and once on the road everyone stayed close to me for the whole run. I didn't think we would go as far as the hidden trail but this was a quick group and everyone was having such a good time when we got to the head of the hidden trail that it seemed silly not to go... also, PupG had dipped herself in every disgusting puddle on the way and I really wanted to wash her off in the ocean. The really hidden part of the hidden trail to the west of doce was extremely overgrown; it has rained a lot since our last visit and the flora has taken over everywhere. Somehow I managed to not catch any spines in my feet as we wound our way through the underbrush and once on the beach everyone swam with great enthusiasm the whole way south. We managed to get under a little cloud cover here and there to make the heat bearable and they killed most of the water by the time we were coming off the beach at the tortuga sign. I put Hazel on the leash on the blue bag trail to keep everyone together and there was no misbehavior of any kind.
GRADE: A
mid-day swim:
Greta
Tori
(2)
Tori really wanted to go and Greta is so good about it so why not. It was relatively shallow for a long way out so I made them swim very long laps via our usual comedy routine. Good girls.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Alice
George
Rita
Stella
Monkey
Bosha
Twiggy
Tori
Murci
(9)
To the beach at Au Soleil Couchant and home via the tortuga sign: ~6k. It was a little late and hot again so I didn't want to go for a long one. Stella was on the leash the whole way with Tori on the other end in spots to keep the pace down. Alice and George were the slowpokes but they managed to keep up the whole way with a little catching up here and there. We went out via the land bridge and the ridge and came home via the blue bag trail. There was nobody around anywhere but I thought I saw a small black dog far to the south of us on the beach as we arrived at Au Soleil Couchant so I slowed everyone down, did a lot of swimming and made some noise as we went south to give it a chance to get away without being noticed; I also put Tori on the leash for a stretch there to make sure she didn't bolt off to say hi. The bugs were only a little bit noticeable in spots. Everyone really behaved themselves well and had a good time on a pretty morning.
GRADE: A
morning walk #1:
Alice
Ginger
Otto
George
Shirley
Archie
Molly
Ziggy
Maggie
(9)
I took this group for a walk from the land bridge to the tortuga crossroads and home via the blue bag trail. They were a bit crazed getting out; I had Molly on the leash to keep her from hurting herself early on. Once going I let her off as we were nearing the land bridge and she was good the rest of the way. I put Shirley on the leash as we were heading north from the intersection because she was too far ahead; she punches herself out and then drags the rest of the way if she isn't restrained at some point. I put Archie on the other end of the leash past the wooden shack to keep him from bolting off in search of Angel's dogs, which could be heard barking in the distance (at something else, I think). We also ran into two youngish strays at the shrimpery on the way home. Ginger, Archie and Molly all wanted to say hi but the two bolted into the ponds and my charges came back to me when called. It was a brisk walk and everyone had a good time.
GRADE: A
morning walk #2:
Zasu
Miles
Henry
Bette
Blue
Tito
Ernie
Linda
Amber
Zoot
(10)
Roni took this group out a little while after I got home. Amber and Zoot registered their interest and Roni realized it was possible to get them both out so we just let it happen without paying them too much attention. It also seems as though I am at least part of the problem with getting them out. Roni suggested I hang back and fiddle with washing Maggie off after her walk (she was a mess) and this had a good effect; they both just ran into the launchpad with everyone and ended up behaving perfectly and having a great time. Even Ernie's crazy energy didn't put them off; he left on the leash (again to keep him from hurting himself) and was a good boy when Roni let him off. Miles and his dawdling always end up being the limiting factor in any walk but he was a good boy today. He tends to get a bit zippier when he gets wet so Roni dipped him in the water up to his ankles before turning back and he kept up much better... he's a strange one. A nice group and a nice walk.
GRADE: A
morning swim:
Greta
(1)
She did well and was tired at the end.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Tuesday
Rufus
Bosha
Daisy
Luna
Steve McQueen
Hazel
Tori
Murci
(9)
Northern charcos: ~7k. Daisy sort of talked her way onto this run even though it wasn't fair. I intended to take Frijolita or another one of Gracie's pups but things got too chaotic getting ready and I just decided to go with who I had out; Roni released Rufus at the end and got the gate behind me. In spite of being crazed they calmed almost immediately and ran in a tight little formation around me down the trail to the shrimpery. Tuesday was on the leash the whole way and was an angel. We left across the land bridge and took the ridge to the intersection. I decided against going the full Northern Charcos route due to the heat; we left a little late for this time of year and by the time we got to the head of the hidden trail it was blazing hot and bright. Instead we doubled back south, turned west on the Au Soleil Couchant access road and took the parallel access road south to the blue bag trail. I put Hazel on the other end of the leash with Tuesday at the wooden shack to keep the pace down; Tuesday suffered the indignity stoically. Everyone really had a good time in spite of the heat; we killed the water and every puddle that was large enough to double as a swimming hole became one.
GRADE: A
morning swim:
Greta
(1)
The water was a tiny bit choppy and cold but she did well anyway. Good girl.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Blue
Eve
Rita
Frankie
Linda
Monkey
Daisy
Xmul
MoMo
(9)
Northern loop: ~7k. We left a little late; everyone was really fired up but calmed down quickly. We ran into Angel on his moto at the shirmpery intersection right at the start and everyone was stellar. I was able to exchange words with Angel and told him I'd come down to see him later about getting his dogs vaccinated and sterilized (do the former, talk about the later); my charges were perfect little angels, even Xmul (albeit on the leash) and didn't bark or do anything but wait patiently for me. After I bid him goodbye I just said "let's go" and took off East and all nine of them immediately stopped what they were doing and fell in line like a little military squad. We took the ridge to the intersection, headed North via the parallel access road, looped around to get to the head of the hidden trail but then turned back south and came home via the berm, the swimming hole and the land bridge. Monkey kept up and did well; she drank a lot of water along the way, along with Daisy, Mo and Xmul. The pace was uneven at times but at least the bugs are not that noticeable yet - only in spots. All in all a nice run with some well-behaved dogs.
GRADE: A
morning beach dash:
Truman
Gowron
Rufus
Twiggy
Tori
Murci
(6)
Up the beach and home via the monte at Au Soleil Couchant: ~6k. We were barked at a little at the soldiers' but the strays there weren't really into it; we were past them quickly. We got almost to the palm tree before turning around with a lot of swimming along the way. Everyone was good the whole run. I only had one leash with me this time; I put Murci on it for a stretch in the monte because she was too far ahead and I switched to Tori after we turned onto the blue bag trail to keep her from charging off to see Angel's dogs (who also didn't bark at us much). Nice run on a pretty day.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Alice
Ginger
George
Archie
Shirley
Ernie
Molly
Bosha
Roxy
(9)
I took this group for a walk in the monte; my intention was to go between the land bridges but as we were nearing the northern crossing Angel's pups (now pretty much dogs) saw us and were standing about 30m north of where we would come out, barking their heads off. I managed to keep Roxy with us and continued on north, taking the shortest route I could that came back around to the blue bag trail. I thought Shirley was a bit too far ahead and as I caught up to her to put her on a leash I encountered three members of the navy who appeared to be questioning a local on a moto. They had their truck there and their rifles at the ready so I was quick to tell them that nobody bites and all the dogs were with me. Shirley was excited to see them and if you don't know her you could mistake this for aggression so I hooked her up and got us all together and moving away from the armed men with alacrity. We took the blue bag trail home. I had to scoop Roxy up on doce but she was fine with it and everyone else was perfect to the gate.
GRADE: A
afternoon swim:
Greta
Tori
(2)
Good girls.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Posey
Chester
Elewah
Daisy
Xmul
Lex
Hazel
Tori
Murci
(9)
Long and winding road: ~10k. Even though Chester is probably three times older than every other dog on this run he was so up for it when we got to the end of the northern charcos that I couldn't help myself; it was relatively early, I felt good, everyone was raring to go, we had plenty of water left and I've been wanting to see what's up out there in the deep monte for a while. The short answer is: not much. It doesn't look like anyone has been to the end of the long and winding road since we were there. It is completely overgrown and even the cows, intrepid as they are, haven't made it the whole way out there in a long time. There were no flamingos in the large charcos out on the road to Xixim; it hasn't been wet enough for long enough for the kind of krill they eat to bloom properly yet but I suspect in another month or so there will be hundreds of flamingos and other waterfowl out there. We headed north via the swimming hole but avoided it on the way back (salt workers close by); instead we took the parallel access road to the blue bag trail again, which is still quite pleasant and relatively bug-free. I let Xmul off the leash when we were way out there and let her have her head coming south on the Xixim road where it widens out to what feels like endless salt flats. She ran around like a lunatic with her buddies but still listened well and let me put her back on the leash before the turn west without any chicanery. I put Tori on the leash just before we got to the coco trail to keep her from bolting down to Angel's pups if they barked at us. Elewah could've been a pain there but she wasn't and only did a little bit of screwing around by her standards. Hazel has a tendency to run too far ahead off the leash on the trail home so we basically ran flat out all the way to the gate to keep everyone together. This was a high energy group so I hope a 10k in the humidity and heat will mellow them out a little today. It was really pretty out. We spent most of the run in the middle of a dragonfly swarm that blanketed the entire monte. In some places it felt like a living, shining, buzzing curtain of eyeballs and brightly colored wings was folding itself back continuously in front of us. I love them - they eat mosquitoes and kick ass. It was an honor to have such a beautiful escort.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Blue
Eve
Osita
Frankie
Jack
Lily
Twiggy
Hazel
(8)
Northern charcos: ~8k (closer to 9k this time). We really tried to get Amber out and it was a fiasco. I trapped her in a crate to begin with and had her just outside of the launchpad while I got everyone else together; when I tried to get her out to put her on a leash she freaked out and bolted all around the yard in a mad dash to get away from me. She isn't always like this - it is the energy of the other dogs that gets her into this state. She's going to have to be taken out quietly, by herself on a leash or with a single other dog she likes and when nobody else is too worked up. It was too chaotic after all of her shenanigans so I dropped the idea of adding another ninth dog and just took off with eight to let everyone calm down. My charges were perfectly fine once we left. This was a senior group and everyone was really good. We took the land bridge to the ridge to get to the intersection because I'd like to avoid Angel's pups. As we were heading east from the intersection I saw a little black pup (probably 4-6 months old) running like blazes ahead of us about 100m; nobody else saw it so I called them all to me and turned around to take the parallel access road north instead of the usual way. Everyone turned on a dime and came with me. We did the normal northern loop and came back via the parallel access road and the blue bag trail. I put Jack on the leash in the last 2km because he seemed to need a refresher the last time; he doesn't misbehave but if he runs ahead sometimes he doesn't listen or want me to get him on the leash and I end up having to trick him. This time I waited until we were coming home and everyone was mellow; Jack was right at my heel and he was good on the leash all the way home. I put Hazel on the other end on the coco trail to keep the pace down in the final stretch. We've had several rainy days in a row now so this is probably one of the last times I'll be able to say that the bugs weren't bad. They were a little noticeable but not bad. If they aren't bad tomorrow they will definitely be bad by Sunday whatever the weather does... the monte is good and soaked now so the timer on the mosquito breeding cycle has been punched. It was oppressively humid for most of the run; I looked like I had been swimming when we got home. Ugh. Still, a fun run.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Gracie
Truman
Frijolita
Rufus
MoMo
Xmul
Steve McQueen
Tori
Murci
(9)
Northern charcos: ~8k. The rains have officially arrived; we didn't even get two full months of "dry" season this time around and we've had three days of rain now, with more forecast for the week... tropical depression Boris is bearing down on us but verrrry slowly. I took some dogs this morning that were up for a run in the rain if need be; it was only drizzling when we left but it never really developed into full-blown rain while we were on the road. We avoided the swimming hole this time because it was the one area where there were some salt workers. Instead we took a slightly longer route to the beach at Au Soleil Couchant after we finished the northern loop; everyone got a lot of swimming in by the time we got to the tortuga sign so that was at least as good as the swimming hole for cooling them down. Xmul was on the leash the whole way and I put Tori on as we hit the coco trail because it's always better to have her in check close to home. We really hauled ass for long stretches on this run; if it had been earlier I would've considered doing the long and winding road but I wanted to get home at a reasonable time.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Posey
Rita
Chester
Reggie
Tuesday
Gowron
Tori
Murci
(8)
Northern charcos: ~8k. We got our first hard rain of the year on Saturday night; Sunday dawned cool and overcast so we decided to do another marathon dog-day to take advantage of the weather. For all of these (and other) reasons we also decided to bring Sugar (mama kitty) and her four little sugar-cubes (yet to be named) inside; they are camping out upstairs for a couple of days while we get a better shelter built for them in the Rooster Zone, where they can help keep the rats out of the casita. This made it much easier to get in and out. This group was first to go and they were really up for it; I eschewed a 9th dog just to get out of the gate and get moving. Once on the road they were perfect. The cows (which I guess now just live in the monte?) were in a hollow off the eastern side of the ridge so everyone had a good time saying "hi" to them but it wasn't a big deal. I had Tuesday on the leash the whole way (kinda goes without saying); she did seem to start getting a little hang-dog/"paranoid" around the halfway mark but when I cranked up the pace and said "let's air it out Tuesday!" she responded by running with me like a champ. I put Tori on the other end of the leash coming home to keep everyone close and they were perfect to the gate.
GRADE: A
walk #1:
Alice
Ginger
Bette
George
Otto
Archie
Shirley
Maggie
Bosha
(9)
I took this crew for a walk in the big loop east, north and south to the blue-bag trail. Since I knew the cows were somewhere near the ridge I tried to be clever and took the alt. land bridge instead of the main one so we came out just to the north of where I thought they'd be; naturally, they had moved in the interim and in fact we came out more or less on top of them but it was okay... Alice was not as freaked out as I thought she'd be and everyone else was good. The bugs were a little noticeable for the first time in a couple (but only a couple) of months, especially when we were slowing down to wait for someone to catch up. Still a nice walk and they all had a great time.
GRADE: A
walk #2:
Zasu
Miles
Henry
Tito
Ziggy
Linda
Ernie
Molly
(8)
Finally the shorties, slow-pokes and other dogs that shouldn't go long distances got out for a walk down to the land bridge and back; there was ample time for screwing around and dawdling and nobody much cared how far we went or what we did so long as there was cool stuff to smell and play in. Molly barked at a couple old dudes on bikes down near the shrimpery as we were leaving so I put her on the leash; she's a bit out of practice and has back-slid a bit on her behavior so she needs to be reminded. After that they were all perfect.
GRADE: A
