skip to main |
skip to sidebar
morning walk:
Zasu
Miles
Henry
Tito
Ginger
(5)
Roni took this group out for a walk down to the shrimpery and environs. It starts getting hot now well before 8am. If there are no clouds or a storm even by 7am you can really feel the heat; long walks or runs or either with dogs that can't take the heat must happen more or less at the crack of dawn and neither of us felt particularly cracking today. The dual purpose of this outing was to get Miles out with a small group on a shorty so he could dawdle to his heart's content and also to collect some passion flower that grows all around. Without so many dogs along that want to run ahead it is easier to take Miles' insistence on screwing around and the heat wasn't such a concern. Everyone had a good time helping mom and smelling stuff except for Henry, who came home early (probably the heat).
GRADE: A
morning run:
Gracie
Frijolita
Eve
Gowron
Elewah
Xmul
Petey
Mega
Murci
(9)
Hidden trail: ~8k. We started well with Xmul on the leash. I trapped Mega in a crate to get him to the launchpad but Petey just put himself out there... he hadn't done that in a while so I was happy to throw him in. Everyone else was relatively quiet at the gate (with Murci muzzled for the first 50m). As we were heading north along the ridge some little dog over by the road barked at us. There were a bunch of salt workers in those charcos so it may have been with them but it was more likely sneaking around and eating the food they leave all over the place after they have breakfast. Most of my charges went to investigate although it should be noted that Murci stayed with me the whole time - she has really become a good girl on runs. In the end Elewah and Frijolita were the worst: everyone else came back to me quickly but those two forced me to double back on the road to collect them. I just wanted to get out of there so we used the road to get to the intersection by which point everyone had calmed down. I made sure to be on top of Elewah at all the places she's usually bad for the rest of the way. Mega was on point with Murci for most of the run and they both listened well and held up when I told them to. The slog through to the beach on the last bit of the hidden trail was perhaps a bit easier because we've been there twice recently. I still have to be extremely careful about not stepping on spines but the path is at least visible now once you get a few meters west of the road. We took the blue bag trail home and there were no surprises the rest of the way. It was humid as hell out there but thankfully not so incredibly hot. The bugs were only noticeable in a few spots when I stopped to give them water. Petey had a bad limp about an hour after we got home; he's had a pain pill and we'll watch him.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Zasu
Henry
Bette
Tito
Blue
Monkey
Linda
Amber
Zoot
(9)
Roni took this group for a walk around the cow pasture. It was already pretty hot when she left but this group did well anyway. Bette left on the leash but she came off quickly and in general everyone stayed close to Mom and together. Zoot and Amber have both improved their behavior on the way home - nobody crossed the road before Roni going either direction. Monkey and Linda needed to be hosed off afterwards... shaggy coats and briny charcos do not mix and it's pretty salty out there now. The heat and humidity right now are unreal but the dogs were excellent and everyone had a good time.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Truman
Godzilla
Chester
Tuesday
Rufus
Jack
Daisy
MoMo
Tori
(9)
Hidden trail: ~8k. They were really wound up at the gate; Truman's high-pitched bark is incredibly annoying. Roni helped and we got out okay but I forgot my water bottle and held up with both Rufus and Tuesday on leashes; they were both surprisingly good about it, didn't fuss or struggle with me too much and waited for Roni to round the corner and give me the water before we took off to join the rest of the group, which was close by. Once we were going I let Rufus off and he was good the rest of the way; the shorter black leash is good for him in these cases. Truman rolled in some absolutely disgusting filth just across the land bridge on the way out. I had to hold my breath and rinse him off as well as I could in the puddles at the intersection just to be able to stand the smell of him the rest of the way; I also washed him off in the ocean when we got there and he has since had a bath at home with soap. Other than that everyone was really good. They pretty much killed the water by the time we got to the tortuga crossroads. It was already hot and so humid I looked like I had been swimming by the time we got home. I put Jack on the black leash coming home to continue to work with him on that and he was much better than he has been the last couple of times; I doubled up Tuesday with Tori on the other end of her leash and there were no surprises all the way to the gate.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Alice
Ginger
George
Otto
Archie
Shirley
Molly
Monkey
Stella
Maggy
Ziggy
(11)
I took this group on a walk from the land bridge to the blue bag trail via the intersection; Ernie didn't come because of the distance, he'll have to go on a shorter one. Stella was on the leash the whole way and was pleasant about it; she just doesn't like long ones, that's all. Ginger's snout and tongue got really swollen during the course of the walk just like it had gotten a day before in the yard; we think maybe some plant that she gets into is bothering her this way but we aren't sure. She needed shots of dexametazona both times to bring down the swelling; she's fine but we need to watch her and figure out what is going on. It didn't dim her enjoyment of the walk. Everyone was really good.
GRADE: A
morning swim:
Greta
(1)
It was choppy but she was an angel.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Blue
Rita
Posey
Luna
Xmul
Steve McQueen
Hazel
Tori
Murci
(9)
Hidden trail: ~8k. This happened during our latest internet outage. I wrote down the roster but the details are a bit fuzzy now... It was a hard slog through the hidden part of the hidden trail to get to the beach but I managed to do it without catching any spines in my feet or otherwise injuring myself. Xmul was on the leash the whole way as always and was a good girl throughout. I put Tori on the other end of the leash as we got near home to keep everyone together. It was hot and humid as hell but everyone had a good time.
GRADE: A
search party:
Tori
(1)
Close north monte loop: ~4k. Hazel didn't come home Sunday night nor did she come home Monday night like we thought she might. When Tuesday dawned we really wanted to find her. I went out by myself a couple of times but Roni and I both thought that maybe taking her good buddy Tori out for an extended loop through the monte to the north might yield results. We had formed various theories about where she was and I had spent a lot of time on my bike looking to the south already. Tori and I went out across the land bridge, north along the ridge, across the alt land bridge, up the dead goat trail to the road to the wooden shack, out the blue bag trail and all the way around to the beach; I called her name constantly and let Tori run around a lot. We came home on the beach all the way hoping to catch sight of her or get her to hear/smell us but to no avail: no Hazel. Tori was an angel.
GRADE: A
belated return:
Hazel*
(1)
Hazel finally came home well after dark, soaking wet and so happy to be home it was almost comical. We heard a lot of barking around us all day and night so we aren't sure were she was exactly but we suspect somewhere to the north. It was the first decent sleep Roni and I got since she r-u-n-n-o-f-t and I certainly hope she learned her lesson.
GRADE: A
morning walk #1:
Osita
Archie
Otto
Shirley
Ernie
Molly
Maggie
Ziggy
Bosha
(9)
I took this group for a walk to the intersection and back via the alt. land bridge. This is slightly longer than just going between the land bridges but not nearly as long as the tortuga crossroads, since I had Ernie and Ziggy along and they shouldn't go that far. Instead we ducked over to the main road once we had crossed the land bridge and then used the cut-over to head back south to the alt. land bridge. Bosha was an ass early and turned her ears off before we even crossed doce; I had to go back and get her and ended up putting her on the leash for the whole walk... irritating. I put Shirley on the other end of the leash on the coco trail because she was still too far ahead and it was driving me crazy. Other than annoyances everyone was good and had a blast. The recent rains made some of the charcos a little less disgusting and the puddles at the intersection were positively clean.
GRADE: A
morning walk #2:
Zasu
Henry
Tito
Bette
Ginger
Monkey
Linda
Amber
Zoot
(9)
Roni took this crew out for a walk around the cow pasture and environs. It was getting a little hot by the time I got back so it was much hotter for the second walk than it was for the first. We think Ginger got bit by something this morning; one of her eyes is a little red and she was having trouble with balance, like maybe something was swollen. She really wanted to go nonetheless and had a great time but we're watching her. She and Zasu both like to fall behind sniffing stuff and then run like maniacs to catch up which is worrying in the heat; they seem none the worse for wear now. Zoot ran ahead a bit too much on the trail back and Monkey did her usual screwing around but all in all they were good and had a good time.
GRADE: A
breakout:
Tuesday
Hazel*
Murci
(3)
These three formed a small hole in the fence next to the beach-side gate and got out to get at a nasty black plastic bag full of something awful. The bag was only near the fence because I had dragged it there from the beach. It was my intention to bring it in and throw it away but I didn't want to play "jump ball" with everyone when I did it and then I forgot so this was totally my fault. Tuesday and Murci came back immediately - that's how we knew they had gotten out. Sadly we didn't realize that Hazel was also missing for a little while. We obviously patched up the fence and we looked for Hazel but she didn't come home and we were worried sick. A dog hadn't been out all night since Eve and that was almost seven years ago. Roni and I slept terribly.
morning run:
Frijolita
Rita
Tuesday
Frankie
Daisy
Twiggy
Steve McQueen
Tori
Murci
(9)
Northern charcos: ~8k. I was thinking possibly a 10k but when we got to the turn for the hidden trail I realized I didn't have that in me today. Some days I have thunderbolts for legs but today they were just regular legs made of meat; it wasn't too hot yet and the dogs were being good so 8k sounded reasonable. The hidden trail was going to be a tough slog after some rain so I opted for the monte - nobody minded, although Rita had already rolled in filth and honestly could've used a dip in the ocean. I washed her off at the swimming hole on the way home instead, since there was enough water in it for a dog to swim. Steve McQueen seems to actually be learning how to drink out of the bottle properly... amazing, I didn't think he'd ever get it. I put Tori on the secondary leash coming home and kept everyone close from the shrimpery to the gate; Tuesday was on the leash the whole way and was an angel. Good group.
GRADE: A
afternoon swim:
Greta
(1)
It was shallow and rough, just like politics, and Greta was the winner. We didn't do as many "laps" but they were harder because of the chop. Good girl.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Gracie
Eve
Godzilla
Gowron
Rufus
Jack
Xmul
Lex
Hazel
(9)
No-man's land: ~9k. We left with Xmul and Rufus on leashes; I let Rufus off at the land bridge and although he was a little wound up he settled down by the time we turned into the monte proper. It rained yesterday but not enough to wake the bugs up yet; there were more puddles and slick spots in the monte but the charcos were still fairly dry. I saw a stray running south towards the main southern intersection via the serpentine as we were heading north from the southernmost crossing. Nobody else saw him and he was far enough away that I got everyone near me easily; I put Rufus back on the hook for a spell and made a little noise as we progressed and the stray heard us and doubled back. We saw no people or other animals from there all the way to the wooden shack at the end of the blue bag trail, where Angel's dog barked at us a bit. By that point I had managed to get Jack on the other leash; Xmul had snapped it early on but I had tied it back together and it was good enough for light duty. Sadly Jack decided to do his best boat-anchor impersonation on the leash so the last 2km were a bit of a struggle but he needs to be on the leash more to get better about it so we just fought through it. I had Rufus on the other end with Xmul before we got to the shrimpery, which turned out to be a good thing: the same stray that we saw out to the south was darting up the road towards the soldiers from the shrimpery just as we got there. Godzilla, Eve and PupG gave chase, which really pissed me off; PupG came back quickly and the other two circled around and ended up at the shrimpery just ahead of the rest of us but the stray was now excited and barked at us from the soldiers for the rest of the way home. I managed to keep everyone together down the last trail and there were no other surprises. It was overcast and a bit cool, partly because we left early enough so at least the heat wasn't a factor. No-man's land was treacherous after the rain: it was a hard slog through with the ground so wet and slippery but it was also beautiful and serene.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Ginger
Otto
Archie
Bette
Shirley
Molly
Maggie
Ziggy
Bosha
Linda
(10)
I took this group for a walk from the land bridge to the tortuga crossroad via the ridge. It rained yesterday but not enough to wake up the bugs. Someone burned a chunk of land east of the shripmery (including a pond area or two) and the combination of the charred vegetation and recent rain made everything smell interesting - the dogs were energized by it but behaved well. I had Shirley on the leash early and again late to keep us all together. We ran into a couple of people on or with motos and everyone was perfect. We left early enough that it wasn't hideously hot and nobody had any trouble.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Posey
Truman
Chester
Elewah
Lily
Daisy
MoMo
Tori
Murci
(9)
Southern charcos: ~8k. We left with Daisy on the leash to keep her from harassing anyone else early on. Lily wasn't even in the launchpad, she insisted on waiting on the stairs and shooting out through the gate after everyone else left (with Roni's help); she cruised by me before we even got to doce. Daisy normally harasses her a bit in the beginning but since she was on the leash it went smoothly. Right away we ran into other dogs: the brown momma dog with white socks and her two offspring were hanging out there and barking at us as we passed; they weren't hostile and my charges were good and stayed with me. We saw a few people in the monte but I just made sure to stay on top of everyone and it was fine. On the way home I had Tori and Murci on either ends of the leash by the time we got to the coco trail just in case those dogs were still there... they were not but it turned out that another couple of pups (smaller) and maybe one skittish adult were hanging out just to the south of the final trail home, right before you get to doce. Elewah was the last one back to me and I carried her the rest of the way home to express my displeasure but it wasn't really that bad. We left early enough that it was pretty pleasant throughout. They killed the water, stayed out of the nasty charcos and had a good time.
GRADE: A
mid-day swim:
Greta
(1)
Good girl.
GRADE: A
mid-day swim:
Greta
(1)
She's such a good girl. It was a bit choppy but the temperature was nice and Greta soldiered through it.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Zasu
Bette
Ginger
Tito
Blue
Rita
Linda
Zoot
Amber
(9)
Roni took this crew for a walk around the cow pasture. Bette left on the leash but came off quickly. The charcos are too concentrated now for any of the dogs to really want to jump in but there's still plenty of disgusting stuff in the monte to sniff. Ginger is a really great presence on walks and runs; she's so obviously up to no good and yet such a good girl. Zoot and Amber were both thrilled to go; Zoot is still a little skittish while out there but he put himself in the yard to go on a walk and he stays with his human so that's definitely a win. Everyone looked very pleased with themselves.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Gracie
Frijolita
Gowron
Luna
Xmul
Lex
Steve McQueen
Hazel
Tori
(9)
No-man's land: ~9k. We left early enough that it was feasible to head out as far as no-man's land; by the time we got to the bend at the road to Xixim that marks its end the heat was starting to become noticeable and they had killed most of the water. Everyone would've liked a dip in the ocean but I was pretty sure 10k was too far for me today so I just kept pressing and took the parallel access road home instead. I started to bonk a little on the blue bag trail so the dogs lent me their wings for the last kilometer; even so I had to take a sip of water (I usually don't touch it) and I might've puked if there had been anything in my stomach. Writing this now I feel better than I've felt in a while... I think I needed to be wrung out a bit and pushed past my limits to shake off whatever has had a hold of me for the last week. Sometimes it's good to be forced to focus on something simple and immediate like dragging your sorry ass home when you've run too far in the wilderness. The dogs certainly didn't mind although they were glad to get home. Xmul was on the leash the whole way. I put Luna on the other end south of the wooden shack because she was consistently ahead and I wanted to pull us together. We ran into one salt worker early on (a person I recognized from town) and the dogs were all angels. Gracie and PupG are inspiring on runs like this but really everyone was happy and enthusiastic. No-man's land was beautiful and forbidding. There's been no rain so there were virtually no bugs.
GRADE: A
morning swim:
Greta
(1)
Good girl.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Godzilla
Blue
Osita
Rufus
Jack
Stella
Tori
Murci
(8)
To the beach at Au Soleil Couchant and home via the blue bag trail: ~6k. Left late and it was too hot to go but so far; in any event a dip in the ocean was obviously needed so this seemed like the logical route. Stella was on the hook the whole way; Rufus left on the other leash (I took two) but I let him off before we got to the land bridge. Angel's dog was barking at us quite a lot from across the charco south of the wooden shack so I wanted to get Jack on the leash but he caught on to it and wouldn't slow down enough to let me catch him; naturally this meant I had to get him on the leash. I ended up doing some dog.kabuki around the dead goat intersection, first heading to the coco trail then turning around to get him behind me and heading to the dirty road. It worked and I got him hooked up but somewhere in there Osita just decided to bolt for home via the coco trail. I knew what she would do so I didn't stress about it but I was irritated that Jack was such a pain - he should be better. I put Rufus on the other end with Jack and Tori on the other end with Stella at the shrimpery because there were too many people camped out around our house on the beach and I wanted to make sure there were no surprises coming home. Everyone was good.
GRAED: A
morning swim:
Greta
(1)
Good girl.
GRADE: A
