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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
