Farmington Bay Excursion

I know that I am supposed to be keeping my dog quiet for the next week, but she isn't really cooperating. After playing fetch most of the morning I decided that I should take her for a little walk. I was just going to take her down the street when I realized that today is the last day that dogs are allowed in the Farmington Bay Bird Refuge until November.

It was a beautiful afternoon at the Refuge. I was worried that it would be muddy, but as long as we stuck to the roads we were fine.

Again, there is nothing better than a noble coonhound in her natural element. She was very well behaved on the walk despite the many wonderful scents there were to follow.

The only birds we saw were a few seagulls. Twice Shady did manage to track a small rodent, and she seemed shocked and a little nervous to actually find something. I didn't get a good look at them before they ducked into their holes, but they were probably rats. We passed a man who was retrieving dead rats from traps and heaping them on his ATV.

I'm bummed that we won't be able to take advantage of these trails again until fall. The rat man was the only other person that we passed, and I enjoyed the solitude. The mountain trails are still going to be muddy for some time, and depending on where and when you go they can be overrun by people during the summer. I need to find out where I can access the Legacy Parkway Trail and check it out.

Another Boring Update

What a difference a week and a half makes! Last week the snow in my yard was the deepest it has been all winter, and now it is almost gone. I am so happy that it has started to warm up! I did manage to get the snowshoes out once before the melting started. It was easy to walk on the path that had been packed down by those who had been there before me, but I found that I was still sinking in a good 6 inches if I got off the path. I don't know if that is normal.

Even though all of the snow has melted off single guy's driveway he is still missing in action. Maybe he enjoys living in the local crack motel.

The Shady Lady went in to be spayed yesterday. It was a really rough day for her. The effects of the anesthesia didn't wear off until about 4 a.m., so we had a really rough night. She was up every 20 or 30 minutes whining and shaking with her eyes glazed over, and I'm not sure she was really even concious. After about 5 minutes she would lie down again and rest for a little while, but then she would be back up looking distressed. She wouldn't take the pain meds they gave me, so there was nothing I could do for her. Finally at 4 a.m. she got up with clear eyes and wagged her tail and took the medication and settled down to bed. Today she seems completely fine. I was told not to walk her for a couple of days and at the moment she is not very happy about it. It was kind of nice to have her anesthetized for an evening. On Wednesday night my visiting teachers came over and she chewed through both her leash and her head collar while they were here.
Tick was good about staying out of the flower bed with only a little 18 inch high decorative fence. Shady jumps right over that fence with ease, so I have put up a 5 foot temporary fence until I can put some sod there. I have a feeling that she could be a digging animal, so I won't trust her with fresh dirt.

On a completely different subject, since we were blogging about Stephanie's upcomming wedding last time someone should probably inform the extended family that the wedding has been postponed. They thought that Brian's divorce was going to be finalized in the next couple of weeks, but the ex-wife has once again decided to put up a fight about something that they had previously settled. Hopefully they will be able to get everything settled soon, but until then the wedding is on hold.