Tryout, Trial run, Trial walk

My walk today was only 15 minutes long, but telling.

Paddy has been mourning the loss of Oreo (as have we) for over two years. She has tried to play with neighborhood dogs, but most are not amused at her overtures.

We thought about another dog, but wanted to make sure we were ready and that no one would need a place to park a pet (we thought there was a possibility we might become doggie grandparents). We knew we did not want a "pack."

So we have half-heartedly been looking for a rescue animal. Recipients of advice from my friend Steve (who has an amazing family of dogs..."a real dog-whisperer"), direction from the Taylor animal control officer (we thought our dog was there, but he was claimed before we could get there), and guidance from the internet, it has only remained to find the right animal.

It is time. And something made me look online today. And there he was...

So we walked today, on my 30 minute lunch break. He was easy with me - no dragging me across the lawn. He seems a normal mutt, but hasn't had much training. And boy is he rough. He is desperately in need of a bath and some grooming...

Tomorrow we see what Paddy thinks. Armed with the guidance of friends and experts we will take a walk as our own pack and see how it goes.

Watch this space...

Dragon's breath

Ah, the humidity...two layers of clouds acted as a blanket, keeping the temperature unpleasantly warm....

The moon, wedged shaped and ghostly, could be spotted as the wind attempted to blow away the whispy lower clouds.

So little was stirring, I began to think of time. I cannot tell the time by the amount of daylight or the angle of the sun. But it is possible, perhaps to know by which birds are singing or how many dogs bark on the way to and from the park. Then there is the message of the newspapers - are they thrown? have they been retrieved?

My inconsistency does not help. I have developed no summer routine as the work schedule changed, so I cannot know that running man usually arrives at 6:15 while banana man zooms in at 6:30. I can only guess.

It is too muggy to think of such things, perhaps I need to plan my seed saving this a.m. Flowers are blooming-out. The meadows are drying and seed will soon start to scatter. What is the best method to gather and insure I know what is what? How can I be the least intrusive and allow enjoyment of the final blooming before blasted heat?

Padimus recognizes my distraction and walks beside me with little hesitation or attempt to pull away for some interesting smell or buzzing/jumping insect (she adores crickets and cicadas).

A few of the older neighbors are out in their yards on our return trip home. We are one dog bark early today.

(wild petunias bloom along the way - in the park and in neglected yards)

Deer in the meadow (squint hard - middle of photo)

Not the best camera - or photographer - but we captured one of the herd before they fled.

Sunday at sunrise

Padimus alerted (as in stopped and took the pointing stance of all good hunting dogs) before we made it to the park. It was a good sign. We were early - really early for a Sunday - and we were alone in the park.

I tried to ignore the silent chant in my head, "There will be deer. There will be deer..." as we headed down the dirt track to the close meadow. 

At first the meadow looked empty, but then I spied one deer, head and huge ears silhouetted against the darkness of the woods beyond.  I waived my companion forward, two deer turned to look at us, and at least four others bounded out of the grass before all disappeared into the woods. The grass, chest high now, had given cover to the rest of the herd.

The far meadow is partially mowed and we headed there, in case the herd stopped in its flight from this harmless band, two middle-aged walkers and a big dog.

We hugged the edge of the mowed area and discovered still bright wildflowers disclosed when the grass was shredded for a practice baseball diamond. Stray specimens of cone flower, gaillardia, horse mint and verbina were bright as spring. I suppose the sun must fade them a bit and these had been sheltered by the grass.

The deer had moved along and so did we. Early morning mosquitoes began to threaten and

the sunflower saluted the rising sun.

Grit Lives (Recipe for Cushaw Pie)

When my daddy was a boy he sold Grit. I had no idea it still existed, but apparently many periodicals have made the transition to electrons.

And there in Grit, Rural American Know-How, I found a recipe for Cushaw Pie - a delicacy my friend at the farmers' market tells me is not to be missed. He said the only time his father "disciplined" him was when he had a third piece of cushaw pie at a neighbor's house. Like my father, he was probably raised in tough times and that third piece of pie was not just rude, but potentially taking food out of the mouth of the neighbor's children.

Here is a link to the recipe. I will be trying it when the cushaw squash is ready (I'll post photos and a review). And I will think of my friend, his daddy, and my daddy.

http://www.grit.com/recipes/easy-pie-recipes-cushaw-squash-pie.aspx

Bag lady with no bags

Our walk was cut short this morning by an irresponsible pet owner without a plastic bag. After spending an hour yesterday trying on "cargo shorts" to make sure there is room for flashlight, id, camera, bags, water, keys etc. forgetting an essential item just seems silly. Guess I need a checklist posted on the back door.

At least the shorts are a success. There is perhaps nothing more frightening than a bag lady with a cane, a big dog, and shorts slowly slipping away under the weight the "treasures" she carries.

So, it was off to the farmers' market instead. Some of our favorite folks were there - Harold has just about everything and shares his recipes for frying just about everything (heard the fried "patty-pan" squash directions today; the foreign service retiree (now also a retired teacher) explained the use of cushaw squash he is growing, along with tomatoes and melons, on a sandy-loam farm some distance away; the herb lady reminded me the lovely little plant I purchased last year is used for earache - not cooking; and the "big" operation tempted us with much, but sold us only peaches.

And the garlic lady was there. I don't think I have ever had such garlic. I wait all year to buy a bunch and hoard it into the winter. She had a "recipe" for freezing a garlic/olive oil slurry. I will have to think about that.

I am already loving the summer.

Lichen covered limb, felled by the storm

Muddy road, muddy shoes, muddy girls

It seemed as if it had rained again, but this was only the remainder (reminder?) of the thunderstorm of two nights ago. The air was cool and damp, the dew heavy on everything. Clouds hid the sun to the east while the moon, no longer full watched over my shoulder.

Banana man (with an orange today) greeted us and we heard DeWayne’s training whistle from the back of the park. With this many folks around we could wander the dirt road to the far meadow – not quite fearlessly, but...

It is too late for deer. We knew it by the time, if not by the noise. The presence of Sissy and DeWayne’s trainees, a load of labs, insured it. The deer could smell them even without a breeze.

We could tell we just missed a few deer – hoof prints in the muddy ground. But only two or three deer passed here - not the herd. We left more than our prints as we slipped and slid in the mud…then slung mud, kicked up behind us, as we walked along.

The goal today was to make some distance (most of the week’s earlier walks were too short – because of time or weather or weariness) and to plan seed saving for the next few weeks. The coneflowers, gaillardia, mint and other wildflowers had been the objects of my desire, but visions of the wafer elm haunt me.

Cedar elms are well represented in my yard (and I regularly battle volunteers).  But the wafer elm is lovely – the foliage and the flowers/seeds. And propagation should be a simple challenge…stick

some cuttings in the dirt and see what happen - plant some seeds and try to remember to keep them watered. But I could not remember exactly where they stood in the woods and, while Paddy might want to wander among the brambles, I will not risk snakebite or worse. Fortunately we find a small exemplar along the road.  A stake will do as a reminder for seeds soon and cuttings later.

The dew dripped from cedar and mesquite and tall grasses. It weighted down the tips of limbs and seed heads…bowing the solo sunflower just blooming among the dry grasses and few wildflowers refusing to give up their spring bloom.

A lichen covered limb had fallen in the night – beautiful.

Ghostly music drifted in from the waterpark.

We plodded along taking photos and mental note of this wet and shiny, dirty and stunning morning.

Friends honked and waved as we made our way home.

Thunder

Two a.m. and the rain woke me - just as the thunder began.

A barefoot run - no walking - to the gate - a whistle and call for Padimus. Where was she? Was she already out of the yard and working her way to the door?  Was she stuck in the neighbor's yard (yes, she has been known to dig under our fence only to be made prisoner next door)?

I returned to the back door - whistled and called again.

There, there's Paddy, her eyes glowing in the beam of the flashlight. She must have slept through the beginning of the storm. She had been safe in her house or Oreo's. Now she and I were up and awake and getting very wet.

Another barefoot run back to the gate for a surprisingly coordinated fastening of the leash.

We were both shivering as we stopped in the kitchen, the rain conspired with the too cold conditioned air.

We dried off, settled down, and (finally) slept - safe from the storm.

Cat walk

Pets refuse to walk together. Hobbes says "no" inside the house. Paddy objects outside. Paddy walks first and Hobbes makes it around one side of the house...Guess we will see how far we can take this adventure.

Doves cooed and cars rolled by. Paddy ignores everything, but Hobbes cannot stand the outside noises. Everything is a threat when you "cannot get away." He startles at cars, windchimes and sprinklers...

Music, no thunder

A check of Padimus (thought we heard thunder - she so hates it) resulted in a quick walk toward, but not to the park.

Birds were singing their evening songs. These were strange notes we had not heard before and we paused to see if we could spot the singers.

The trio of hounds at the end of the block began their chorus as we came abreast of the yard. The two base barkers and their tenor friend were joined by Padimus' fretful soprano.

The 8:30 train whistle blew and neighborhood dogs all around answered back.

It was not quite dark when we arrived home, but our tree-cover creates a yard where it is already night long before the sun sets.

The cicadas calling from tree to tree and crickets' songs merged.

It was a dusky opera performed for us alone.

Evidence, but no deer

Walk began with greeting from the mighty Dash and walking partners. It was lovely and temperate. Glancing back we noted a full moon just over the neighborhood tree-line.

We felt the park's coolness and, with the breeze (warm moist breath) to the north, wandered to the meadow with expectation. But the road evidenced we would see no herd - no tracks. And so we saw no feeding deer, no white flags fleeing. Though Paddy noticed the grass pressed down along the road. This must be a crossing as the scent and grass gave witness.

We are at the end of the brilliant wildflower show. Seed heads are still damp to the touch - must wait to gather any.

Small yellow-green globe in the street along the uphill stretch home - tennis ball? Osage Orange?

Osage Orange. No others around and no Bois D'Arc in evidence. Must have been the leftovers of children playing - wondering at the crazy looking things.

Our trio sang us home...on with the day.

Don't go into the woods...

Exotic creatures observed in the neighborhood on this Sunday morning: smooth-talking "ne'er-do-well" walking home from Saturday night misbehavior, coffee cup in hand and bare-chested birdbath-filler with showercap.

Some of the usuals were present in the park as well - running man, Sissy and DeWayne...

The morning sun peeked into the recesses of the woods...making it so inviting...surely there ...is nothing dangerous, nothing hiding there...and Padimus struggled to follow the sunbeams..."come my child"...

But somes notice brambles, thorns, and fallen logs sheltering snakes and spiders and other creepies and crawlies. We settled for photos taken from the edge. And, as the probationers arrived to pick up trash and the trash-pickers arrived to separate out the aluminum cans from the detritus of weekend picnics, we headed home.

We snuck past the enemy - apparently just released from the house, she irritated neighboring dogs - walking the boundaries of her yard. But she never turned to see us slip by.

By the light of the gibbous moon

Even a walk by the light of a gibbous moon, late on a Friday evening is becoming impossible in my neighborhood. The sidewalks are sprinkled with "chip" kicked up from the chip-coat. it is difficult for people and impossibly uncomfortable for dogs to walk on this gravel. So we let Paddy - girl walk in the grass and we crunched the chips.

We tried to cross Main Street and found that every vehicle in town was driving to the shopping centers or away from them. We gave up on the uncontrolled crosswalk and went to the light. We wandered North Belton until the solar lights came on. Then we attempted the crosswalk again and were successful...but we did have to run. I do not worry about the FUM freezing mid-crossing, but Padimus cannot be trusted.

We discovered more half-done spotty chip-coating and lovely tar already tracked onto once clear areas of the street along 14th. Then we found ourselves waiting again - to cross 13th this time. Who knows where these cars were coming from and who cares? There is simply no reason for that much traffic through our residential neighborhood, but we are rapidly changing character. It is only a matter of time.

A frustrating evening, by the light of a gibbous moon...

Sissy and DeWayne

Two oldish girls walked down the street today with storm clouds threatening from the north/northeast. The warm moist air hit us in the face as we turned into the park. A "cold front" was on its way. It had been hard to start the walk today (creaky joints) and I was tempted to cut it short, but somehow something-a feeling that something special was ahead - called us onward.

The robot dog truck passed us and turned around to set up just inside the park. The people waved as did two yellow labby tails in the back window of the pickup. We turned around and found ourselves engaged in conversation. We discovered the dogs are, in fact, hunters in training. The trainers are Sissy and DeWayne (pronounced DEE Wayne).

It changes things, to know people's real names. The sense of community strengthens.

Banana man (David) had arrived and greetings were exchanged again. Sissy pronounced Paddy "A lucky dog" as a stray who found a family. I think we are the lucky ones.

We had no time to mull over our now altered friendships as our enemy watched us from the gate as we headed up the hill toward home. This is not the first time. Another dog often barks from a neighboring yard, but the dark one (of the attack) merely stands and watches. Sometimes it paces as if looking for a way to get out of the yard and to us.

So we thought about the enemy - until we were almost home.

Then we passed Mohawk dog and gang...and they serenaded us, two base barks, one tenor...a howling trio...Mohawk dog, the dane, and the boxer...perhaps we need to learn their names as well.

Sunflowers

Our quick walk was a collection of moments I can only jot down this morning: a Maxfield Parrish sky, birds singing like they did the first time the FUM and I walked around the block - knowing this was where we would live, the owner of the tiny voice waiting for the bus - "school is almost over" "good-bye", a tortoise-shell cat staring at me like Ratso would, a bride's boquet on the seat of the SUV where Paddy stopped to sniff, and sunflowers lining the chain-link of a sad little house (caliche yard, varieties of Christmas lights hanging, abandoned electrical roof decoration)...those flowers smilingly face us (or east to the sun) as we hurry home...

Solar lights and soldiers

On the evening walk to North Belton we met a young couple. He is 1st Cav. and due to go to Afghanistan later in the year. They were doing what we were doing - honoring the fallen.

We roused only a couple of lazy neighborhood dogs tonight. We noted the solar lights as they came on - in among the markers and along pathways in nearby yards.

The dark settled in. The crickets and cicadas sang us home.

Saturday Routine

Reminder: Rethink Saturday routine. Heck, ESTABLISH Saturday routine.

Beautiful dark clouds threatened a bit at the market so I headed home to walk before any storming. Fooled me. Paddy and I enjoyed the shade until we started to turn around. The sun came out and the temperature went up 5 or 10 degrees - catching us out of water and too far from home. We dragged back.

But, before pooping out, we visited briefly with running man (always polite, he coughed when he came up behind us so we would not startle) who claimed chores also kept him from his usual earlier run. We also talked with a couple of neighbors planting a hot pink crepe myrtle in their front yard.

And we did walk the edge of the woods to "see what we could see" as we expected the dark things to be hiding from the bright morning light (and, smarter than us, from the heat). We somehow ended up in the creekbed and walked far enough in to see the stagnant pool - all that is left of the recent rains. There are tracks all around this watering hole, but we declined.

Grasses and wildflowers continue to dry up. A few evening primroses clung to the banks of the creek, some wild morning glory - tiny and white with a blood red eye - lay just below the cut vegetation at the borders of the road. And thistles are blooming in the yard of the once abandoned house. It still looks a bit abandoned, but there are signs of occupancy...the yard is just very rough. I suppose it is time to get to mine before the thistles start to bloom here too.

Summer in the park

Returned home from one of my favorite work duties (name reader for GED graduation - 15th year or thereabouts) to a family planning session for Christmas (Let's go to MC's for the holiday!). Peeled off the dress clothes and changed into the "dog walking wear" as we called numbers on the cell phone left in my office today. We finally found someone to answer (no, we did not leave messages on Mom's or Dad's lines - that scares people when someone from "the college" calls). Turns out it belongs to a co-worker and he will NEVER hear the end of it I am sure. Met his wife at the bottom of the hill.

Then, exhausted from our "good deed," we wandered to the ice cream/snow cone stand. Everyone was treated. Paddy loves vanilla soft-serve. She chased that bowl across the pavement 'til there was none. I find French vanilla most like the snow cones of my youth. DH tried the sugar free cherry.
I forget that ice cream is a sticky mess whether you have little people or big dogs...but it was worth it...I just hope Padimus doesn't decide to drag me to the stand on future walks now that she knows what happens there.

We walked on the pavement as the darkness caught up with us in the park. We do not walk the dirt road at night. We have seen unidentified animals (shadows) walking there at dawn and dusk - best not to meet up with strange and unknown creatures in the dark.

Only one ball field was still in use as we drew alongside (and watched the kids snag the foul balls and home runs - baseballs over the fence. Do you get a free snow cone when you return the ball?).
When there is only one game you can really hear it. You aren't swamped with the noise of too many aluminum bats making contact, too much patter, too many cheering fans. The game sounds and the heat and the taste of the snow cone conspired - I am transported to Rob and Bessie Welder Park - I am 12 years old with a peeling sunburn hoping to get a turn announcing the game with Toots.

I am startled back to the present as the park cat runs for safety in the culvert and Paddy tries to follow.
The night creatures are everywhere: a fox crosses the entrance to the park as we head for home; the neighborhood cats start their evening prowls; the crickets drone in in the background as the cicadas call and answer.

Mohawk dog - leader of the chorus

Dawn was breaking as we entered the park. The misty fog gathered in the low lying areas and across the soccer fields towards the back of the park. It brought to mind one of the traditional songs I first heard sung by Steeleye Span and I sang it in my head (One misty moisty morning when cloudy was the weather I met with an old man clothed all in leather...)

We three walked the dirt road and noted the dew-brushed spider webs and grasses. The first meadow was still full of wildflowers freshened by our recent rains. All along the road were signs that we were just minutes behind the deer. Hooves had broken through the dry surface of the road and into the mud just below...tracks still damp.

As we approached the second meadow one doe was framed by the woods on either side of us. I pointed at her twice to make sure those in our party were aware and quiet. As we were clearing the woods we heard that loud warning snort on our right. Alerted, those in the meadow started bounding away through the high grass. I counted six then two more came out of the woods and joined the herd. Seeing them like this never grows old for me.

We turned towards home and one last deer crossed the road about 100 feet ahead of us. I don't know if this was a straggler or if she circled around us. But Paddy could barely be contained.

The rest of the way we stopped frequently to take photos. I will post tonight if any are clear. It is hard not to wiggle the camera when holding a "deer-excited" Padimus.

Our final smile came just blocks from the house when we discovered Mohawk dog and his owner out in their front yard. We exchanged a few words. I told him how much we enjoyed his dogs - that we called them "Mohawk dog and his gang." He related how that was right. Mohawk dog is the oldest and the leader.

[We did try out the new "bling" and are quite taken with the hat light.]

Short walk - Paddy and the dawdler...

Paddy and I walked on our own today - just as the sky was brightening. I think the birdsongs are most varied at this time of morning.

Paddy loves it when it is "just us" as I dawdle and our other companions keep a faster pace. There is more sniffing and tracking of interesting smells with the dawdler. We were early and had the time.

Friends were all about in the park so we walked to the first meadow, but saw no deer. The grass and wildflowers are so high that we could see where the deer had passed through the meadow earlier - greenery pressed down near some tracks and, according to Padimus, strong scent of bambilus.

The only game according to my girl? Felis catus. One older neighbor feeds the neighborhood and we spied 4 lounging around, waiting for breakfast. At Mohawk dog's house (yes, the boys greeted us on our way home) there are easily 3 house cats...they watch us walking by from window perches. I am made guilty - Hobbes has no similar perch. He tries to make his own, but often loses his grip (back of the armchair) or his balance (sliding across the kitchen table on the tablecloth - table surfing?).
More tonight...

Wildflowers Mark the Route

This is an early photo from 2017. I thought I needed a wildflower photo (as I save this old post) and what could be better than some yellow composites.

My drives back and forth to work or on errands have been a feast (or should I say "fiesta"), the table set with the next wave of wild flowers. I have tried not to hurry as all too soon the colors will fade.

Bluebonnets are already gone and fire wheels (gaillardia) cover the wild fields and ditches. Those bright orange, yellow and red blooms (and the already seeded and drying grasses) portend the coming furnace of summer. Thistles are just coming into bloom. The yuccas too have finally caught up with those I saw last month in south Texas - their creamy white blooms a bouquet atop spiny leaved stems.

The cultivated fields are either just up in corn or just harvested with huge cylinders of hay strewn about...like a giant broke her necklace and the beads scattered across the ground.

My former commutes, when the children were small, were all asphalt and subdivisions, pawn shops, and old buildings. I guess this is the trade. When the kids grow up, you are sent fresh reminders of youth - of renewal.

Lonesome whistle blows...

 When I hear that whistle blowin' I hang my head and I cry...

~ Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson, Folsome Prison Blues 

Our evening walk started with at least one of us decidedly NOT in the moment. Mowing and trimming and the dying red bud tree initially consumed me, but Padimus literally pulled me out of my thoughts and into the attention I have tried to bring to the walks since our recent unfriendly dog adventures. The dragon's breath wind reminded us that evening walks will end with the increasing heat...today barely temperate enough for two miles.

The park is deserted when we arrive...ah, Wednesday. No games on church night. 

We decide to check the mulberry tree on our way home and find enough berries clinging on (we expected the gales of the day to remove all ripe fruit) for a short picking before it is too dark to spot Jake the snake and other creatures in the grass.

We had picked about a cup of berries when a car pulls up to the curb and a woman exits. I wait (I think I need to get my eyes checked) until I hear her voice and then recognize my friend, Valeria. Returning home from choir practice, Valeria spotted us and stopped to meet Paddy. Always a friendly dog, Paddy went mad over V. I doubt I would still have a walking partner had I no leash today...Paddy continued to patiently sit, move closer and sit again for V to fuss over and pet her.

As the dusk began to threaten we said our goodbyes and headed home. The birds sang their evening songs and children played a few last minutes of catch in the dwindling light. Cats prepared for the prowl. The sun set yellow and pink and orange with the moon and evening star watching.

We are home just before dark as the breeze begins to cool and a train whistle calls in the distance...

Haunting

Late walk with Paddy in the dusk. The moon a sliver with some planet shining above as we skirted North Belton, with its solar lights starting to come on...ghostly sentries amid the white and grey stones.

A Beautiful Day for a Wedding

Lovely day, but sun was in my eyes for half of this walk...another reason to avoid the "lay abed."

Woodpecker staccato set our pace as we headed east into the sunshine. Saturday papers mostly still in the yards while the traffic to early morning sporting events increased.

We walked to the meadow knowing we would only be measuring the advance of the wildflowers and grasses. Last year plants that should have bloomed at a foot or two were mere inches off the ground. This year there are flowers at our ankles, knees, thighs and chest. There is no cutting across unmowed areas... even in the cool damp of the morning, I think snake.

We revel in the new blooms and the old. Some mesquite is still blooming in the park and all the pecans have not only leafed out but are budded for what will be a great harvest if we continue to have rain.

Wispy, or fluttery, or leggy things float in the air before us - varieties of insects including skeeter eaters (crane flies) and the dreaded cottonwood fluff. That cottonwood and I do not mix (it signals terrible allergies, whether to it or something else that blooms at the same time, I do not know), but I think it is so lovely suspended on a breeze or gathering like its namesake along the roads...as if God's cotton trailers spilled a bit on the way to the gin.

We examine the mulberry on the way home (impossible to pick berries with an excitable Lab) and discover that it has had a harvest. Whether people or bird or wind and rain picked, I will have to wait for a few days before I try again. And this is fine as I have a few other things to do today before I watch my son's brother, Charlie, wed his lovely bride.

It is indeed a beautiful day!

After the Attack

The sun was a big orange ball starting to clear the tree-line as we headed off this morning. It was still early enough on this crisp morning that most neighbors had not recovered their newspapers.

There is no blood or crime tape marking the place of our attack, but we are still marked (me more than Paddy according to my friend Steve - the dog whisperer) and were more than alert as we crossed the street to give the area a wide berth...

The park seemed like it was waiting for us, perhaps since our efforts to get there were blocked for a few days. We missed it and it missed us. And, as brave girls, Padimus and I decided to wander down the dirt road and visit the meadows too. 

We could see the fresh tracks in the dust of the road. They were here, the deer. (That the skunks had been there was clear too, although we saw none of their tracks.)

The wild verbena are huge and beautiful - a new carpet of purple. Ahead on the road the birds (including a cardinal - thank you God for all the birds, but especially for some that are not brown and grey. I love those as well, but I need to be able to identify a few) flitted back and forth from one side to the other.

We heard some rustling in the woods, but feared we were simply too late...until we reached the back meadow. We were rewarded for our courage this day. One deer was just entering the clearing from the woods. It snorted a warning and a second doe joined it. They ran and stopped, ran and stopped, crossing the entire meadow. We watched them, white flags waiving back and forth as they entered the brush again.

With the sun at our backs we went home, again skirting THAT place. We noted the parade of parents heading to the playing fields. And we complain of congested roadways no more remembering our good neighbors...

Park Blessings

Still adjusting to the time. Got up early (6) to discover DH had not gone for his run. I sacrificed my sleeping late to make him walk with me.

Paddy doesn't care if it is 6 or 8 or 11. She is just ready to go.

The lights of town bounced off the cloud cover and so if seemed brighter than normal. The same band present in the park: banana man, Bobby, Escalade man...but there was also a strange truck in the parking lot. The driver was just sitting there with the overhead light on...

We heard lots of night insects. INSECTS! Perhaps this means we will have a return of the owls and other creatures that have been missing this past year of drought.

Banana man spoke of his blessings as we exchanged greetings this morning.

I know what he means...

2 Calicos

Ah, I will always have the walk. 

I will miss these spring break walks. The neighbors and neighborhood are different in the light of day - the calico cats lounging in a neighbor's yard, the heeler off-leash and staying at his owner's side, the little old couple doing yardwork, MORE cats lounging in the windows at Mohawk dog's house, the friend on his riding mower at the house across the street [Once the unhappy house of a murderer, three families later, it still appears in my mind surrounded by police tape], the shrubs and trees (save the pecans which know about snow at Easter) shooting out green in time for the saint's day, and a tiny purple blooming weed creating carpets of color everywhere. 

I know what this silly little thing is called, but cannot remember right now. I have two wildflower books out for help. I think it funny how such an insignificant plant can have its time to show off. It is not normally so widespread and obvious, but the drought killed its competitors. This is its year...whatever it is called...bringing us visions - fields of purpley pink...

The heeler and two calicos seemed a message from Oreo, Ratso and Peaches  -that all is well.

How Many Mornings?

How many perfect mornings do you get?

Every single one you get.  

Sometimes they are easy to recognize

and other times you have to squint to see

and listen hard to hear

the beating of your heart

and the snort of deer

- warning the herd of the approaching threat.*

Sometimes it is just a perfect morning. While we started out late, the day was dawning and gave us such a different experience.

The temperature was cool. And the view? We came around the corner and started down the last hill - the sight of the old truss river bridge bearing the first few cars of the early to work always makes me smile - a youthful memory not yet the victim of upgrade. Above that the skeletal trees, still holding out against one more spell of cold weather, reached up to a necklace of lights from the next town over followed by the vivid colors of the sunrise and the dark layer of clouds.

We decided to walk to the first meadow...where we felt, but did not see the deer herd. They had left scent, prints in the dusty road, and a sense of their having deserted the clearing just as we passed the tree line. We will try again another day.

We noted buttercups blooming along the way home and Padimus attempted to engage an older hound who responded with only a bored look. Mohawk dog and friends made up for the snub. It will soon be time for his haircut and we cannot wait. He is a different dog in the summer. But then aren't we all a little different in the summer?

NOTES:

* This memory popped up in social media and I check to see if it was saved here. It wasn't, but now it is.

Girls walking in the dark

Perfect morning for a walk. Escape dog was glad to get out of the pen.

The park was empty. The stars were out. The creeks were flowing with the last of the rain run-off. I kept thinking, "we will see deer." But there were no deer, no creatures out (too early for the birds).

On the way home we heard two dogs bark as we passed and one of Mohawk dog's buddies came out for a walk with his owner, disturbing Paddy.

She talked about it all the way home.

December 26, 2011

Late walk with Paddy and DH.

We were not alone - new woman with dog, Dave and running man...

Some of the things I love about the park (in addition to the birds, deer and walking/running friends) - the way the leafless pecan trees look silhouetted against the gray sky...the wind moaning spookily across the signposts...the intermittent streams...the tiny wildflowers struggling to bloom in spite of drought...

Trust Your Dog

I love Paddy.

As we approached the second turn into the park Paddy was alert and clearly reacting to something. She was totally aware and concerned.

Then OC spied a truck in an odd place (really almost hidden along the dirt road to the meadows).

We decided to trust Paddy's (and our) instinct and cut this walk short. Read "The Gift of Fear." I just call it "trust your gut."

Paddy would say, "trust your dog."

Paddy Loves the Park

[Early walk with dog - saved here.]

Just finished the walk. 

As we reached our turn into the park, Paddy (who does not watch for traffic) was trying to pull me across the street. She kept looking at me as if to say "Aren't we going to the park? We are here. This is the park. Come on. Let's go!" 

She also seemed excited to see and be seen by other dogs. We see so few at 5 a.m. The last dog was in a car and Paddy "spun me around" as she searched for that barker...too funny.

Deer and Owls

October 18

Walked in my sleep yesterday...no sleeping today...front blowing in. Funny how a cool breeze (ok, it is not a breeze...really windy out there) can change everything. Visited with coughing man a bit and Paddy exchanged greetings with the robot dogs. As we turned for the final stretch out of the park we saw the two small bucks headed in. They walked along the road a ways, lit by the streetlamps...finally they spotted Paddy...and turned into the woods near the creek.
NOTE: Heard great horned owls yesterday along the first stretch of park road...

Sleepwalking

Walked in my sleep yesterday...no sleeping today...front blowing in. Funny how a cool breeze (ok, it is not a breeze...really windy out there) can change everything. Visited with coughing man a bit and Paddy exchanged greetings with the robot dogs.

As we turned for the final stretch out of the park we saw the two small bucks headed in. They walked along the road a ways, lit by the streetlamps...finally they spotted Paddy...and turned into the woods near the creek.

NOTE: Heard great horned owls yesterday along the first stretch of park road...

Moon and Fog

Using a photo from another time (because I can as I save this memory).

No lights in the park. Moon bright and all walkers present, but still eerie in the early morning fog...shadowy creatures are all we see...we stayed on the road and kept a brisk pace as we watched the fog move a little closer...

Early park cat sighting

Few cars today...love holidays... no greeting from the little one as no school today, but we were able to admire his "ghosts" decorating the yard in anticipation of the end of the month...only a cat stalking the playground for wildlife in the park...well, the cat and a number of those large spiders along the sidewalk...

Skunk in the park

Loving the cooler temps for the walk.

We scared and were scared by a skunk... and, while I was re-collaring the dog (she walks in a different collar), she alerted on something out in the yard.

When letting her back into the backyard I am "cornered" at the gate...NOT a time I want there to be something bad out in the yard...I think it was a shrub or shadow...or else a stalker who melted into the shadows...but I may vary this exercise for a while...

Documentation of one of the early walks

Dare I say damp chill?

DH walked with me to an empty park. We only saw two folks - runners - one we call coughing man because he usually will cough to let us know he is about to run past - the other was new and running with a red flashing light. I would call him the "flasher" but folks would misunderstand.

No little one today, but a big crowd at the bus stop (before 7!). Walked Paddy back into a yard with rain dripping shrubs and wet grass...

She's no guard dog

Sweet Paddy walked beautifully today...then we started past a yard with a dachshund wandering around (with his owner)...I think it surprised us all...Paddy stopped, dachshund stopped and his owner hustled him into the house...so much for my guard dog...Paddy just mumbled/whined as we continued on. I have never had a dog "comment" like this before.

Peaceful Walk with Paddy

[9-11-2022 ~ Saving another short walking note from long ago.]

Walking late today (taking some time off) and greeted our little person who called out to us, but wasn't allowed off the porch. If we didn't already recognize it (Mohawk dog) we discovered that Paddy likes big blonds as she almost pulled away from me in the park when an overweight yellow lab shuffled past with his owner...managed to get out of the park before the robot dogs (more yellow labs) got out of the pickup and saluted the bike on the way home...

I don't fish, but I notice

[Continuing my practice of saving old notes as I discover them, this one is added.]

Today I am going to take my lead from the two men in the park...they had all their tackle out in the back of the car...baiting their hooks for a morning of fishing....

While watering the yard (Sunday is one of our days) I discovered the schoolhouse lilies are preparing for their show - some are blooming and some just peeking out of the soil...the squirrels (darn them) are scampering around burying nuts for winter...so giving thanks for the day and planning to be mindful every minute of it...



NOTES:

2016 - The schoolhouse lilies are blooming now as well:

Raptor rescue

Cool and windy walk...forgot the trash bags. :-(. And then, next to a storm sewer opening, a raptor baby (still need to look up what kind) huddled in the street. Girls went for the phone number to the animal rescue and a box. So the crazy lady in the torn tie dye t-shirt and hot pink tennis shoes (now you know why we usually walk at dark) stood in the street to keep cars from running over the baby bird. Then Belton's finest drive by...stare at the crazy lady in the street, turn around and stop... quickly determining the crazy lady is not a danger to herself or others, they call for back-up and take over "operation raptor." OK...off to see what kind of bird that was...

On the river, 2011

    Thursday evening walk…cicadas and frogs competing with their droning evening songs…river level so low, I don’t remember seeing it like this…pond almost dry…bats swoop to snag water bugs off the surface of the slowly moving water…temp almost 10 degrees cooler than home, but still hot…and no fireflies…when have we not had fireflies at dusk on the Frio? – 2011…
    Thursday evening supper out…picked up newspapers at the Italian restaurant…black bear killed in Mountain Home area…whoa buddy…spied a black kitty on our way to the river tonight…tried to convince Mike it was a bear…hysterical to hear him respond…”No, it’s a kitty!” Still, we will be watching our step on the early morning run/walk…no need to surprise (or be surprised by) creatures more exciting than cats or ducks…
    Sunday morning – how did it get here so fast?...second pot of coffee still perking…(STILL!)…old tortillas cut up and waiting to become duck and perch food…ants washed out of the recycling …stuff everywhere, but packing commenced…need to make a tally of animals…2 lizards…one toad…loads of croaking frogs… masses of cicadas and dragonflies (but few other insects)…lots of buzzards…two armadillos…one roadrunner…many cardinals…25+ deer on the drive back to camp Friday night (some exotic – and at least one raccoon) one black kitty…4 mallards...2 mean domesticated ducks…almost as many bats hunting on the Frio at dusk as coming out of the Devil’s Sinkhole (a different variety, they tell us)…one owl hunting bats…loads of perch and minnows…a few bass…a couple of turtles…few people and one idiot jumping off the cliff (not one of us).
    The business folks in Leakey tell us that it has been one hard season and they are more desperate for rain than even we are. The lack of trash on the river speaks of how few folks even tried to tube…or came to camp…sad all around. Three of our swimmers are on the river for the last swim…they will be up soon and ready to shower…then it is back down to the river for photos and sad farewell…oh, and there is one bike…and one boat…

Unknown

Dawn delayed by clouds...walk in between day and night...evening insects still whining - slowly joined by the morning bird songs...one last bat flits by...and Paddy alerts across the street from the park entrance. We all stop...car lights show us that it is a fox...and he, recognizing us, heads back along the creek...the empty park feels too hot and still...we walk to the first meadow and see nothing...then, along the road to the far meadow, a dark figure crouches..."Skunk?" "No, too big - vulture shape." And the creature, hearing us rises and stalks off, not a dog, not a cat, not a fox, tail-so not bobcat...time to go...

Is it time for a stand and feeder? (Just kidding folks)

DH, Paddy and I startled two does and a (nice) buck - all crossed the dirt road in front of us into a stand of trees and then crossed the left side of the first meadow. We got to the second meadow and Paddy was scanning everything - disappointed it was empty. We entered the park and heard (and then saw) the same deer...must have paralleled the road and exited the trees into a field beyond. As we headed home we saw two small bucks trying to cross the busy street coming towards us. They waited and then ran at us along the creek...saw us and disappeared into the woods. Paddy was going crazy...DH and I decided it was just the teenagers, oversleeping and getting into the park late...

Turn of luck

Clouds blocked the dawn stirring up childhood fears (Are YOU afraid of the dark?); I forgot Paddy's water; Paddy - deciding she is a GUARD dog, not a watch dog - growl-barked and lunged at a (strange) runner. I decided to try the first meadow anyway.

The meadow was empty and it seemed we were either too early or too late when one doe entered the meadow from our right and stopped...took a step, then another...then took a step towards us as Paddy and I held our breath (sometimes Paddy is the best behaved, most intuitive animal). Suddenly the deer let out a warning noise - like the lout "shushing" of a mother or an exhausted exhale of breath. She and two other does broke into a run across the meadow while Paddy and I stood motionless. Then we headed home...

Deer (and a bicycle)

Walked down the dirt road that parallels the park. (We used to let Paddy run a bit here until she decided she didn't need to be in visual contact and "took off" for about an hour - scaring us all silly.) Approaching the first meadow we saw some movement - four deer. They finally saw us and ran into the tree line as Paddy yanked the leash (and my arm). At the second meadow we saw nothing, but heard a big crash in the woods (it is on these days I am especially glad DH is along). We circled around into the park mostly watching our feet - huge cracks and holes in the parched areas surrounding the soccer field. Suddenly a whole herd of deer came crashing through the brush towards us (briefly) - one medium sized buck, two fawns and about 4 or 5 does...after they spied us the group scattered, except the fawns. They stopped and looked us over just a minute or so and then bounced back into the brush...

Twenty-one Hours/1400 Miles - Much of It Desert [A LONG Drive Across California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas]

Where are the people?” resumed the little prince at last. 

“It’s a little lonely in the desert…” 

“It is lonely when you’re among people, too,” said the snake. 

~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery (The Little Prince)

Long drive...love driving 75 legally...lots of construction and slowing down...boo!...warnings of dust storms and some amazing dust devils on the side of the highway...then some very ominous clouds/dust storms on both sides of the highway, but never where we were. I couldn't tell if it was dust up high or smoke from the fires or both...but very scary...not a trucker fan this trip...they have not been nice.

DFW! Whoo-hoo! Lots of crazy stops along the way...one sketchy gas station just inside the border to TX where there were prisoners in stripes doing road work...all in all a good adventure....now, knock wood, to sleep, airport on time and back home...

No issue with the border stop...YC says she always takes off her sunglasses and stares at them with her blue eyes...

Note:

This was on a drive from California to Dallas to put YC on a plane. I have no conscious memory of where she was going.

I do remember her comment as we drove through part of west Texas. “Odessa? I would have said Odesolate is more like it.”

And now I always say “Midland and Odesolate.”

Friends have shared "Slowdeatha" and "Nodessa."

Walking in the Dark

"Where are the owls?" I have thought on almost every walk. I had finally heard some screech owls in Mrs. Guffey's yard a few weeks ago, but nothing since then...FINALLY this morning we didn't hear them - we SAW them sitting on a wire, silhouetted against the brightening sky...

Still wonder what happened to the great horned owls in the park...