may day

for the first time in a long time i ran into 3 people with off leash dogs in the on leash area. none of the dogs bothered us, they were all under control and all of the owners had leashes.

so what's the problem? first of all, the dogs are supposed to be on leash. other people see people getting away with this and figure they can too, only their dogs may not be as well behaved.

second,i have no way of knowing whether the owner truly has control over them and my dogs are leashed, in accordance with the rules. i have actually had people tell me that if my dogs were loose too i wouldn't need to worry, it wouldn't be a problem. as if i am doing something wrong by being leashed in an on leash area.

the dalmatian kept stopping and looking back at us. i asked her owners to keep her with them, they said it would be no problem and it wasn't.

this guy came off the camel's back trails (on leash) with his dogs leashed. he went into the weeds near the trees as you can see here & had his dogs sit. i think maybe so we could pass. the dalmatian women were in front of me and i think maybe he was just looking to give us all space. again, the dogs were well behaved. they sat and let us pass and we never saw them again.
ran into this woman with as we were walking out into the park. not knowing how well behaved her dog would be, i had halle & echo sit to get them to focus & then heel by her. her dog stayed to the right off the trail. no problems. but again, it's in an on leash area, she had a leash, the dog was right next to her. how hard is it? when she turned around & saw me snapping this pic she did leash up.

i really don't mean to be the leash nazi. i just don't understand why it is so difficult to keep a dog leashed until you reach the off leash area. i do not understand.

yarrow getting ready to bloom.

one view shot. it was nice out, but gray, so not a lot of scenic pics.

something that occurred to me as the first bunch of us were giving each other space is that we all appreciate the foothills for different reasons. for me, it is a meditative way to start my day. i enjoy being out in nature, listening to the birds, seeing the wildflowers and grounding myself.

our morning walks remind me that there are plenty of things bigger than whatever frustrations come up during the day. i love having the dogs along (yes, off leash) because watching them makes me smile and reminds me to investigate, look around, smell the good smells & interact with the world.

there are people who like the same trails for the social experience they provide, or the challenge of running or biking them, and probably lots of other things. the point is that if we all appreciate the resource, whatever our reasons, then we need to do our part to preserve it and to respect other people's reasons for wanting to preserve it as well as their trail experience.

7 with, 4 without

have a great weekend!