springing!

things are staring to bloom- a few phlox

not sure what this is- i can never find it in my wildflower books, but it looks like some sort of legume-

i think this is desert parsley, but not positive-

arrowleaf balsamroot showing the first bit of color on the south slopes

and the beautiful dramatic spring skies, snow on the owyhees

today's wildlife: a kingfisher (they're so cool!), red tailed hawk, red winged black birds, meadowlarks & stoned (pretty sure) high school boys.....

everyone on the trails was pleasant & polite & following rules. we dodged off leash dogs all the way home, tho-

happy trails!

letter to R2R

r2r received this email today and asked that i pass it on:

I wish to advise you about the Highland Valley Trail #11. We were on it this weekend and there is so much dog crap alongside the trail on the ground, plus green bags thrown down into the ravine, we were shocked. We counted more than 10 bags thrown over the side and waste all along for a mile up past the Cobb Trail connection. Never have we seen that much thrown to the ground and bags just disregarded without concern. This is truly a big problem in Boise.


Could you please forward this to who it should get to?

I would like to recommend a trash receptacle at this trailhead as there is none at all. And PLEASE a sign that says pickup after your dog! There is none down here in SE Boise and we get our share for sure!


Thanks

i was also asked to mention that people need to be aware of where the off leash trails are. "on leash trail" signs have been disappearing, but trail designations haven't changed. R2R is replacing signs as quickly as they can, but in the meantime please continue to follow the rules.

thanks! and happy trails-

Trail Designations Haven't Changed-

heads up to know where the on leash trails are. signs have been going missing, but the trail designations have not changed. ridge to rivers is replacing signs in as timely a manner as they can, please don't assume that because a sign is missing trail designation has changed.

gorgeous morning!

beautiful blue sky day

remains of the winter's rose hips against the blue sky

currants blooming in hull's gulch earlier this week

the lupine starting to emerge along corrals- they are yellow and put on an incredible show every may

and still a touch of snow higher up and also visible looking across the valley to the owyhees

we started out all alone, meadowlarks singing all around, beautiful blue sky & solitude. ran into several groups coming out, all polite, friendly, dogs in control. great start to the day!

happy trails!

Poop Scoop

Hope you're enjoying this beautiful spring weather!

We're gearing up to start the season with a spring cleaning- the first poop scoop will be held in conjunction with the first Trail Awareness Days on Saturday, April 10. We'll be at the Grove parking lot (the one on the left off 8th street where you cross the road to go to Owl's Roost, go uphill for Chickadee or head back toward the pond) from 8-11.

Looking for volunteers to a) help at the table, handing out trail sharing literature, bags, dog treats & clif bars and b) tackle sections of trail.

I know a lot of you are training for Robie, but any help would be greatly appreciated.

We've been asked to spread the word that no one picks up after others on the trail. There have been a proliferating number of green bags abandoned along trails and the only explanation seems to be that people think there's a clean up crew.

Please spread the word-

Thanks!

Marianne

tumblin' tumbleweeds

also known (more properly) as russian thistle

 spring is starting to show- buttercups-

 need to get the flower book out- not sure what these are, but they seem to bloom a long time. maybe they're annuals that reseed easily- that would explain a long bloom time. or maybe i just see them at different elevations throughout the summer....

 teeny tiny white flowers. i wonder if early flowers are so small to better withstand the wide variance in weather they're likely to encounter?

love when it's warm and sunny and the snow is visible higher up

lots of folks out enjoying the day- this is around 2 pm. lots of bikers- all of whom were pleasant & thanked me for getting the dogs off the trail out of their way.

all dog owners encountered were pleasant & polite too- the sunshine spring weather is infectious!

have a great weekend!

another beautiful day!

what a gorgeous day! blue sunny skies, warm, lots of people out.

i'd like to share part of an email that r2r sent my way this morning:


I am concerned about the disrespect the off-leash dog owners have on the bike trails. A minimum of 3 dogs per day run in front of my bike nearly causing a wreck, and I have to come to screeching halt more often than not. There are many considerate dog owners who hold their dogs when a bike rides by, but lately there are too many dogs running free while the dog owner pays no attention. Sometimes the owners .... complain because they have to retrieve their dog from the path (after I have stopped). Not only are the dog owners inconsiderate, but I have seen too much dog poop and green bags left on the trails.

i, too, have seen more bags left by the side of the trail and others have noticed the same trend. do people really not know that there's no on who picks up after them?

this was left on the out.....

and this on the back...

condensation in the bags, they did appear to have been there for a while.

i've also heard of 2 other incidents in the past few weeks where dog owners got belligerent when asked to leash or control their dogs. which is a perfectly legitimate request especially when the dog a) is jumping up on someone & not coming when called (in one case) or b) the person making the request is on a bike and not confident (perhaps due to past experience) that a dog won't suddenly decide to run in front of their bike.

this seems to happen every spring when the weather gets nice & the trails get busier.

we had a really nice walk today, most other dog owners were really polite & a bike rider thanked me for getting the dogs out of the way. not saying it's all horrible, just that we can use a little help getting things in shape again.

happy trails!

beautiful day!

we headed up 8th street because we knew everything would be muddy & the street seemed the best place to be.

still some snow for the pups to play in, lots of mud

and spring flowers starting to show up.

it was so quiet and peaceful and beautiful- great start to the day!

green!

new growth on the bitter- and sagebrush

i think this is arrowleaf balsam root starting to poke its head up

and a flower!

birds singing again, almost time to start getting out before work- which is way better for me. starts the day off right & i don't feel like i should have the blackberry with be b/c it's during the work day (never mind that i'll have started early to justify time on the trail, or that we do all get a lunch hour, it's just how i am).

have a great weekend- happy trails!

Request for Dog Owner Input

Hi Everyone. Hope you're all enjoying this beautiful weather! I received the request below from Dave Beck, President of the Idaho Velodrome which runs the cycling park in Eagle.


I'm the president of the Cycling Park in Eagle and at our board meeting yesterday, we all agreed that we would like to be more proactive with dog walkers at that park and see if we can develop some infrastructure such as an off dog leash areas similar to Fort Boise's.

We are looking to add someone from the Dog Walking community to our Board of Directors. This would be a point person for the dog community and help insure that any future improvements and activities at the park addressed concerns in that area. Also, if there are specific improvements or activities the dog community would like to see at the facility we can work towards accomplishing those goals.

Dave Beck

President, IVCPA

If you are interested or if you have any questions, please contact Dave at merlinxlm@cableone.net

ahhhhh mental health!

what a gorgeous morning! we headed to miller gulch trailhead to hike corrals. no one else in the parking lot at 8:45 when we got there.

this trail usually gets quite rutted & nasty from winter use when things are wet, but like many other trails in the system it's not bad this year.

it's been a long time since we've had a nice long saturday walk in the sun with the birds singing and boy, i needed it (the dogs seemed to appreciate it as well). nothing like a good bit of exercise, fresh air and sun!

and signs of spring- some buttercups are sticking their cheery yellow blooms up here & there.

happy trails! have a great weekend!

another gorgeous day!

beautiful blue sky day

gorgeous warm sun. lots of people out, most very happy & polite.

one woman in her own private idaho, cell phone plastered to her ear, loose dog without even a collar, little boy of about 5 who was evidently supposed to be watching the dog. at least she yelled at the boy (who maybe weighed as much as the dog) to get the dog when she saw myself & another woman with our leashed dogs in the on leash area.

yep, worked about like you'd expect. the other gal's dog didn't appreciate being approached by the loose one, so they had a bit of a rodeo while the poor little kid was trying to corral his animal. then she came trotting toward us, so i let halle go, put echo in a sit stay and helped the kid contain the dog. cell phone mama came up, slipped a black leather belt over dog's head like a leash and collar combo & went walking off still talking her phone.

the little boy thanked me for helping, though.

not a very nice spot to put a little kid in.

the other dog owner & i had a nice chat, and the rest ofthe walk was lovely. i was really just sort of amazed by the whole thing.

anyway- happy trails-

what a day!

what a gorgeous sunny day! welcome to march! when i finally got out, a bit after 1, there were lots of folks out enjoying the day. everyone polite, happy & following the rules.

the week's off to a great start- happy trails!