Saturday, August 30, 2008

saturday the 30

no pics this am- another neighborhood walk, due to having a booth at the market today.

this is from BPR Director Jim Hall's August newsletter:

FOOTHILLS PATROL: The city has worked out a contract with the IdahoHumane Society (IHS) to have them patrol the Ridge to Rivers system to issue citations and educate users regarding dogs on the trails. IHS officers will begin patrolling the Foothills and green parks on Sept. 1.This contract is a response to citizen feedback on recommendations created by the Dog Working Group. Our foothills crews have been seeing more evidence of non-compliance from dog owners using foothills trails.We hope that the patrols will help educate people about the need to control their pets and clean up after themselves.

sounds like maybe people are slipping a bit. i will work on a reader's opinion for the statesman, and erik has developed some nice business cards sized handouts to gently remind folks of the rules (and the stakes) will let folks know when they're ready to go.

Here's the agenda for Wednesday's meeting:

Foothills Conservation Advisory Committee
7:30 AM, September 3, 2008
Foothills Learning Center Conference Room

AGENDA

I. Call to Order

II. Approval of August 6, 2008 Minutes

III. Brief update on various land exchanges.

IV. Discussion and possible action regarding Foothills Trails and dog uses. David Gordon

V. Pole Cat Trail policy. David Gordon

David is making his recommendations for the off leash rules changes. May be the same as a few months ago, may have changed. We have been told that there will be no action taken at this meeting, decision to be made in October.

We have lots of volunteers for See Spot Swim, can use a few more for Trailpalooza & will pass along Poop Scoop info soon.

IHS has generously offered to print the banner for us, and Erik Kingston & Susan Marston are helping with additional printing. Ginger from Northwest Business Solutions is having some t shirts made up for us.

If anyone is interested in coordinating a Boise Trail DOG group for See Spot Walk in October, please let me know. IHS has been very supportive, be nice to give back.

Thanks so much to everyone- you're all great!

Have a good holiday weekend- I'm off until Tuesday-

Friday, August 29, 2008

another friday





















yet another great start to the day!

a beautiful morning and everyone was pleasant & well behaved, leashed where they needed to be- it is so nice.

talked with the patrol- they said things have been pretty good. they were busy yesterday handing out warnings, but are giving people a chance to get things right. they've been in military reserve too.

met a gal with a vizsla coming down chickadee. she helped with echo's training by sitting ruby by the side of the trail. we walked right by just as if we were in class. perfect! training and consistency does pay off. and it is possible, it just takes time & effort.


7 without, 12 with, including amy & sue. add amy to the list of folks who help keep red fox clean.....

hope everyone has a great weekend!

Thursday, August 28, 2008

off leash, not uncontrolled




















another lovely sunrise! saw the PET patrol going in with echo. everyone we met leashed or controlled their dog when they saw me leash him- all very nice about it, no requests needed- it was great! and he was great- walked right by no problems.

red fox and chickadee both look great- thanks to the usual suspects- steve, deb & alison- and whoever else has been helping out.



















another of my favorites, rabbitbrush, getting ready to bloom. part of its appeal for me is that it means fall is coming- my favorite time of the year.



and a sage shot, just because the light was so nice coming through.



this is laurel & jake. laurel always gets jake to her & has him stay with her when she sees us coming leashed up. greatly appreciated!



first trip, 5 with and 5 without; second trip 14 with and 8 without.

i had halle leashed when we saw other dogs to work on her lunging habit. 3 runners we met on the wide part of red fox all leashed their dogs to go by without question or issue (which was great, but not the training opportunity i was looking for!).

we ran into a big akita on top of the ridge, though, who was standing and watching us approach with his shoulders sort of hunched in a very alert manner. would not be a good dog to charge, no matter how playfully. so she tried, but i zapped when she hit the end of the leash and she got it & we walked right on by.

we continued leashed because it was getting busy and we had some good practice with clueless people letting their dogs approach. i told one gal that there was a couple behind me with a leashed dog that didn't take kindly to being approached and maybe she could keep her dogs away (this after they sort of nipped at halle). her response was "this is the off leash area, dogs do better when they're all off leash". well, unless they're dog aggressive, or don't have recall, or the owner is training.......

anyway- it was a beautiful morning, and hopefully she'll give that some thought!

almost friday!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

missed it!

had to start work early this a.m., and my toe is sore (not sure what's up with that, but hope it goes away fast!), so we did a noon neighborhood jaunt instead.

i did get this note from ginger-

Suzie Lindberg and I picked up a bit of extra poo this a.m. on "MR"-and FYI the coyotes are back over there. 2 chased a guy w/2 dogs just above the clubhouse this morning about 730 am.

so watch out for the coyotes at military reserve.

thanks to those of you who have responded to my plea for help. we still need people for the afternoon at trailpalooza- there will be music & all sorts of fun. this is a good opportunity for education, since this is one place that it will truly be dangerous for dogs (and small children for that matter) not to be controlled. the velodrome is built for bikes- there are cross country race trails, and places to jump & do tricks. a loose dog could cause serious injury- and be seriously injured.

looking forward to getting out tomorrow-

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

another gorgeous morning!

















another beautiful morning- a quieter sunrise today. i love it when it's cool. dogs full of beans- they love it too! halle was just racing up & down the trail, and teasing echo to get him to chase her. very funny. good to start the day smiling.

it was really nice to have all dogs leashed where they were supposed to be today- it's good to know what to expect.


10 with and 8 without.

cheers!

Monday, August 25, 2008

i'm part of that group























beautiful sunrise. nice run with echo, well behaved dogs & owners, rules followed, etc.

back with halle, at camel's back entrance, a woman with a medium sized black & white short haired dog (bella or stella) and small black dog. both off leash. bella/stella makes a beeline for halle, who of course wants to play & tries to pull my arm out of its socket while i am trying to get her attention by buzzing her. training through distractions, ok.

she makes sort of an apology, i mention enforcement starting, she says "i know- i'm part of the group that put those leashes out". i said so am i, my other dog would not have been as friendly if your dog charged him, loose dogs & leashed don't mix. i don't really care what you do otherwise, but i wanted to be sure you knew that enforcement is starting.

she thanked me, and leashed her dogs (halle was, by now, doing a decent heel, considering the dogs were checking her out.)

we have made it clear that we believe the rules should be followed and enforced. please don't say you're a member of boise trail dog if you're breaking the rules. and if i need to refund anyone's money, let me know. the only way we will maintain access is to follow the current rules and be good dog owners. this includes not letting our dogs run uncontrolled.

i was guilty this am when halle ran up to another dog to play. she's too big. she faked me out b/c she was in a good heel and a bit behind me so i didn't see the signs. from now on, she gets leashed so i can teach her.

i am also certain that this woman means well and that she doesn't see herself or her dogs as part of the problem. i've been there. that's what education is about. but bella/stella, who clearly has lots of energy to burn off, really wasn't under voice control (she didn't return when called) and she was off in the weeds and whatever she did there was not likely to be picked up that i could see.

i met 2 of the ihs enforcement patrol this morning. they will be out at random times & on random trails. they will be out as early as 6 a.m., so please pass the word.



both trips 5 with & 5 without
have a good monday!
ps- the mountain bike guy with the black lab that i talked to a few weeks ago is riding with his dog leased & looks like he's working on training. a great thing to see. i will have to tell him about paula in case he's interested next time i see him.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

sunday aug 24

military reserve for something different. beautiful, cool morning.

balloons floating over the city.

we met a guy with 3 bird dogs- the youngest being a wirehaired pointer puppy (probably 8 months old or so). he told me to let echo go & teach the puppy a lesson b/c he needed someone to knock some stuffing out of him. didn't do it. halle chased a little, but we went on.

a ways down the trail the puppy came charging up. owner was walking the other direction, and presumably fairly far down the path. we kept going, hope the pup got back. at least he had tags on. pretty sure any poop that dogs leaves isn't getting picked up by the owner- and he could be harassing wildlife, etc...



this is really ridiculous. water bottle right by the trash can. maybe the person didn't know they dropped it.....





love the sunflowers, especially the light through the petals (you may have noticed). the tangle of phlox, clematis seed heads, rose hips by the stream was really pretty.




it got busy on the way out. nice thing about mr is the visibility and the trail options. lots of loops & spurs, you can avoid meeting up if you want to. the mt. bike rider was really good. watched one before him pass these women on the left, but this guy rode slowly behind him. when they realized he was there, they stepped off the trail, which he thanked them for, but told them it wasn't necessary.


a bit of water still in cottonwood creek. we're legally off leash here- this is the end where it goes out to the concrete area.

be good for the enforcers to spend some time in the dog park & the trails right behind. picked up a bag of opp right near the bottom of the stairs in the dog park. don't get it, but there it is.

have a great sunday all!

Saturday, August 23, 2008

tour de fat

neighborhood walk today- always good to have the leash practice. steve & i worked tour de fat for a few hours. he is a swimba member & mt biker.

my bike is an electra- flat foot, step on brake cruiser (named carmen- she's red, and then there's the electra part....) anyway- i ride to satchel's to watch movies & drink wine (correction- rode) and to the grocery store and sometimes to hyde park or smoky mt pizza for dinner. rather walk (with the dogs) usually.

tour de fat is swimba's (southwest idaho mt bike assn) annual fundraiser. lots of fun, lots of costumes, lots of beer & bikes. and it benefits ALL trail users. swimba members donate a lot of time and money for trail maintenance & building and we all reap the benefits.

there was plenty of info on ettiquette. it was a good reminder that we're all in this together, and that supporting swimba is a way to support the trails.

Friday, August 22, 2008

weekend soon




















another gorgeous morning. starting to feel like fall- nice and cool this morning. (good thing since our ac conked out yesterday!). all dogs and owners well behaved, mt bikers polite (on your left, thank you, that sort of thing).

4 leashes at 9th street, 2 in camel's back- erik's tags are working well. one gentleman actually using the leash in the manner in which it was intended- and glad to be able to, which was very cool.

if any of you are as sad about satchel's as i am, here is the scoop: they need an infusion of $55,000 to keep going. more details available if you want them, but that's the bottom line. they are looking for investors to raise the capital. if $25,000 is pledged by tomorrow fundraising efforts will take place through September.

satchel's is a great community supporter- bike teams; artists, both visual and musical; they have had writers come in and give talks; many groups have held fundraising events there. the movies on the wall are great fun, the food is good and healthy. and the patio is dog friendly- water bowls, the whole enchilada.

if you are interested in investing, or have any questions, please email Time2GiveBack@aol.com


9 with, 12 without. have a great weekend!

Thursday, August 21, 2008

wow!




quite the light show this morning. just beautiful.

















two of my favorites- the spot with the sage that always looks so pretty with nice movement and the wonderful colors.


















first trip was 5 with, 5 without; second trip 8 with, 7 without. everyone- dogs and people- on both were ruly (as opposed to unruly- must be a word, right?)


have a great day!

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

good to be home














it is so good to be home, and i am so thankful that i have this to look forward to every day rather than this:

nothing like a trip to where it's flat and humid to make me remember how much i appreciate boise.

nothing like running on a treadmill in a tiny "exercise room" (one bike, one treadmill, one all in one weight set, no free weights) to make me itch to get out on the trails and really appreciate it when i do.

so thanks to all of the people through the years who had the vision and courage to fight to get the trail system set up and who continue to preserve and expand it.


these are my favorite colors of all time. i love the tawny color of the dry grass (we'll pretend it isn't cheat) and the dark skies- especially when it's an afternoon thunderstorm bringing the color.

it was a beautiful morning. everyone nice & well behaved (good since i've had 5 hrs of sleep). the dogs were sniffing up a storm and running down the trail. they get city sidewalk walks when i'm out of town and nothing wrong with that, i think it's good to mix it up, but they were very interested in everything this morning, after not being on the trails since last friday.


10 with and 9 without- busy busy! thanks to the runner who, noticing we were on leash stopped and leashed his dog up too.


Sunday, August 17, 2008

sunday evening

no new posts from me until wednesday or thursday- will be in dallas tomorrow & back very late tuesday evening.

happy trails to all-

Friday, August 15, 2008

another friday

another beautiful morning! it's so nice that it's cooler- just wish the sun wasn't coming up so much later.

lots of people out today.


halle was full of it, getting her yayas out, zooming up & down the trail and begging echo to play. it makes me smile.



saw this bag on the way in, left it, as i generally do now, to see if it was still there on the way out. it was. been seeing a lot more of this- bags full of poop, not tied (what is THAT about?) and well off the trail.

don't know if these folks think someone is going to pick up after them (which is a thought we all reinforce by doing exactly that to keep the trails clean and maintain access). maybe we need to add something about packing it out on the bag dispensers?

dogs leashed where they should be (mostly, except the yellow lab with the guy with the baby carriage- have seen him there most mornings this week.) our practice walking by and not having to visit is paying off. as is my intent to trust echo and halle to do what i tell them instead of getting nervous. we walked right by several groups of dogs and they kept going because i kept going. they sat & stayed nicely when the hound escaped his mt bike owner & came trotting over. we saw the guy echo & i met yesterday, and he leashed his dog up to go by and was very nice.

susan and kaehne (susan- hope i got that right- it was before coffee)- look at that tail go!



12 with ( 2 on bikes), 8 without.

have a great weekend- we are headed for the hills, hopefully i can get tracy or paula to post, otherwise be back monday-