messy

when the alleys look like this, it's a safe bet that the trails are wet and sloppy.

i decided to check out red fox, since it (and red winged blackbird) is sandy. it may be sandy, but it's still sloppy and choppy. this is the section coming up from around the pond. it will regain its shape much quicker than a muddy trail, but until things dry out some when this freezes it is going to be really bumpy and difficult to run or ride on.

you can see that i wasn't picking up mud on this part of the trail. i did, however, have to go through some puddles and my feet got wet. stepping off trail to avoid water, mud or ice causes widening. if you're not willing to go through, turn around. i watched this happen several times today.

we did not go up chickadee as it was thawed and muddy. you can see that this doesn't deter everyone. i saw a guy & his dog coming down as we were going out. better yet, he had a tennis ball thrower.

as nasty as it was, we saw 3 other folks/groups with dogs and 3 without.

also, judging from the amount of opp i picked up in the same section of the trail i cleaned up 2 days ago lots of people are out on the trails.

here's hoping it gets cold & snowy again.