First five

I've posted this before, but it's fitting for today because it was my first five mile hike of the year. 

I had Paisley and Bailey with me. I'm not sure if I've ever walked with that combo before but it wasn't a bad pairing. Both are pretty easy to keep moving. Bailey was pulling me steadily but not hard, and she rarely stopped of her own volition. Paisley was more inclined to stop and sniff but she was easy to keep moving; a little encouragement or a little pull on the leash was all it took to keep her moving. Five miles was nothing to either of them but my feet, legs, and even my back were feeling it by the time we finished.

I checked the sundown time on my phone as I was walking to figure out how far I'd be able to go. The sun didn't set until almost 6:00 p.m. today, but it was a cloudy day so I knew that useful light would be fading quickly after that. Five miles would be cutting it close, but that gave us more incentive to keep moving. There was no time to waste. We finished a bit after 6:15 p.m., and it was getting dark fast at that point. I knew the way and only had to look where my feet were landing. Bailey seemed to become hyper vigilant as it was getting dark. It is good wildlife viewing time and she was really looking for anything that moved. 

A good walk it was. I have been noticing that Paisley seems to be losing weight and the fit of her harness confirmed that. I gave her, and everyone else, the first of three daily doses of Panacure with their dinner tonight. 

This is one of few places that Bailey stopped, because when we got here she could hear the river below.

When I first spotted this guy we were a good 50 yards away. He wasn't moving so Bailey didn't notice.

When we finally got too close for his comfort he took a few steps and disappeared into the woods.

That's when Bailey really took notice and became interested.

Oh, I almost forgot. We had another good night's sleep last night and I followed the same routine with the dogs again today. Bailey slept until 6:00 a.m. once again. And Arlo has learned to eat his food when it's given to him. He knows that Della will be looking over his shoulder very soon.