Access to green space was a primary factor in choosing where we live. I make sure she gets two good walks every day. I'm averaging 20K steps per day (about 14 km, or 9-10 miles) so I think we are doing pretty well on that point. I've also been trying to make sure she gets some dog-on-dog play time, including a good run, on most if not every day. Daily visits to the dog park were great during the summer, but that area is pretty muddy now and isn't used by many people this time of year. The big field near the dog park has taken its place once I got up the nerve to let Bailey really run with other dogs and enjoy it off leash. She has proven herself again and again, both in terms of being good with other dogs and in sticking near me and coming back when I call.
I gave her the title of "Most Fun Dog" back in the dog park days but I'm happy to say that her reputation is spreading. Yesterday's walks illustrate my point. It was rainy in the morning so we just did a short walk, wearing her raincoat, to take care of necessary business. It cleared off later in the day so we went out for a long mid-day walk to get in our miles and play time. Our first pass by the field was disappointing, no one was around, so we just kept walking. After a while encountered one of the dogs she had recently ran with so well in the field. The dog's owner instantly recognized Bailey (maybe me too?) and asked if we could let them run together. We weren't near the field, but we were in a pretty open area bounded by the canal on one side and woods on the other. Her dog was already off leash and I freed Bailey and they immediately took off chasing one another around. The other dog's owner remarked that Bailey was the best running companion for her dog of any they had encountered.
After the dogs had a good run, we went our separate ways. Bailey and I headed back towards the big field and this time found quite a number of dogs there with their owners. Some were familiar, others new to us. Bailey played with a few of them for a while and got in some more good off-leash run time. We headed out again on our own, going generally towards home but around the park again to get there. We met another dog walking off leash with its owner, both recognized Bailey and wanted them to play. I wasn't sure how much more play she had in her at that point but I took off her leash and Gentle Leader and the two of them took off running like it was their first run of the day. That other dog's owner also told me that Bailey was their dog's best running companion and they were very happy to have met up with us.
Bailey and I made our way back home, on leash, and she slept very soundly last night. I was very happy that she's making friends with dogs and making an impression on their owners as well. This may not happen every day, but it doesn't need to, just often enough to keep her active, engaged, and entertained. There is no language barrier between dogs and she may be helping me overcome mine.
I didn't exactly solve the problem I was having with photos on the blog, but I seem to have found a workaround, although it involved adding another step to the process.
Some of my houseplants:
The plant shelves were another Ikea purchase.
The sun is so slow in the sky that we get no direct light even in this west facing window.
Once the sun climbs above the building height across the street it will get a lot more.
I may add some lights to shelves.
This amaryllis currently has six blooms open.
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