Romeo's first walk

This was the first day without rain in recent memory. The ground is completely saturated and water is standing unable to sink in or run off. (After more than one day of rain, I pretty much despair about ever seeing the sun again.) The wind was blowing and it was chilly, but the sun was shining and I needed to get out for a walk as much or maybe more than the dogs, so we went.

I took Della and Romeo first, for a bit more than three miles. It was Romeo's first walk. Maybe his first walk ever. I put a rope harness on him. He fought it a bit when I first put it on him at home and tried to walk him to the van, but once he got used to the feeling of it wrapped around his body, he was fine. I remembered the difficulty getting him into my van when we picked him up. Today wasn't so bad however. Della was inside already and I opened a side door to put him into a crate. He initially balked at the idea of getting in, but I gave him a lift with the harness and then he scrambled in more or less willingly, if not gracefully.

The real fun started when we got to Pleasant Grove and began the hike. He was happy to go, but "forward" was a new concept to him. He mostly went back and forth, from right to left, as far as the leash would allow, in front of me and behind me, often wrapping the leash around me in the process. Della wanted nothing to do with his nonsense and she walked straight out in front of me at a leash length to try to stay out of his way. He finally settled down, more or less, and walked a full leash length away on my right side, trying to pull me in that direction. I think I'll fit a Gentle Leader on him before our next walk, but I'm pretty sure he'll fight that for a while.

It was nice to be out walking anyway. We just walked the roadway and one section of trail that isn't muddy.

Buttercups in our front yard.

The big hairy beast about to drink from the bird bath.

I did the first walk around noon and then did some more work and other things before taking Maya and Serena out in the late afternoon. I'm loving the lengthening days, it gives me a chance to get a second walk in before dark.

Serena can be a handful on a hike, but I had her on both a leash attached to a harness and a short leash that I could quickly attach to her Gentle Leader. We saw other people, with and without dogs, a dog playing ball, a rabbit, and an off leash dog that ran right up to us until it's inattentive owner finally called it off. That last encounter was dicey, but I could put all my effort into controlling Serena because Maya minds her own business.

Iris bed at the Community Garden

The great oak is leafing out.