Della's Walk

I wasn't overly ambitious today, but I got back into the garden watering routine this morning and I took Della out on a walk in a new park in the afternoon. 

Maya is generally my first choice as a walking companion when we are going someplace new. I know what to expect from her even is we encounter unexpected situations, and I know she's got the stamina to handle any walk that I can handle myself, even in the heat. But Maya's got a sore foot as a result of a recent run-in with Serena over a new chew toy. I want that to heal up so she was on the injured list today. 

I took Della instead. She's almost as dependable as Maya. I know what to expect from her at least, and if she's by herself and I have the gentle leader on her, I'm pretty confident that I can handle her in most any situation we encounter. 

We headed off to Totier Creek Park in Albemarle County, near Scottsville. It's a small water supply lake, only fishing is allowed, no swimming, so I knew there wouldn't be a lot of people. There's only about three miles of trails, but we had them to ourselves and that was enough on a hot afternoon.

I used the rope harness primarily, but I had the Gentle Leader on her in the beginning. When it became obvious that we were the only people on the trails I took it off and just stuffed it in my pocket.

I should have led the away across this slight, but substantial, bridge. Della started across it but then stepped down and just walked across the small dry creek bed. 

It was hot, but we were mostly in the shade. Della is young enough that she handles the heat pretty well.

You can see the lake through the trees here. The water was very brown due to runoff from recent rains.

This bridge was more to her liking. The trails were well maintained and well marked.

There's just three miles of trails and we've done them now, so I doubt that we'll be back, but it was a nice short walk this afternoon.