a cool spring day at the dogpark
March 23, 2008
With the Spring thaw underway we have been avoiding the dogpark. As much as I love the place and miss the long walks, with the warmer weather, the pathways are mostly a mixture of water and mud. Mix in two dogs and you can guess the results. No thank you.
But, as it turned out, the cooler temperature of this morning was a bit of a blessing.. at least I am sure that is how Coco and Sadie are looking back on it. Realizing that the ground would be quite hard and frozen I thought.. why not.
So that is what we did. :-)
Everyone and their dog seemed to have the same idea. The park was full of happy dogs and happy people. The air was cool but the sun was warm. The walkway here looks much wetter than it actually was.
More geese.. how wonderful. No sign of the multitudes as yet.. but this is a good start.
The park is wonderful for its abundance of walking paths. This photo was snapped from across a still frozen creek.
My happy girl. Her ears are matted from being dipped in wet snow but her paws are fairly clean.. not that it matters to her. :-)
So in the end, the cooler day did in fact turn out to be a blessing. We got to enjoy an unexpected good walk with good people and good dogs.
How lucky was that.
still winter.. but getting better
February 24, 2008
Perhaps I should be knocking on wood.. but dare I say.. I think our weather has taken a bit of a turn for the better.
The change was immediately apparent first thing yesterday morning as I opened the back door to let out the dogs. I instinctively cringed and held my house coat close as I swung open the door and waited for the expected blast of cold air to hit my face. But.. It didn’t happen. I stood there, kind of clueless for a moment, and then realized.. hey.. it’s nice out there. I immediately knew what me and the dogs would be doing that afternoon. Kilcona dog park.. here we come.
And that is exactly what we did. Right after lunch we piled into the car and headed straight for the park. Now, keep in mind that we have been almost house bound for the past couple of months.. going out for only short jaunts and necessities. But not this day.. and the dogs knew it.
Once at the park, Coco and Sadie literally flew out of the backseat in their excitement to get out and run. I can’t say my enthusiasm was any less. :-)
I know I refer to this place as the dog park.. and that is what it is.. only it really is so much more. There are water ponds and creeks, bridges and hills. The trails are endless and the walking can go on for about 7 km., I believe. With the ponds and water ways completely frozen the trails now cross the ponds and many are smack dab in the the center of the creeks.. paths that are only available this time of year for obvious reasons. That is where we hiked this day.. and it was glorious.
I walked, the dogs ran.. elated to be out and free. So glad to be with their doggy buds once more. Everyone was happy.. both dogs and people. Smiles and hellos everywhere.
Not yet accepting that it was no longer -30C, I dressed as I normally would for one of our walks, in many layers and with almost all body parts covered. By the end of our walk gloves were off, my ears wear bare and my jacket zipper was half way open. Glorious.. just glorious.
For the first time in many months, when I took the dogs back to the car it was not because I was near frozen. In fact I was kind of contemplating going for one more round.. but today time would be the deciding factor.. not the cold.
This morning it looks like we are to be blessed by yet another lovely day. Don’t get me wrong… it is still winter.. but now it is winter in a good way.. with the hope of Spring causing all kinds of happy thoughts to bounce about my head.
A Winter’s Day
December 18, 2007
Old Man Winter has been smiling down on Manitoba the past few days. With above seasonal temperatures and little in the way of wind.. we have been experiencing the best of what winter can be.
Today was such a perfect day to be outdoors that I loaded up Sadie and Coco into the car and we headed off to Kilcona dog park. We have not visited the park since the snow has fallen and by the time we turned into the parking area.. both dogs had their noses hard pressed against the backseat window trembling with anticipation.
With the fewer hours of daylight and the long shadows that come with this time of year, days like this are a gift. Yesterday was just as nice. My friend, BRD and I strolled the river walk with our dogs, Lad and Sadie. The sharp contrast between the white of the snow and the blue of the sky had us marveling at the wonder of it all.
I will have to tuck the memory of these two days away so that I may bring it out a little later.. perhaps in the deep and dark days of January when I know I will need to be reminded of just how beautiful winter can be.
A Dog Day Afternoon
November 12, 2007
Maybe it was the abundance of sunshine and the promise of an unseasonably warm afternoon.. but for what ever reason I was in cleaning mode this morning. Believe me.. this does not happen all that often. I guess I knew that if I wanted to enjoy the afternoon I would first have to get the to-do list out of the way.
Surprisingly it didn’t take long for the house to be tidied. I find that these tasks tend to take up more space in my head than they do on the clock. Once I got going, the housework was done in no time and then me and dogs were heading out the door in anticipation of a walk and a romp at the dog park.
I was just about to turn off of our street when I noticed my son’s truck parked in his driveway. At first I thought this unusual, but then I realized that he may have the day off because of Remembrance Day falling yesterday, on the Sunday.
Wondering if he would be interested in coming with us to the park, I drove to his house, got out and knocked on his door. He seemed totally pleased with the idea and soon we were once more headed down the street .. Sadie and Coco excited that David had now joined us.
The dog park was a new experience for David and I could tell from the smile that broke across his face that he was enjoying it all. With the combination of the nice weather and the Monday off, the park was bustling with dogs and people.
We walked and talked while Sadie and Coco ran about, often stopping to meet and greet other dogs and owners. David was quite taken by it all and as may be expected the conversation soon turned to his own hopes of getting a dog.
David has always loved dogs (he comes by this naturally I suppose) but has never had one of his own. Now that Nikki and he have a home of their own, I wouldn’t be surprised to find a pup in their yard, come the spring.
Kids and dogs and sunshine… it’s all good.
plans for this evening: yoga class
and in other news:
I took the plunge and updated to the latest version of WordPress (my blogging software). This tends to be quite a stressful undertaking as I always have the fear that something may go wrong and my blog will simply go poof and be gone.
Thankfully, everything went smoothly and I am pleased with the new features, especially the new tagging support.
I really must learn how to do the backup thingy.
Saturday Morning at the Dog Park
August 18, 2007
Such a perfect morning with just a hint of coolness in the air, we just couldn’t let it pass unappreciated. The dogs and I piled into the car and off we went to spend some quality time at the dog park. Any and every thought of work that was to come later on that afternoon banished, at least for the moment.
I feel so very fortunate to live so close to this park. I do believe that Kilcona Park is probably the largest dog park in the Winnipeg area. Everybody loves it here.. dogs and people.
The pooches and I have been coming here on a regular basis since the spring and we have yet to encounter any trouble with any of the dogs that we have met.
The park is extensive with lots of pathways to walk and grasslands to explore. There are some water areas, which I do my best to avoid, but if you are a dog.. this place has it all.
Thought I had better give some time and space to Bear since he has not been featured in a while. Here he is.. healthy, happy and doing what Bear does best. :-)
———-
scenes from the dog park
June 4, 2007
We are very fortunate to live on the out skirts of the city, close to a wonderful off leash dog park, the Kilcona Dog Park. It lies adjacent to the Harbour View Golf Course and offers over ten kilometers of trails. I have known about this park for years and used to visit it occasionally with my old girl, Tiki.
Once she was gone and Coco was my only dog bud, the visits were less. Most of the dogs that visit the park are big guys and Coco initially was quite a timid fellow.
Then Sadie came into our lives with all of her boundless energy and her need to run. I decided to give the dog park another try.
And am I ever glad I did.
Both Sadie and Coco LOVE this place, and so do I. There are bountiful beautiful trails to walk and many, many dogs to romp and play with. So far all of our experiences have been positive ones.
It is amazing and just so much fun to see and meet the various sorts and sizes of dogs. Such a happy lot they are.. all open mouthed with tongues hanging out, rollicking all about the park.
Simple pure joy is reflected in their eyes as they eagerly run up to meet the newest arrival and their newest best friend.
The happiness is contagious and laughter is often heard from the small groupings of owners. Conversations start easy with the dogs being the perfect catalyst for verbal exchange. It kind of reminds me of when my children were young and how very quickly one became acquainted with, and often friends to, the parents of our children’s friends.
Simple pleasures, simple joys. I think we can learn much from our dogs.
