Out for a Walk

We...the dogs and I...try to go for a walk every day. It's a good goal but we really only have a true "walk" about 4-5 times a week. Our little neighborhood road is only 1/3 mile long.... going up to get the mail is minimal exercise and the big road at the end simply isn't safe...too much traffic and no shoulders, to speak of.

So...in order to get the exercise a brisk walk provides all three of us...I have to put the dogs in the car and drive. I would love it if, like some of my FB friends, I had a hiking trail right out the back door or acres of ranch land on which to hike, but that's not my reality.

Fortunately, we have several safe areas from which to choose, all being fairly close. Nearby neighborhoods provide practice for leashed walking, either on the sidewalks or in the roads, and the Eastern Trail, along with an undeveloped "development" (read tarred roads but no houses yet, with tons of woods along the way) are wonderful for off leash walks. These are particularly good for me as I can keep a brisk pace and the dogs explore at their leisure.

When we can't get out to one of these places, we go out back of our house. While this doesn't provide the same exercise as the neighborhoods or the trails, it is a chance to at least do some exploring.

Our own little neighborhood is surrounded by 20 acres of wooded "green space" and this is adjacent to a power line so I guess I can't complain because there is some space to roam...I just don't think of it as a great place to walk...more like wandering.

Ginger thinks she owns this whole area. The woods are her domain and she patrols it on a regular basis. She has created a whole system of trails, none of which are easy for me to follow, of course. So, if I have to go call her off the porcupine she has treed or get her to stop trying to dig out an animal holed up under the dead tree stump, I have to truck through the pines and firs, all of which have dead branches just about eye level. Not fun.

I shouldn't complain. We are in a wonderful location....very private and yet only four miles from the interstate. And, even with no fences on the property, the dogs are trustworthy in terms of staying home. We work hard to keep it that way.

And having a good portion of the Eastern Trail (our part of the East Coast Greenway) so close is great.