Along the River

Another wasted weekend. I had planned on taking Sadie and Minnie along the five-mile loop in Brown Canyon this afternoon, but Zeke insisted on going and pushed his way to the van. Fine, I thought, but now I must change my plans. Since he lacks trail etiquette I knew the Brown Canyon trail was a no-go and opted instead for the shorter but safer trail along the San Pedro River near the Hereford bridge. I hadn't been here in a while and the dogs would enjoy the water.

It was still rather hot when we got out of the van at 5:20pm. We had at least two hours before we'd lose sunlight, but I hadn't planned on being out that long. I had a flashlight packed in my bag just in case.

The dogs were happy to get out and run. Sadie and Minnie are getting their neighborhood walks but Zeke gets left behind. So tonight was his fun night. Sadie stayed by my side.

We weren't on the trail for long when I spotted a coyote run across the field. Then I saw a second one. The dogs took off running in the general area of the coyotes, and when they did, a herd of javalina came sprinting out of the weeds. Were the coyotes stalking the javalina? All three dogs took off running, and all the animals disappeared behind a knoll to the west: coyotes, javalinas and dogs. My yells proved fruitless. At least the dogs were in a pack and the coyotes wouldn't take them and neither would the javalina. Barks and snorts came from behind dark shrubs; I couldn't see any action. Were any of my dogs going to get injured? Crap.

The javalina fled and didn't come back. Neither did the coyotes. But my dogs were also silent. A few more screams and eventually all three came prancing back to me. There were no injuries on any of them, although Minnie had a frothy mouth and was panting. They were lucky this time.

The river was a mile away across an open field. Tall dry weeds were on either side of me, which the dogs avoided. The sun's light was casting a golden hue on the dead flora, making this area look like the typical Southwestern ranch land it really is.

I stopped at the river for them to drink, watching the waning sun slowly reach the crest of the mountain range. They let me know when they had had enough. For Zeke that meant diving into the water several times and getting completely wet. We walked another mile south before turning around and going the same way we came, stopping one more time for water.

Unlike other early springs of past years, I didn't notice a gypsy moth infestation on the ash and cottonwoods along the river. Had the late freezes killed off the larvae? Usually by now the catepillars are falling off the trees. I am not complaining, though.

Our little hike in solitude lasted just 90 minutes. This was a good choice for me today although I didn't get much of a work-out. I walked a trail popular with equestrians but today no horses gave me company. Their hoofmarks and scat littered the trail.

Two deer scammered across the path on our return walk, but luckily the dogs didn't notice.

Thus ended a rather peaceful weekend doing nothing much.