Rain!

What a beautiful, cool morning it was as I walked both Hansel and Gretel for 2.6 miles around the neighborhood under a thick, overcast sky.  This is the longest morning walk in over a month, and I felt energized once I got to the school. 

It started drizzling harder once I got to the school, and by lunch time it was raining hard.  I was not expecting rain today, but I also didn't look at the forecast. 

The sky was overcast all day.  I wanted to walk the dogs after school, but I lost precious time rounding them up when five (!) of them escaped from the back yard and ran over to a neighbor's dog for their usual fence fight.  

I managed to get all of them back in the Honda.  Fritz played stubborn, so I picked him up and took him to the backyard, then drove with the pack down to the maintenance road for a quick sunset hike down the main road.  Out and back would be just under two miles.

It was already past 6pm when I parked and started the walk.  The dogs were behind me, and the pups followed Hansel.  But then they spotted a white-tailed deer down near the old stock pond and all of them took off running.  Calling them back was futile, and I quickly lost sight of them.

Normally Hansel and Gretel come back after a few minutes, but today it was different.  I didn't want to panic with the waning daylight, but I knew I had about 30 minutes of good light before dusk.  I went back to the car to be able to drive down the road faster, going back and forth while calling out their names.  No response.

I last saw Sahne near the hidding springs.  I figured they were there as that is where the deer was, but they still didn't come.  Just as I felt desperation set in, I saw Hansel, Gretel and Sahne run east on the main dirt road.  This time they came running, tongues flapping in the wind.

But were where Wolfie and Gretchen?  These two dogs are the more quiet dogs who follow the leader.  It was now getting dark and I was low on fuel.  I drove quickly to the nearby Speedway gas station, filled up my tank for $38, then returned to the dirt road.

I first spotted a dark apparition.  It was Gretchen, and she seemed confused about the car coming toward her.  She wanted to run off, heading north, but I stopped, called her name, and she jumped into the car.  She was wet (from the pond).  A few minutes later Wolfie appeared.  Now I was relieved.  It was now officially dark; he came back just in time.

Wolfie was covered in sticky weeds, but thankfully all dogs were back and safe.  I enjoy walking in this area, but wildlife like javelina and coyotes stroll through and I had visions of both dogs getting attacked by them had they not returned. 

Tonight taught me a lesson:  Wolfie and Gretchen are still unsure about off-leash walking.  They aren't ready for these adventures just yet.