The end of summer

Monsoon this year was good.  While the vines I planted along the chain-link fence didn't grow with vigor, I am happy with the overall results of my desert garden.  The javelina munching on my fat prickly pear were the one nuisance.

The final weekend of summer ended up being a rainy one. I planned my chores around the weather.

On Saturday I was eager to see the flow of the San Pedro River.  I took Fritz and Wolfie on the 4-mile walk.  It's become my favorite path  to the river in part because of the views, and second, because of the isolation.  I started late, at 4:30pm,  as the path was already shaded by the mountains.

The river was muddy, but flowing from the overnight rain.  The Big Wash had some overflow at the confluence.  Both dogs enjoyed the wet refreshment.

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Sunrise walk with Hansel around the Brown Canyon nature trail

Today was Hansel's day for a solo hike with me.  I chose the nearby nature trail.  Sunrise was at 6:03 and I got to the trailhead at 6:05.  I caught the sun rise between some tall trees along the maintenance road that leads to the Brown Ranch.

I was the third vehicle in the parking lot.  We stayed on the road until we hit the first path.  Here I let Hansel off leash as no one was around.  The sun was now rising and casting its reddish glow on the sunflowers growing in the meadow. I found other flowers as well.

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Hansel gets his vaccines

My goal today was to drive to Tucson to get Hansel's vaccines.  His rabies expired on the 7th and I didn't want to wait another week for the mobile vaccine clinic in town.  I always enjoy a day trip to the Old Pueblo anyway.

I took Gretchen on a two-mile walk at sunrise, stopped at the JROTC car wash in town at 9:30am, where a young gal asked to pet Hansel.  I said ok, but Hansel appeared nervous when that arm reached into the car.  He looked at me questionably and I told him I  will no longer allow strangers to pet him; my bad.

We finally made it to the ABC vaccine clinic on Btoadway at 11:30am.  Again I was told there was a two-hour wait but this time I was prepared.

I dropped off my box of recycables at the 7820 Broadway location since the original location on 1st Street is now closed, then had lunch at a Sauce Pizza and Wine restaurant near the vaccine place.  The patio is dog friendly and we sat in the warm shade. The 90F did not make it conducive to walking so I kept activity in the heat at a minimum.

Ten minutes after getting back to the waiting area,  I was called in with Hansel.  I had waited 2:10 hours.  He weighed in at 80 pounds, four pounds heavier than last year

The vet tech was a young blond man who seemed uneasy around Hansel.  He tried to take Hansel's temperature through his ear and Hansel wanted nothing of it and growled and lunged at him, digging his toes in my thighs. This caused the young man to drop the thermometer. Oh my, he was not happy and I was surprised at Hansel's reaction.  

The man came back with a muzzle that I had to keep tight around the snout which made Hansel even more unhappy when we entered the vet's office.  Another vet tech told the blond vet tech to step outside, that she will take over. 

The DVM was an old man in his 80s with large age spots on his hands.  He stayed seated the entire time as I helped hold Hansel around his neck.  The vet tech threw a towel over Hansel's head and we both said encouraging words to Hansel.  Good god, and I have to do this every year?!  He is due a booster shot for lepto in 30 days.  I'm just going to give Hansel that shot myself.

When I stepped out of the exam room, the blond man was leaning against the wall and asked me how it went.  As good as expected, I guess.  There was no screaming, no biting, no blood loss.

To give Hansel a treat for the stress, I stopped at a new dog ice cream parlor a mile away, Bark and Berry.  I heard about it through Yelp.  It opened in March.  It's a small shop in a strip mall near three other dog-related businesses.

We were treated like royalty as soon as we walked in.  The owner, Luna, knows dogs very well. She got Hansel to sit for a few photos. She only makes four flavors: bacon, salmon, pumpkin and prime rib.  No chicken, so I chose a scoop of prime rib with dried salmon sprinkles and then let us in the off-leash area where she took his photo and sent me the pics to my phone.

I didn't stay long as two other dogs came in so I moved outside in the shaded area to write a quick review.  Luna came outside to give us water.  Hansel still seemed stressed.

So now what?  Too hot to hike and no other places to visit in town, I simply drove back to Sierra Vista.  

I noticed a temporary cross memorial where my former student Mia Hirsch was killed by a drunk driver by MM293.5 on June 21st.

I stopped at MM302 off SR90 to walk Hansel two miles off leash at 5:30pm before resuming our drive home.  Now the sun had set behind the shrouded Whetstone mountains

San Pedro River

Tropical Storm Lorena, which was forecasted to hit SE Arizona yesterday and drop two days of gentle rain over us, never materialized.  The once F1 Hurricane stalled over Baja California and then dissipated. 

Fritz was overdue on a hike so he was my first choice for dog partner on my walk to the San Pedro River this morning.  Gretel rushed out the back door so she was Fritz's companion.  Those two dogs are my best protectors.  I feel safe with those two by my side.

Both dogs take protecting me seriously, so it was no surprise that neither dog took off once we got started at 7:20am.  The sky was mostly cloudy and it was still in the 70s.  A young coyote had crossed the road as I neared the trailhead, but once on the trail, the only animal I saw was a frightened white-tailed deer right ahead of me on the trail.  I distracted the dogs to prevent them from chasing it.

The trail was a bit overgrown now.  The catclaw acacia is in bloom, and so is the creosote and turpentine bush.  I wish I could grow creosote and turpentine bush on my property!  I enjoy the scent of both plants as I brush past them,  But here near the river the soil contains more bicarbonate, which compacts the soil and makes it more alkaline.  The higher alkalinity is visible in the whiter soil color.  Even with the heavy rains we have had in the past ten days, the soil does not loosen.

I enjoyed the green all around me.  While I didn't see any animal life closer to the river (I was looking for box turtles), the denser and greener foilage was a challenge.  The trail was harder to follow the closer to the river we got.

The Big Wash was damp but passible.  And once to the river I was glad to see it flowing.  Yet just south of the conjunction, the river was stagnant and green.  I avoided that area and took the dogs north a bit to the logjam.

Fritz and Gretel romped here for a bit, jumping chest-deep in the water and chasing each other.  We didn't stay long here as I wanted to get back home before the heat set in.  The mountains in all directions had clouds shrouding the peaks. Fort Huachuca's surveillance balloon was up so that means no stormy weather.

Fritz and Gretel managed four miles this morning.  The next two dogs up are Hansel and Gretchen.

Sheelite Canyon

Ellen lured me out of the house today with a hike up Sheelite canyon to the overlook.  I had originally planned on staying home and getting more planting in.  I'm glad now I got out of the house twice this long weekend.  I took Hansel and Zana.

Weatherwise it was ideal weather. It was overcast and cool, with low-lying rain clouds.  This kept the dogs refreshed.

The canyon was lush with plenty of wildflowers, but water was not as plentiful as I had expected.  The various pool were full, but nothing was flowing.  The dogs didn't mind, as they will lay in anything wet.

We hiked up the steep canyon at a steady pace. The steep, narrow canyon is challenging due to the many blowdowns and boulders.  The trail is hard to follow due to the many blowdowns and boulders in the drainage.  I have to follow Ellen, as I have no sense of direction, nor do I recognize the turn-off to the overlook.  Ellen noted that there were more blowdowns since our last hike here last fall.

Hansel and Zana stayed close, following the trail most of the time and coming back when I called them.  A few times they acted like they caught the scent of something.  I watched them closely, as twice we caught the scent of either bear or skunk and the dogs froze.  The only noises we heard were from birds.

It began to drizzle an hour into our hike, but that drizzle was most likely a low-lying cloud.  When we got to the overlook the tops of the peaks were shrouded. We saw some sun to the south.

We rested here for a bit, eating a snack.  I felt the sweat on my back once I took my backpack off.  I had my old red Marmot raincoat that I put on to keep warm, but it went off again once we resumed our walk back. 

We never came across anyone else on this hike.  There was one more vehicle  next to Ellen's Radar (the name of her Toyota Cruiser) when we returned to our vehicles.

We finished off the hike with a late lunch at Culver's.  Each dog got their pup cup as we sat on the patio.

I'm glad Ellen coaxed me into hiking with her.  My ankles were sore the rest of the day, but I appreciate the challenge, and I'm sure both Hansel and Zana are glad for another day in the mountains.