Please Leave the Phone @ Home

O.k., please excuse this rant... there's just something that I need to get off my chest. I have noticed, while walking the dogs during the past few months, that there is a trend that seems to be increasing in popularity in my community - that is, talking on a cell phone* while walking fido. I just don't get it!

I have seen people with all sorts of dogs do this recently: yesterday, we saw a guy on the phone that had two dogs on leash; a few weeks back, we encountered one guy who had a golden retriever that was off leash while he was on the phone; the other day we saw a kid with a yellow lab doing the same thing; and not too long ago, we came upon a woman (on the trail in heels, no less!) walking a little mop dog while talking on the phone.

Tahoe, enjoying our time at the lake, sans cell phone

Come on people! Walking your dog is a great time for bonding and exercising. When we keep our focus on the dog we're walking, we're equipped to do a much better job of providing the outdoor exercise that our dog so eagerly looks forward to each day. I realize that many people are very busy these days and any opportunity to multitask is appealing.  However, talking on the cell phone is sooo distracting! Not only are you ignoring your dog when you do this but, you're also ignoring your surroundings and the other people and dogs that maybe nearby. Not to mention the fact that having a phone in your hand and a leash in the other hand makes picking up your dogs business a challenge... that is, if you even notice that you're dog has left a pile of poo behind.

So, when walking your dog, please do all of us all a favor and leave your cell phone at home. Make the activity of walking your dog your main focus. Talk and play with him or her. Point things that you see on the walk to your dog. Make your walk a bonding experience between you and your favorite four-legged friend.

Thank you.

*I must admit that I'm mostly annoyed with hand-held cell phones. I realize that there are headsets and such out there that help to keep hands free but really... unless you're expecting a call from the President, leave the phone at home.

Supermodel

Ashley is a supermodel! Today, during our afternoon walk, a teenage girl saw Ashley and she asked if she could take pictures of her.  She thought that Ashley had the "prettiest eyes."  Here are a few snapshots that I took of Ashley this afternoon... yep, that's rawhide residue on her nose.

Ashley, loving the attention!

Such a funny dog!

While Ashley was busy posing for pictures, Tahoe was running and fetching his squirrel frisbee. He got a really good workout today. So good in fact, that he became overheated and ran into the creek to cool off as we headed back to the house.

Tahoe catching his frisbee

Happy Easter!

What did you find in your Easter basket this morning? A chocolate bunny, jellybeans, chocolate eggs, peeps chicks? I hope the fluffy ol' Easter bunny was good to you and your loved ones. Have a glorious day!

A batch of our colored eggs

Such a Houdini!

Last week, during one of our afternoon walks, Ashley managed to wiggle out of her pink harness.  Here's how it happened: Babu had Ashley's leash. Ashley began to walk in one direction and Babu walked in the other direction. And then, alakazam! Babu was left holding a leash attached to an empty pink harness. Luckily, it did not take us long to catch Ashley and strap her back into the harness. Phew!

Since Ashley seemed to demonstrate an interest in walking untethered, Brian decided to let her walk off-leash during our afternoon walk the next day.  I was nervous during the entire walk.  (In the past, when let off the leash, Ashley has wandered off and not returned when we've called her name.) This time though, she did a good job and stayed near us the entire time.  Although I was uneasy, I must admit that it was nice to see Ashley running around with Tahoe. I think we were lucky too that we did not encounter anyone else on the walk.

Look mom... no leash!

Tahoe, Ashley, and Brian

My two weims

 I'm not so sure that I'll make a habit of letting Ashley roam off-leash during our walks but, maybe we can let her try it every once in a while.

Earth Day

Today is Earth Day... these days, there seems to be a lot of talk about taking measures to reduce our carbon footprints. However, humans aren't the only species to leave their mark on the environment - our dogs also leave carbon pawprints. So today, as we focus on saving energy in our homes, offices, and vehicles, let's not forget to think about where we can conserve and help the earth with all of the goods and services that we provide for our four-legged friends. Specifically, I'd like to focus this post on eco-friendly pooper scooping.

Did you know that America's 71 million dogs produce 29,000 tons of waste each day? Although not often talked about, one thing that all pet owners must deal with is poop. First of all, it’s important to pick up your pooch’s waste because, most likely, other people don’t want to encounter it while they’re taking a walk around your community. More importantly, dog waste that is not picked up contributes to water contamination. Basically, by not picking up and disposing of your pet's poop properly, you're adding sewage to our environment.

Here's the kicker: Think you're doing good by saving that plastic grocery bag and re-using it to pick up fido's poop? WRONG. When you pick up after your pup with a plastic bag, you are still harming our environment. According to poopbags.com, plastics are the fourth highest generated waste in the U.S., originate from petroleum which is non-renewable, do not biodegrade, and take thousands of years to break down.

So, what can we do? Biodegradable bags are the answer for greener pooper scooping. I always try to ensure that we have a supply of biodegradable poop bags on hand.  Although biodegradable bags are more expensive, I can't stand the thought of a plastic bag from Giant or Safeway, filled with my dog's waste, sitting on top of a hot and steaming landfill for years. It's just plain irresponsible.

Even I can take action to be more greener though... The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) actually advises people to flush pet waste. (One company, FlushDoggy, sells biodegradable, flushable pet poop bags.)

In honor of Earth Day 2011, join me and consider being more eco-friendly with your pooper scooping. Tahoe and Ashley say "thanks for woofing your part" and helping our environment.

Tahoe and Ashley, hopeful for a cleaner and brighter future

Blooming Dogwoods

The dogwood trees in our neighborhood are blooming. Tahoe and Ashley like dogwood trees... so does the State of Virginia. (The American Dogwood was adopted by the Commonwealth of Virginia as the state's official flower on March 6, 1918.)

Pink dogwood blooms near our home

 Tahoe and Ashley also like the nice weather that we've been having lately.  It's sunny and warm and the fresh grass is "oh-so-tasty!"

Ashley attempting to lean in for a bite of grass

Tahoe - caught in the act!

It seems they're not the only one's enjoying the nice weather...

Mr. Turtle appears to be enjoying the sunshine too

Pass Mountain

On Friday, I took a day off of work to go hiking and camping for an overnight in the Shenandoah's with Babu.  The trip was my (crazy) idea - I thought it would be a good opportunity for Babu to test out more of his Appalachian Trail gear and... I had also been itching for a day off from work to enjoy the outdoors for quite some time.

Since this was a overnight camping trip, we left Tahoe and Ashley at home.  Dogs are allowed in the Shenandoah National Park but many of the trails and camp sites have a "no dogs allowed" policy so, we left Tahoe and Ashley at home.  They did get a nice little morning walk on Friday, before we left.

The Shenandoah National Park is about a 90 minute drive from our house.  A segment of the Appalachian Trail lies within the park, crossing the Blue Ridge Mountains and Virginia.  Babu and I loaded our own backpacks, complete with tents, sleepingbags, food, water, and a change of clothes.  It was the first hike that I had taken in a while with a full backpack.  (The only tent that I own sleeps 4 people! Needless to say, that darn thing weighed about 20 lbs and filled up most of my backpack.)

Me with my loaded pack, resting at an overlook

Babu making his way past a "white blaze"

Once in the Park, we decided to follow a small portion of the Appalachian Trail for 4 miles to Pass Mountain shelter and campsite. We explored this area and the near-by trails and by 5pm, decided to settle down in the camp area. We met 3 AT thru-hikers who were staying at the shelter at Pass Mountain.  Their trail names were Renaissance, Marathon Mess, and Ducky. After talking with them about the rainy conditions that we were expecting for the night and next day, we decided to stay with them in the shelter instead of using our tents. (Yep, I lugged that 4-man tent everywhere and didn't even use it!)

Pass Mountain shelter

Babu resting at the shelter

The kissing tree

Our food (the green sack), secured for the night, out of the reach of bears

Zipped-in for bed

The next morning

The next morning, the conditions were wet and windy.  The weather had reported rain and thunderstorms throughout the entire day.  I was glad that we stayed in the shelter because it would have been very difficult to pack up our wet and muddy tents in those conditions. So... we ate a little breakfast, packed our backpacks, and parted ways with the AT thru-hikers. The rain wasn't so bad - once I got wet, I got used to it.  The fog and the howling winds made it a bit of an adventure.  Visibility was about 20 feet or so.  In fact, due to the decreased visibility, we actually walked past the car and ended up adding an additional 3 miles to our hike on day 2. (Don't tell him I said so, but, I think Babu needs to work a little more on his navigation skills.)