An Easter Walk to Comfort Area Wineries

Saturday, April 23, 2011: I rode in the vehicle for a while today out to the Hermann Sons Youth Camp near Comfort. Diane brought me on the Easter Walk (& Wine) and we walked with Marcella and Mark. The sky was semi-overcast, but it became more sunny as the day continued. The temperature was in the 80s, but there was a good breeze, especially at some points along the walk. The walk was in the country along lightly traveled roads. We did have to walk over about 6 cattle guards--I didn't know what to think of those metal grates, but I was wary of them. The first two I was able to walk along the edge, like Diane did. On one guard I was able to walk down a metal strip in the middle. The last two I leapt over with some encouragement.

There were many hillside views along the route. As we got off the road and turned on the driveway to Singing Water Vineyards, we saw a field with more than 30 brown, and white and brown goats--both adults and kids. The kids scampered around and bleated. We got to the checkpoint and Diane, Marcella, and Mark went inside a building where they saw wine casks, tanks, and sampled wines. Meanwhile, I stayed outside with Pat at the checkpoint table. When Diane came back, Pat told her I was well behaved. That's because I was lying down most of the time, because I appreciated the opportunity to rest in the shade.

We continued back along the road where we had walked. In the distance, we saw cattle walking near a creek. Later we saw some donkeys and horses. The walk continued to Bending Branch Winery. This is a new winery. The tasting room opened in August 2010. I sat outside under the shade of a large live oak tree. There was another dog also resting nearby. He appeared to be part sheep dog and part blue heeler. The walk continued along several roads and there was not very much shade along the last stretch of the walk.

Marcella found a plastic egg along the route fairly early in our walk. If you find a plastic egg, you get a prize, such as a live plant. Near the end of the walk, one of the walk organizers drove by in a truck and asked if we had found any eggs. The humans said they had found one. By the end of the walk, we found two more eggs--one for each human. Diane and her friends called these "pity eggs" since they were sure that the organizer had put these eggs out along the trail after talking to us. But the humans liked their prizes; they selected plants. We walked a total of 12 kilometers. I sat fairly still in the car on the ride home, because I was tired!

An Evening Walk from Lady Bird Johnson Park

Friday, April 22, 2011: We did another walk with the San Antonio Nature Hounds. It was warmer and more humid tonight than it was last week. However, at 86 degrees and 50% humidity, it was still comfortable, compared to what we expect this summer, and we enjoyed the walk.

When we arrived at Lady Bird Johnson Park, we met a few other people and dogs. Diane knew one couple we saw. Then we found out that the meeting point was further into the park. (Diane didn't read the directions carefully enough.) Others drove, but Diane and I walked to meet the other Nature Hounds near the linkage to the Salado Creek Greenway. There were 12 dogs and 10 people in our group.

The walk organizer brought one of his Great Danes, and there was a new walker with his Australian Ridgeback, named Rigby. There was another dog who was part Red Heeler (like me!) and probably part Husky (with blue eyes) named Tang! There were a number of other smaller dogs, and Maggie, who is a border collie mix and who barks more than the other dogs do.

The trail was a wide concrete sidewalk and suitable for strollers, and probably even wheelchairs for most of the route. A few people on bikes and skateboards passed us, but there weren't a lot of other people or dogs out walking on the trail besides us. When we got to Loop 410, where we heard and saw lots of vehicles passing by, we stopped, waited for the rest of the group, and some of us got water. I was hoping I would get a treat, but I didn't. We turned around and re-traced our steps on the Salado Creek Greenway, back to our starting point. Diane and I returned to the car. I was fairly content on the ride home.

Fiesta Time Walks, 2011

I’ve been lax in getting my blog updated lately. However, I’ve had a couple walks lately that are noteworthy.

On Saturday, April 9, Diane loaded me up in the back of the Prius after a meeting she had, and we went to Fort Sam Houston. Diane thought that when she went through the checkpoint at the entrance to the base that there might be some scrutiny of the dog in the back of the vehicle, but there wasn’t.

Diane kept me in the car while she checked in. I got a little anxious and moved into the backseat (rather than the cargo area) by the time Diane returned. However, we had an enjoyable walk together. At one point, I hopped on three legs for a minute or so, and Diane wondered what was wrong with me. I guess I stepped on something sharp, but then it was ok.

As we walked along the edge of the golf course, we marveled at the variety of Texas wildflowers in bloom along the edge of the golf course, which seemed to be the most prolific wildflower bloom we’ve seen in the city limits. As we walked, we encountered 3 children. One child, a young girl in a purple jumper pet me and rubbed my ears and remarked on how soft they were. The children tried to sell Diane pieces of broken tile. We continued walking. It became hotter and I was thirsty as we neared the end of the walk. During the last portion of the walk, every time we walked in shade and I felt a breeze, I tried to lie down. Diane generally wasn’t too receptive of my lying down, except once or twice.

Friday, April 15, 2011: The San Antonio Nature Hounds. 14 dogs walked with 11 people at Comanche Lookout Park on the northeast side of San Antonio. Some of the views were from hills, so that was nice. The weather was perfect, according to Diane. The humidity was low (about 10%) and the temperature was in the 70s. The other dogs were pretty well behaved. I interacted a little with a few of the other dogs, but I kept to myself quite a bit, too. At one point I was limping a little and a nice woman pulled a sharp sliver out of my paw. That felt better and I walked normally after that. The only downside of the walk was that it was so dry and dusty that Diane's shoes were covered with dust by the time we got home.