Walking in Pittsburgh

Caring Kim likes walking in Pittsburgh.   We are creating memories.   I already have some Western Pennsylvania memories but they generally come from the young and stupid variety...not necessarily suited for this blog (My boss would be proud).

We walked back and forth across the Roberto Clemente bridge.   Our feet met my one true hero that no one can steal from me.  40 years after his death the baseball jersey most worn at a Pirate game is number 21.   It's the only one I'll ever wear.

We walked through the Strip District, twice.   We bought cheap souvenirs and some Italian cheese, meats and spices.   We ate at Primanti's and De Luca's.   Unless you are creating Pittsburgh memories of your own, none of this will mean anything to you.

We stayed at the William Penn Hotel which has plenty of memories of its own.   I love staying in old downtown hotels in any city.    Almost as we were checking out the Cincinnati Reds were checking in.   Another memory.

Funny, as my memory weakens, memories become more important.

My Deer Family

A family of six doe and a buck have wintered north of our house.   I don't know where they spend all of their time but they spend a great deal of time within eye shot of my dogs.   My dogs will bark at squirrels, rabbits, horses, ground hogs and sometime even birds, but they go crazy over deer.

It was interesting to watch them turn from brown to grey and now back to brown.    I am always amazed that there are so many deer that it's a problem.   My dogs can hear and see them easily an d I don't think they hide well.   I think we should introduce wild cats to Dallas County to help manage the herds.

In the past my deer family was larger and included a old buck and a new buck.   The young buck was required to stay on the fringe and any attempt to join the tight knit group was met with a butt kicking.
This year only one buck and I think he got fat and lazy.

I don't know what this mild winter will do to the deer population but I imagine my winter herd will be doubled in November.

Larry the Communicator and The Commissioner must be really bad shots.   

Eating and Other Luxuries

I was going to share ideas about diet but you would be safer walking through the Dallas County coyotes with a raw meat necklace than taking eating tips from me.   What I have observed is that no one seems to know..or..everyone seems to know how to eat healthy.     Some things that almost all the "experts" agree on is smaller portions several times a day and cut the sugar.    My friend Tri Limb says eat when you're hungry; which may include more than one breakfast and ice cream at the end of the day.

I also was going to mention a little about bad habits.   I believe they are only bad if they hurt you or someone else and they are only a habit if you do them thoughtlessly.   Few things in my life meet both criteria.

Maybe we should embrace some of our frowned upon practices.   A fine cigar and three fingers of bourbon is part of the good life.   However, do that everyday and you are walking to Hell.   I have experience with this sermon.

Don't Do That At the Gym

When I complete my dog walk each morning I usually go to the gym.   In my life I have been a member of five different workout gyms.   In my sad little opinion, these are some things you should not do:

 Don't sit naked on the locker room bench answering emails on your smartphone. (Must I explain?)

Don't pull the dumbbells off the rack and then exercise right there so no one can reach the rest of the dumbbells.  Move across the room.

Don't wear black socks. (I can't believe I have to explain this.)  Actually, don't wear black shoes either.

Don't exercise in a walkway.   That's the way we all get somewhere.

Don't come to the gym already smelly.   New sweat isn't offensive but old sweat is.

If you are not a trainer, don't coach.   Wannabe's in anything are terribly inappropriate.

Don't sing or have a conversation with your ear buds in.   We don't want to hear you shout.   Pull out one ear and your volume will be greatly decreased.

Don't wear plain white t-shirts, unless you are visiting a 1960 theme gym.

...  lastly, and this is just my personal preference;

 Don't exercise beside the lady with silicone breasts and permanent makeup.

Goodbye Rudy

I'm a dog walker.   According to a dog training book I once read, dogs and ancient man got together around a campfire while the dogs were scavenging scraps.   The dogs followed the nomads and hung around the cave and tent dwellers.   Except for the few that were occasionally a meal, dogs, on the surface, provided no benefit to people.   I'm sure they even stole some food that wasn't scraps, howled and barked making it hard to sleep and even pooped to close to the campfire.   (All these things remind me of my two.)

They provided no benefit on the surface.   But people have kept dogs around for a long time because of a greater benefit.    Somehow they are a comfort.   Pets of all kind, but especially dogs, are our connection to the wild world.   Our connection from whence we came.   Remember the movie "Dancing With Wolves"?

The Commissioner and Ma lost one of their fur balls this week.   Hang on to the comfort he brought.

Close Encounter of Some Kind

Today I had a great walk.   The dogs behaved, the temperature was crisp but perfect, the wind was hiding, the moon provided great shadows and at the end of my walk the sunrise presented itself in layers of color.

But that wasn't the cool thing about the walk.   Two unexpected events occurred.

The first was I heard my first frog of the season.   Usually, I hear the first croak from my back porch which is just a few feet from a creek.    As I'm grilling out back in the evening, suddenly they begin to sing.   This year it was a morning walk.

The second event was much more startling.   I encounter very little traffic at 4:30 in the morning.   However, for 16 years I have been doing a little dance with Paperboy.   He drives in and out of lanes and up and down the gravel roads that my dogs and I walk on.   Always low beam, always slows down.   I don't know if it has been different vehicles throughout the years or different people but in my mind it is one character...Paperboy.

This morning we had a breakthrough...a new type of encounter.   Paperboy stopped, rolled down his window and said, "You sure walk a long way in the morning."   I was shocked and didn't know how to respond.   I mumbled, "Tryin' to stay out of trouble".

It's been 16 years and the walker who considers himself a wordsmith says,  "Tryin' to stay out of trouble". 

Add dork to the resume.

The Truth About Walking Long

Anyone is welcome to read my blog.   I do not use any words that are considered curse words or cuss words or profanity.   The blog's main focus is about walking and the outdoors; though sometimes it does stray.   Straying from focus has been my trademark for 50 years.

There has been a ugly complaint.

The truth about walking long distances is it takes time and speeds up your metabolism.    One must take in fluids and calories.   My body must then release waste as part of the process.   The discussion of this process seems to be offensive to some.   Sometimes the discussion of this process is humorous.    I never apologize for making the uncomfortable humorous.    It has been my trademark for 50 years.

The ugly complaint has caused me to take down my twitter account and erase information from my blog that I am the proud principal of Crestview Elementary.   The ugly complaint will not keep me from communicating in the same fun way with a small but loyal audience.  

This will be my trademark for the next 50 years.

Last Coyote Discussion

Tri Limb is a retired farmer in the back woods of Tennessee.  When you retire, you have time to sneak up on coyotes and take their picture at night.   The recent discussion of Coyotes has sparked Tri Limb's interest.   I suppose protecting  his herd of goats may have something to do with it.

I'm hoping by paying some attention to his fixation,  I will not need to spend any more time on this branch of the canine tree.   I'm sure Park Ranger prefers photography to hunting.   Back in the day I had my share of sheep carcases picked up by the rendering truck because of coyotes.    I'm OK with thinning the pack.

The calls of coyotes are often heard on my morning walks. Very few things freak me out about nature but walking two domestic dogs into a pack of coyotes is one experience I do not want to have.   I seldom see any coyotes so I know I'm nervous for nothing, yet I remain nervous.

In the spring I hear the cries of the coyote pack during my entire walk for many days in a row.    I don't know what this Spring ritual is all about.   I do know that animals in the wild are all about reproduction, food and safety.   So the Spring crying is in there somewhere

I'm glad I have evolved.    I'm all about sex, fine dining, and my 401K.   (Well at least I don't cry in the Spring.)

I once had a dog that played regularly with a coyote couple.   They would chase each other back and forth and actually get pretty close to the house in broad daylight.   I never felt comfortable with that pair either.

One morning I walked into a south wind and it filled my hood so that my head doubled in size.   I imagine I looked like a lizard from Discovery Channel.   But the south wind increasing my head size is not what I noticed most.   What kept my attention and the attention of my dogs was the sound of baby coyotes.

The sound was part whine, part bark delivered at a high pitch in a rapid staccato fashion.    I have no idea what was going on but I believe mom had to leave her pups for some reason...food, waste, danger, who knows.   When mom was gone the pups cried.   During the hour that I was in ear shot, the babies would stop in 5 or 10 minute intervals.   I guess mom was with them during this quiet time.

The best thing about this coyote experience is, though my dogs noticed each yelp and perked their ears at each, that was the extent of their attention.   I believe they are getting used to being part of the Dallas County ecosystem...or maybe they are going deaf.

Please note the animal below whose image was captured outside a barn in the hills of Tennessee.

No more coyotes!