Grizzley Island Wildlife Preserve

Grizzley Island Wildlife Preserve is made up of approximately 84,000 acres. It is the largest continuous estuary in the U.S. It is a beautiful place that where you can see all kinds of wildlife. It is also a place that allows the dogs to run and their owners to bird train them. Today, I took the opportunity to do just that. I was to meet friends of mine at 10 to work on training Grady for his next level of hunt test. I actually got out there at about 8:30 this morning to run the dogs a bit before hand. While we were out there, we saw a group of Tule Elk (they are a protected species) and the above pictures series are the show Dixy reaction when she first notices them.

It was interesting to watch these animals. In the top picture, you can see that there is one elk in particular that appears to be the head guy. We they took off after, he stayed back to make sure we weren't going to come any closer. Nature is really an interesting thing. Something I wasn't aware of, these animals lose their antlers. The dogs found one on the way back. It was huge and heavy. If the dogs had their way, they would have used it as a chew bone.

After all the running and treasure finding, we started our bird training. Below are a couple of pictures of Grady on point. As you can see from the second picture, I was a bit of a distance away from him. He held until I got there. All-in-all, his training day went pretty well.

Also, all-in-all, it was another great day in the bay/delta area.

With All the Bad News...Thank Goodness For Pups and Parks

There has been a lot of bad news lately and I just learned that many of my friends from a previous company have been laid off. A horrible time of the year to lose a job normally but particularly hard given what is going on in the economy. I felt a bit bummed out and realized how grateful I am to have good friends, wonderful sisters, loving pups and parks to walk in. Going on a hike always picks up my spirits a bit so I am glad to have the dogs because it forces me to get out there everyday. Even days like this where it is drizzling, foggy and cold. There is a beauty in this weather as well. Below is a picture of the hills covered in clouds. If it was clear you would be able to see the snow that had fallen.

Here is a picture of Dixy waiting patiently (not!) for me to throw the tennis ball. Her joy in the simplest things makes me envy her.More cloud covered hills.

The dogs running up the side of the hill, hoping to catch the birds that were constantly taunting them. No such luck (for the dogs at least. The birds were very lucky)

I hope that I can maintain a positive attitude through this mess of an economy. I hope that I can be a positive support to my friends who need it. I hope I can continue to be grateful for all that I have and not worry about what may be on the horizon.

Another East Bay Regional Park Hike-Briones

Briones Regional Park is another in the East Bay Regional Park system. The land in this park is from what use to be a Ranch, a 13,316 acre ranch. I am not sure how many miles of trails there are in this particular park but suffice it to say there are enough for the dogs and me to get our exercise and then some. This ranch has a little different landscape than Black Diamond and Morgan Territory. It is much more full of knotted oak trees. It is much cooler here than the others because of the shade. Beautiful none the less. As usual, the dogs had all kinds of fun. They love going to a new place. They take such pleasure in the simplest things like new smells. I don't know how they do it. Wish I could be a little more like them. Our walk was relatively short as it gets dark so early now. I walked about 3 miles. Of course, because the dogs were excited by the new place, they probably doubled my distance. They have been fed and are now all cozy in their doggy sleeping bags.

Black Diamond Hike-The Day After Turkey Day

Nothing like hiking (I mean really hiking) a couple days in a row. Today Susan, Eddie, and I took the dogs for a hike in Black Diamond. It was great hiking weather again. There was a lot of fog for most of the hike but it wasn't too cold. I know I have put pictures of this park out before but these pictures were taken on a different hike than the previous areas. Our hike was about 6.25 miles of up and down landscape. It was the first time Eddie and Susan had been on these trails and they were quite impressed. I am fortunate to live 10 minutes away so am here often. It is nice to take new people here to see their excitement at the views. It helps me to not take my good fortune for granted.

As with yesterday's hike, I am pleasantly tired and will sleep well again tonight. The doggies are also tired and are resting in their doggy sleeping bags. I could do this everyday and not get tired of it.

Thanksgiving Day-2008

Well, another Thanksgiving has been spent enjoying a hike and meal with friends. I can't think of a nicer way to spend it. Today Christine, John, Suzy, Stephan and I took the dogs to Morgan Territory Regional Park for a nice hike. We all arrived at about 9:30 to complete an approximately 6 mile hike. As you will be able to tell from the little photo show, there was quite a bit of clouds at the start of the hike. This is wonderful because it helps to keep all the hikers and dogs cool. It certainly did that for the dogs. They ran non-stop. We are really lucky to have places like this to hike with the dogs. They are much happier creatures with the right amount of exercise. Although the hike was long, the company was wonderful. Conversation flowed about numerous subjects. I had a great time. We had planned on having our Thanksgiving meal at the park after the hike. Once we got to the vehicles, we pulled out the food-cornish hens, potato salad, green salad, and a wonderful carrot/leek soup. There is nothing more satisfying after a long hike than a hearty meal. Boy, did we have that...hmmm. Christine was gracious enough to make a wonderful vegan pumpkin dessert. Very tasty!!

So now that the hike and meal is over, the blog entry is complete, I can go and take a little nap. What a satisfying day.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!!

Morgan Territory Regional Preserve

I took some friends and the dogs for a hike at Morgan Territory Regional Preserve today. Morgan Territory is another park in the East Bay Regional Park District that allows for off-leash dog walking plus is a beautiful place to walk. This park is approximately 30 miles South of Antioch and is even less developed than Black Diamond. There are approximately 4700 acres of land with many miles of trails. We hiked 5.75 miles through a variety of scenery, some very open and some very shaded. It is a really beautiful park where the dogs can run their little hearts out, I can get my exercise, and we can all enjoy the natural beauty. I feel really fortunate to live in an area that has as much open space. Especially when you consider just how crowded the bay area is.

Spenceville Wildlife Area

Today Grady was entered in a dog show in Yuba City, CA. It is located about 2 hours NNE of Antioch and where my sister Maris lives. My brother-in-law, Charlie loves to hike as much as me and the dogs so he planned a great hike in the Spenceville Wildlife Area. It is located about 20 miles east of Yuba City. The day was beautiful, about 67 degrees with a nice breeze. The group of hikers included Maris, Charlie, Suragani, me and the dogs. At the beginning of the hike is a pool of water which the dogs enjoyed very much. Once we started out, we walk on a trail that followed a large creek that runs year-round. They were waterfalls along the way. The scenery was really beautiful. There were a lot of Oak trees on golden colored rolling hills. It was really a scenic hike all the way. And our special treat was the large waterfall (about 70 feet) at the end of the trail. It was really a wonderful way to spend the day. I am relaxed and the dogs are pooped. The above photoshow includes some of the images we saw today. I have also included a link to the area. The history is really interesting.

http://www.spenceville.org/

Living in the East Bay of Northern California

One of the great things about living in the East Bay is that there are literally a dozen parks designated as open space throughout. None of this land can be developed and for anybody who has been to the bay area lately, undeveloped locations are hard to come by. I am fortunate enough to live ten minutes (3 miles) from one of these parks. It is Black Diamond Regional Mine Preserves. Besides the close proximity, it is really a beautiful park with a diverse landscape. On top of that, the dogs are allowed to run free. It's almost like 1000s of acres for my backyard. This particular park has over 65 miles of trails that cover all types of territory. Over the past seven years, I have hike almost every mile with the dogs many, many times. The park looks different at different times of the year. There is a softness to the lighting in the fall that really appeals to me. I added a photoshow of today's hike. These are some of the things we saw during our 3 1/2 mile walk.

Advantages of 100 Degree Weather

One of the advantages of daily 100 degree weather is that it forces me to get out of the house EARLY to take the dogs for their walk. I decided to get out early enough to get a few pictures of the sunrise and also some of the surrounding area. Once out on the walk, the dogs really had a chance to stretch their legs. Hopefully that will keep them a little calmer throughout the day and I can relax and read my book. These pictures were taken with a Nikon coolpix camera. It is hard to always carry a big digital SLR.

Black Diamond Regional Park

Black Diamond Regional Park is located in Antioch, CA. It is about 10 minutes from my home and is the main place I take the dogs for their runs during the week. We are fortunate to have so much park area in the congested bay area. There are approximately 36 miles of hiking trails in the Black Diamond Park alone. The most glorious part is that the dogs get to run free in the undeveloped areas. This is one of the main reasons I moved to Antioch. This area was made up of three mining towns; Sommersville, Stewartville, and Nortonville. It is common to find pieces of kitchenware throughout the walk. There is all kinds of wildlife in the area. It is not uncommon to have relatively close encounters with coyotes and I have seen wild pig, deer, and bobcats. I always enjoy being out in the park. It is hard to believe we are so close to civilization. The top picture is taken from the Ridge trail. The Peak is Mount Diablo. During the winter, it is not uncommon for there to be snow. It is about 15 miles from my house and is a popular destination for hikers. The second and third pictures are also taken from the Ridge trail but looking north to the delta. The last picture is of Grady and Dixy "wrestling" with each other during
the walk.

I have include the link to the east bay regional parks website. This is only one of the parks. You may be interested in seeing some of the others. http://www.ebparks.org/parks