Trust - May 24th - 1st laid, second on

So, this is the second track of the day, and the one aged longer. Both were less than the required minimum time in a trial (3 hr.) as the heat/humidity/dryness is just too tough to be working these dogs in. This is not "life and death" it is a sport. So Trusts' first track was aged just under 1 1/2 hr. and this one was just over 2 hr. Each is very different, this one has some shady areas, but more pavement. I had two people come over to talk to us in this track, and poor Trust got a bad deer fly bit on the top of her nose near the end of this track. By the time I saw it, it had already bit her just before I squashed it.
Van parked over here, we started in shade under tree, crossed parking lot/driveway (person parked right on the track to talk!) and then sun dappled shady grass, over driveway, into treed spot with sparse grass and pine cones. I'm standing at her first turn looking back to take this.

Her first article is just ahead between some of the trees, she's obvioiusly found something worth smelling by this rock.

We turned from the grass into a sandy parking area. Just before I took this picture a fellow was rushing up behind us to stop us and tell us there is a loose dog that lives there...just so I'd know.

I appreciated that, I've seen this particular dog, it seems harmless, old and slow, but you never know.

She's found her second article and will be making her MOT turn further up on the pavement.

Trust worked nicely along the paved parking area, her turn was close to dead on, and out the driveway which turns to gravel. The arrow points to a wood article. She had moved over to the grass before this, but zeroed right in on the article.

I've laid the track off to the left, behind a stip of grass that was not cut when I laid the track. I'm not really sure here why she was tracking all along on the right side of the road. It didn't make sense to me with the light breeze here why she didn't once head over to the left, but seemed to know exactly where she was going??? I did wonder if she was pooped by this time and just had enough. However, at the "right place" she turned right and headed into the grass to the final article. Just one of those puzzles...

And here she is at her final article. You can clearly see the bump on top of the poor girls' nose.

We had a nice walk back to the van, through a lot of shade; she didn't seem worn out at all, but it was hot by this time. I had given her water at every article, by the way, and wiped her face down. I would have stopped had I thought she was in any distress at all, and would not work any later in the morning in the heat.

All burning up here has been banned and the long weekend just past, all fireworks were also banned. I really can't remember such a long spell of hot and dry weather, and we badly need rain.

Trust/May 24 - 2nd laid and on first

I've not done this before, but decided to do 2 shorter tracks, shorter aged, instead of one long regular one. We've still had no rain here, but heard the area I had planned to work in received about 10 minutes worth in the morning....so off we went. It was still going to get very hot and humid again. It's been almost impossible to work in the conditions recently, but felt doing it this way, it might be a little easier, more fun and motivational for Trust. And we could take a break between the two tracks; they were in different locations.
She is on her first leg here. The grass on this side of the fence was cut the day before; the workers are picking it up on the other side. Social butterfly that she is, she was probably hoping they would come over and say hello.

Trust found her first article (sock) halfway between her first and second corner. She chose to work alongside a ditch (wet spot) on the left so was not working right on the track. However, she moved up to her corner and this leg goes up to the gravel road.

She is turning onto the road, and this time chooses to move to the right working mainly on the grass. She curved around straight to her article (plastic) before the track moves into deeper grass.

Indicating her article and looking for her praise and treat from mom.

She's crossed into the scrubby, taller grass, made a left turn and is right on the track. Look at the beautiful view to the south, just love those hills (double click to enlarge picture). She will make another left turn, cross gravel driveway(s), turning right, will track up beside building (upper left corner of this pic.) and then turn left again on the gravel.

I had left a little treat here for her at the change from (easy) damp, tall grass to dry, hot gravel.

This is not a clear picture, but didn't take another for a longish stretch as we were talking to one of the fellows raking up grass. The blue arrows in the background show where we on our first leg and the van over by the start. This is a long section on gravel, continuing past the right side of the picture.

Trust had a left turn in the middle of the driveway, and then chose again to work alongside the grass all the way up to the next corner.

Usually she "looks" for the van - her favorite place - and I fully expected her to want to continue on towards it, here. She surprised me...turned from the grass and headed straight over to the final article.

And there it is, her glove near the edge of the grass. She did very well; this was the shortest aged of the two tracks, the idea being not overly difficult for her, she seemed to enjoy it. So then we were off to the next track.