June 29th - Trust Tracks

I guess living in Northern Ontario means Google Earth doesn't bother to update us very often. Most of our area maps were from the end of winter of 2008, hence, snow covering most everything you want to see! Trusts' start is at the very bottom under the hockey rink and the pictures will take you through her track.
School's out!!!! Yay!!! This means I can use some areas around and in school grounds without anything thinking I'm dropping poison or kidnapping kids! What a relief!!! We began this track around a winter hockey rink, and across a running track, then up the adjoining road onto the school property. It had rained the night before, and was cool, but very, very windy. Good conditions. At times, the wind was blowing Trusts' line so hard, I would let it lie, so not to pull on her..she's sensitive to the slightest tension.

She just turned the corner onto the second leg. She had a beautiful, sure and quick start along the first leg and right 'on' at the corner.
Working along the second leg and heading towards the running track. She will cross this track in two different places with her first article out in the middle of the grass.

When I was parking to lay the track, a lady just got out of her vehicle and was beginning some 'serious' walking around and around and around the running track. The blue stick figure above is what she is aiming for! So one of those "interesting" things you don't often get to see in urban...she was walking many times over the two places across the track I was laying for Trust. Stick in my mind for later and see if there is any reaction from Trust (there was not). In the background is part of the school we will head to.

Trust appeared 'surprised' when she came across the sock, the first article (arrow). Very strong winds through here pushing scent well to the right. The pole ahead was my marker.

This was a narrow grass strip after the track and before a ditch and the road. I turned left just before reaching the ditch. This was a 'training' only turn for a more experienced dog as it is tricky. And I'm pleased to say she took it perfectly.

She tracks dead on this leg, the 4th, a very short distance on the grass to the next turn. She will turn right, cross the ditch and the road, close to the far side of the gravel road, staying on the edge of it.

Trust is at the corner and will turn right now. The red X is her next article, a plastic lid.

She is moving really nicely along here. I had expected her to perhaps moving into the grass along the edge, but she stuck, nose down, along the road

And here is the red plastic lid. She indicated with a quick nose down on it, and went to continue on before looking at me and stopping. You can clearly see her open mouth here, as she so often has while tracking.

We are crossing the asphalt driveway over to the cement sidewalk. Scent was sucked into, or blown into, the shady area around the corner of the building. The broken yellow lines show how she followed it in, checked it out, and then came back to the track. In urban tracking it is important to let the dog "go" in areas like this, and to figure it out for themselves....assuming you understand what they are doing. She will head to the right to follow 'our' track on the sidewalk.

This was a long stretch of sidewalk before her next turn past the building. When I laid the track, there were 3 other vehicles parked to the right, so people had walked out across our track to their cars, leaving while it was aging. She did veer off to the left and smelled the corner grass area near the entranceway, but right back onto the track. I was really happy with how she worked here. You can see our next turn, left, behind the building, back onto a short asphalt drive.

She's cross the drive, and taken an open right turn across a short grass area. She had to pause here for a bit and watch some kids in daycare area playing, no doubt hoping they'd come to visit. We did have a ball bounce over, but luckily, this was Trust, not Blast, so the ball was of no interest! She will move into the parking area next.

She has moved off the track here to check out a piece of garbage that she 'saw', says 'nope, not ours' and goes back to the track. Her next article is way down, a tiny plastic tube. And to point out, perspective is off here, and the track after that article carries on for a ways before turning to her final article....not close as it appears.

She's so cute and coy! She appears to be saying "Did you really think I wouldn't find this dinky little thing?" And then we went on to the last turn over the final article, a glove, just inside the cross-over to grass. An excellent track for her, she was enthused and worked lovely all the way.

The Two Faces of Blast..

After a short run and returning to the house, Blast takes a detour through a tunnel.....look at the calm, happy face!

And here's the determined face, full speed, whizzing around a corner finding the "prey" - me - trying to hide in some trees.

Interesting Dog Walking...

I often see the lady on the right walking her dogs when I drive through a local town. I'm always impressed at how well they all walk together along a busy road. I've talked to her a few times, the dogs are really friendly, and obviously just adore her. Most are rescued dogs. This day she had a friend walking along with two more dogs. Very nice.

Brown Thrasher

I "thought' I was taking a picture of a Wood Thrush, and realized later this was a Brown Thrasher. I believe we have both as we are certain we hear the melodious singing of the thrush in the evenings. Both of these pictures were taken through the living room window.

The most noticeable difference is the thrasher has two white stipes on its wings, as clearly seen in both these pictures. Considered a 'secretive' bird, this one was perhaps the exception. They like to nest in thorny bushes, so we believe they are nesting in one of our hawthorn bushes.

After a two week break...

This was the first track that Trust has done since our "really, really, really close pass in the UTDX test"...ok, enough of that one...So, just a fun track, it was steady rain when she went on it and we were soaked. But we badly need rain here, so not complaining. Some pictures aren't very clear because of the rain. The hard surfaces were all gravel, 4 articles, aged only 1 1/2 hr.

She is on her second leg here and just discovered a plastic Tim Hortons' card in the grass.

She flipped it up, sat down, and yawned. So here's the choices! Is she saying "this is just too easy, stupid" or "boring, let's get going, I'm getting soaked sitting here"!?!?

Continuing on the second leg, she makes her next turn heading up to the gravel road and then a left turn. She fringed along the edge for a bit, checked out the other side, and ended up moving along near the middle where I had walked.

A left turn takes us through a short grassy area, (below) heading out onto the gravel road again as it curves around. There is another corner on a wider section of this road.

She was dead on this turn. I have let the line lie along the ground here as she was getting tangled in it when turning. It was wet and heavier and then picking up dirt from the roadway and not easy to handle. Trust is not a puller, so it was easier for her to walk over it. Note to me to check her harness as it was twisting, whether because of the rain, or it needs adjusting.

After this turn, she continues on the gravel towards a fenced in area where soccer nets are set up. She is coming up on her second article, a very small plastic tube that I left a few inches beside a rock.

She made a slight detour to the right before heading back to the article. There was a drainage ditch that needed checking. You can see the rock (above) but her nose is on the plastic article.

She headed right for the opening, was dead on the track. Trust often "marks" her track when she's confidently right on it, rather rude and lifts her leg, but she's quirky. However, in this instance, she turned around to smell something....and then didn't want to go over this spot again. She spent a bit of time circling around three times, and finally decided, like it or not, she'd better continue on over it. Next article is the "x" ahead.

Steady up this leg to the cloth article and sits for her indication.

She's made her last turn and is on the last leg here. We are heading towards a narrow opening in the fence at the corner.

Of course, "something" needs sniffing at the edge here before we can just continue on our way!

Her final article, glove, is shown by the arrow. Her start was on the other side of the drainage ditch, so we've come pretty much full circle on this track. It was a good (wet) track after a short layoff.

Sandhill Cranes

Enormous birds, and so very weird. Sandhill cranes stand between 3 and 4 feet tall and the wingspan is approx. 80". That's one big bird! We always have a few each year, nesting nearby, but have never been able to pinpoint the nest. The one on the left almost looks like an albino, certainly it is "colour deprived". I believe the two on the right are young ones. These were spotted (naturally) as I was out tracking in the field across the road from us. Usually you hear them, before you see them, flying high above you with the most strange cackling/croaking noise; it is very distinctive, and once you recognize it, you'll remember it forever. On the ground and in the sky, they are a sight to behold. If you're ever lucky enough to come across them during migration, feeding in a field, the noise when they are startled is almost deafening.

Tracking Reese the 'wonder beagle'

Rosemary and Reese are working at a corner and Reese spotted us! She quickly put that cute little nose down and moved out on the last leg to her article. Such a cutie. This is the ONLY picture I took where you could actually 'see' anything more than the tip of her wagging tail in the long grass. Tacha and Emma were also tracking today, and there wasn't a single place you could see Emma, wee little long haired miniature doxie. Both dogs worked great in the tall grass/weeds/and tangly vetch.