Not a Walk in the City or Suburbs!

An early morning walk around the block is a habit of many Borregans. Our walks differ from a walk in the city or the suburbs. Our blocks differ from them, too! According to the pedometer, our block is one mile in length! There are no sidewalks, no streetlights and we rarely even see a car on the road! During the season, you will meet regular walkers, some accompanied by their four legged household members. Dogs always find something different to sniff or investigate every day. They love their daily regimen.
Most dogs have stepped on cholla. Lola is no exception. When she first encountered a cholla cluster, she didn't know how to handle the situation. She tried to remove the cactus with her mouth and immediately found out that was the wrong idea. Now, she has learned to stop, lift her paw and wait. If you carry a comb with you on a desert walk, you will find out how easy it is to remove cholla by just putting the comb under the sticker and flicking it away.
These morning outings offer unimaginable vistas. I often carry my camera with me and have loved some of the photos I have taken in the early morning. You often see unexpected things as the sun comes up...one morning we saw a young mountain lion who seemed unable to figure a way out of a fenced pasture. The first time we saw a burrowing owl was on one of our easement walks. ( Yes, we still have telephone poles ) He stood in front of us, bouncing up and down with those huge eyes. I remember, too, the first time our dog encountered a discarded snake skin. She jumped a foot off the ground, it was so foreign to her. Lola had her first meeting with a tarantula, also on an early walk. She reacted the same way. A coyote joined us on a walk one day. He walked parallel with us and stopped when we stopped. Our dog paid no attention to him and seemed glad to have the additional company.
One early warm summer morning offered an experience of a different kind. Realize, that no one was around during this hot spell...the neighborhood was almost empty. As we walked that morning, we heard the sound of a door opening. A neighbor walked out to pick up her paper...stark naked! Another neighbor does early morning gardening...after spying us coming up the road, we often see her making her way back to the house with her hoe or rake, clad only in her nightgown or underwear!
We are safe, though. I don't think either of them blogs!