Run in the park

Run in the park, originally uploaded by phaird.

It was a beautiful morning at the dog park. Quiet because of Easter, but still a good crowd came out. Holiday or not, our dogs need their exercise. There was still areas that was really muddy but the grass is starting to take hold of the earth so it wasn't nearly as bad as the weeks before. The warmer weather added the extra moment where you could just stand around, gab with friends and watch the dogs run.
Of course, the dogs were loving it too. Most took advantage of the pond while others rolled in the mud. I watched a Golden walk out of the park looking like a brown lab, she had so much mud caked on her. A lot of dogs still have their winter coats still and will be getting trimmed soon. Another great step into spring heading for a hot and exciting summer.

Spring is slowly coming to the east

Bernese getting a but scratch, originally uploaded by phaird.

Even though we had around 4 inches of snow on Friday, it all quickly melted away and the sun is warming up our little park.
It was a really nice morning at the park. Toby and I came early, sloshed through the mud and went for a walk up in the woods. Toby wasn't on his best behavior but once he had his walk, he did okay. Last year, I started coming early to keep him from being overwhelmed and this spring and summer, I'm going to do the same. There is also a group of early birds I don't normally get to see and am looking forward to getting to know their dogs too.
There was a lot of energy at the park and the dogs knew it. Everyone was running around, playing chase and having a good time. As things thaw, I think the dogs start to pick up the scents of things that were buried under the snow all winter. I love seeing all the different dogs who don't always make it during the colder months. I hope to see even more as the grass gets greener.

Visitng the early birds

_MG_7998, originally uploaded by phaird.

I had to be home early today so I went dog park early. Another cool sunny day, the ground was still hard and there were only a few people there. I got to photograph one of the biggest dogs that come to the park though. This beautiful Irish Wolfhound towered over the other dogs and stood at my waste. It is amazing to see such a large dog and know that he is so gentle too. Unlike my Toby, he mostly just check everyone out and played a little. Good thing for him there were some very playful dogs who egged him on to play. A good time was had by all.

pick up poop day

pick up poop day, originally uploaded by phaird.

I love my dog park. I try to go every week but I've missed a few lately (as you know) but the park still has a life of it's own. An idea surfaced last week by a few people to come to the park with shovels and buckets to pick up all the stray poop bombs that were missed over the winter. It's not surprising that this is needed. When unpacked snow is over 2ft high, it's not easy to get to, let alone, find you dogs waste over the winter. My hats off to all the dog owners who came out early, with shovels and buckets and walked from edge to edge of our park. The Town of Acton should be proud to know that their are so many people who care and appreciate this soccer field we share all year round.

Week three without the park

I'm not sure if this is really a bad thing for me. I miss my dog park friends and taking pictures at the park but it's March. The weather is slowly warming up and the snow is melting. Sounds good. The bad part is the MUD! I'm sure the park is a muddy mess. Most dogs don't mind that and as any seasoned dog owner will tell you, you don't wear nice clothes to the park. But I'm okay with missing out. Toby isn't a mud dog (thank goodness) and with the dirt and mud and how messed up the field gets, I'm not going to feel guilty for not going.

I do hope to be there this next week though. Finally have a free weekend and can get back to the park. I can't stay away too long. It is my ME time that I get to share with Toby and be surrounded by so much great dog energy.

What are you thinking?

Hey Dog park fans. Because I can't make it to the park Today, I decided to think about the dog park book project. Since I got a video camera, I'm even more excited about capturing stories as a stepping stone to writing a my dog park book. (and with cool tools like iPads and nooks, the options for a multi-media book sound even better). So I'm wondering what are some good questions to ask. As park lovers, what are you most interested in? Post comments of what you'd like to know more about either from individuals or just general ideas.

My hope is to get to a point where I've got a good foundations of interviews (I've got LOTS of photos) and start a Kickstarter request to self publish this book. I'd love to have this at a level of completion so I can move onto my next long term project - Working Dogs.

Missed park two weeks in a row

toby dual focus 7/52, originally uploaded by phaird.

Well, even with great weather on Friday, Toby and I didn't make it to the park for 2 weeks in a row. Very sad. I won't be in town next weekend either so I'll have to find other interesting stories to send along to my blog followers.

I've been wanting to do three updates a week but that has yet to happen. Time gets away from me and by the end of the week, I barely have time to sleep, let alone blog about the dog park.

Okay. Enough of the pity party for myself. I hope you like the pic of Toby.