Friday 8 July 2011

Erbsville

My favourite place to hike is a forest in the community of Erbsville, just west of Waterloo. I generally take Ace and Willow for a hike once or twice a week, depending on my schedule. Although they're expanding the subdivision beside the forest, there are still lots of trails left.

I love walking around with the dogs, watching them enjoying themselves. They run back and forth, nose to the ground and tail in the air. It's relaxing for me as well, I get to climb some hills and listen to just the sound of the trees rustling in the wind. I generally go on weekdays, so I have lots of privacy.

We rarely even run into wild animals, however in the past we've seen groundhogs, deer, and a variety of birds. A few months ago Willow almost caught a wild turkey, to my surprise. All of a sudden she shot off the trail and was almost on top on the bird before it flew away. Ace never even saw it. This morning I almost stepped on a little garter snake on the path, I felt the poor thing wiggle under my foot and managed to not squish him. So I was prepared when I saw a second one just a few feet down the trail. My clever dogs jumped right over the snakes, without batting an eye. What was more surprising (to me) is that the snake never moved when the dogs ran past it. I suppose they get lethargic in the sun? I'll have to look it up I suppose.

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