Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Each day we will write a post on a pre-determined theme chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the ninth day of the month is "Location."
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There's a park about half a mile away from our house that is privately owned by a community group. It's open to the public, but it's not owned by the city. The reason that's important is that they can't write me a ticket for having my dog off leash. There are NO signs about dogs at all. Typically, Hannah and I only go there during the week between the hours of 1-3pm. Ninety percent of the time we are the only ones there. If there are cars in the parking lot or other people around, I leash her up because, while you and I know she'd do nothing more violent than accidentally run into you going twenty-five miles an hour, other people might think she looks intimidating.
But I can let her off leash and she runs around, sniffs with abandon, and has a rollicking good time. She's not excellent about coming when I call her (she bats 75% or so), but she is 100% at staying when I tell her to stay, so I feel pretty comfortable in this setting because she never goes out of my sight and if there's a curve in the trail and I tell her to stay until I can see her, she does.
I also really like this place because it's right on the river, but there's a section that's entirely wooded and a section that's entirely prairie that someone mows paths through. It's just a delightful gem in our town and no one ever goes there during the week except me and Hannah. Our own private walk around the river.
What's your secret location in your town?
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To see what Bestest Friend has to say about location, go visit her at Too Legit to Quit.
This sounds so perfect! And look how happy Hannah is in that picture! I can 100% picture her tearing around with wild abandon. There is a nature preserve near my daughter's school that I like to go walking in. It's so beautiful and wild (but has paved walking paths) and it feels like a little oasis in the middle of our busy suburb.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE those secret nature preserves. It's so rare that I see other people on those paths! What a lovely place to have in your neighborhood.
DeleteWhat a fun question! Our "secret" location is access to a local woods path. It connects right to the back of our house, but I don't think anyone would be able to pick out the connector path without having it pointed out to them. It really blends into the landscape. It is SO fun being able to walk out our back door and right into the forest.
ReplyDeleteDuring COVID, when even the local trails were shut down, I would take the kids to our short little "private" path to get some fresh air. It felt like a HUGE deal to have this little 0.25 km (?) path of our own. And it does feel secret, which just adds to how much I love it.
Fun fact: we had lived in our house for OVER A YEAR before I discovered we had this trail access. I took the kids back to play in the woods one day and said: we should create a path to the main trail. Then we found a slightly overgrown trail and discovered it was actually a legit trail (created by our neighbour) and it curved around and dumped our directly on to our property.
Wow! What an exciting find. I'm so happy you found it and take advantage of it. I would definitely have been out there every day during lockdown. You take such lovely photos in those woods and it's so great to know that your kids will grow up loving it as much as you do.
DeleteThe Cleveland area has a wonderful network of parks called the Metroparks, and it forms an Emerald Necklace around the Lake Erie area. There are several in our county, and all are connected by trails which are walkable and bikeable. Many of them are in our town, and they offer beautiful natural areas. Because there are so many, chances are pretty good that you would be alone or one of very few people there, especially in the cooler months.
ReplyDeleteHannah is far better behaved than my granddog Zydrunas, who is very other-dog reactive and not very good with men other than those he knows. (He is quite a pushover for all women, however.)
Hannah is also Not Very Good with Men. If there is any hint that there's another person around, Hannah needs to be on a leash because I do fear she would attack a man. *sigh* Fortunately, there are pretty sight lines in this park, so I can see if someone is around. Dogs. They are quirky creatures we love.
DeleteOoh, I love secret locations! Yours looks amazing- I want to run around that river with Hannah. I feel like the trail I run on is semi-secret- i hardly ever see any people and I'm not really sure who's maintaining it. I'm sure if I looked into it I could find out, but for now it's a mystery.
ReplyDeleteI love when it feels like trails or parks are secret. I mean, obviously they are not, but when you never see anyone else there, you start to feel a kind of ownership. I'm glad you get some alone time on your trail!
DeleteWe have a nature preserve/ marsh place only about 1 mile from my house, and while I wouldn't say it's exactly "secret", it seems like it is very often deserted, especially during the week. It's so peaceful and beautiful and there is a short trail loop that only takes about 20 minutes to walk, along a pond- it's perfect for a work day walk. I don't know why I don't go there more often.
ReplyDeleteYour park sounds great, too! I do love that you are considerate that other people might be frightened by sweet Hannah's appearance- I think that's very kind of you to take into account that some non-dog owners especially may be nervous around dogs that are not known to them. Most dogs in my neighborhood seem VERY friendly- some are off leash even in the city park, but they tend to be this one pair of golden retrievers who just do not look intimidating at ALL, lol. I almost got jumped by this one dog last year though (on a leash)- the owner had stopped to pick up some dog poop and had her back to the sidewalk, and I was approaching, wearing my winter hat and sunglasses. The dog (some kind of larger shephard) was staring me down big time. I could tell he did not like the look of me, but I needed to pass by there... so I kind of hesitated, and then I took my hat and glasses off, and he still didn't seem to like me... (meanwhile the owner seemed to be taking an exceptionally long time to pick up the turds, back still to me and bent over, lol.) Finally the dog kind of lunged toward me (fortunately I was aware and had almost come to a stop, a ways away) and the dog almost knocked the unexpecting owner over! She was able to grab him and pull him back but jeesh! Made me really glad that I was paying attention and didn't just keep on walking right past them. Similar situations have actually happened to me a couple times recently (always with a leashed dog, though). I like dogs a lot so I'm not usually overly nervous around them, but I think some dogs must feel protective of their owners and I probably look weird to them with a hat/ glasses/ airpods in I guess! If I crossed paths with Hannah though I'd love for her to run into me so I could stop and scratch her ears and say, "aren't you so cute, what a good dog!!!!" :)
Our town has two official, fenced dog parks where dogs can run free, but they are more like big yards than big, open fields or trails.
ReplyDeleteThanks to running I know every nook and cranny in my town. We have quite a collection of little trails here and there that you'd never know about unless you lived in the neighborhood. I don't have a secret location to take the dog.
ReplyDeleteThat's really pretty!
ReplyDeleteI don't have a secret location, but I love walking through our offleash areas. I took Barks when he was young, and then of course he was too decrepit to make it all the way there, but I walked through them basically every day throughout the pandemic. It's really pretty with lots of trees. Now Rex comes with me and he LOVES it. Lots of dogs to play with, and a nice long walking path. I make it a great loop from my house; I love it.
This is such a haven...and so close too. I love Hannah even more knowing that she knows how to STAY like a good girl! That's a talent that most dogs will never have.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a park like that, but we do have 2.5 acres surrounding our home, so that's like having my own park.
First off I have to tell you that your holiday card was very popular in my house since you included pictures of your pets! My husband is a huge cat lover and my boys just love animals so much so loved seeing a dog and a cat!!
ReplyDeleteSo there is an area along minnehaha creek west of our house that is kind of a hidden gem. It doesn’t have a paved trail by it and you have to walk down a hill to get to it. But it’s a fun spot to walk that is very quiet generally!!
I love this - I'm so glad you and Hannah have this available to you!!! I wish I had the same, despite the lack of a doggie to take advantage of it.
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