A muddy river hike in February!

The ice has melted on the river!

It is something of an unusual occurrence to have a muddy river hiking expedition in February when the ground is usually blanketed in snow but we have been having a winter thaw this past week! I took the opportunity of the warmer temperatures to take Lusi out for a good walk along the river where we have not walked for almost two  weeks prior to this. Some of the paths were still quite icy but the trails and the open conservation land were mostly free of snow and ice. I did see two cyclists out on the paths and wondered how they managed to keep upright on the ice as I clung to the sides to get some kind of a foothold.

We usually select either trails either on one side of the river or the other, but our hike yesterday encompassed both sides of the river to compensate for the fact that some of the time I had Lusi on a leash.

Rusty and Lusi

Towards the end of the walk we met Rusty, a rescued Bassett/Australian Cattle dog. We have met Rusty before on this walk but usually he is following close on the heals of his owner who runs with him so Lusi does not usually get a chance to play. Yesterday they stopped for a chat and Rusty had a good play with Lusi. Rusty likes to be

chased apparently and Lusi was quite happy to do that. I was surprised to see Lusi being quite subserviant to Rusty despite the play; she clearly knew who was pack leader between them. It was interesting to see how much energy Lusi appeared to have while playing with Rusty: Rusty's owner commented on her energy level and seemed quite shocked when I told her how long we had been out already!

On our return to the truck we collided with John with Remy and Loki. He had been worried that we'd been gone more than two hours and had decided to come looking for us! By this time we were all happy to climb into the truck and drive rather than walk home. Once home, I had to decide just how to get Lusi cleaned up. It turned out not to be too difficult; our paw massages have made a big difference in the way Lusi will stand and give you a paw...even when she is standing in the bath tub. After a  big supper, which she ate readily, no picky eating habits after a walk like that, and Lusi settled down quietly but not until she had found the most comfortable spot to relax!