Neighborhood School

I ran out of time to post all of my CA adventures while I was there...here's one last post about my trip:

When I am in town one of my favorite things to do is to walk the kids to and from school. They are fortunate to have an excellent elementary school only 3 blocks from their home. It energizes me to see the kids, sometimes with parents or grandparents, sometimes accompanied by the family dog, walking to and from school. 

The school, like so many others, outgrew its original buildings and over the years portable classrooms were added here and there. The buildings surround a courtyard, mostly paved, but some areas left as gardens for classes to work in, or to sit outside on particularly nice days. There are a number of nooks and crannies among the buildings and portables for more outside learning opportunities. 

As soon as we arrive in the courtyard, my granddaughter heads towards one of the fifth grade portables. You can see her, in her purple cape,  heading on her way with a friend. 

Classes line up outside of the classrooms, and enter when the bell sounds. 

Apparently this class began the day with an outdoor activity.

The buildings are decorated with a lot of student art.

Both inside the courtyard....

 

....and outside.

Mother Nature has also added her bit of color to scene.

It looks like a very cheerful place to learn, 

and a throwback to simpler, safer times.

Come Walk With Me

 Our community, Pine Ridge Estates, has over 28 miles of equestrian trails. 

The trails are marked by the bold lines.

 Our house is the pink star.

Trail entrances are marked with the board fences, and cautionary notices

Trails are marked with color coded paint marks

Walking with the corgis can be a challenge. This one likes to be ahead of me,

the other lags behind. If we are walking on the edge of the road, one wants to be on the grass, and the other on the pavement. 

Yes, it's a pained look. It's hot, I'm sweating...

but the good news is we have only the rare mosquito. 

This is a sand ridge. We have no standing water, and rarely a puddle.

"Two roads diverged in the yellow wood...."

Captive

Today I experienced a first. I had to call my knight in shining armor to rescue me while I was out walking the dogs. I wandered into an awkward situation. I was caught in a hostile position and held hostage…..
by a puppy and his yardmate!
We almost made it past the yard. The older, wiser dog ran at us, barking furiously and then retreated. But the fun-loving pup gamboled after us, tackling Tucker. Naturally my goofy Aussie wouldn’t ignore him. I had no choice but to turn around and return to the yard. The older dog was on guard and fiercely protected his domain while the pup pounced and played. Just picture me with two biggish dogs (70 lbs and 45 lbs) on leashes and a pup running figure 8’s around them, around me, between our legs and having the time of his life (his yardmate being a grumpy Gus kinda dog). I called out. No response. I tried approaching the house and Grumpy barred his teeth and snarled. I stood in the yard, well more realistically, I danced in the yard valiantly keeping leashes from entangling my feet whilst not trampling the puppy. Had the owner been home he probably would have been laughing heartily, with no inclination to come out and rescue me, bringing the curtain down on his entertainment!

Gypsy,  not exactly enamored with puppy?

I was able to get close enough to the house to loop the dogs’ leashes on the hitch of a truck parked in the yard. Grumpy, with some sweet talk from me and knowing my beasts were held at bay allowed me to knock on the door. No one home. What’s a gal to do? I couldn’t continue on my way and risk having the pup get hit by a car. I tried sternly telling the pup to go home, to stay. He wasn’t having it. He’d lie down in his bed in the open garage, then when I grabbed the leashes and turned to go, he’d come charging out. It was a fine game! I thought of putting the puppy in the bed of the truck but worried he might try to jump out and get hurt in the fall. So, I had no option but to call Mr. Dreamy to rescue me. I needed him to bring the car wherein we could deposit our dogs and whisk away faster than the puppy could run.

I told Mr. Dreamy about my predicament. I explained where I was located. I had wandered away from the Tiffin Service Center and was walking in a neighborhood across the road from the hospital. He said it would be no problem. He knew about where I was located. At most I was a quarter of a mile away. Great. So I stood my ground. Well, I continued my dance. Only now, Gypsy was getting tired of the pup’s antics and she was snarling at him. So I had to try to play puppy keep away to preserve her dignity, with a puppy who simply wanted to play.
Time kept ticking by. No Mr. Dreamy. OK, I get it. He had to walk from wherever he was to get to the car. He had to work his way out of the service center. The minutes seemed to go on forever, as they do when you really want something, like kids waiting for Christmas! Finally I parked my dogs again and escorted the puppy to his bed. Once again I told him to stay, very sternly. I dared to take a circumspect peek as I yanked the leashes off of the truck’s hitch. He was still in his bed. I walked out of the yard, catching movement from the corner of my eye. I ducked beyond some bushes, fretting that the puppy would run out into the road. As I turned the corner I saw that he had stopped at the street. I guess he had tired of the game. He let us escape.
As my knight had still not come charging over the horizon, I gave him a call to let him know I had made my way out the clutches of my captor and could make it back to the campground on my own. Oh, and by the way, I asked, Where. Are. You? It turns out that my knight thought he knew where the hospital was. Maybe the town has two hospitals?! He was a bit chagrined when he realized where I had actually been held captive, and he gave me a tiny wave as he drove by!

Walking on the Edge

Sewing is wonderful, but it isn't exactly aerobic. One day I did log 3.3 miles walking from the embroidery machine to the quilting machine and back.... and forth.... and back.... and forth. But, generally, I don't get enough exercise while sewing.

Sew.....

I decided I needed to start my day with a walk. I live "on the edge". That is, I live right next to suburbia, but I am fortunate to be "almost country"! My home is in the upper right corner of this picture, and you can see where suburbia begins to encroach on us in the lower left corner. 

Suburbia has a beautiful network of paved trails. But there isn't great access from my home. In the past I have driven down to a park in the populated area, where I could access the trail, but it is a bit of a pain. Luckily for me, the farms/ranches/ranchettes just south of me left easements between their pastures, and I can walk along those. The green dotted lines show my options for walking along the easements or along the roads. 

Each "leg" is a bit more than a quarter of a mile in length, and I can change my route following any of the paths. The easements are partially mowed. The terrain is up and down hills (there is a 100 foot change in elevation!) Some of the pathways have serious erosion that makes walking a bit of a challenge. But, it is beautiful....

Why don't I take you along with me?!

I have always loved these red barns....

And, the view of the mountains to the west can be spectacular!

Once I'm off the road I have not encountered another two legged creature. I did see another dog taking his human for a walk in the distance, and when I'm on the road I am occasionally overtaken by a runner or I meet someone on a bike. 

Even though I've not seen another human, I am not alone! 

Ducks frequent a pond in the lower right quadrant.

 A buck checks me out as I trudge up one of the hills.

Yearling cows are curious as I walk by. 

(See suburbia in the background?)

 I find this ant colony to be fascinating. 

Nothing grows in a 6' diameter circle around the ant nest.

Two does watch my approach.
Once a doe held her ground and stomped her little hoof at me!
When I stomped back, she turned tail.

 This property owner, on the edge of civilization,

has horses... and a deer.
(Yes, we have a lot of deer.)

The young buck has decided he'd like to leave. I'm too close.

On this walk I surprised the yearlings when they were close to the fence.

This pasture has some sheep (almost as wide as they are tall) and 

a llama (on the right) who acts as a guard animal.

These fine fellows are carrying beautiful racks, still in velvet.

Soon they will scrape that skin off and become more aggressive.

Glad you could come along. It's time to head out for another walk. I wonder what I will see today?