Everyday, Nirvana

Those fitting lyrics and powerful guitar riffs from The Cult came pounding through my headphones as I came to the top of a hill on the Left Hand Trail in Boulder Valley on my bike yesterday.  I stopped to take a picture of the view for you all but unfortunately my point and shoot camera finally breathed its last.  The following 3 photos, taken about 5-10 minutes prior, represent the last valiant efforts of my first digital camera.  I'll let them speak for themselves.

It was a gorgeous day on the bike yesterday, sunny, 50's, quiet and peaceful on the trail.  Except for the Kelpie that nearly took a chunk out of my calf.  It's never a good sign when you see a dog charging at you and the owner running behind in a state of panic.  I came to a complete stop, stood very still and avoided eye contact with the dog.  It flew up to me, ears pinned back, went straight for my calf and I saw my triathlon season pass before my eyes.  And in the end all it did was sniff.  Phew!  What a relief but I was not happy about the unnecessary panic and adrenaline rush and it could easily have gone another way.  The dog had a gentle leader on and from the panicked response of the owner when it first took off for me it was obvious that the owner was aware of the dog's issues.  'It's a puppy', she says to me as if this is somehow a justification.  'She's a herding dog', she says with pride in her voice, as if this also excuses her.  'That dog needs to be on a leash until its trained', I tell her calmly but firmly.  Boulder Open Space rules require off leash dogs to be under voice command.  'She has been on her leash', the woman tells me in an irritated voice as if she's talking to a simple child who doesn't grasp the situation.  I can understand why the general public, at least in Boulder, hates dog owners and thinks we're all narcissistic idiots.  'Obviously', I reply which doesn't make sense either but the woman's 'logic' is hurting my head by now.  The woman ignores me and continues to try to catch her dog.  In retrospect I should have followed her and made sure she leashed the dog and also told her how I have 3 dogs at home and I'm sick and tired of losing my trail privileges and access because of people like her.  Because I am.  She could also do with a lesson on what constitutes herding behavior.  I'm going to dig out my citronella spray that I used to hike with all the time, this could have easily gone another way.

On a brighter note I saw the first Meadowlark of the year and 3 freshly popped baby calves.  SO cute.  Spring is on the way.  If I say it enough I can will it to be true, right?