Oops

North American Black Duck

As Bugs Bunny might say, I think we took a wrong turn at Albuquerque. Kane and I went for a beautiful, long walk on Easter Sunday and somehow ended up in the no-dogs zone.

We had a beautiful walk around Mud Lake, and I was being very careful, because I do know that some of the conservation area is off-limits to dogs, even if they are on leashes. In fact, I came across one such sign and reluctantly turned back.

On the bright side, I managed to snap some lovely pictures along the way. I found the ducks that had been living along Pinecrest Creek (which is much closer to our house).

Female Mallard duck, with a leaf draped jauntily across her beak.

Some of the ducks were so well camouflaged that, if other people, including photographers with lenses that required their own tripods, weren't standing around pointing and watching, I might have walked right past.

Canada Geese were everywhere - and noisily so -- and they annoy me with their pushiness and their profuse excrement, but they were very obliging for photographs.

I think "chillaxin" really applies here.

The path held some interesting sights as well. Clearly, someone felt this erratic boulder deserved a face. I'm just disappointed that they didn't paint it like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

It certainly didn't fit the surroundings. (I was also disappointed to see it surrounded with trash. Hooligans!)

We saw a beaver, but it was curled up and quite far away, so the only picture worth sharing is this one of some of the beaver's work in progress.

After taking that picture, I eagerly looked for the dam, but would have walked right by the beaver if others hadn't been there observing it. It made me wonder: how much do I miss on our solitary walks?

These berries surprised me; they must be leftover from fall. And, given their colour and the fact that they have not been eaten, I suspect they are poisonous. I kept Kane well away.

There were a lot of downed trees, left to sustain the ecosystem. This one was quite lovely, with its twisted grain.

It was about this point that I started noticing that (a) there were no other dogs on the trails, and (b) I was getting dirty looks from passersby.

This picture shows, approximately, the path we took. The green dot is about where we were when I realized we needed to leave.

I made my way out of the park forthwith and, as I exited, noticed a sign that told me I was liable for a minimum $100 fine for bringing a dog in.

Oops. I've no idea how I strayed into forbidden territory. And it's too bad because it really was a wonderful walk. I shall have to reserve it for human forays with my Best Beloved.

Fortunately, I did not get fined. But I do wish that one of those offended hikers had simply told me that I was in the wrong place. The fact that they just gave me dirty looks implies that they thought I knew I was doing wrong and didn't care.