This week began with some grand plans. The goal was to hike in three different places, but also to increase the distance I’ve been hiking.

15 – Tuesday saw the first hike – the Pink route at Indian Path Common. This 4.6 km hike means that I’ve now done all the paths at Indian Path Common. Cali seems happy on this trail, as we didn’t see another person until we arrived back at the parking lot. This meant that she could follow me without the need of a leash.

16 – On Wednesday we headed out to Blue Rocks Common. The landscape here is so different – no tall trees except the occasional apple tree and evergreen. Mostly it is rock and shrubs. It is a great place to find partridge berries and cranberries in the fall.

It also seems to be the best place for me to take portraits of Cali, as she seems to enjoy posing while sitting or standing on the rocky surfaces.

There are a few places where you can catch the spectacular view.

At one point Cali was fixated on an area and rolling in it – which means she found something that smells like animal. With a little inspection, it appears what she found was a bone from a deer leg. It was pretty cleaned out, so didn’t smell. She was so proud of herself. I picked it up and new that I couldn’t throw it away, as she would just run after it. So, I brought it with me. I figured she could enjoy chewing it (note, after a couple of days, I can confirm that it didn’t make her sick).

After our wondering walk, we headed home – unfortunately that didn’t go too well. First we missed a turn, and took that opportunity to explore more of Lunenburg. We ended up in the residential area above the waterfront. We were surprised to see a lot of different churches – something like 6 or 7 of them!

We found our way back to one of the ‘highways’ and headed home. Unfortunately, we made contact with another vehicle at a four way stop on the way home. We are all OK, but the car wasn’t driveable. I tried to move the car out of the middle of the intersection, but the car just said that something was wrong and it wouldn’t shift into drive. Someone asked about putting it into neutral and pushing it, but an electric car doesn’t have a neutral. So, that car sat in the middle of the intersection until the tow company came to pick it up.

The people were all super friendly – even the guy whose car I hit. I am amazed at just how politely and friendly everyone was given the situation. If your going to be in an accident, this is a good place to do it!

The lack of car and some post accident muscle soreness meant that our plans for hiking Gaff Point on Thursday had to be cancelled. Friday morning we picked up a rental car, so hiking can happen again next week. The weekend is rather rainy, so a good time to get caught up on my sitting at the computer work!

A note on Blue Rocks – it is a pretty hike but full of ticks. Since Cali did a lot of rolling around, she picked up more than we could count. Fortunately the medication she takes kills the ticks when they bite her. I also found a couple on my legs, that fortunately had not attached. They were the bigger dog ticks, so not that ones that carry lyme. It is a reminder that it is that time of year! They are not nearly as bad as last year, but this is one location where they were plentiful.

17 – Today’s walk was in town. It has been a rainy day – but warm and muggy – 20 degree C and drizzle. When the rain stopped and the sun looked like it might sneak out, I took a walk around the pond. My body was feeling better than it has in a long time, so I added onto that walk to include a walk through the park on the LaHave River near our place.