| 811 | A Good Saturday and Mossy Ridge Sunday |
2013-05-20 |
Friday, as I was walking our arthritic Golden Retriever, Jake, I found blood in his stool. Yikes! Back home, I called the Vet and they advised me to keep an eye on him.
Jake was behaving normal, well, except for the blood. If you didn't have to look at his stool, you would not even know he had a problem. Then, on the evening walk was the problem was even worse. We decided to take him off his medicines he was talking (a NSAID and pain medicine) and began searching online for probable causes and solutions.
Late Friday, we called the Vet again and found that on Saturday they do not take reservations, but the tech suggested that we arrive when the clinic opened at 8.
Friday night we did not sleep. We wanted to listen for any other problems Jake might be having. Jake is a dog, but he is a part of our family. We will always provide for him the best that we can.
I guess everyone was told to be in line at 8 on Saturday morning, because there was a line at the Vet's office. An hour and a half later we finally saw a Vet. Our regular Veterinarian had the day off, so we had to acquaint ourselves with a new doctor. A short while later we left the office feeling a bit better. The Vet could not find anything physically wrong with Jake, and didn't even want to see the sack of bloody stools we had collected and saved for the visit - imagine that! We were advised to take him off the NSAID (aspirin like arthritis medicine) and keep a close eye on him.
As Saturday started with a long wait, we thought it was going to be a bad day, but it really got better. There was a special deal at the Vets on flea and tick medicine and we got a free tube. Yea! Then, back at the house, I found my waterproof case for the iPad, an old thumb drive that had been missing for a year!, and my favorite small Swiss Army Knife. How could it get any better? Then, Jake's stool on the evening walk was almost normal. Wow!
To top the day off we had an amazing grill out dinner of tempeh, pineapple, tomatoes, and zucchini served on a bed of lettuce. It was really good.
On our Sunday morning walk, Jake was back to normal. Our life returned to life as usual and we began planning a visit to our local (Nashville), Warner Park. We were going to hike the Mossy Ridge Trail Sunday afternoon.
A few Mossy Ridge notes ...
We parked at the Cross Country Course (trails) off Highway 100. We then accessed the Cane Connector Trail near the Field House and then hiked north to join Mossy Ridge.
We have had a cool, wet spring in Nashville, but suddenly it was hot and humid. We were sweating, just standing still.
The trail had a few muddy spots, but nothing you couldn't walk through. Remember it is better to walk through a mud puddle than to walk around it. Trying to keep your feet from getting muddy just makes the trail wider.
Sections of the Mossy Ridge Trail were in bad condition. Erosion and wear have taken their toll on the trail. The trail probably needs professional help to solve the drainage problems that cause erosion and muddy quagmires and to prevent the ever widening path from growing still wider, caused by the multitude of walkers. Education efforts on trail etiquette might also help.
While walking the trail we came upon two men with their backs to us with sticks in their hands poking at something on the ground. We slowed and watched. Continuing to poke, a snake suddenly squirmed across the path. One of the hikers shrieked like a third grader at a horror show. After the snake had left, they turned to find us standing nearby. They exclaimed that it was a snake. We did not get close enough to identify the snake, but we do know that a snake will not bother us if we don't bother it. Step on a snake and you'll get bit, walk around the snake and you both leave the encounter happily.
We saw many other walkers, hikers, runners, and dogs. Many of the dogs were not on leashes.
Jake loved Dripping Springs and Vaughn Creek. He also slowed down on the second half of the walk, partly because of his arthritis and partly from being too hot. He still had a good time.
We are less than three weeks until we leave for our summer trip, we are stepping up our exercise. Mossy Ridge is a good trail for training or just a walk in the Park.
Happy Jake is not Sick and Mossy Ridge trails
cloudhiking's guide and map to Mossy Ridge