Friday, January 7, 2011

Friday run in pictures and I miss my wolves

8 miles as the sun was coming up. 9:40 average pace with all the picture stops. Average HR 136/ max 149. Legs feel awesome.




I love dead trees...

and switch backs.





The grass was blowing in the wind creating perfect half circles in the snow

Our neighbor

Looking up at the empty wolf pen

What I used to see.

The City of Jefferson County came and euthanized killed all the wolves last year. The owner didn't have an exotic pet license. Turns out that about half of them were pure bred wolves. I used to run this route just to see them but realized today that I hadn't run by their pen in a very long time.

12 comments:

Jeremy said...

That's a damn shame about the wolves. Criminal actually. A whole lot cheaper for the city than doing the right thing and shipping them off to Canada or Yellowstone or something.

Lucho said...

Jeremy- They were pretty 'tame' so they would have had to gone to a sanctuary. Most of the sanctuaries are at full capacity already and under funded. The lady should have gotten the license to begin with. She also had too many animals... 14 at one point which is illegal. I think you can only have 5. Everything about it sucked except the wolves and they were the ones that suffered. They were the only 'dogs' I've ever run by that didn't bark (warn you) when you were near their territory. Instead they would run the fence line in a pack silently. It was their hunting instincts. I always felt 'smaller' being stalked. I wasn't the top of the food chain. Although I'm sure that's been the case many times up here (mountain lions), I just never knew it.

GZ said...

Sad on the wolves.

And yeah, there is stuff in the woods.

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/ci_16976995

Dave said...

That's sad. Does come down to personal responsibility though. We have a large deer population here, and it's always great when I'm in the trails to see the deer run alongside me as I ride. Amazing how graceful they are. It's not quite the same as being stalked, but it certainly gives you the feeling that you're just a visitor.

Lucho said...

G- Ya, I saw those pics! I have yet to see a pooma but I'm sure when I do it will be a profound moment. Hopefully not my last moment though.

Dave- Nice that you get to see that living in a big city too!?

mtnrunner2 said...

Cool shots. And grass making crop circles? Too cool.

So, someone doesn't have a piece of paper with an official stamp, so animals die? Idiotic.

The only thing that matters is whether people are safe, because to me it looks like they were eyeing you as a lunch opportunity! Pretty wild that they didn't make noise when you passed. Yikes. That's when you wonder whether the fence has any holes in it.

Lucho said...

Mtnrunner- There's just nothing good about it all. The wolves had escaped in the past and mauled a small dog... but there was also another man standing up for the wolves after they had escaped. The guy was out walking his dog and a couple of the wolves ran up with their tails wagging and wanted to play with his dog. He said they weren't vicious and he had pet one of them. I can see the little dog that got mauled acting tough and snapping at one of the wolves and getting his ass kicked. It happens with all animals (even me back in college once). But once again that is owner responsibility.
The fence is about 7 ft tall and I saw the big (assuming) Alpha male stand up and look over the fence once.

Brett said...

I would like to live in a switch back. Then if someone is speeding you can run to the other side of the house real quick and throw shit at them.

You can also look and make sure its clear before you pull out of the driveway.

The land should be pretty damned cheap too, its probably 100% easement from both sides, lol.

If the weather was crappy you could get a good workout by just running out the back, up and around the front, and then warm up crossing through the house before you repeat.

Other sports like soccer and baseball might suck though...one wrong kick or throw and its lost.

Lucho said...

Brett- With two small kids it would suck. It's a really quiet road though and you can't exactly speed around the switch back.

kerrie said...

that really sucks about the wolves...in a lot of ways, they are like huskies which NEVER bark unless to play. sad.
as for the daily camera thing and the mention about heil ranch...totally creepy cause i mtb and run out there all the time by myself and always feel like i'm being watched plus i rarely see other people.
p.s. i really like cake, especially when it looks like a monster truck.

kim said...

Nice pictures. Is that Long's I see in some of them? We're up in the area that I think you're in (between Lyons and Ward, the Riverside/Raymond area) in the summers. I love seeing your pictures as it reminds me of many a late spring/summer/early fall.

Sorry to hear about the wolves. Such beautiful creatures.

Charisa said...

Wow - beautiful pics.