Nothing remarkable except that for late August it was refreshingly cool and cloudy today. I rode out on Henney to SE 59th just for the fun of climbing one long hill west-bound where the road humps over I-40. I headed south on Hiwasee to SE 89th and stayed on that all the way to the lake. I stopped to take this shot of West Hog Creek Branch, but I find the Coolpix has just a little trouble showing the full perspective. That valley is pretty deep and far ridge is steeper than the image indicates.
It’s really quite appealing visually and sufficient reason for me to climb the two razor-backed ridges to see this view.
Just a quarter-mile farther I encountered a dog that actually gave me trouble. While there are no words to explain how different people use their sensory heart, mine comes with a facility for handling animals. I really don’t like the idea of domesticating anything, but that’s no reason to be an ass about it. It’s been more than a year since I’ve felt the need to use the dog spray. Barking dogs are not an interruption to me, but a moment to exploit for divine justice. Most of them seem to sense that I am not a threat once they get close enough. I generally talk to them as best I can, but I find that domestication confuses their instincts, and some can act inconsistently. At this one spot, the house is fenced with a double-paneled swinging drive gate. The edge of one gate has been bumped by a vehicle and bent inward just a bit. This allows one of the two dogs to squeeze through. It’s big enough to be a threat, but the past two times has calmed when coming out to bark at me — just doing his job, you see.
Today he was in a foul mood and was going to bite. But as he drew near, I raised my hand and he seemed genuinely surprised that I would defend myself. He backed up a few feet, continuing the aggressive barking and posture. I yelled at him to back off and he actually turned to comply, stopping a few more feet away and turning back to bark some more. I dismounted and dropped my kickstand, and he looked genuinely worried. I stepped forward, pointed back at the gate and ordered him to get back inside the yard. He did so, still hanging around the gate and barking. Then I took another step and ordered him to stay there or he would get hurt. I wasn’t bluffing; I carry a knife for things like this and I do know how to fight attack dogs. He moved away from the gate and around the corner into the yard, growling but compliant.
Hint: Be firm and insistent, but with no real emotion. They know when you fear them and nothing can make you fearless except genuine experience and training, if then. It makes a huge difference if you learn how your own sensory heart works and use it to empower your faith in God’s Laws. This dog knew I was not fearful. That business of “smelling fear” is bunk; animals can sense your heart-mind even if you don’t.
I took Draper Drive counterclockwise. Today I stopped off at the boat ramp on Point 1, which was deserted except for a single vehicle behind me.
The various lakes I’ve visited on my bike all have the same basic hardware around these ramps, but the ones here were in the best shape I’ve seen. They are probably the newest in the sense of the having the most recent modifications according to whatever they consider the standard pattern these days.
I’ve noticed there is a tremendous amount of dirt work around Draper the past couple of years. Some of it has intensified, with a constant rotation of dump trucks of all sizes streaming back and forth between two places. They are loading out from somewhere near where the massive pipe ends are kept, not far from a water treatment facility below the dam. They take it around to the east side of the lake near SE 104th and dump it. Both locations are screened by heavy forest and there’s no way to look without violating the warning signs or getting eaten alive by ticks and chiggers. Up on the north end not far from the Midwest Boulevard entrance there is a very large space being carved out of a hillside, looking for all the world like a construction site in preparation. As usual, I can’t seem to find any information published about all of this.
I came home via Post Road and SE 29th.
