A typical walk part IV, no pictures

When we woke up this morning, the baby bunny and what appeared to be his slightly larger sibling were scampering out in the back yard. Right then I knew what I was in for. If you can imagine a beagle looking at you and saying, "C'mon. daddy! Let's go out and chase the bunnies! PLLLLLLEEEEEASE?" you know what I was looking at. Even as I tried to put my belt in my pants, he was standing on the bed with a paw on each shoulder as if giving advice (which of course would have been, hurry up!) After convincing him we weren't going anywhere until he got breakfast ate, we took off.

Today's route was down the plex road until reaching the fence row that leads to the middle entrance of the woods. I could see by the parked cars further down that one of "fields 15-19" were being used, and wanted to avoid the soccer crowd. As we turned into the edge of the meadow, I saw what I thought was an unusual sight - a pack of little brown butterflies on a piece of poop. I soon found that there was a little brown butterfly convention in town, as we ran across a couple hundred in the next 10 yards or so. On the grass, the dandelions, a dead bunny- there were so many Scrappy even managed to step on one (not that he'd notice).
Before you reach the woods at entrance #2, there's a gap in the fence row, and we could see that the soccer crowd were well to the south. Once we got into the woods, I decided to off-trail and wander around (mainly so's I could find a place to pee). Now there are many good things to say about Scrappy- "he's a great dog to take through the woods" is not among them. He charges onward usually with very little regard for whether dear ol' dad can fit through, beneath, or around whatever he's just went through, beneath, or around. Generally, though, he takes the following instructions well, so it's a minor inconvenience.
On the west side of the woods are the senior living apartments and medical parks that dot north Clinton between Coliseum and Washington Ctr. We were heading in that general direction when I saw two deer about 30 yards down a trail that followed the wood's edge south. As usual, Mr. Boy was oblivious and with difficulty I turned him towards them as they took off farther south. The trail became somewhat regular as we went, but I figured we'd seen the last of them. But when we reached the spot I first saw them, I saw that they had turned east towards the main trail and were again watching us. Right about then the mighty hunter Doggy Nimrod finally caught their scent on the trail and we went careening south even as I watched the deer disappear towards the main trail.
By the time he hit the spot where they turned east, Scrappy overran the scent and began circling aimlessly even as I tried to convince him which way they went. Seeings as we were far enough south they wouldn't exit the woods for running into the soccer crowd, I thought we might have a slight chance of seeing them again once we hit the main trail. But they must have veered south and headed for the ravine, and by the time we made it, I was ready to be done. We took the dirt trail back to the addition, which had been blocked near the entrance by a fallen tree when last we went that way a week or two ago. It had been cleared, which was a good thing , because just then a gnat decided my eye would make a good funeral home. Oh, and we also saw Mr. chipmunk on the way out. Of course, as usual, that "we" was just me.