May Day: vicious dogs!

The attack dogs yesterday were probably pitbull mixes

One of the hazards of biking and running in the country are loose dogs. Even dogs that just want to have fun are a hazard while going fast down a hill biking. Despite all my years of doing both, I had only one very scary moment in which I had a face off with a snarling doberman guarding its property which apparently included a road that I was on. I had to stop and place the bike between me and it. Any movement on my part made the dog more eager to attack so slowly walking the bike off its domain was out of the question. I kept yelling for the owner to pull off its dog.  Eventually the owner came out of the near by house.

I went for a short bike ride yesterday on the same road I use almost every time to access longer rides. While heading north, I passed a smiling woman fitness walking. Within less than five minutes, I decided it was rainy and cold and turned around towards her just as two dogs bolted from a farmhouse towards her followed by their owner. The dogs proceeded to attack her; her screams could be heard for miles. She had just managed to cross the road when I came. Fortunately some fast cars were in between me and the dogs at that point. She was extremely upset and frightened. The dog(s) had bit her several times on the leg. Within a minute, an off duty cop stopped by to offer assistance.

I never saw those dogs before despite the many times I am on that road though Steve said  after being chased twice from dogs from that same farmhouse, he changed his running route. They seemed to be a mix of pit bull and lab weighing about 50-60 lbs.  Usually just walking doesn't set dogs off: running and biking evokes the prey instinct and they just have to chase. Most just do it for fun but a few mean to attack.

In Italy, residents carried big sticks with them when they left the village for their walks to deal with the packs of dogs. At the time, I was more worried about the packs of boars I encountered on my early morning runs though probably the dogs were the biggest danger and they probably were unvaccinated. ( I did encounter one wolf, the only one I ever saw in the wild, and several foxes).

May Day!!!! The day that true spring begins. The weatherman has been having trouble predicting the weather. One moment storms; the next beautiful sun. Are there Maypole dances any more? I remember the beautiful dresses and ribbons from the elaborate Maypole dances from the high school across the street when I lived in New York but in Michigan, no one ever heard of them.

Oh and a first: Naomi invited me to dinner to show off her cooking. But I had already eaten. I do have a photo of my potential meal though.