It was over 80 degrees today- incredible!  I had a good day, worked out, got some homework done, took a nice (sweaty) walk with Nancy and the baby.  She’s doing much better- less depressed, more vibrant, more confident.  This week has brought a new conundrum to contend with: a man who keeps loose chickens in his yard moved in directly across the street from our dog park.  The unofficial dog park is actually space provided by the generous folks at the church that occupies part of the lot.  It’s a big, open field, unfenced- the church mows it and allows all the dog users in the neighborhood to use it at all hours.  Everyone brings dog bowls and water jugs and plastic bags and generally takes pretty good care of the space.  However, this chickens business is really cramping my style.  My dogs need a LOT of exercise- Lucy is 130 pounds of great dane madness who needs to be able to run, as well as walk, every day.  But the chickens are too distracting for them- the last time we went, several days ago, they could NOT stay away from them; bolting into the street.  Klaus got into a rough tussle with one of the chickens, that ended with a very mad homeowner and my min-pin with a mouth full of feathers.  Anyhow, I’ve been really frustrated because they’re wanting to get some serious exercise and the convenience of the dog park is the only thing that makes not having a fenced yard manageable.  However, today we walked in a different direction than usual at Chambers Lake (the trail we take is paved, beautiful and stretches on for over 30 miles- amazing) and found a bare field that could be a perfect substitute for the dog park.  I’m thinking, also, that I’m going to bake a nice pie or something, bring it to the chicken-owner and try to convince him to build a reasonable enclosure for his pets.  I want the dogs to be able to get exercised and socialize during the day- and it makes an enormous difference in my quality of life when they don’t.  I was hanging with Nancy for maybe four hours today and when I came home, they had overturned the kitchen garbage, the little one had left a disgusting gift for me on my bathmat and they had shredded the corner of an area rug.  They are pissed and so am I: I mean, who the hell keeps loose chickens next to a dog park, official or not?

Breakfast: mango

Lunch: sandwich with smoked turkey, laughing cow cheese, sprouts

Dinner: wheat pasta with tomato sauce, green salad with garbanzo beans, tomatoes, sprouts, radishes, balsamic vinaigrette

Exercise: 30 day shred, 3 miles with the dogs, 2 miles with Nancy

1000 miles in 2009: 432

Song of the Day: Electric Feel, by MGMT

Daily awesome: The Lamest Teen Moral Panic Ever, as reported by the crack journalists at gawker.com.