Our family grew by one in September 2019. We welcomed Ray (a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever) into our lives with open arms. Not sure what we were thinking, getting a puppy the first week of back to school! Our daughter had been begging for a dog since she was 2 years old though... Now being a teenager, we just felt the time was right.
We love taking Ray for walks as a family. It allows us to explore our neighborhood and to spend more time together. The bigger Ray gets, the longer our walks are becoming. As you know, dogs love to stop and sniff everything in their path (especially younger, curious ones); so, this has allowed us to slow down and really see our community.
Since we go on several walks a day, we started to “name” the walks - based on time and route. That way, everyone in the house knows which walk you are going on.
My dedicated walk is “Morning walk with Mommy” -- this is if I walk Ray alone in the morning before work - it is short and quick!
Then we have the “Pond Walk”, the “School Walk”, the “Lake Walk”, the “Ridge Walk” and the “Medium Walk”- you get the idea! Of course, any of these walks can be added together for super-sized walks or done in reverse to mix it up.
As the seasons transition, you also see a different perspective of your neighborhood as there are so many changes happening. Some being gradual, and some developing more quickly. During these past few months, it has not only been a change of scenery blossoming but of the number of people out and about too.
Since March 2020, with more time being spent at home, Ray is now privileged to have a mid-day walk added to his routine. He thinks this is great! Ray has several dog buddies in the community and it is nice to see how they are all growing up together. It also allows us to connect with our neighbours; some of which we would not have met if we weren’t outside so much with Ray!
We are blessed to live within walking distance of Fish Creek Provincial Park in sunny Calgary, Alberta. Did you know it is the second-largest urban park in Canada? Rouge National Urban Park is the largest in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area). Fish Creek is also three times larger than Stanley Park in Vancouver! It has an amazing array of pathways to walk/bike on, fishing in the Bow River, and an abundance of wildlife in their natural habitat. We truly enjoy spending time exploring the Park and all it has to offer.
Ray had his 1st river swim back in October 2019. He loved it! We are currently waiting for the river levels to go down before we can start swimming again, but we are excited to have the river so close to us. There is a lot of exploring that can be done in Fish Creek Park.
Speaking of local -- supporting and exploring local is one of the best things we can do for our communities to help them thrive!
What smaller business or hot spot in your town awaits your support?
Article posted by Lisha and written by Krystlle, our Calgary office's amazing Executive Assistant. Thanks Krystlle for sharing!
***Adapted from Ocean Sales Group Ltd.