Dark Side of the Moon

We live out in the country but in a subdivision.  We don't have an HOA...(Yeah me!)...and since we're not within the "city limits" we don't have sidewalks or street lights.  

Walking in the street at 5am is no big deal and I'm sure that streetlights are nice, but I like it dark.  


When I walk the pups in the morning in the summer there's plenty of light.  Now that we're heading into fall, the sun is lazy to rise.  I've noticed these past few weeks that the early-bird people like me are suddenly THERE...boom!...Right in front of you, it's so dark.  No problem with that as most everybody is friendly enough and we all recognize each other as habitual walkers.  

Every now and then though, we get a newbie out there who comes out of the blue and decides that exercising at 5 am is a good idea.  So they have to learn the ropes.  

We have a gal out there now who just started jogging with her dog.  She doesn't respond to my "Good Morning" greetings and once I literally had to tell her to stop getting so close to me and my pack.  The reason is simple.  Dogs like to check each other out.  They'll ignore each other once they've met.  This gal doesn't want our dogs to meet.  I've asked her if we could let them say "hello" but she pulls away and then of course it's doggie "West Side Story".  My "homies" against your "gangsta".  Everyone is barking and lunging...(sigh).

Now if you can see us coming, good on ya, but when it's moon-dark like it is right now you can barely see what's 5 feet in front of you.  

Several years ago, the pups and I were out on a moon dark morning like this one and I heard a funny whooshing noise suddenly.  Some dude thought it was a great idea to start exercising on his bike, in the dark, with no lamp, zooming around at 35 mph.  Now I wear reflective clothing but that only works if something is shining on me.  

He zipped between me and Scooter (my Cocker Spaniel).  I instantly let go of the leash (I use retractables).  He slowed down but didn't stop.  No one was hurt but it scared me enough that a few minutes later when he zips by me again I yelled at him to "get a headlight" and "be careful!"  (A few days after that he did get a bike lamp but within the month quit riding.  I never saw him again.)


The dogs or I could have been seriously hurt.  (Not my favorite way of waking up in the morning, I can tell you that.)  So I went out and bought one of these.

I'm sure campers use these "hand-free" flashlights all the time.  I found them at Dick's Sporting Goods.  They're nice and small on a wide elastic strap and have 3 lamp settings.  They run on 3 AAA batteries. 


I started off with just one and wore it myself.  I tried it on my head (didn't like the pressure) then on my wrist (just double wrapped it).  It occured to me though that I'm in the center of the pack.  The "advance team" needs to be wearing these.  I bought another one since Scooter walks behind me and "The Girls" walk out in front of me.  The strap can be adjusted and just slides on over their neck.  The lamp shines down on the ground so it doesn't bother the dogs eyes or oncoming traffic.  We look like a pretty weird UFO floating close to the ground.

Here's Ginny modeling the latest in doggie workout gear. (Sorry for the blur, but you get the idea.)


Anyway, I thought I'd show ya'll this gizmo.  It's a nice, hands-free option that gives you a light source for active people (and puppies!)