I have been just dying to post tonight. Let me tell you a story or two:
First, at Armleder Park, I went out to get better pictures of the rough-legged hawk. (I think I have figured out what setting was wrong on my camera, but I didn't figure it out until later)
As I was slowly, quietly approaching the hawk, which was sitting in a tree not far from the edge of the trail, I saw a power-walking woman approaching. I had seen the hawk sit, unfazed by walkers, so I didn't think this woman would bother it. As she came closer, the hawk flushed and I lost sight of it. When she got closer, I realized why the hawk had panicked.
(I discretely turned on my camera and pretended to film something over the field as she walked by me...)
*Hear my deep sigh at the end? *
Isn't it sad that this woman was so intent on talking on her G.D. cell phone that she didn't notice the absolutely beautiful bird of prey not 20 feet from her?????
THEN...
I cut through the field to go back to the car, and saw one of the numerous Northern Harriers coursing over the meadow. I decided to try and get a good picture of that, since the rough-legged was now gone.
Let me explain one thing: Dogs are NOT allowed off-leash in this park. The rangers have been cracking down on that because this is an area being developed for ground-nesting birds and other things, and there are signs all over the place telling people that they have to have their dogs leashed on a certain sized leash, and they have to CONTROL their dogs at all times.
That said, read what happened next.
I cupped my hands around my mouth and shouted, "You have to have those dogs on a leash!" To that, the man gave a goofy laugh. It was then that I knew I was dealing with someone of limited intelligence. I walked closer and as he approached, still calling his not-listening dogs, I said, "You have to have dogs on a leash when you are out here. You can get fines for letting them run."
He said, with a little laugh, "Oh, I know..." and walked away from me.
So, this guy KNEW the rules, and ignored them. Okay, you stupid git. I am now about to ruin your day.
I walked fast back to the car and drove to the other side of the park where I had seen a park ranger, told the officer what the Jogging-Moron was doing, where he was, and then started to drive out.
I watched in my rear-view mirror as the ranger drove around to the other end of the park and stop the jogger to give him a ticket for his blatant disregard for rules.
The rest of my day was happy.
14 comments:
Go Susan! You rock! I hate that kind of stuff -- it's the reason why there are very few parks in California where you can take your dogs ON leash, much less off. Makes me so sad as a RESPONSIBLE dog owner that we all suffer for the morons!
Way to go!!! I wish more people had the guts to turn in these dolts!!
Cindy
This park is going to become the "battleground" as I see it here in Cincinnati. As people continue to get ticketed, scolded, etc., people are going to complain to government officials. Will it backfire? It will be interesting to see what the outcome will be. 99.9% of the people that use the park use it for non-birding activities.
Yes, American Dream disease affects many.
I have blogged about this before at my blog
Yeah, Susan!
I'm a firm believer in the "protected areas need everyone's help" philosophy.
When we toured the western US parks several years ago, we saw so many people stealing cacti from protected areas. One time we got brave and wrote down the license # of a car that had a trunkful of "loot". We gave it to a ranger and.....down the road, they were nabbed!
It had made me so mad to imagine someone's greed ruining the future of these vulnerable areas.
If I'm not mistaken, rangers carry weapons...and it's not to keep nature in line!
I wish I could shake your hand! Job well done, Susan! You know, I would have done the same thing. First, I'm too wary of dogs on the loose, and second, that selfish moron needed a scolding. Reminds me of the moron across the street power washing his house. Somebody's gotta do it and I'm proud of you.
Why do women, in particular, find the need to use their cell phone in every imaginable place - even on the toilet in a public restroom? I don't know why, but it wears on my nerves.
Good for you Susan! Don't you wish they could fine that guy for being stupid too???
GOOG JOB SUSAN!!!! I also agree with ruthiej, fine him for being stupid also.
I find this post very offensive....just kidding! Some people just don't get it at all. The dog walker had a lethal combination of stupidity mixed with arrogance which means that you are likely to run into him again - these types of people don't have the ability to learn from past mistakes. A very nice cop buddy of mine keeps reminding me that these people ensure his job security for life. Bad for birders, good for cops.....
Hoooray Susan! Don't you just steam when people blatanly disregard the law?? It might have been different if he'd leashed his dogs after you told him the first time, but no, he just laughed. You sttod up for the right thing. I am proud.
Ugh... people annoy me. Good job! Funny side story... I watched the movie of the same name as your post title on regular TV once... they replaced the use of a certain set of curse words with "Mickey Fickey" which made the movie even funnier. They said it A LOT.
Susan, good for you for reporting the off-leash guy! I either get a blank stare, no stare or an argument. Unfortunately, Central Park does not have much of a rules enforcement staff so dogs run around unfettered a lot of the time (I understand Brooklyn's Prospect Park is actually worse).
People flushing birds you're watching is also so annoying. I was "making friends" with a male towhee last year in the Strawberry Fields section of the Park - trying to get close enough to get a nice photo with a point and shoot camera. The bird was pretty friendly and I was doing pretty well until a guy walked past with his dog off-leash (dogs aren't allowed in Strawberry Fields, even on-leash) and scared the bird away. He didn't go far but never came close enough again for that photo. Frustrating...
You rock! There are so few times in life when we can actually do something about these idiots. It makes us all feel better that you were able to affect one of them.
I must point out the irony of the previous post with the description of the cell phone.
Of course, most cell phones require an adjective, my favorite being "freaking" but you know what I'm thinking.
Oh man, sometimes I hate people! Big jerk jogger got what he deserved. Let's hope he finds another place to jog. And GO ON, GIRL! to you for being kind enough to warn him TWICE to leash his *&(&^**&**# dogs! He had his chance--he blew it.
That's so cool that they're developing this area specifically for birds!
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