Hello and happy Sunday. It is hard to believe that it is the end of January and we are 1/12 of the way through the year already. Before we know it Spring will be here with it's warmer weather and longer days. But for now, we are in the heart of Winter and have finally been experiencing some more typical Winter weather. The last week the temperatures have been the coldest of this Winter so far and we've actually gotten some snow on a couple of occasions, including a nice fresh layer over night. Thankfully, the Winter still hasn't been that bad and the girls and I have been able to get out and enjoy some nice walks every day.
Peaches and I have had a little more one on one time over the last couple of weeks as I concentrate on making sure we are both getting out and getting some good walks. Each day Maddie still joins us, but the amount of time and the length of the walk she takes depends completely on her mood for the day. So some days she's with us for a mile or more, and others, she is with us for less. She is still excited about loading up in the car and going for an adventure, but she is also happy to hang out in the car and wait while Peaches and I take a little extra time on the trail. Thankfully the weather is allowing us to do this for now and we'll adjust as we need to do so.
We also have made the most of Maddie's appointments for laser therapy. As soon as Maddie goes into the building for her appointment, I put Peaches on her long leash and we spend the entire appointment time with Peaches running and exploring. This week she especially enjoyed her time since she saw several horses at the boarding facilities attached to the vet's office, she chased a bunny from under a pile of brush, and she got to say hello and got a treat from the Fedex guy. Plus she zoomed around in the fresh snow. It was a great use of the 30 minutes that I'd normally spend just sitting in the car.
We have especially been enjoying our trips to Fenner Nature Center, especially since it is staying light later and, therefore, giving us more time to explore. The Winter landscape is so beautiful and there are several trails to choose from so no two days are the same.
Peaches' favorite trail in the park is in the grasslands so we make a point to walk that portion of the trail most days and since most days we are walking at dusk, we often have wildlife sightings. There are so many deer and they drive Peaches crazy!
Thursday night we decided to make a visit to McNamara Landing which has some great trails. I wasn't sure what condition they would be in given our recent snow, plus I wasn't sure how far we'd be able to go since some of the trails are closed to dogs this time of year, due to the fact that they are groomed for cross country skiing, but I knew we'd have fun no matter what, and it was bitter cold, so I knew we wouldn't go far anyway.
We did a small loop around one portion of the trails before reaching the groomed trails and discovered some cute little fairy doors along the way. Peaches was having the best time with all of the new smells and we really enjoyed our time.
Maddie also enjoyed exploring somewhere different, but she was not that excited when I tried to take her picture.
Friday was a crazy day. Maddie woke up shortly after 4am for a mid-night potty break after which, I couldn't fall asleep. Try as I might, all I did was lay there wide awake. So eventually I decided I may as well get up and get some work done. I got two quiet hours of work in before 8am. The rest of my work day was busy and I barely had time to take a break. Finally, after a busy day, I stopped working at 4pm to take the girls out for an adventure.
After a lot of debate and a little driving around, I decided to head to Holt. Our first stop was Veteran's Memorial Park so that Maddie could join us for a quick walk around the park. Peaches was extremely curious about the strange birds she found.
It was a beautiful, sunny walk around a pretty little park and I enjoyed the time here, but Maddie was ready to go back to the car and Peaches and I had plans for a longer walk on some of the trails through the area. We had a nice walk and ended at Esker Landing as the sun was beginning to set. It was a beautiful end to a very long day.
Saturday we met up with Vanessa once again to continue our journey toward 100 miles on the North Country trail. Ultimately, our goal this year is to hike every mile of trail in Calhoun, Kalamazoo, and Barry counties and we are making great progress in Calhoun county.
This stretch of road was long, but luckily it wasn't too busy, and we made good time. Peaches isn't the best road walker ever, but she gets better the farther we go and she really enjoys being out with us. And honestly, I always feel a big sense of accomplishment when I get to the end of a long stretch like this.
We walked approximately 7 miles along farm fields an wooded areas with a river crossing and some other nice scenery along the way and finally made it back to the car to get Maddie out to join us. After moving cars around to stage them appropriately at the end of our walk so we could not have to double back, we got out and started down the last bit of road walk toward the Marshall Riverwalk.
We got less than a quarter mile with Maddie turning and looking back toward the car the whole time and decided that she just wasn't up to a walk for the day, so we turned back and put her in the car to wait for us to finish our final 1 1/2 miles. While I would have loved for her to join us for more of our hike, she really wasn't interested and I just want to keep her happy.
Once Maddie was back in the car, we continued on our way to the Marshall Riverwalk. It is a very short section, but we've always enjoyed hiking this scenic little path with river views. It was also great to be off the road for a bit and enjoying nature.
We finally reached the end of our 8.5 miles of hiking for the day. We all were happy with our hike for the day and it had been another nice day spent outside enjoying some fresh air. I was most happy to know that we are only 10 miles away from reaching Battle Creek and some nice portions of the trail in that area. We finished the month of January having completed 31.5 miles in Calhoun County and only 27 miles away from reaching Kalamazoo County. I am completely enjoying this year's challenge and I am excited for our next hike.
After a busy day of hiking, Peaches was happy to get home, eat dinner, and then crash on the couch for the night. Maddie spent much of the night happily snoring away as well...except when I sat down to eat some pizza for dinner! She's a pretty cute little beggar...and she may have gotten a bite of breadstick.
With all of the fun we had this week, it was nice to have a quiet Sunday at home. It was another good week for us and I'm looking forward to seeing what fun adventures we can find in the coming week. Welcome February!
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