We've had a rollercoaster of Winter weather this week with temperatures as low as single digits and as high as 40 degrees. The variety of temperatures has been combined with days that have been blustery and gray, sunny and frigid, and even a day that was almost Spring-like. Honestly, I don't think any two days this week were quite the same. With the mild weather we've had for most of this Winter, I wasn't sure I'd be ready for the colder temperatures when they arrived, but they certainly arrived this week and, despite the cold, we were still able to get out for some Winter adventures.
Monday I had the day off from work for the MLK Day holiday and spent much of the day at home catching up on some things I needed to get done around the house. After spending the morning writing last week's blog, I did some cleaning, prepping veggies, and making a fresh batch of veggie broth. I wanted to take full advantage of the day off, and after a busy day around the house, we headed out for a walk. I did a little research and decided to visit Mt. Hope Park, a newer park in the area, and one we hadn't visited previously. There isn't much to the park, a couple of soccer fields, a couple softball fields, and a paved path in the middle of a wide open field, but it was previously unexplored by us so it was a good place for a walk with the girls. As bonus, there was a geocache located at the park too, so in addition to our walk we could pick up a geocache for the day.
When we arrived at the park, there was only one other car there, but they were preparing to leave, so for most of our time there, we had the whole park to ourselves. We started out on a slow stroll at Maddie's pace and I was thankful that the paved paths were clear and dry. For a portion of our walk, we walked through one of the grassy areas and both girls really enjoyed all of the smells. After a slow mile of exploration, Maddie was ready to head back to the car, so we took her back and got her settled in before continuing on with Peaches. Since we were the only one's at the park, I hooked Peaches up to her long lead so she could explore a little more. As we walked, the wind picked up and it started to snow, plus it was getting dark quickly, so after a quick couple of miles, we headed home.
Tuesday's walk took us to Hartrick park. This park has a small set of hiking trails through the woods and is someplace we've visited a handful of times over the last year. For the Winter Season, they close down the larger parking lot and leave only a few parking spots available at the front of the park. This keeps the park much quieter because the main visitor are those who live in the area. This generally means that the park is empty and quiet and gives us a nice quiet place to explore.
I love the walk through the woods and because there isn't a lot of foot traffic through the park, the paths aren't icy like they are in some other of the area parks. It was a nice day for a walk in the woods and the girls were intently, and happily, sniffing everywhere. It was an excellent spot for a sniffy walk and the perfect day for it because Maddie was slow moving, but we were all happy to be outside.
Wednesday arrived and with it Maddie's second laser therapy treatment for her arthritis. We had gotten a good snowfall the night before and while the roads were a bit slushy, the snow always makes for some beautiful scenery. We left home for Maddie's appointment over my lunch and I decided to bring Peaches along for the ride. The rest of my day would be filled with conference calls for work, so I wanted to take advantage of the time when Maddie was with the Vet to get Peaches out of the house to enjoy a little walk.
The vet office is on a pretty quiet country road, so we were able to walk up and down the road and then Peaches spent some time sniffing around the parking area. While it wasn't a big adventure, it was a good use of the time, since I would have just been sitting in the car waiting for Maddie to get done. The rest of my Wednesday was busy with work, but we were able to get out for a quick walk around the block with Maddie during a late afternoon break and then had a nice relaxing evening after a very busy day.
Thursday's weather was beautiful. It was sunny and 40 degrees and gave me thoughts of Spring. Based on the nicer weather, I decided we'd take our walk at Fenner Nature Center after work. During colder days, the trails there tend to be a bit more icy due to the amount of foot traffic they get, but I hoped that the trails wouldn't be quite as bad on Thursday. Thankfully I was right. The warmer weather had softened the snow and made walking much easier. We had a nice walk through the grasslands at dusk and Peaches was on high alert with the presence of lots of deer throughout the park. We didn't have a lot of time for our walk before darkness set in, but it had been a nice walk on a beautiful night.
Overnight the temperatures dropped drastically and brought in some frigid air. With temperatures in the upper teens and low 20s on Friday, we were experiencing some cold we haven't really had to deal with much this Winter. But cold weather wasn't going to stop us from getting out for our Friday walk. We had so much fun on our walk at Fenner the day before that I decided we'd head back there for our Friday walk too. Maddie was feeling pretty good and did great on our walk so we were able to go a bit faster, and therefore, farther, that evening.
Saturday morning arrived, and just like the previous Saturdays this month, we had plans to do some hiking on the North Country Trail with Vanessa. It was single digit temperatures when we woke up, but the sun was shining and I knew it was going to be a good day for a hike.
We had a short hike of 6 miles planned and most of it was through Albion on part of the trail that we are very familiar with, so I was looking forward to the easy day. We started out with a short road walk section before reaching the Riverwalk through town and then continued on into Victory Park. We left Maddie in the car for the beginning of our hike, but she joined us for the end and she was happy to be out with us. Because we had her with us for our last 1 1/4 mile, it went much slower than our first 5 miles, but the whole hike seemed to go pretty quickly and we stayed warm the whole way despite the cold. It is amazing the difference a little sunshine can make.
We have completed 23 miles on the trail this year so far, all through Calhoun County, and are moving along pretty well. We are planning another hike next week between Albion and Marshall as we continue on our way to completing all of the North Country Trail miles in Calhoun county. We have 35 miles until we complete Calhoun County and if we can keep up a good pace, we should complete it by early March. While a lot of the trail in this area is road walk, it hasn't been bad and we are enjoying getting out in the fresh air. It's a great to have a goal to keep us going and nothing shows better than Maddie's happy face just how much fun we're having!
After a really busy week between work, getting the girls out every day, and other obligations, we have big plans for a do nothing Sunday. I do have to run a few quick errands and I will get the girls out for a small walk, but most of the day will be spent quietly at home watching silly Hallmark movies, reading, and doing some word search puzzles. I hope you have some time to relax and enjoy a peaceful Sunday as well.
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