A quiet week at home

It has been a pretty uneventful week here.  The girls and I have laid low and stayed close to home most of the week.  It was just one of those weeks where none of us were motivated to do much...maybe the mid-Winter blues set in a bit.  And the weather wasn't spectacular, which always makes it easier to make excuses for not getting outside.  Since we've kept pretty busy this Winter, I figured taking a couple days off to just stay home and relax was well-earned.  

Monday the girls had their annual vet appointment.  I don't normally take them both at the same time, but I was glad that I did this time.  It easier for me to take both currently since we're still not allowed into the building so there is no time spent sitting in a lobby trying to keep Peaches still and trying to keep Maddie from greeting everyone that walks by.  I did laugh a bit at the new vet tech who came out to take both girls into the building for their appointment as Peaches dragged him forward while Maddie held him back...and he just kept repeating to himself  "Peaches is pink, Peaches is pink", so he wouldn't forget which dog was which.  Thankfully I didn't have worry about any confusion once they were in the building since most of the vet techs and vets know the girls well. 

As I was waiting for the girls to complete their appointment, the big snow storm that we were expecting overnight moved in to town and I sat there and watched the snow accumulate.  

I had a long list of items to discuss with the vet and we were there at the vet for over an hour.  By the time the girls were done, there was a fresh two inches of snow on the ground.  We drove home slowly, avoiding the highway, and I stopped to pick up a quick geocache and some dinner on the way home.  We arrived safely at home, the girls ate their dinner, went outside for their evening potty break, and then we settled in to watch the snow fall.  

By the time we woke up the next morning, we had gotten somewhere between 8-10 inches of snow.  While it was a lighter, fluffy snow, it was deep and I wasn't looking forward to the shoveling that I was going to have to do.  I started work for the day with plans to get out on my lunch to shovel, but I was pleasantly surprised mid-morning when I heard a snowblower out front.  I looked out the window to see my nice neighbor, Bill, clearing my sidewalk.  I am so thankful for Bill because he cleared my entire length of sidewalk and my driveway, saving me the work.  After he finished my sidewalk, he continued on down the block, ultimately cleaning all of the sidewalks and driveways in our entire block.  What a blessing he is to have around for us all!

It was cold and blustery Tuesday and I had no idea how clear any of the sidewalks would be in the rest of the neighborhood, so we stayed home and stayed inside for the evening.  The girls got to eat dinner in one of their favorite ways, a treat ball, and Peaches and I had a good round of fetch before we all settled in for a quiet night at home.  

Wednesday night we stayed in our neighborhood for our walk for the evening and I was pleasantly surprised at how well the sidewalks throughout the neighborhood were.  That is a rare occurrence every Winter, but I think the excessive amount of snow we had gotten encouraged more people to get out to clear their sidewalk this time.  We were able to walk a 1.25 mile loop with Maddie and only had one small stretch of sidewalk that wasn't clean.  It was a nice walk and I enjoyed seeing the deep snow all through the neighborhood. 

Thursday and Friday we spent quiet days at home.  It snowed a bit more both days and so instead of trying to find somewhere safe to walk, we just spent some time out in the backyard and played a couple of fun games.   

Friday we got to try out the new slow feeder bowl that I had ordered for Peaches to make eating dinner a little more fun and challenging for her.  On a night when we can't get out as much, a bowl like that definitely helps to make her work her mind more.  This bowl was just one of a few new games I bought for the girls to keep them busy and entertained.

After a quiet and uneventful week, we were happy to get out for an afternoon snowshoe at Fenner Nature Center with Vanessa on a sunny Saturday afternoon.  The temps were in the upper 20's, and with the sun shining and no wind, it was a beautiful afternoon to be outside enjoying some Winter fun.  

While Maddie got very excited about our trip to Fenner, once we were there, she didn't go far before she was ready to turn around and head back to the car.  We dropped her off and continued on to complete a nice 2 mile snowshoe through the woods and grasslands.  

Lots of other people were out enjoying the day as well, but we had the trails mostly to ourselves.  I was pretty excited to see a Barred Owl along our hike and we saw a few of the many deer that call Fenner home.  It had been so nice to get outside to enjoy some fresh air again!

When we got home, the girls got a late afternoon treat and got to try out their new licky mats.  I think that they were a big hit. 

After dinner, we all settled in to enjoy our Saturday at home.  While it had been a quiet week without a lot going on, it had been a good week with a much needed rest.

After a quiet start to my Sunday morning, the girls and I will get out for a walk soon and then I have plans to work on some projects around the house.  I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday and a good week!

Well hello, February!

It is hard for me to believe that we are already half way through the month of February, but here we are.  The great thing about February, in my opinion, is that March is just around the corner.  Each day we get more daylight, and while February is still the heart of Winter, it gives me hope.  As we enter February, we've made it through the long darkness that starts in November and continues into January...and I am always thankfully to be done with January.  

I know a lot of people who love Winter, and while I live in Michigan and have my whole life, I am not one of those people.  Although I do not love Winter, I have learned over the years to embrace and enjoy it-in large part thanks to some very special girls.  Honestly if it weren't for Maddie and her love of this time of year, I may have spent most of my life hiding inside to avoid the snow and cold.  But Maddie's joy when she's out in the snow encouraged me years ago to find ways to make the best of the season so that she could enjoy it too.  And I have to admit, Winter can be very pretty.  You just have to learn to accept that it is an inevitable part of life here in Michigan and make the best of it.

Mother Nature was very kind to us here in Michigan through the month of January.  We had very little snow and warmer than average temperatures.  While it was still cold, it was easy to get out and explore without a lot of additional preparations, until the last week and a half.  But with February came much lower temperatures and plenty of snow.

Before the weather changed, we decided to take advantage of the last of the mild weather with a trip to Grand Rapids to enjoy their "World of Winter" festival.  There were several light and art displays throughout town and we picked the perfect night to visit.  

The weather was mild and because it was mid-week, there weren't many people.  We enjoyed the walk around town exploring the different displays.  

I enjoyed the ice luminaries and loved the chess and checker boards made of ice.  They even had an area to play corn hole with displays made of ice there too.

I especially enjoyed the large geometric lighted art display.  The colors and shapes were beautiful.  They were definitely the highlight of my trip.

The interactive displays with the lighted seesaws and the singing tree were especially a hit with Peaches.  The tree would light up as people sang, yelled, clapped, and whistled, and Peaches loved all of the commotion.

It had been nice to get out and explore something new.  We definitely needed the change of pace!

 

After our trip to Grand Rapids, we had one last day of warmer temperatures before our mild Winter season came to end.  Peaches and I went out for a walk that afternoon with clear sidewalks, but within 10 minutes of getting home from our walk, the snow had moved in, and with it came much colder temperatures.

With the colder temperatures, out came the girl's coats so we could all bundle up for our walks.  I think they look awfully cute in their coats.

On really cold days, the girls would rather spend most of the day snuggled up inside, but we still get out almost every day for a nice walk.  If we didn't, I know that all of us would be restless.  Now that I am working from home, it's nice to get out of the house for a change of pace.

Despite the cold and snow, we also continued to make progress on our North Country Trail hiking.  I wasn't quite prepared for the deep snow and unmaintained trail through the Battle Creek area, but it's Winter in Michigan, so we were determined to make the best of our time. 

After averaging over 7 1/2 miles per hike in January, our progress slowed tremendously for the first two hikes in February.   Trudging through 5 inches of snow and breaking trail the entire time will definitely slow you down!

But it was beautiful and we got in a good workout for the day.  And of course Peaches had a blast the entire time.  

We were all thankful to get to the small section through downtown Battle Creek where the sidewalks had been plowed which made for easy walking.  Maddie was happy to join us for that portion of the hike and between the two different sections of the trail, we were able to complete just about 3 1/2 miles for the day.

After a hard day of hiking on Saturday, I planned to have an easy and relaxing day at home on Sunday, but when I woke up and saw the sun shining, I couldn't resist getting the girls out for a nice walk.

It was cold, but I decided we'd bundle up for a walk on campus along the Red Cedar River, and for the most part, we stayed out of the wind and stayed comfortable.  It was a beautiful day to be out for a walk.

After our short walk on campus, I took the girls to Family Farm and Home.  Each of them got a trip inside to walk around and sniff everything and I'm pretty sure it was the highlight of their day.

We have been spending most of our week nights walking at Fenner Nature Center.  It is much better than walking through our neighborhood, especially this time of year.  The paths are well packed and time in the woods is always better when it's cold and windy outside.

Peaches and Maddie love a good trip in the car and with our trips to Fenner, we can get in a nice drive and a good walk every day.  It has been a great way to get out during this Winter and really enjoy it.

Friday night, we had a special guest.  Dean is a 2 1/2 year old GSP who needed a place to sleep for the night on Friday and needed to hitch a ride to Kalamazoo on Saturday morning so that he could get to his foster home in Illinois. 

It was a fun night at my house with a youngster here.  He really loved Maddie and followed her around everywhere she went.  I took each of the dogs on individual walks around the neighborhood and then after dinner, they all settled in for the night.

We were up and off by 8:30am on Saturday morning to get Dean started on his way to Illinois.  It was a quiet and uneventful trip and gladly he made it safely all the way to Illinois.  After dropping Dean in Kalamazoo with the next transporter, the girls and I headed to Battle Creek to meet with Vanessa and Emmalee for our day on the North Country Trail.  

Luckily for us, the trail was in better condition this weekend than it was last week, although it was far from clear.  Some areas of the trail had been plowed or walked on previously which made our hiking easier, but we still head some sections that were deep and we were blazing trail again.  

We hiked nearly four miles total, about 2.75 of those miles were new, unique miles for our hike the county challenge this year.  We are happy to continue to make progress toward completing hiking Calhoun County, even though it is slower than we had hoped due to the weather.   It was another great day out on the trail and we all enjoyed our hike and I'm looking forward to seeing what we can get done next week.  

We had a quiet Sunday and have hunkered down again today as the temperatures with wind chill will be the coldest we've had all Winter.  But as I look ahead at the weather for the next 10 days, it looks like we're heading for some warmer days and warmer days with longer daylight hours mean more adventures are ahead.  

We are just about a month away from Spring and every day that we get closer to March, I get excited about what is ahead for us.  Until then, we'll be hunkered down and keeping warm and continuing to adventure as much as we can.