Sunday, January 30, 2022

Weekend adventures in the heart of Winter

It's been another cold week here in Michigan.  Thankfully those really cold days generally mean more sunshine, but we did have some clouds and snow this week too.  Most of the days were spent inside keeping the girls occupied with some brain games and Kongs (and lots of wrestling) while I worked.  There were also many quick trips outside during the day to get out some zoomies and several games of fetch each night.  The girls were also happy to spend some time out in the yard while I shoveled on the snowy days.  We also got out for at least a short walk or ride in the car most days.  Wednesday was the exception because is was very cold and Vanessa and I attended an indoor geocaching event while the girls stayed home.  Luckily they forgave me for not taking them with us.  I made it up to them by taking them on a longer walk on Thursday because the temps were in the upper 20s, which felt like a heatwave.

As I sat down to prepare to write the blog today, I realized I didn't take any pictures of the girls during the week.  After all, what crazy person is taking pictures on their dog walks when the temperatures are below 10 degrees?   But last Sunday, I got this gem, which shows one of Peaches' favorite ways to spend a cold day.  I spent lots of time this week with one or two dogs on my lap.  It's a good way to spend a cold evening.


After our long, cold, and fairly boring week, the weekend arrived!  We took a drive Friday night to Eaton Rapids to drop off my car to get fixed finally.  Vanessa met us there and we picked up a couple of geocaches while in the area.  The girls were pretty happy to get out for a little adventure farther from home and to see their favorite adventure buddy.  She dropped us off at home with the promise of an even better adventure on Saturday.

When we got up and moving on Saturday morning, the girls could tell that something fun was going to happen.  As we sat down to wait for Vanessa to arrive, Ruby perched herself near my shoulder to look out the window, a favorite way for her to sit.  Oh the excitement that ensued when the girls saw Vanessa pulling into the driveway for our day of fun.  We quickly loaded up the car and headed West to Lowell for a geacaching and hiking adventure along the North Country Trail.  

We arrived in Lowell shortly after 11am, where we were met by our friend, Tom, who would be providing some taxi services for us for the day.  What a wonderful advantage it is to have someone to drive us to our starting point for our hike!  We all loaded into the van for the 6 mile drive.  We arrived, quickly unloaded the van, and were off to start our longest hike on the NCT so far this year, most of which would be a long section of road walk through farmlands South of town.


While the temperatures were in the upper teens/low 20's, the sun was shining and the wind was at our backs, so we were nice and warm.  By a mile in, both of us had removed our hats and gloves.  While there were some less protected areas where the wind made us a bit chilly again and we'd put our hats back on, I never felt cold while we were hiking.  


Lest I should forget, although I don't know how I could, Peaches whined nearly the entire 6 miles of road walk, an annoying trait that I just can't seem to find a way to stop.  Thankfully when we got into a more wooded area, her nose took over and the whining stopped.  


There were some pretty things to see along the way and I was surprised how quickly the time went.  I wasn't mentally quite ready for this hike when we started, but I felt great the whole way and enjoyed our time outside.  I'm sure the blue sky and sunshine helped.  It's always good to be out on the trail with the girls!


We stopped in a few spots along the way to pick up some geocaches, but due to the depth of the snow, there were a couple we had no luck finding.  Thankfully as we neared the end of our hike, our luck changed and we were able to find a few caches to end our hike on a positive note.


Peaches loves the snow and will take any chance she can to roll around in it, especially when she's wearing her coat.  While we waited for Vanessa to find a geocache that I had previously found, Peaches took full advantage of our stop to get her fill of time in the snow.  Ruby would have preferred if the snow were just gone!


After our hike we grabbed some hot chocolate and pup cups from the new Starbucks in Lowell and then headed off for a visit with Tom, Barb, and Sherman while we were in town.  The girls ran around and played with Sherman, but I think Ruby would have been happiest just to spend the whole time in Barb's lap.  I didn't get any pictures of our visit, but it was a nice way to end our day.  


Today, Vanessa came over to take us out on another short geocaching adventure so we could pick up one particular geocache that I've been wanting to find for awhile.  It's got some tricky terrain, located in a swampy area, and the last time I checked to see if we could make it back to it, the swamp had turned to a frozen pond.  We came equipped with our ice cleats today and left the girls in the car for our walk back.  Luckily with the recently fallen snow covering the ice, we were able to make the walk back without our cleats.  While it was solidly frozen in place, I was so happy to set my eyes on this cache.  


After making the find, we ran some errands, took the girls to Soldan's, and got out into the woods for a short walk before Vanessa dropped us off at home.  While I was still bundled up, I decide it was a good time to get out for our walk for the day and off we went for three miles around the neighborhood.  It was gray, but warmer than it has been, and the sidewalks were pretty good, so we made quick time.


While I made lunch, the girls each got a duck head.  Those are one of Ruby's favorite special treats and boy was she excited!  Then I gave them each a bone stuffed with yogurt and dog food to keep them busy for a bit longer.  All that fun has made for a quiet late afternoon, and surprisingly, they haven't yet bothered me for dinner and it's after 6pm.  It's definitely been a good weekend for us all.


As a final note, I wanted to share the flowers I received earlier this week.  They made every day this week a little happier.  I love flowers!  Here's the story behind the flowers:

Last weekend, I received a dog license renewal notice from Ingham County.  I opened it, sure it wasn't time to renew Peaches' license yet...and found that it was the renewal for Maddie's license.  There was a small twinge of sadness receiving this completely unexpected reminder of my old girl, but I simply got online, as outlined in the letter, to send an email to ask them to update their records since she is no longer with us.

Upon opening my email, I had received an email reminder from Chewy.  I've gotten several of these emails from Chewy over the last few months sharing a deal or encouraging me to buy something and every one mentions Peaches and Maddie.  But this time, I figured I'd finally log into my Chewy account and remove Maddie's profile from the page.  

After sending the email to the county about her license and removing her profile from Chewy, I went about the rest of my weekend, expecting nothing else.  But after a long and very busy day on Monday, there was a knock on my door shortly after 5:30pm, and there stood the florist's delivery person with this wonderful bouquet of flowers from Chewy with condolences for my loss.   I then opened my email only to find the sweetest reply from a staff member of the Ingham County treasurers office.  I inadvertently deleted the email or I would have shared it's text with you today.  Needless to say, two very kind gestures that filled my heart and made me smile and think of my very special girl who I miss dearly.  I think the timing was perfect for both of these things because they made me smile, not cry, and brightened my week.

Well, I'm off get dinner around for two snoring girls because it is way past their dinner time...and almost past mine too.  I hope you all have a wonderful week.  I know that I will be happily saying farewell to January and welcoming February because I know March isn't far behind!  

Sunday, January 23, 2022

Frigid Winter Days

We've had another quiet and uneventful week since I last wrote.  The temperatures have continued to be frigid and just the thought of spending much time outside makes me cold.  So while we didn't get outside for big adventures every day, we tried our best to get out most days.  


Most afternoons were spent with the girls staring out the window as they keep tabs on the comings and goings in the neighborhood.  It is one of their favorite things to do while I'm working.  I also continued to keep them busy with Kongs, snuffle mats, and other brain games which keep them happy during my workday.  But even with lots of fun and entertainment, some days Peaches would prefer to sit and stare at me until I agree to play fetch or allow her to sit in my lap for a bit.


We were thankful to get out for a nice, sunny walk along the Lansing River Trail last Sunday, taking the trail from Mt. Hope Cemetery into Scott's Woods and back.  There were plenty of things for the girls to sniff, and while the trail wasn't busy, we did see a few people and the girls were able to get some pets and love along the way.  Both Peaches and Ruby are always happy to get some attention from anyone who is willing to give it.



I enjoyed the sunshine and being in the woods.  Despite the cold, it was a wonderful day for a walk.



Ruby was still in heat at the beginning of the week, but thankfully she is at the end of her heat cycle and no longer needs to wear her fancy little diapers.  She never bothered with them over the three weeks she had to wear them, but I know she didn't love wearing them either.  Not having to remember to take them off for her to go outside and then chasing her around to get them back on when she comes into the house has been a wonderful change of pace for me.  We still have a month until her spay surgery, but the time is growing nearer that she'll move on to her forever home.  It will certainly be strange not having her around since she's been here since the first week of November.  We're just making the most of her time here and getting out for as many adventures as we can.


Peaches enjoyed some great naps and goofy napping positions throughout the week.  She doesn't nap as much as normal with Ruby here, but she certainly makes the most of her nap time!


After a long day of waiting for me to get done with work, the girls both need their snuggle time.  Many nights are spent with one or two dogs on my lap for at least a chunk of the evening.  Eventually they will each get their fill of lap time and will move on, Peaches taking her place on the couch and Ruby deciding on the best of the dog beds for her to settle in for the night.  But I enjoy the snuggles and extra warmth on these cold Winter nights.


Peaches really takes her job as neighborhood watch seriously, and you'll find her here, watching out the window almost every afternoon, with or without Ruby.  She wasn't happy that I disturbed her on this day and didn't offer her a treat.  


While I continue to have car issues which have kept us closer to home, I can't get away with not giving the girls at least a short ride in the car.  The stare down from Peaches and Ruby's insistence that I let her outside only for her to then sit next to my car make it impossible to not get out for a drive every day.  They always seem happier after a ride in the car too, even if they don't get an adventure at the end.  Hopefully by the end of the week I should have a fully functional vehicle again, but I think I might miss the quieter, slower-paced days I've enjoyed over the last few weeks.   


Although it has been cold, or probably because of it, we haven't had much snow recently.  That definitely has made it nicer to get out for our walks through the neighborhood because the sidewalk are mostly clear and we're able to get in a good 2 1/2 to 3 mile walk at a nice pace before it gets dark.  As we near the end of January, I've noticed the longer daylight hours.  In the dead of Winter, seeing the sunset and then watching the lingering daylight (which lasts until around 6pm) makes those cold walks through the neighborhood a lot more tolerable.  It's crazy to think we're less than two weeks away from the exact middle of Winter, but it's exciting to know that each day we get one day closer to Spring!


We started this weekend with a nice walk on the North Country Trail in Lowell.  Due to the cold, blustery weather today, we decided to do a shorter hike and ended the day with 3.2 miles on the trail.  Ruby and Vanessa took the lead and Peaches was not very happy when I made her stop and wait for me to take a picture or two, but I love these pines.



The section of the trail in the pines was only a short portion of our hike, most of the hike took us down a section of road, through a neighborhood in downtown Lowell, and then along a very small section of the Lowell River walk.  I've walked this section of the trail many times over the years, but Vanessa had not, so we completed this section together and now can mark it off as complete, as we continue our trek North on the trail.  We've hiked 6 miles of our Hike 100 challenge for the year and have a longer road walk section planned for next week.  Over the next couple of weeks we should complete the road walk section South of Lowell to the Kent/Barry County line where we ended our hike last year.  That is pretty exciting to me.  Very soon we'll be done with the trail in Lowell and will start getting into some areas I have never hiked.  I look forward to see these new part of the trail.



After a good hike and some geocaching, the girls insisted on eating dinner very soon after we arrived home and they have been happily snoring away ever since.  It's amazing what a good day of adventure can do!  It was a perfect, quiet Saturday evening at home.


My Sunday plans will keep us home to check some things off my to-do list before the work week starts again.    I love a good Sunday at home and I'm hoping to get some things done early so we can get in some good snuggles and some time to relax.  I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday and great week.  Keep warm and stay safe!

Wednesday, January 12, 2022

Winter Fun

After two busy days of work meetings for me and the girls hunkering down without much fun due to the cold, I was pretty happy to be able to get out for a nice walk with them after work today.  The temperature was 37 degrees with no wind, which is a huge difference from the arctic temperatures and windchill we've been experiencing.  Thankfully during those long, cold, blustery days we've had a good amount of sunshine, but the above freezing temperature today was a welcome change.  I'm also pretty excited to see the daylight hours we're experiencing growing longer because it is nice to get out for a walk after work without having to worry about it getting dark before I get home.


Tonight was an especially nice walk because the warmer temperatures melted most of the icy spots along our route and the icy spots that remained were easily detectable because it was still light out.  While we didn't move along at our normal clip of a 16 -17 minute mile, we still made decent time at about a 20 minute mile which allowed us to slow down at the icy spots and gave the girls plenty of time to explore and sniff to get the daily news in the neighborhood.  Since they haven't been out in the neighborhood for a few days, they had lots to catch up on and that kept Peaches extra busy.  We made it home from our 2 1/4 mile walk at dusk and just as a few pellets of rain began to fall.  The girls have eaten dinner and are now settled in for the night.

I was surprised at the number of houses I saw with Christmas trees up still, although I have to say if I didn't have a real tree in the living room, I probably would keep mine up longer too.  But my tree is done for the season which leaves the living room a little less sparkly and makes the nights feel a little bit longer.  I do still have a tree up in my office, but the Christmas ornaments have come down and it has transitioned to a Valentine's Day tree.  Currently it just has red lights and red garland, but if I'm feeling up to it, I may try to find some additional things to add to make it a bit more festive.  For now, I'm just happy to have the tree there to add a little light to the dark corner of the office every night.  


Due to some car issues, the girls and I have been taking our adventures close to home since the new year arrived.  We had a great walk on New Year's Day at Benjamin Davis Park.  We got out early that day before colder temperatures and a good amount of snow arrived.



It was a great workout and we only saw three other people out on the trail while we were out-a biker and two runners,  After our adventure and a few errands, we spent the rest of the day relaxing at home.  It was a good way to start the year.


The morning of January 2nd we woke up to about 4 1/2 inches of snow.  I always love the way it looks after a fresh snow fall.  It really is pretty.  But eventually it was time to get outside and get to work cleaning the driveway and sidewalks.  It was a cold day, but the girls spent time out in the yard while I completed the snow removal process.  The rest of the day we kept busy inside.  I filled their time with puzzles and kongs and I got some things done around the house as I prepared to return to work after a week of vacation.


Monday morning arrived and my helpers were happy to join me in the office again, although I would preferred another day off!  I wish I greeted every day with the same enthusiasm and excitement Peaches does.  She's just one happy girl!


Thankfully my work week went quickly, I think in part because I took advantage of the sunny afternoons to get out for some lunchtime walks with the girls.  It is rare to have many sunny days in Mid-Michigan this time of year, and when we do, you can bet it's going to be cold outside.  While I struggle with the extreme cold we can get, I sure do appreciate the sunshine when it makes an appearance, so as long as it isn't single digit temperatures, we just bundle up and get outside.  We're hardy Michigan girls, after all!


Depending on the day, we either took a nice walk around the neighborhood or we headed out to a park close by for a change of pace.  We have so many great places to enjoy within just a couple of miles of home.


Some of those days, we went to parks in search of a geocache only discover a frozen solid swamp that was far too slippery to explore.   Other days we would take a short walk and then I would some errands, both work related and not work related, just to give the girls a good ride in the car.  


Last Thursday, we used my lunch to take Peaches on a birthday trip to Soldans.  I can't believe she's 10 or that she's been here with me for 4 years, especially since she wasn't supposed to live this long.  But against all odds, here we are, and she is living her best life every day.  
  

She was sure I should buy her a guinea pig, but I told her I didn't think that was such a good idea, even if it was her 10th birthday.  While I am sure she was disappointed, she happily settled for some special treats and lots of love from the employees and a few customers.  She and Ruby really enjoy walking around the store and smelling everything and I was happy to buy them each a duck head and some other goodies to share.  


After our trip to Soldan's we got out for a short walk on the South Lansing Pathway for a nice change of pace and to pick up our daily geocache.  Peaches had a grand time frolicking and rolling in the snow and getting tangled around trees as I searched for the cache.  


After our lunchtime adventure and a couple of treats when we got home, Ruby was happy to curl up in the office for the remainder of the afternoon while I worked.  It was a quiet afternoon and a quiet evening, except for the excitement of the ice cream party we threw in celebration of Peaches' birthday.  
 

I had lots of plans for our Saturday, but somehow the day didn't go as planned at all.  By mid afternoon, I had accomplished nothing and decided it was best if the girls and I would just get out for a walk.  We decided to head to Potter Park and walk along the Lansing River Trail and to do some geocaching along the way.  I was pretty excited when I located my daily cache and reached day 400 of my geocaching streak.  That's 400 days straight that we've gotten out to find a geocache!  I think that's quite an accomplishment.
 

I was a really good day to be on the River Trail and I think I enjoyed the walk more than normal because this time of year the trail is much less busy and there are no bikers.  It made the walk much easier for me, that's for sure.  I was glad we had made the decision to take the walk there and I'm hoping maybe we can get out for some more walks in that area this Winter.


Sunday arrived and I was excited for the day because we had plans for a big adventure with Vanessa.  It was sunny and the temperatures weren't bad to start the day, but I knew that they would be falling all day long.  Vanessa picked us up around 10am and we headed west for a day of  geocaching and hiking fun.


The most exciting part of the day for me was the plan to get started on our 2022 North Country Trail Hike 100 challenge.  We hadn't been on the trail for a long time and I was ready to get started again!  I was glad to see that the trail was in good condition with the snow packed enough that we didn't need snowshoes, but not so packed that it had gotten slippery.  It was the perfect condition for a Winter hike in the woods.


Peaches was not happy that I allowed Vanessa and Ruby to be in front or that I let them get so far ahead of us, but I'm really trying work with her on her patience and ability to walk better.  I haven't had much success, but I'm not giving up!

 
We hiked and picked up a couple of geocaches along the trail and thoroughly enjoyed being out hiking again.  The weather was ideal in the woods, but by the time we finished our 2.8 miles on the trail, the wind had picked up quite a bit making for a very cold day for doing some more geocaching.


We grabbed lunch after the hike and picked up a few geocaches in town before we started back toward home where we picked up a few geocaches along the way in Saranac and Ionia.  One of the last caches we grabbed was in a very old cemetery with lots of broken headstones...and this made me so sad to see.


We wrapped up our day of hiking and caching and made it home before dark.  The girls had enjoyed themselves and even thought they stayed in the car at some of the stops, I know that they were enjoying the adventure.   After arriving home, we had a quiet and restful Sunday evening.  It had been a wonderful day and I was glad that Vanessa and I were able to get out with the girls for some fun.

We have no big plans for the rest of the week, but hopefully we'll get out for some more fun along the NCT this weekend and so we can continue to make progress toward our 100 miles this year.  I'm pretty excited to see all of the new places we go in 2022!