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!