Mid- Summer adventures

We have reached mid-August.  Mid-August!  Is it just me or is this year going far too quickly?  While it is the middle of August and many people are talking about back-to-school and the upcoming Fall color season...I have even heard the rumblings of those frightful words-pumpkin spice...I am happily enjoying what remains of our Michigan Summer.  After all, we're technically just a little over halfway through the Summer season, and I'm never ready for Summer to end. 

Since I last wrote two weeks ago, Peaches and I have been busy helping Mina learn everything she's going to need to know to be a successful member of our little pack.  That includes a daily routine, lots of walks, training, and snuggles, and plenty of fun and adventures.  

One of our adventures took us out to Grand Ledge for some geocaching along the ledges and the river in Oak Park.  Peaches was happy to be out an adventure and especially happy to be spending time with Vanessa.  She always loves a good adventure with Vanessa.

It was nice to get Mina out visiting some new places to get her more comfortable with exploring.  She was a champ climbing over the rocks and through the muddy spots.  And I was so happy to be able to get a picture of the girls together during our stop at Lincoln Brick Park.  

I put the kiddie pool out a couple weeks ago in hopes that Mina would show an interest and potentially start playing in the water.  I was pretty excited the evening she decided to get in to the water, but she hasn't shown a lot of interest in it since.  My goal over the next couple of weeks is to find some fun ways to get her back in the pool and to start getting her used to being in the water.

We had a little scare when Mina's eye swelled shut after our walk one day, but the vet was confident that the most likely cause was a bee sting or bug bite.  Luckily the swelling didn't spread beyond her eye and by the next morning, it was gone.  But she looked completely pathetic!

Mina has become more and more snuggly over the last few weeks.  I'm not sure Peaches is happy about that, but I love it.  She is also beginning to show her true inner GSP by experimenting with all of the weirdest sleeping positions.  She's also beginning to use the cozy cave or happily climbing under the covers in bed. 

Peaches is thrilled with our daily training sessions. Who knew that training a puppy could make an old dog so happy?  While I'm not making her do all of the things that I'm working on with Mina, she has been working on her patience and I'm pleased with how well she's been doing.  Both of the girls are doing a great job with the training and seem to really be enjoying it.  

Our days are filled with wrestling matches, games of chase and fetch, lots of time outside, multiple training opportunities, and walks.  We are busy everyday and I am enjoying life with a puppy, but my favorite time of the day comes after Mina's evening zoomies when she goes from 100 miles an hour to crashed and snoring in less than 5 minutes.  The calm after the storm...the quiet after a crazy day.  

We are in the midst of the gardening season and I've had so much zucchini!  I've also gotten a good haul of green beans and broccoli.  I've probably got one picking of green beans left for this season and the zucchini is also nearing the end, but the broccoli is still going strong.  Finally this weekend, I was happily able to pick a few tomatoes.  I really love garden season! There is nothing better than fresh veggies. 

Last weekend we had hot and humid weather, but we were still in need of a little adventure.  Those are the days that I'm happy to load the girls into the car and go for a ride.  We drove out to Phillips Orchard for a cider slush and some snacks and then drove around looking for some interesting new things to see.

We found a beautiful spot to sit for a bit near this historic old bridge and then ended up in downtown Elsie where we stopped for a quick walk around town and a nice picture with the giant cow.

And even though we didn't have any big adventures, several quick stops over the course of a few hours led to a very quiet ride home.

We had a break in the hot and humid weather early in the week, so we were happy to get out for a mid-week geocaching adventure around downtown with Vanessa  It was a nice walk and fun little adventure for the girls.  And all of the work on teaching Mina the down command is paying off.

Wednesday night we had our fifth week of puppy class.  This week in class we really put our place skills to work while we learned about making our puppy comfortable with general care and grooming activities.  Mina did a pretty good job.  This Wednesday will be our final class and puppy school graduation.  We've learned a lot over the last several weeks, but we still have a lot to learn.  

Thursday night we went to visit my parents at their campsite.  It was a good way to get out of the house and gave me a great opportunity to work with Mina on some of her training in a new setting with lots of distractions.  

There was pizza and S'mores for the people and lots of treats for the girls.  It was nice to visit with my parents and my niece Brezlyn.  After a few hours at the campground, the girls were ready to head home and directly to bed.  

With a rainy forecast for the weekend, we had a busy Friday night at home working in the garden and getting things done around the house.   I had lots of plans for our rainy Saturday and Sunday, but the most important plan for the weekend was a visit to see Fiona.  

Mina, Peaches, and I headed out Saturday morning for our visit and I was happy to arrive when Fiona was awake.  She was happy and very interested in the girls and they were very interested in her.  Mina was sure that baby feet are meant to be a chew toy and Peaches was happy to meet the baby.  I was happy to have all of my girls together.

There was a whirlwind of activity as the girls dragged out all of Picasso's toys and sniffed everything.  Mina was a typical crazy puppy getting into things she shouldn't and keeping us on our toes.  While I got quality time with Fiona, they got lots of love and treats from Nicol and Tyler, and we all very much enjoyed our visit.  But I think the happiest moment for Peaches was when Fiona went upstairs for a nap and she and Mina could finally cuddle with Nicol.

On the way home from our visit with Nicol, Tyler, and Fiona, we made a small detour to visit a Sunflower farm.  As we got closer to the farm, it started to rain, but I decided a little rain would not deter us.  

While Mina wasn't thrilled with a walk in the rain at first, once we got into the field, she forgot about the rain and really started to enjoy the visit.  

We walked around the area, saw some interesting mushrooms and some horses, and stopped for a couple of pictures.  And for just a dollar, I got to bring a couple of flowers home with me.

As I was loading the girls into the car, the rain really started to pick up, so we made it out without getting too wet.  It was really a great time to stop for a visit because the rain had kept the crowds away and we basically had the whole place to ourselves.  It was a nice little short adventure to end our day.  We ended the day with a quiet, rainy Saturday night at home.  It had been a wonderful day. 

We had a cool, gray, quiet Sunday at home today.  While I didn't finish everything I wanted to finish, it was a nice day at home.  The girls kept busy and we all took some time to relax and snuggle.  It was just the day I needed.