Summer's last Hurrah

I have spent the last week making the most of what remained of our Summer.  With Fall arriving on Thursday evening and the weather cooling down considerably, I didn't want to waste one minute of the end of this Summer or our warm weather.  

We had a busy, fun-filled weekend which left me no time to sit down and write. Monday was busy.  Tuesday we had a beautiful end of Summer thunderstorm.  I thought that I'd be able to use the quiet evening at home to write, but a sassy little puppy had other plans.  But tonight, the stars aligned and I found time to sit down and focus on writing.

Our week last week started quietly with a visit with Katelyn and Arlo to pick up some eggs.  Peaches jumped out of the car and immediately decided to torture the poor chickens, but I got her wrangled and had a nice visit.  The gray skies were so beautiful on the way home that I had to stop for a picture. 

Tuesday evening was spent at home working in the yard and playing an endless game of ball with Mina.  She's really beginning to love chasing a tennis ball around the yard and Peaches usually enjoys it too. 

By Wednesday, the girls were in need of an adventure, so we headed to Crego Park for a walk around the lake and then a short walk along the River walk.  This time of year it gets harder to get out much after work and before dark, but we made it work.

Both girls thoroughly enjoyed our time there and it also gave me an opportunity to work on a little training.  We've got to keep working on being good girls even with distractions.  They did pretty well.

The goldenrod was plentiful and we even saw our first pop of Fall color.  It is still pretty green around here a week later, but I am seeing more touches of color here and there.  I'll keep enjoying the green of Summer as long as I can though!

Thursday i awoke to Peaches unable to stand or straighten her hind legs.  It was a terrible way to start the day, completely unsure of what could be wrong.  But I got Mina outside, rifled through the closet to find Maddie's help em up harness, and got her moving.  While she did use her front legs a bit while I held up her rear, mostly i had to carry her to get her to move.  Poor Mina didn't know what to make of the situation either and really just wanted to play with her friend.

By 7:45 I was in the car and headed to our vet with no appointment, hoping that they could squeeze us in sometime in the morning.   I called to let them know we were on our way and when we arrived just a few minutes after they opened at 8am, they came right out to take her inside for triage.  Some how in the drive there, she started feeling better and got herself up and out of the car with a little helping hand from me.  

She was wobbly, but walking, and I felt a little sense of relief.  By 8:30 we were in being seen by the doctor.   A spinal exam and very basic neurological exam showed that those were not the issue and, based on previous conversations I'd had with Dr. Jason,  the cause was determined to be arthritis pain.  We did x-rays to confirm and have now added a pain killer to her daily routine of glucosamine, anti-inflammatory, and some other supplements I've been giving her.  Sometimes I forget the she is a senior dog at almost 11 years old.  She's been doing well since starting her new routine.  

As hard as it was to see her in pain, I reminded myself just how lucky we are to still have her here to deal with old lady issues and to watch her grow old.  

Since Peaches was feeling better, on Friday we drove out to Porterville for a walk around town.  It was a beautiful evening and we had a nice walk and worked on training again.  I'm determined to make sure Mina will look at me when I take pictures so we are going to keep practicing!

Despite our nice walk and training time, I still had to make time for a 9pm game of tug with a puppy.  

Saturday arrived and I had plans for a productive and fun day.   Peaches woke up pretty happy...she must have known it was Saturday too.

After getting some stuff done around the house, we headed out to St. John's for the Fall Feastival.   It is a fun, food filled festival with vendors ranging from food trucks to farmers.

We walked around, sampled some items, bought some items, and got lunch from one of the food trucks.  We were stopped a million times and the girls got to practice how to behave when strangers want to say hello.  It was an excellent way to work on appropriate behaviors and continue our training.   I was so pleased with how well both girls did.  In addition to a few treats along the way, they were treated to a flavorless snow cone by one of the vendors.  They loved their icy treat!

As we left the festival and walked in front of the Courthouse, they both were very interested in this pool and fountain.  What a fun time we had had!

 

We finished the adventure with some geocaching and a couple of short walks in the area before heading home.

We enjoyed dinner out on the patio and had a few rounds of fetch before heading inside for the evening.   It had been a great day!

Sunday morning was filled with house cleaning, laundry, and lots of time preparing veggies from the garden for freezing.  The girls lounged most of the day with the occasional wrestling match while I worked. 

All of that hard work was rewarded with a walk and some geocaching at Sharp park with Vanessa.  I got one terrible picture near the end of the day and one picture of two pooped girls in the car after our 5 mile walk.

After getting home and eating dinner, I had a very quiet Sunday evening. 

Monday rolled around far too quickly, but we had made the most of our weekend, so the girl were quiet most of the day while I worked.  Mondays have become exceptionally busy at work lately, and by the end of the day I was exhausted, but two good girls were ready for some fun.  

Since it was a beautiful night we headed downtown for a walk around the Capitol grounds. Peaches is definitely feeling more like her normal self because she decided to teach Mina the fun of walking on walls.

And I was pleasantly surprised by the girls sitting so nicely for pictures in the beautiful evening sun.

As I mentioned earlier, we had some beautiful Summer thunderstorms move through town on Tuesday evening so we spent a pretty quiet evening at home. 

Storms moved through again this morning and the day stayed gray, but warm.  After another busy day of work, we spent our final Summer evening on the last full day of Summer taking a nice walk around campus.

It is crazy to think about everything that has happened this Summer.  Three months ago, we had just said our goodbyes to Hershey.  Peaches and I headed North to start the Summer in Copper Harbor, we traveled to Minnesota and then, on our way home, we added Mina to our family.

I have watched Mina grow and learn, and it's been crazy having a puppy in the house again.  She's had some firsts and I look forward to many more Summers full of adventures with her and Peaches. 

My little Fiona turned 5 months old on Monday.  She loves to be outside and she's not going to be happy when the weather doesn't allow her to spend all her time there.  

She's sitting up on her own and has lots to say...and she loves to laugh and smile.  

I look forward to lots of Summer adventures with her over the years too.  I can't believe how fast she is growing up!

So tonight I say farewell to my friend Summer and I'm thankful for all of the wonderful things that have happened to make it memorable.  

I'm never ready for Fall, but we'll make sure to make it a memorable one too.