Goodbye Summer

As I begin the blog today, we are in the final hours of Summer.  Very soon the Autumnal Equinox will bring in Fall.  This week we still enjoyed warmer than average temperatures as Summer hung on as long as it could, and the girls and I took full advantage of the waning days of this beautiful Summer season.

Last Sunday we started our day with the Big Babies 5K on campus at MSU.  We arrived on campus just before the event started and as I paid for parking and Peaches took a poop break, the line of everyone participating streamed past us.  But we were near the start line, and quickly joined the group.

While we started probably about 1/4 mile behind everyone else, it didn't take long before we caught up and started passing people.  Peaches was full of sass and was on a mission to get as far ahead as she could, so we spent most of the 5k zooming past people.

We reached the finish line at about 53 minutes,  after averaging about a 16 minute mile pace.  The old girl went strong until the end!  After we finished, the girls were getting a drink when we were approached by a woman, who I quickly realized was Dr. Peterson, the MSU dermatology vet who had helped Imke with her ear infection over 7 years ago.  I was touched that she remembered me and sought me out, and she was curious to know if we had successfully completed our travels to all 50 States.  We were in the thick of our travels when we were visiting her way back then.

When I told her that we made it to 49 Capitols together and that Imke's ashes had traveled to Hawaii with me, she smiled and said "she made it."  It was so nice catching up with her and knowing that she remembers Imke fondly.   She is a wonderful veterinarian and Imke and I both loved her for all she did for us.

After getting home from the walk, I had big plans for the day.  I had lots of veggies to prep for Winter storage and I was excited to start working on them.  First I picked one of my three basil plants.

Then I started working on roasting corn to freeze.  Earlier in the week, I had purchased a bushel of corn at the farm to split with Vanessa.  This is the best way to get corn, and freezing it allows me to enjoy it all Winter long.  I decided to try oven roasting versus blanching this year and now I'll never go back! It was so much easier and delicious.

After a few hours of work, I decided to take the girls for a quick trip to Preuss Pets because they were having an event to support a local cat Cafe and we are always up for supporting our community.   It was a quick trip and we bought a few goodies before heading back home.  They both enjoyed this extra little bit of fun for the day.

Then it was back home to work on more corn.

And to roast some tomatoes for sauce.

And finally after what seemed like hours of picking leaves off of the basil plant, I made a few batches of pesto to throw in the freezer for use this Winter too.  It had been an busy and very productive day.

Monday was a busy day of work meetings.  After work, I got out to mow the lawn and do a little yard work, then I had to drop off my bucket of food scrapes at Eastside Composting and pick up another bucket.  

By the time we finished with the errands, it was nearly 7:30.  Since we were close to the East Lansing dog park,  I decided to take the girls there for a run.  I knew we wouldn't have a lot of time before dark, but they needed a chance to burn some energy. 

When we arrived we met Moose a 7 month old Chocolate lab.  He loved chasing Mina and even got Peaches to play with him.  After talking with his parents,  I learned that Moose had had cancer when he was just 15 weeks old, but that he was now thriving.  He was such a sweet and fun boy.  I hope we run into them again.  

Shortly after 8pm, we left the park and made the drive home in the dark.  While it had been a busy night, I felt great about all we had accomplished...and we even had some fun.

After work on Tuesday,  I took the girls for an early evening trip to the Dewitt dog park.   There were a ton of people there and  both girls had a blast.  I hadn't planned on being there as long as we were, but the girls were having so much fun, it was hard to leave.  

Wednesday we took it easy.   The girls enjoyed time in the yard while I worked.  When Mina came in for lunch, she thought my lap looked like a good spot for a nap, so I spent part of my lunch just sitting with her.

Wednesday evening for our shelter dog walk, I got to walk Jules, a 1 year old lab/pointer mix.  She was sweet and adorable and we had a great walk with her and two other youngsters.  It was such a nice night for a walk and the dogs had a wonderful time.

And I even made it home in time to.get the girls out for a short walk before it got dark.  That is getting harder to do now that the sun sets so early.  

On Thursday after work we made our weekly trip to the Farmer's Market, although I didnt really need anything.  The girls like to socialize with the vendors, and they seem to give as much joy to the vendors as they get so I love to take them.   It was a quick visit and then we headed home for dinner.

After dinner, I spent  time working in the garden.  The weather was perfect for it and I can't believe just how many goodies I picked this late into September.   Guess what I'll be working on this weekend?!?

When I was done in the garden, I decided to spend some time outside enjoying the weather.   The girls were happy to be outside and so was I.  Mina and I played several rounds of fetch while Peaches was busily sniffing and scanning the yard for critters.

We enjoyed a peaceful evening and a beautiful sunset together.  I love these kinds of evenings at home.

On Friday I woke to gray skies and a little cooler weather.  The forecast was calling for afternoon rain, which we actually really need.   It even felt a little like Fall for the first time.

I had 3 1/2 hours of back to back meetings in the middle of my day, so just aftet 10am, I ran out to get a Mt. Dew, and I took the girls along so I could get them out for a quick walk.  Since this isn't an area we walk normally, they were loving all the new smells.  We got in just over a mile in under 20 minutes, and then headed home so I could get back to work. 

When we got an unexpected short 15 minute break after one call, I took the girls out for a 10 minute loop around the neighborhood, fed them lunch, let them potty, and then got them settled in before my next meeting started.  After our long day of meetings, I really wanted to get out after work, but the radar didn't look promising.  So we took a quick trip to the Eaton Rapids dog park.  We stayed through light sprinkles and left as the rain began to pick up.  By the time I got home it was sunny and beautiful out, but too late to go anywhere fun, so we picked up dinner and spent the evening out in the yard.

Saturday morning arrived and we had some fun plans for the day.  We started the morning at a geocaching event helping to clean up a local car pool lot. It was a beautiful foggy morning.

Then we headed to campus to meet up with Katelyn, Sean, Arlo, and Brooks for the Parkinson's Hero Walk.

The girls patiently waited for the walk to start.

And they walked so nicely during the walk that we actually got to walk with Katelyn this year.   It was a much slower pace than last weeks 5k, and we enjoyed our time with friends.

When we finished the walk, we took another short loop to get in a little more excercise. 

And then both girls crashed at the finish line.

We stopped for a visit with Chastity on our way home, then had lunch, and headed outside for a bit.

I took our last Saturday of Summer pictures on the patio.and then left the girls home to make a trip out to the shelter.

I took Sienna for a walk to the Family Farm and Home to give her a break from her kennel.  She walked great and was a very nice girl.  Before I left the shelter, a family came to meet her, and she was adopted!

Meanwhile, i brought home three little monsters.  These three siblings, Hans, Roy, and Mae,.were brought in as strays on Saturday.  Because of their age, the shelter wanted to get them into foster homes ASAP to prevent them from getting sick.  I planned to take one, maybe two, but no one else had stepped up to help them by the time I got there, so I brought them all home to keep them safe.

Thankfully two other foster homes have stepped up to help, so on Monday, two of them will move on to other foster homes.

They are all shy, nervous, under-socialized youngsters, which makes having all three a challenge.   They don't currently want to play with Mina and they run away from me if I approach them.  They are most comfortable together, hiding under my dining room table or in their crate, but that's better than being terrors!  Hopefully our Sunday goes smoothly and we make.it through the day without too much stress.

After our busy day, I got everyone outside for a bit in the evening and spent a little time in the garden.  Only got tomatoes this time, but in a few days I'll have more zucchini and tomatillos.  I love garden season.

After a busy day, the puppies settled into their crate nicely for the night.  They do best all in one big crate together, so that's what we'll use while they are here.  They slept quietly from about 10pm until 7am.  We all headed outside for a potty break immediately after getting them out of the crate, which went surprisingly well.  The bonus of wandering around the yard before sunrise is that I saw the beautiful start to our day.  The picture doesn't do justice to the beauty of it.

I fed everyone breakfast, and then Mina tried really hard to get the puppies to come out into the yard to play.  Hans and Roy were still very shy about it, although getting better, but Mae at least sniffed her a bit before turning into a pancake.

Now I've got to get ready for the day.  The girls and I are going to find a spot to cheer on Vanessa as she runs the Capital City Half Marathon this morning.  We'll get in a good walk too, so hopefully the rest of the day isn't too crazy.

We're expecting a rainy Sunday and I'm hopeful that the puppies will be good and I can have another productive day processing my veggies.  It is currently very quiet in my house, which I see as a good sign.

Our first week of Fall promises to be busy, mainly because of my work schedule this week.  But I'm looking forward to next weekend already because we have some fun planned.

Farewell to Summer.  I sure will miss it.