The heat of Summer

Well, here we are.  Another Sunday has arrived as life just keeps moving along.  We're entering the final week of July and are just over a week away from the mid-point of Summer.  Days really need to slow down a bit because I'm not ready for what is heading our way.  For now, I'm going to focus on enjoying our Summer to it's fullest. 

Mia is definitely making the most of our Summer days.  She absolutely loves being outside every chance she gets and has decided lounging under the Spruce tree is the best way to spend her day.  She has also decided it is a great spot to take a nap.  

Mina also likes to watch the world go by from under the Spruce tree, but has focused more of her efforts this week on trying to capture the ground mole that has found its way into our yard.  

She isn't normally a digger, but that has changed over the last week.  She even managed to dig him out of his hole one day, but apparently she isn't the vicious killer I expected her to be because she preferred to paw at him and then gently pick him up in her mouth and move him around while he tried valiantly to escape.  Mia even got involved in the fun and picked him up a couple of times too.  Eventually he escaped back into his hole to live another day.  I know he's still around because I've seen Mina sitting in the grass listening carefully and attempting to start digging again, which I'm trying to discourage.   

The weather on Monday was so pleasant that I spent both my lunch break and the entire evening working in the yard.  Most of that time was spent in the garden doing some weeding and other work.  My little garden has been slow to start and everything seemes to be behind its normal schedule for producing veggies, but its coming along well.  I should have cucumbers this week and the zucchini will hopefully be ready in a week.  I have lots of little green tomatoes so I'll need to be patient with those.  I've decided that I'll be happy with anything I get this year since I haven't been able to give the love and care that I normally would.  I'm just happy to have a garden again.  It always makes me so happy.

Tuesday was the first Farmer's Market at the Capitol of the year.  I took an early lunch so I could get the girls out for a visit before the crowds that normally show up later in the day.

We parked and had a nice walk over to the Capitol grounds and immediately headed to Petey's Doughnuts for a fresh, hot doughnut and a cider slush.  I got one plain doughnut for the girls to share and a cinnamon sugar doughnut for myself, and then we found a spot to sit down and enjoy our treat.  Everyone was excited about sharing a snack.

Then we spent the rest of our time walking around the market and checking out a few vendors.  The girls got lots of love and attention, which they loved.  Before we left, I bought a raspberry hand pie to have as a special treat later and then we headed back to the car for the drive home.  It was such a great way to spend my lunch.

While the weather on Monday and Tuesday was pretty perfect, much higher temperatures and humidity were moving into the area on Wednesday with dangerously high temperatures and heat index expected for Thursday.  I knew that would mean less exercise and outdoor time for the girls, so I was hoping to find a way to keep them entertained. 

I was pleasantly surprised on Wednesday morning when I let the girls out for some time in the yard before the heat of the day really moved in.  They spent some time outside while I worked,  and then I decided to take an early lunch again so that we could get out for a walk. 

I was happy I made the decision to take them to Fenner Nature Center for our walk because we hadn't been there in quite some time, and they were all thrilled to be there too.

We started our walk in the short grass prairie which is Peaches' favorite spot, then we moved into the woods along the Tamarack Trail.  It was more humid in the woods, but Mina and Mia loved this part of the walk.  We even ran into a group of kids out exploring the woods as part of Fenner's summer camp, which included Quinn, the daughter of Monica who does dog walking with me at the shelter.  And I picked some delicious raspberries to eat along the way.

I wanted to get a picture of the girls before we left, but they weren't very cooperative and it was too shady for a good picture, but here they all are at the end of our fun at Fenner. 

I expected the rest of my Wednesday to be pretty peaceful, but after dinner Mia started bugging me, insisting on doing something fun.  

By Wednesday evening the humidity was pretty stifling so I wanted to keep our outing more low key.  Then I remembered the Lansing Parks were holding their concert in the parks series, and the concert this week was in a park less than a mile from home.  So we got into the car and made the drive to Fulton Park.

We were able to park pretty close by and then walked down to the park.  We spent most of our visit slowly meandering around at the back of the crowds, stopped for some pictures of the Grand River, and then stood for a bit to enjoy the show.

Eventually we moved on to continue wandering around the park enjoying the music until I could tell Peaches had had enough of the humidity and needed to go back to the car.  It was a nice time and I'm really glad we went. 

With Thursday temperatures expected to climb into the 90s with heat indexes over 100, I got the girls out for a short walk around the neighborhood early in the morning. Other than a few trips outside to explore the yard for a few minutes, they spent the rest of their day inside.  I'm not sure they were happy about that, but safety always comes first.

Thunderstorms moved in late in the afternoon and throughout the evening.  I left the girls home to meet some geocaching friends for pizza at Kalvons which was nice.  I got home around 7pm as a quick burst of storms with some stronger winds moved through the area.  The rain continued on and off the rest of the evening. 

Sadly, at some point in the evening, the storm caused a limb to break in my Williow tree.  Luckily, there so no damage to anything other than the tree.  I discovered it when I let the girls out for their bedtime potty break.  

I knew that this tree was nearing the end of its life, but hadn't had time to deal with it until more recently.   Thankfully, I have someone coming out next week to discuss removal of the tree.  

When I let the girls out Friday morning, I found Mina in the tree investigating what had happened.  She's going to miss being able to climb and explore when it's gone.

Over my lunch, I had to run a couple of quick errands,  so the girls rode along.  Peaches and Mia were too cute with their heads out the window.

After a long day, I got out for a little time by myself for a walk around the Tollgate path.  

I almost never take walks without the girls, but I really needed this on Friday and it was the perfect little short walk to just clear my mind and relax.

Later that evening, I had an appointment with a roofing inspector to get an estimate on replacing my roof.  Then I took the girls for a short stroll around the neighborhood before we settled in for the night. 

Saturday morning we had plans for a fun day trip to Northern Ohio and an event called Midwest Geobash.  Geocachers come from all over for this five day event, and I was excited to check it out.

We arrived at the Fulton County Fairground around 11am, parked, and made our way toward all of the activities.  There was lots to see and do and the girls were happy to explore.  Mid-afternoon a storm system moved through the area,  but we were able to stay dry and comfortable and still have fun until the storm passed.

Then we were back out exploring the fairgrounds more and picking up several geocaches.  We ran into several Lansing area geocachers that we know and met some new cachers from around the Midwest. 

Peaches was very happy about the Puppy Pub area that was set up just for dogs attending the event.  There was water, a pool, tennis balls, and treats.  

Mina was pretty happy to be there too.  There may have been a treat involved here.

While it was really humid, luckily the temperatures stayed in the 70s throughout the day.  Despite having to dodge some rain occasionally,  we all had a really good time.  While I had hoped to get to a nearby section of the NCT for at least a short walk before we left the area, we just didn't have the time to make it work

By the end of the day, I could tell that Mia had had enough, but overall it was a good experience for everyone.   Other than an anxious Mia on the drive home, our ride was pretty quiet with Peaches and Mina sound asleep for most of it.  I picked up a quick dinner along my drive and the girls had a late dinner when we arrived home. Then everyone crashed for the night.  Even I went to bed early!

Our Sunday morning started slowly with everyone sleeping in, and it has been a quiet day so far.  The girls are now outside lounging in the yard and I'm about to make lunch.  There are no big plans for the rest of our day, just a little cleaning and relaxing.  

We have a busy week ahead so I'm looking forward to a quiet Sunday.   Let's just hope the girls cooperate!