New Year, Same us

Welcome to 2026.  We're four days into the new year already.  Sadly, I return to reality tomorrow.  We haven't let that get us down though, and made the most of the time we had.

The temperatures have been in the low 20s as highs and we've regularly had wind chills in the single digits, which is not ideal for long adventures.  But we've been finding ways to get in some exercise, mental stimulation, and fun.

On New Year's Day, our adventure was a trip to Home Depot, and boy was it a big hit, especially with Skateboard.  Before heading into the store, we parked and then walked around the perimeter of the shopping plaza to ensure everyone took a potty break before going into the store.  We got lucky and had some sunshine, but it was bitterly cold, so I was happy when we finally headed inside.

Skateboard quickly realized that Home Depot employees love dogs and he loved them too.  He and Peaches made lots of friends with both employees and customers as we walked throughout the store, and they loved it!  Mina wasn't quite as excited about making friends this trip, but she was still a good little girl.  I guess she doesn't always want to be a social butterfly.

Somehow we made this trip last over an hour, mainly because we had to stop to visit nearly everyone that walked past us.  It was a great way to poop out all of the pups. 

We had lunch when we got home and then enjoyed some quiet time.  Later in the day, the dogs went out for a potty break, and for the first time since Skateboard came here, he and Mina decided to engage in a good game of chase.  It didn't last long, but I was happy to see them finally starting to play.  

Then we had a really quiet evening while I watched the Rose Bowl.  Go Hoosiers!  It was a good start to our new year.

Friday morning, the sun was shining, the sky was blue, and the temperatures were cold.  Skateboard and Mina started the day quietly playing while I did some cleaning and laundry.  

I had a really productive day, and the dogs were so good the whole time. When I sat down for a break, the wrestling began again.  It started on my lap, and then progressed to the floor.  Even Peaches got involved in the fun.

Eventually the play slowed down, and I was determined to get out to enjoy the sunshine.  So I loaded the dogs into the car and headed out for a walk.

We ended up at Fenner Nature Center because I thought a walk in the woods and sunshine sounded perfect.   I knew we could pick a short trail and have a nice walk before anyone got cold.

We started with a walk through the grassland area, which is Peaches' favorite trail.  She was so happy to sniff all of the wonderful smells.

 

When we finished the loop, the dogs were all still doing okay, so we continued on to walk the Maple Grove Loop.  It was so nice to be out enjoying the sunshine and fresh air.  We all had the best time.

When we finished our walk, I spent a little time in the area doing some geocaching.  I had planned to visit campus Friday night to see Beaumont Tower lit for the Holidays and since we were so close to campus, I didn't want to drive all the way home just to drive back.  So geocaching filled the time perfectly. 

We arrived at Beaumont Tower just after 5:30pm when the lights were supposed to be on, but they weren't on yet.  We drove around West Circle Drive a couple of times waiting for the lights to come on, and finally I just decided to park and take a walk, and they turned on as I got out of the car.

By then, it was nearly 5:45pm and it was only 18 degrees, so we didn't stay out long, but I'm so glad we stopped.  It was so pretty.  I hope they decided to make this an annual tradition. 

We quickly headed back to the car for the drive home.  I was sad to drive past the Capitol with the State Tree dark.  The end of the holidays always makes me a little sad.

After a busy Friday, everyone was happy to sleep in and have a lazy Saturday morning.  It was nice to have a slow and relaxing start to our day.

Finally, we left home around noon to make a visit to the Holt Farmer's Market.  I needed to buy a couple of things, and then I got the dogs out of the car for a visit to their favorite treat lady.  We had to wait outside for her since dogs aren't allowed inside here.  They were all happy that we waited when they got to share an entire package of her chicken jerky.  She sure does spoil them!

I made a few stops after leaving Holt and then we headed to Preuss Pets.  Each dog got a walk around the block followed by a trip inside.  

And Skateboard got to be the feature of a Facebook Live video while he was at Preuss.  I love the community support from this small business.  It is nice to have connections with people who are as passionate about animal rescue as I am.  He did such a good job! What a good boy.  I hope this video helps him find his forever home.

We came home, had lunch, and then I gave everyone a Kong.  The quiet didn't last long, though because once the Kongs were done, everyone headed outside and the games of chase and wrestling began.  And they continued inside, and back outside, and inside again until dinner.  Then there was some chewing on antlers, and finally...quiet.

This is the sassiest and most playful that Skateboard has been since coming here. And I had forgotten what it's like to have two youngsters in the house.  They had so much fun.  Peaches was just exhausted from all the worry and pacing because of all noise...Mina is not quiet when she's playing and Peaches is not a fan.

Then we finally had a quiet night.  Just look my sweet old lady.

I wasnt sure how our Sunday would go because I had two very different thoughts on how I wanted to spend the day.  I really wanted to spend a quiet day at home, but I wasn't sure that would happen now that Skateboard has settled in here and just wants to play all day long.  

My other thought was to get out for our first hike of the year on the North Country Trail.  I decided that was the better option because it would help the dogs burn some energy and then, maybe I'd have a quiet afternoon and evening. 

I settled on Lowell as the ideal location for our hike and off we went.  We arrived in Lowell around 12:45pm with the goal of getting no less than 2.1 miles on the trail.

We walked along the river walk, through the neighborhood, by the cemetery,  and down Washington Rd to where the trail enters the woods.  This gave us just over 1 1/4 miles on the trail, and since I wasn't prepared to walk three dogs in the snowy woods on a narrow trail, we turned to head back to the car.

When we reached the car with 2 1/2 miles complete, I decided we could take another quick walk down the riverwalk to get us another half-mile on the trail...and we ended the day with 3.1 miles total on the trail.

It was such a beautiful day with temperatures near 30 degrees and the sun peaking out occasionally, and Lowell was still looked very festive with all kf these holiday decorations.   I'm was so glad we had gotten outside.

We added a little more distance to our walk off the trail so that we ended the day walking 3 1/2 miles.  I was sure that would keep everyone happy.

We had a peaceful drive home.  I had had a late breakfast, so I had skipped lunch but I was a little hungry when I got home so I finsihed a couple of the snacks that were left from our New Year's celebration to tie me over until dinner.  By the time I was done, Skateboard decided it was play time.  

He and Mina proceeded to play for the next 90 minutes.  They played outside with the neighbor dogs and inside with each other, and Skateboard was having the time of his life.  Peaches won't relax while they play, so she's been pacing and driving me crazy.

Eventually, Skateboard did lie down to chew on a bone for a bit, but Mina kept trying to steal it from him, even though she had one of her own.  And that led to more play time.  But eventually I convinced Mina to relax, got Peaches up on the couch next to me, and let Skateboard chew on his bone for a little while.  

And finally he crashed, for a few minutes.  He is still hoping for more play time now,  but I'm working on teaching him to settle.  He made the decision to chew on his bone again, and I'm hoping that will help him relax until dinner.  Peaches hopes so too.

Tomorrow we head back to the grind, and I'm not looking forward to it.  I have really enjoyed my time away from work this last week.  At least we have a couple of fun plans for the week, and I'm really hoping that Skateboard finds his forever family this week, too.  Now to enjoy the rest of my day in peace (I hope).  Have a great week!