Battling the winter blues

This week the winter blues hit me a bit to start the week and I'm not sure why.

We had a lovely sunny visit to Soldan Dog Park last Sunday.  It was warm enough that I didn't even make the girls wear their coats.  Since it was Sunday, we had no reason to hurry, so we took our time and really enjoyed our visit.  

Then Monday arrived, and with it, some morning snow showers.   I started the day with my normal first Monday morning meeting.  Then I headed out into the snowy weather to make the drive to Chesaning to attend the funeral of my Great Aunt Dee.  The roads were slippery, but I took my time and made it safely.  I stayed for the meal after the funeral and enjoyed the time with family.  Then I made the drive home to end my day with a couple more hours of work.

When the day was over, I was exhausted and had no desire to head out into the gray, cloudy evening, so i made dinner, fed the girls, and settled in for a quiet evening at home.  I felt guilty for not getting them out all day, but I just didnt have the energy.

Work was crazy all week, and Tuesday was another gray and dismal day, but I knew at the end of the day I had to get the girls out for a walk.  So we headed to Old Town.

We had a nice walk all around Old Town and ended our walk with a quick trip in to Preuss Pets.  Then we headed home for dinner.  

Wednesday was yet another busy day at work.  I had planned to take the girls for a lunchtime run at the dog park, but when I was finally able to take a break for lunch, I just didn't feel up for the trip.  So we just stayed home.

After work, I headed to the shelter for our first Wednesday night dog walk of 2026.  Between work travel and the frigid weather we had in January, we just weren't able to walk.  I was happy to be able to get back to our normal schedule again.

We had a really nice walk, and I was so grateful that we have reached the days where we at least start our walk with some daylight.  By the end of the month we won't be walking in the dark at all.  That's just one of the reasons I'm always happy for the arrival of February. 

After I got home from walking the shelter dogs, I took the girls for a mile walk around the neighborhood in the dark.  They were happy to be out and I was glad that I decided to take them.  

Thursday's forecast showed snow moving into the area in the early afternoon, so I decided to take an early lunch to take the girls to the dog park.  They needed to burn some energy and I wanted a nice walk through the woods.  

They ran and played and had such a good time during our visit.  It started to snow as we were leaving, but we made it home before it had snowed much.  I fed the girls and made my lunch, and then I sat down to continue my work day while I ate.  It was nice to be able to just relax at the end of my work day while the snow fell.

Finally Friday arrived.  I was so ready for it!  I was shocked at how much snow we had gotten over night. My lunch was spent taking Peaches to the vet for her monthly Liberela injection and then taking the girls to Amanda's Grooming for nail trims, but not before I spent some time shoveling all of our new snow.  Thankfully the little outing to Mason pooped them out enough to rest for remainder of the afternoon while I was busy at work.

When the work day finally ended, the weather had turned quite blustery.  Since I needed to run a few errands, I decided to take the girls along so we could avoid walking in the cold.  Instead,  they visited Lowe's and Tractor Supply with me.  

We walked all over Lowe's, and they got lots of love and attention, and even a few treats, from the employees.  It was a great way to entertain them and avoid being out in the cold.

I ended the night with a stop at Menchie's Frozen Yogurt to enjoy a buy one get one free yogurt for National Frozen Yogurt day.  

Peaches was restless through the night and so neither of us slept very well.  That led to a very slow start to our Saturday morning.   When we finally got moving, I was so happy to open the garage door to a bright, sunny day with no new snow.  We've had so many days this year that Ive had to shovel before I could leave, so I really appreciate the days that I don't have to shovel now.

Our first stop of the day was the MSU Dairy Store for Ice Cream for Breakfast day.  They had some interesting specials and I had to check it out.  I was happy when I arrived shortly after 11am and there was plenty of parking and no crowds.  I quickly had my Cinamon Roll Sundae and pup cups for the girls and sat in the car with the girls to enjoy our treat.  Then we headed out to run several errands, including stops at the Holt Farmer's Market, Lowe's again, Target, Walgreens, and Speedway for gas and a car wash.

Then we headed home for lunch and some Olympics.  I had fun plans for later in the afternoon, so I wanted to enjoy a little quiet time at home before we left.

Finally, we left home around 3:30pm to drive to Marshall so we could work on our North Country Trail miles.

Most of the path was very snow covered, although there were some spots that were slightly packed down due to previous walkers.  

While the girls were loving the snow and new smells, it was definitely a more challenging than normal terrain for me.

At points in time I would have likened it to walking in soft sand, but with the added fun of being slippery.

But it was beautiful, and we made prety good time despite the snow.

By the time we arrived back at the car, we had hiked 2.5 miles.  I was really happy with that.  We now have hiked 12 miles on the trail year-to-date.  I'm happy to say that Peaches is going strong and that she is thoroughly enjoying our time on the trail.  Mina and I are loving it too.

When we ended our 100 miles last year, I made the decision not to force anything this year, and if Peaches couldn't complete all 100 miles this year, I would be okay with that. But the way things are going so far, I'm feeling pretty good about the likelihood that she will actually finish again this year.  We're going to keep pushing through the miles as quickly as we can in the cooler months to give her the best shot at finishing with us one more time.  

After we finished on the NCT, we made the short drive to the Brooks Nature Area in Marshall for a Luminary lit hike that they were hosting.  I hadn't heard of the nature area before and really wanted to check it out.

We arrived at about 6pm and headed out on the trail about 30 minutes before the event started. So we had the trail all to ourselves. 

We enjoyed the peacefulness and the golden hour glow over the snow.  It was a beautiful night to be outside.

The girls really loved this new spot and had a really great walk.

The luminaries were pretty against the white of the snow in the waining moments of the daylight.

We looped around and were about three-quarters of the way through the 1.5 mile trail when we began to encounter all of the hikers just heading out for their walk.  

It made the end of our walk a little more challenging, but the girls were very well-behaved and we finally made it back to the trailhead.  I was really glad that we'd started early so we enjoyed most of our walk all by ourselves. 

We headed to the pavilion where they had hot chocolate and some goodies and then we stood by the bonfire for a bit before we got back into the car.

I was so glad I had made time for this stop.  I will definitely visit again to check out more of the trails.

Of course, before leaving Marshall we had to make a stop to check out the Holiday House.   I'd never stopped for Valentine's Day before.  It was a quick stop and then we were on the road for the drive home.

I expected us all to sleep really well after a busy Saturday with plenty of exercise and fresh air, but I had a horrible nights sleep.  Luckily we had no where to go and nothing to do Sunday so I was able to sleep in and the girls happily joined me.

While we had a slow start to the day, after eating lunch, we went out for a walk.  It was a beautiful sunny Sunday and the fresh air and sunshine felt great.  We walked three lovely miles.

Finally we headed inside to watch the Olympic figure skating team competition.  I love the Olympics!

For dinner, I heated up some leftover pizza and I made a couple snacks for the night, the girls had dinner, and now we are all snuggled up for a quiet night while I switch between watching the Super Bowl and Olympic Snowboarding. 

For the first time this year, our temperatures next week will consistently be above 30 degrees.  That is going to feel like a heat wave! And even more exciting than that is that we've reached sunsets after 6pm!  After starting the week with the winter blues, I'm really excited that we're quickly moving through February and I'm ready to finish out the winter strong.