Spring adventures with my favorite adventure buddies

Happy Sunday, friends.  Since I last wrote, we have been busy.  When I'm not working, we are spending as much time as possible out adventuring.  Whether it's short adventures close to home during the week or longer, more exciting adventures on the North Country Trail on the weekend, I have been doing my best to get Peaches and me enough physical exercise balanced with being able to get Maddie sufficient physical and mental stimulation to keep her happy without over doing it.  With Maddie's age and physical limitations, sometimes getting us all the exercise that we need can be a challenge.  It is a delicate balance, but I think I've been doing a pretty good job lately.  Luckily, the weather has been perfect for us all-with the exception of a couple of warmer days.  

While Maddie cannot go as fast and as far as Peaches, she still has the desire to go on adventures.  Every day after work, when I am getting ready for our daily walk, Maddie gets so excited.  She knows that we will probably be getting in the car and taking a drive somewhere and she is always up for a ride in the car, always.  Most days she is also excited to get out of the car when we arrive at our final destination, but not always.  Some days she is just happy to take a drive.  

I am thankful that the temperatures have been perfect so that Maddie can ride along with us and then wait patiently in the car while Peaches and I get out for our adventure first.  We usually find a shady, quiet area to park so she is content to lay on her comfy bed in the back of the car until it is her turn to join the fun.  This way, Peaches can get out some of her initial energy and craziness and we can move a good pace without being slowed down by Maddie.  Once we have finished a good walk, we then get Maddie out for her adventure with us.  It has been a real game changer doing things this way.

Some days Maddie is ready to go and excited to be out walking with us, while others she is just happy that she got the car ride.  But what I have found is that if she doesn't get the right amount of physical and mental stimulation, she doesn't sleep well, and then I don't sleep well either.  So there are days when I feel like I am forcing her to keep going just a little farther, but if she is insistent on heading back to the car, then that is what we will do.  Thankfully, if we are in a location she hasn't been to in a while, all of the new smells keep her moving and even if we don't walk as far, a sniffy walk does wonders to work her mind and tire her out...and it helps Peaches slow down and sniff which is great mental stimulation for her too!  And honestly, I enjoy the chance at a slow stroll too.  

After a good adventure, we head home for dinner, which is almost always followed by a round of fetch with Peaches while Maddie takes a nap.  A favorite toy is Peaches' pheasant which Nicol bought her for Christmas.  Somehow it seems all of her favorite toys are always gifts from Nicol!

We are have also been taking advantage of the weather this Spring to get out for some geocaching adventures.   It's really a great way to discover new places or new things in old familiar places.  Peaches and Maddie are both becoming pretty good little geocaching pups.  It's been especially good for Peaches to work on her lack of patience...although she is still a work in progress. 

 

For Easter Sunday, we headed out to visit my parents for the day.  My parents live on 3 acres in the country and the weather was beautiful for spending the day outside.  After a good run around the yard,  Peaches discovered the old shed and the smell of some critters who have been using the area for shelter.  Woodchucks, rabbits, and birds are abundant and definitely kept her busy all day long.  We spent several hours there, and she never slowed down.  

Maddie enjoyed her day in the country as well.  She spent the day following me around and sniffing things and just generally enjoying the day.  She also enjoyed all of the love and attention from my mom.  It was a great day for two country loving girls!

In addition to our daily walks and other adventures, I have been finding other ways to keep the girls happy and busy.  We have been working on doing training, which is always pretty exciting for both of them because they LOVE treats.  While Maddie's main trick is to sit and then wait patiently for her treats, it is still fun to spend time with her and seeing how excited she gets to sit for a treat.  Peaches is working on learning some fun new tricks and is hopefully on her way to being an even better girl.  

Our weekends have been spent out on the North Country Trail (more on our North Country Trail adventures to come in a separate post later).  Due to the mild weather, Maddie has been able to join us for short sections of the trail and to wait patiently in the car with a Kong while we do some longer sections.  I am thankful that the weather has cooperated to allow her to ride along and get out with us even if she can't join us for longer.   Today, after our hike, Maddie joined us for a slow two miles on a new trail.  I didn't realize the trail was so long and I was so proud of her for keeping up with us.  That is a long hike for her!  And it has been a very quiet night at my house!

Mid-April is the time when I'd normally be preparing to head out on a good road trip.  For many years, the girls and I would load up a vehicle and head out for a trip to new places across the country.  We haven't done that for two years now, thanks to Covid.  While I am not comfortable taking a trip outside of Michigan right now(for many reasons), I am definitely missing a good road trip and I  am pretty excited that we are going to be taking some shorter adventures to new places right here in Michigan.    My little old adventure dog needs a good adventure just as much as I do and we are looking forward to seeing some fun and beautiful new places.  I can't wait to share more of our adventures with you soon!

Not everything goes as planned

Happy Pi Day and happy first day of daylight savings time!  It is a beautiful day and I'm so happy that daylight savings time has arrived bringing with it later daylight hours.  Earlier today, the girls and I headed out to celebrate the day with both a savory pie and a sweet pie.  One of our local pizza shops, Toarmina's, offered a deal on pizza today and Grand Traverse Pie Company always offers a free slice of pie with a purchase on March 14 and I couldn't resist partaking of both of those deals.  So we loaded up the car and took a drive.  With a pizza and pie slice in hand, we stopped at a local park and enjoyed a little picnic.  This hadn't been the original plan for the day.  I was prepared to do some meal prep today and enjoy lunch at home, but for reasons I will explain shortly, those plans changed.

While I had plans for a productive day around home with a house that needs cleaning, dishes that need washing, and laundry that needs doing, today has gone off track for a couple of reasons and none of those things have gotten done.  And that got me thinking about the realities of life that don't often get shared because they aren't fun adventures.  But they are part of the realities of life.  

The reality is that it has been a long, exhausting week.  And last night added to that exhaustion.  Because the reality of life is that I'm caring for an older dog and that being someone's care giver can be a lot of work.  Not every day is hard, not every day leaves me exhausted.  But sometimes you have a bad week or a bad day or a bad night...and sometimes those all culminate in the need for a day of rest.  And that is what today became, my day of rest.

Earlier this week, we put together Maddie's new stroller.  The hope is that this stroller will allow me a little more freedom to get out and be active without having to leave Maddie behind.  Because right now any adventures with Maddie require adjustments.  She can't keep up with Peaches, she just isn't physically able.  And that's okay.  She's nearly 15 years old and her crazy years are behind her.  I'm okay with doing things at her pace sometimes, but to slow down our lives every time just isn't fair to Peaches. 

In the same way that it isn't fair to Peaches to slow down all of our adventures, it is also not fair (and maybe not even completely safe) to leave Maddie behind alone for very long to take Peaches out with me.  So the hope is that this stroller will help alleviate some of those issues...and my stress and feelings of guilt for not being able to do everything I can to make sure they are both happy and safe.  

When I got the stroller assembled and Maddie willingly climbed in, I considered that a huge victory.  The fact that she sat down and let me push her was an even bigger success.  But the stroller is a work in progress for her and is going to take time, patience, and practice.  It is not going to be easy.  It is going to take work.  She is unsure and a bit anxious around new things and this is definitely new to her.  She's also very stubborn!  But with some minor adjustments to the stroller to give her a little better footing(she currently slides around a bit and that concerns her) and with time, I am hoping we can do more.

Of course, the stroller won't be used on all of our adventures because some days a girl needs the freedom to walk and sniff to her heart's content.  And honestly, even though her body can't handle long walks, she still needs the physical activity and mental stimulation she gets from her walks.  Because without them, our nights can be very restless.  

So we will still be taking walks through the woods like we always have.  The girls especially enjoyed the walk we took at Anderson Park earlier this week because we haven't been there all Winter long.  The smells were so good that Peaches didn't even mind that we were moving slowly or that we did the same small loop twice.  After a slow, meandering mile walk, Maddie was ready to head back to the car to head home.  So we did just that.

The best thing about this walk is that when we got home, I was able to give Maddie her dinner and then leave and take Peaches for another walk around the neighborhood without Maddie worrying about us leaving her home.  She is always so worried that she's going to miss out on an adventure!  When Peaches and I got home, Maddie was relaxing on her bed and Peaches was happy to have gotten an extra adventure.  Of course, when I fed Peaches dinner, Maddie was sure she hadn't eaten in days so she got a little watermelon added to her bowl as a treat and then both girls settled in and snuggled up for the evening.

Even with some adventures and fun games, Maddie's sleep schedule has been a struggle lately.  She has been waking up two or three times each night to potty or get a drink or both, and she requires a helping hand on and off the bed and extra support going down the two steps to get outside.  So every time she is up, so am I.  Those nights of interrupted sleep can make things tough and multiple nights in one week is exhausting.  But when she crawls under the covers and snuggles up next to me after one of her trips outside, I just smile because I know how much she loves me and appreciates what I am doing for her. 

Friday evening we got out for our second adventure in the stroller.  I was glad that Vanessa joined us and we could test out how things would work with an extra set of hands on a little longer adventure.    The beginning of our walk was a bit of a struggle because Maddie didn't want to stay in the stroller, so we allowed her to spend time both in and out of it for a bit.  Finally, we were able to get her comfortable and make some good time with her sitting nicely, but that ended and the last portion of our walk was more stressful as she was anxiously panting and I forced her to stay in the stroller so we could get back to the car more quickly.  We completed a 3 mile walk that night and most of the time she was in the stroller, so once again, I'd say that was a success.    And with all of the extra activity and excitement, she had her best night's sleep in awhile that night.

Saturday, we got out for another nice hike on the North Country Trail in Battle Creek.   We hiked 7.5 miles total, a large portion of that through Ott Biological Preserve, Kimball Pines, and Historic Bridge Park.

With Maddie comfortably in the car with a Kong stuffed with her food, we were able to travel at a nice pace and Peaches loved this walk.  There was so much for her to sniff and so many new areas to explore.  Boy was she happy to get out and take a roll in the grass too!

The weather was perfect and this was one of the best days of hiking we've had on the trail this year.

I had never been in Ott Biological Preserve and I really enjoyed that portion of the trail.  We will definitely be adding this to our list of places to return for future hikes.

After a nice walk through the woods, we returned to the car to get Maddie our for the final portion of our walk along the trail for the day.  She and Vanessa were happy to be out enjoying the day together.  Maddie did a great job going strong for the entire mile at the end of our walk.

With that final mile, we had completed a total of 7.5 miles on the trail for the day and had completed the last of the miles we needed to finish our goal of hiking all 58 miles of the NCT in Calhoun County.  We celebrated our accomplishment by making a trip to Mooville for ice cream which was enjoyed by all.  

Next week we will continue our journey and have plans to complete the final 9 miles we need to complete the 13 miles of trail through Kalamazoo County

After our busy Saturday, I had hoped for a good nights sleep for all of us, but that was not meant to be.  Apparently all of our time in the woods fired up my allergies and I struggled to fall asleep.  Then Maddie was up at 5am, which is later than her normal for her first potty break, thankfully.  She and Peaches ate breakfast and then headed back to bed, but she was restless and up again at 6am.  I had hoped to fall asleep again after that, but laid there awake wishing for more sleep which did not come.  By 9am I was exhausted and had the beginnings of a headache, so I laid down and fell asleep for about an hour.  But boy was I out of sorts for most of the day.  And so here we are at the end of the day, having accomplished little of what I had planned.  But that's okay.  

Sometimes things in life are hard, sometimes they don't go as planned.  Sometimes caring for someone else is difficult, but in the end it is worth every lost minute of sleep and every worry because of the joy that Maddie brings to my life.  She is one of the most loving creatures I have ever had the pleasure of knowing and I feel privileged to be the person to care for her at this stage in her life.  While she has several health issues, she is still a happy girl who enjoys life and new adventures, seeing her friends and meeting new people.  She is a special girl and we're going to keep making the most of each day, slowing down when we need to, and letting go of things that are out of our control.  

Reflection

One year ago today, March 11, I woke up, went to work, headed to the Shelter after work for our Wednesday night Dog Walking Club, and then went out to dinner with friends before our friend Claire would head back home to Australia the next morning.  The news of Covid was fairly new here and we had no idea what was headed our way.  I remember sitting there waiting for our dinner and the discussion we had with Claire about the toilet paper shortage they were dealing with in Australia(and that she had packed toilet paper to take back with her from the US) and thinking that was one of the craziest things I had heard.   

That was the last time I ate dinner inside of a restaurant.  

Over that weekend, I went into the store to do my normal grocery shopping and the shelves were bare, items like toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and cleaners were scarce.  I didn't understand the panic buying, I never have understood it, but it was certainly happening.  I will never forget the woman I saw leaving the store with two cases of Canola Oil and wondering why, of all things, she was buying so much of that.  It was still a few more days until I got the call that changed things even more and started my work-from-home life on March 17.   There was so much uncertainty and certainly most of us weren't thinking that the course of our lives would change so much over the next year.  Those are days I won't soon forget.

 

Fast forward one year to today.  It is so strange to think back to what the world was like and what my daily life was like then.  Certainly much has changed for many of us, and I know many people have suffered some pretty big losses.  I feel very fortunate that I am not one of them.   Honestly, the events of the last year have helped improve my life in many ways.  I am thankful that it has given me the opportunity to work from home permanently, something I've always wanted to do.  The improvement in my happiness and job satisfaction with that change has been wonderful, not to mention the saving and health benefits.

I am also very thankful that I have been able to spend so much time with Maddie and Peaches over the last year.  It has been especially nice to be able to spend this time with Maddie as she gets older.  I know that the time we have left together is limited.  As she nears the age of 15, I may have a few months or maybe a year left with her, and being able to be here with her every day has been a complete blessing.  I know she feels the same way.

I know that many people are anxiously waiting to get back to a more normal life, but I think that what is normal will still be much different than what it was pre-Covid, at least for the short-term.  Some of that I think is for the better.  People have slowed down and have been forced to spend more time with their families and I think that priorities have shifted a bit.  And I think that is a good thing.  

People have had to stay closer to home and to spend more time outdoors and I have definitely seen the impact of that as I am out and about town with the girls.   Parks that I normally had to myself are much busier now and while I miss the time to myself in those places, it is also nice to see families out making memories...I'm sure those are the things that their children will remember about the past year, not the bad things that came with this horrible virus, but the happy times that they spent with their parents.

I also discovered so many new places close to home, places I didn't even know existed in my own backyard.  Places that I will continue to enjoy for years to come.  When someone who loves to wander is forced to stay close to home, it is amazing what they'll find!  And I have loved discovering and enjoying these new places with the girls.  I know that the girls have enjoyed them too.  Maddie is, after all, an adventure dog.  And an adventure dog also needs new places to explore.  Even when she can't go far or if she spends some time relaxing in the car while Peaches and I get in a little longer walk, she has loved the new journeys we have made together.

Over the last couple of weeks, as we approach Spring in Michigan, the snow has begun to melt as the days have gotten warmer and the sun has shined longer.  It is my favorite time of year.  I love the longer daylight hours which allow us to get out and do more.  The sunshine, which disappears from Michigan for most of the Winter, has returned along with the birds.  There is just something special about this time of year.  

We have also gotten to a point where things seem to be slowly reopening here in Michigan as Covid cases and deaths decline and more and more people are being vaccinated.  It just seems to be a very hopeful time of year.  I hope that those positive trends continue, but I also hope that people remember all the things we've been through, all the things we've learned over the last year, and I hope we all remember what is truly important in life.  

We still have a way to go before we are through this pandemic,  but just like I have done for the last year, I'm going to continue to get up and make the most of every day.  If we've learned nothing else in the last year, we should have learned that every day is a blessing and we should make the best of each day we have.  And that's just what the girls and I plan to do!

We've been taking full advantage of these warmer days to get out for some nice long weekend hikes on the North Country Trail.  As I am sure I have previously mentioned, not only are we working on hiking 100 miles on the trail again this year, (the 6th year for me and the 4th for Peaches), we are also working on the Chief Noonday Chapter's "Hike the County" challenge.  This is a challenge to hike every mile of the North Country trail that runs through the Chief Noonday Chapter-which encompasses Calhoun, Kalamazoo, and Barry Counties- a total of 119 miles.    

We are thankful that Vanessa has decided to join us for the challenge this year so that we can stage cars at each end of our desired hike for the week, therefore ending the need for us to cover each section twice on out and back hikes.  This has been a game changer!  Combine that with the milder Winter weather we had in January, and we were making great progress until Winter hit us hard with some deep snow and frigid temperatures for the first few weeks of February.

Thankfully, the weather improved again and with temperatures in the mid to upper 40s, we have had some really great hiking weather the last couple of weeks.   While our original plan was to complete all 119 miles by the beginning of May, the February delays are making it look like we may not finish until a little later in the month, but we are still plugging away at those miles!

Peaches has been loving those hikes, even when they are 10 1/2 miles of road walk like we had between Marshall and Battle Creek.  Maddie patiently waits in the car for most of our hike, but we are always sure to get her out for whatever distance she can handle, whether that is a mile or a quarter mile, at the end of the day before we head home.  No matter how far she goes with us, she is always just happy to be along for any adventure.  And we are happy to have her there.

After a long day of hiking, the girls are normally ready to settle in for a quiet night, but some times I guess my dinner seems more interesting than sleep.  I will add that this is really a rare occasion that I have an audience for dinner, but once-in-awhile I don't mind, and when I was done eating, of course I shared a bite with each of them.

This past weekend we completed a little over 8.25 miles on the North Country Trail in Battle Creek at the end of Calhoun County and the beginning of Kalamazoo County.  We started in Kalamazoo County in the section through Fort Custer which was beautiful on a warm sunny day, but we still needed our ice cleats for portions of the trail.  

Once we entered Calhoun County again, we discovered what both of us thought was one of the most boring sections of the trail that we have been on yet.   It was sidewalk running through a industrial/warehouse area of town.  Not the most scenic section, but we got through it!  With that walk, we are now down to only 7 miles left until we complete the 58 miles in Calhoun County!  And we left what is most likely the most scenic section of the county for last.  I'm pretty excited for our next hike.

At the end of our hike on Saturday, we got Maddie out to join us for the less than one mile section between parking lots in Augusta.  She was happy to be out with Vanessa for our walk, although at just over a half mile in she started looking back toward where she knew there was a car.  Vanessa convinced her to keep going with promises of a car at the other end, and we made it successfully there with a very happy girl!

After our big Saturday adventure, I decided to have a quieter Sunday, but we still got out for a little geocaching adventure.  Peaches is becoming a pretty good geoDog...although she wasn't happy that I made her sit for a picture.

As we reached the 51 week mark since I started working from home, I thought this picture summed up pretty well how things are going.  While there are moments when Peaches is needy or whiny, she spends a lot of time napping too.  She has found lately that it's okay to spend time away from me and has spent less time in the office every day and more time on the bed or in the living room.  I guess she's getting sick of me!

With the nice weather this week, she has also spent a lot more time outside again.  Peaches loves Spring and is happy to be back out on the hunt for birds, squirrels, and mail carriers!  Maddie still prefers to spend her days in the office with me and I'm glad that she does.

Another interesting part of our week was the girls vet appointment on Monday.  It's been almost a year since we have been inside the vet's office and sitting in the car as we wait for our appointments has become the norm.  I was reflecting with our vet on Monday that I was in their office one year ago on the very last day that we were allowed to be inside for our appointments just before they shut down vets for most routine procedures here in Michigan.  

It's certainly been a crazy year and I'm lucky to have a great veterinary team and dogs who are so well behaved that I don't worry about them when they are inside without me.  I know that they will be loved and spoiled by everyone on the staff.

And to round out our year of Covid, it seemed only appropriate that I was able to get my first vaccine this week.  I'm sure that anyone who saw me snapping pictures while waiting thought I was crazy, but I thought that this was a pretty historic moment and should be preserved for the future.  I also was very impressed by the people working at the MSU Pavilion and how smoothly everything went.  Good job Ingham County!

Of course the girls joined me as well.  They've been with me every step of the way through the pandemic, so I thought they should be there too.  Maddie enjoyed watching the crowds of cars as we waited.

Both girls enjoyed this little adventure, but I think Peaches enjoyed it most.  She got treats and so much attention from everyone there.  It was a pretty great day for her.

As I reflect on this last year, I am certainly thankful for many things: my health, my job, my family's health, and the girls.  I am thankful for my friends and I'm grateful for all of the awesome parks and trails we have been able to explore.  I'm grateful for all of the people out there helping each other and caring for each other and those who have put themselves at risk every day to keep us safe, healthy, fed...the list goes on.  

Remember to be grateful for what you have as well, it really does make each day better when we remember the things we gave to be thankful for in our lives.

365 days seems like a long time, but really it's just a blip in the grand scheme of life.