The week of early mornings-a busy week in July

It has been a crazy few weeks between work commitments and other responsibilities.  I started the blog  two weeks ago, but didn't get it finished before I had to stop writing, and I just haven't been able to find the time to finish.  I thought I might finish it last Sunday, but I needed a break.  I tried again on Monday night with no luck, but today I'm going to try to get caught up.  I'm going to finish this blog from the end of July which should have been done 2 weeks ago, and then we'll get to part 2, which will cover the last two weeks later today.  Thanks for your patience with me.  I'm juggling commitments to work and family, my volunteer time, and most importantly, the girls.  So here we go, back to July 21...

Because I knew we had a very busy week ahead of us, on Sunday, I planned for us to have a quiet day.  After hanging around the house most of the day, I decided to get the girls out for a a little walk.  It was warmer than I realized, but luckily it was cloudy, so we could take a walk along the Sycamore Trail.

After 1 1/2 miles, we made it back to the car.  When it's as humid as it was on Sunday, I like to break our walks up and give Peaches a little chance to rest and recover a bit since she doesn't tolerate the heat like she used to.  She enjoyed a good drink of water and the air-conditioned comfort of the car.  

After our break, I headed over to take a short walk along the Bear Lake Pathway.  We haven't really explored this area, so I thought we'd check it out.  Unfortunately it isn't very shaded and the sun came out about midway through our walk, so I turned to head back to the car because I didn't want to risk the girls burning their paws on the pavement.  But we enjoyed getting outside and enjoying some fresh air and exercise.

Monday arrived, and my long busy week began.  It was a busy day of work as I finished last minute prep for an event we would be holding in Detroit on Tuesday.  After an exhausting day, I finished my work and took the girls out to Dewitt for some fun at the dog park.  

We took full advantage of the agility equipment and Mina played lots of fetch while Peaches explored every corner of the park.  Mina just wants to play fetch the whole time we're at the park, so I made her really work for it by adding in challenges in between throws.   She'll do almost anything if it means I'll eventually throw the ball for her.

Peaches really just loves to sniff and explore using her nose and thoroughly enjoys our dog park trips.    She can usually be found off in some corner of the park all by herself.  She is always so happy for our dog park visits.  

After our dog park visit, I stopped at the airport on our way home to pick up a rental car for my travel to Detroit on Tuesday.  My car was scheduled for a little work later in the week, and while I was perfectly fine to drive around town, driving a longer distance at higher speeds wasn't going to work.  Somehow, when I arrived to pick up my rental, I was told that they didn't have a rental available for me and they wouldn't have one before they closed.  With all of the rentals closing, I headed home to reset and see if I could find a rental to pick up in the morning.

Tuesday morning I was up early and out the door before 7:45 to pick up a rental from Enterprise.  I arrived as they opened, only to find that they didn't have a car available for me and wouldn't have one until later in the morning.  I made several calls and tried to find a rental car anywhere in town, but had no luck.  So it was decided that I'd just stay home for my work day.  

While I was disappointed to miss the meeting that I had worked hard to plan, it was nice not having to drive to Detroit.  It also gave me the chance to take advantage of the beautiful day and take the girls to the first Farmer's Market at the Capitol of the season on my lunch.  We walked around, picked up a couple of snacks, and the girls got lots of love and attention.  It was hot, so we tried to stay in the shade as much as possible.  It was an excellent way to spend my lunch.

On Wednesday, my work day was busy.  You'd have thought that missing being at our event in person would have freed up time and made me feel less busy, but it actually ended up creating more work.  After a very busy day at work, I was happy to get out for our Dog Walk at the shelter.  While it can be chaotic and busy to get several dogs ready to safely go for a group walk outside of the shelter, it is also so rewarding to be able to give them this time.  

On Thursday morning, the girls and I were up and out of the house before 8am again, this time to drop my car off for a little repair to what we thought was a bad wheel bearing.  Lucky for me, it's only a couple miles from the mechanic to our house, so I dropped the car off and the girls and I had a beautiful morning walk home.  

I didn't expect that the car would be ready until the afternoon, so I was surprised when I got a call mid-morning letting me know that my car was ready.  They had found no issues with the suspension on the car, just some debris in the tire which was causing the front end to shake when I drove over 45 mph.  They cleaned out the debris, and my car was as good as new.  The girls and I took the walk back to pick up the car and I must say I was happy to not have to spend a penny on a repair.  

On Thursday afternoon, I had to attend a three hour training for my work at the upcoming election primary.  Thankfully we ended early, and I headed home to get the girls out for a trip to the Farmer's Market.  It was a hot and humid afternoon, but  we were able to make a quick trip right as it opened.  Mina was happy to visit her friend at Sweets and Treats by Tangie because she's been baking some special treats just for them the last few weeks.  

While we had had a busy day, I still had one more thing I had to do, and along the way I decided to make a stop at Legg Park for a short adventure in the woods to pick up a few geocaches.  The mosquitoes were horrible, and we couldn't stop moving for long without getting swarmed, but the girls were especially happy to be out for a walk in the woods. 

Our final stop of the night was to visit Buddy, the tiny panther.  His mom was out of town for a few days and needed some help making sure he was getting fed, so I helped her out Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  The girls stayed in the air conditioned comfort of the car while I visited with Buddy.  He is a very sweet kitty.  

Friday morning, I was up early because it was finally the day my dad would have his final surgery to reverse his ostomy.  I made a quick visit to Buddy on my way to the hospital, and arrived in time to go back into Pre-op with my mom so we could stay with dad until he would go back for his surgery.  He was nervous, but in good spirits and definitely ready to get put back together.  It was a long surgery, and I was lucky to be able to work while mom and I waited.  Finally, around 2:30pm the surgeon came out to let us know everything had gone well and that they were finishing up the surgery.  I waited with mom until almost 4pm as they finished up and finally moved him to recovery, but we didn't know when he'd actually get to his room and I needed to stop by for another visit with Buddy and then get home to the girls, so I left.  Mom got to see him in recovery for a few minutes around 5pm, and then she went home too.  He finally made it to a room about 3 hours later, exhausted from surgery and ready to rest.

The girls were so happy to see me after a long day.  I was exhausted, but knew that they needed to run, so off we went to visit the Dewitt Dog Park.  After a good run for Peaches and lots of rounds of fetch with Mina, we headed home for the night.  

I was up early again on Saturday morning, but this time it was for a fun reason  One of our Petoskey area advisors has a band that regularly plays on the patio at a Winery/Vineyard owned by one of our local advisors who I've known for nearly 25 years.  I've been trying to find a time to make the trip up to see them, and had finally made plans to do so this Saturday.  My original plan involved spending the weekend in the area, but when dad's surgery got scheduled, I changed my plans and turned this into a day trip.

Since the North Country Trail runs through the area just a few miles away, I wanted to make sure we got up North in time to take the girls for a little hike in the woods after our drive, so maybe they'd relax on the patio.  We hiked just under 3 miles in a very warm and humid wooded area.  It was beautiful, and thankfully the bugs weren't bad, 

After our hike, I fed them lunch in the car and stopped for a quick sandwich before we arrived at Crooked Vine.  We got settled into a spot on the patio on a beautiful day.  The girls were so well behaved all afternoon and made lots of new friends while we were there.  

In addition to enjoying to enjoying some good music and beverages, we were able to take a lovely walk around the vineyard.  What a beautiful spot. 

I was so proud of the girls for being so very good.  Mina is always a good patio dog, but Peaches doesn't relax as easily, so when she finally laid down, I had to get a picture.

After a lovely afternoon, it was time for us to head out for the rest of our fun for the day.  I had promised the girls a trip to a Great Lake if they were good.  So off we went to find some more fun.  

As I looked at the map to find the perfect spot to go, I realized that I could make the drive North to St. Ignace for a burger at Clyde's, some time at the lake, and another walk along the North Country Trail.

After I picked up my burger, we headed off to find a beautiful, quiet spot to sit and eat. 

And then we headed downtown for a walk along the St. Ignace boardwalk.  It was a beautiful afternoon to be on the trail along Lake Huron.

We had a great walk, but sadly our day of fun had come to an end and we headed back to the car for our journey home.  It was dark when we got home, but we had had a wonderful and much needed day of fun.

After our long day away, I was happy to have a quiet morning at home doing some work around the house and in the garden.  I was very pleased with how nice the garden looked after my morning's work.

After a productive morning at home, I headed out to Grand Blanc to visit my dad at the hospital.  Just two days after his surgery, he was up in the chair in his room and looking really good.  He was tired, but in good spirits.  We had a great visit and even watched some of the Olympics together.  After a few hours, he got back into bed and I headed home for the evening.  My long, busy week had finally come to an end.

As we prepared for the arrival for August later in the week, I took a moment to reflect on the Summer so far.  Boy is it going fast, and I'm not ready for it to end.  I never am.  We have so much more to do.  I had hoped that things would slow down in the coming week, but as I'll share in the next blog, that wasn't necessarily the case.  But at least I remembered to take a break and have some fun.

The Spruce

While life seemed busy this week, overall we had a  relaxing week full of wonderful Summer evenings  spent outside.  The weather was humid early on, but we had some absolutely spectacular weather later in the week and into the weekend.  I was happy to be able to turn off the AC and open the windows and to be able to get out with the girls to enjoy it.  Somehow we're already two-thirds of the way through July and we still have so much to do to make the most of our Summer.

Our week started with me wondering about the fate of our favorite Spruce tree.  In 2019, the Lansing Boatd of Water and Light did a huge tree removal and trimming campaign throughout the city.  Many trees near the power lines were removed or trimmed, and my Spruce survived that round with just a toppng. Lots of beautiful trees in the neighborhood weren't as lucky.  Since then it has continued to thrive and grow.

This May, they were back surveying the trees in the neighborhood again for another planned trimming and tree removal.  It was strongly recommended that my Spruce be cut down, and I sadly signed a paper authorizing the removal and watched as a big blue X was painted on the tree.  I was told crews would arrive in about three weeks.

I was sure when I returned home from our trip to Minnesota a few weeks ago, the tree would be gone but I was pleasantly surprised to see it still standing when we arrived home.  

Last week, I started to see the tree crews in the neighborhood, and this Monday morning at 7:45am the trucks arrived and parked on the street directly across from my house.  This made for a long day for the girls since they couldn't spend as much time outside as they normally would because I didn't know when the crews might need to enter my yard.  And it made for a long day for me too, sad that I might be saying goodbye to my tree.

Shortly before 5pm, the trucks pulled away after a full day of tree trimming along my street, but with my tree still standing.  It had been a long day, and the girls were happy to be able to get out into the yard again.  It was such a beautiful evening that we just stayed home and, after diner, we enjoyed a relaxing evening out in our own yard.  

Tuesday morning arrived and the tree crews were back bright and early.  When one of the crew members started walking around my yard, I ran out to talk to him and got up the nerve to ask about saving the tree.  I told him I had changed my mind about allowing the tree to be cut down and would prefer that they just top it.  He made no promises, but said he would check to see if that would be an option...and then I waited.

Once again, the girls were stuck inside because the tree crews could show up at any time.  I knew from talking to the employee that they'd be in the yard to trim my Williow tree sometime that morning, so I kept the girls safely inside with just a couple of quick trips out for potty breaks.  Mina was not pleased that I didn't let her stay out to lounge in the sun.

But with brain games and kongs, I kept them happy inside, and they even settled in for a nice nap.  We had another quiet evening at home enjoying the peace and quiet of a beautiful Summer evening.

Wednesday morning the tree was still standing and the crews were back in the neighborhood, but parked further down the street, which is where they spent most of their day.  I let the girls go outside a little more, but had to keep an eye out in case they showed up at our yard again.

Then on Wednesday after work, I made my way out to the shelter for our Wednesday dog walking club.  I didn't walk a dog myself, but we had four wonderful dogs on our walk.  Bejeweled is our longest resident at the shelter and one of my favorite dogs there.  If she could live with other dogs, I'd foster her, but she needs to be an only dog so I just make sure to give her as much love as I can while I'm there.

I saw these cool mushrooms along our walk and had to snap a picture.  They were huge!

Thursday morning arrived, and the girls were up and outside before 7:30.  I wanted them to get some time outside before the tree crews arrived again for the day.  

At 7:40, the first truck arrived and pulled up right beside my yard.  I knew then that the day had arrived when the fate of my Spruce would be decided.  I brought the dogs inside and Mina sat next to me on the bed providing moral support as I worked and waited to see what would happen.  At about 8:30, the tree trimmer got into the bucket and raised himself to the top of the tree, and the cutting began.  In about 10 minutes, he was done, had lowered the bucket, and they were picking up the branches and cleaning up the sidewalk.  Someone was watching over us that day, and my tree survived with just a little trim off the top.

The girls were happy that they were able to spend a lot more time outside throughout the day.  So was I.

We visited the South Lansing Farmer's Market after work to pick up a few things.  Before our visit, I took the girls on a quick walk around the nearby neighborhood.  When we arrived at the  market, the girls were treated to some special treats baked by one of our favorite vendors, Sweets and Treats by Tangie.  

We ended our day with a pre-sunset walk at Frances Park.  It was a beautiful evening for a walk.

Friday I had a crazy day at work.  Luckily the temperatures were comfortable so the girls got to spend a majority of the day outside while I focused on all I had to get done. 

When the day was done, we drove out to the farm to pick up  a few things and then I took the girls to the dog park for a little fun.  

They had a great time running and playing on the agility equipment as well as lounging in the grass.

On the drive home, we stopped in Old Town for a walk and a visit to Preuss Pets.  On our walk we crossed paths with Kirbay Preuss who was out on a walk with her daughter.   The best thing about shopping local is that the business owners tend to know their customers,  and she greeted us by name, said she'd been thinking of us, and then told me that they were planning their remaining ice cream socials for this summer, and asked me if there were dates that would work better for us.  Small gestures like that will keep me shopping at Preuss. 

Saturday morning I was up early to meet a friend who's been fostering Cruel Summer, or Louie.  They had to be out of town for the day, and I agreed to watch him for them while they were gone.  We were only home about an hour before I left to go to the shelter for our Saturday morning dog walk.  Louie came along because he was scheduled to meet with a potential adopter.  He is such a sweet boy, so I there was no doubt in my mind that he'd be adopted.  I was right.

My Saturday morning walking buddy was Cornelia Street.  I love this dog.  She is a gentle giant and just wants to be loved.  We had a great walk.

After dog walking at the shelter and Louie getting adopted, I headed home for a quiet and productive Saturday at home.  Over the last couple of weeks, the weeds have taken over my garden, so I spent the afternoon weeding and trimming plants and I finally picked my first zucchini of the season. I still have a little work to do today, but it looks so much better now.

I have some things to do around the house and yard today, but mostly we're just going to take it easy.  I have a crazy week ahead of me with far too much to do, so we're going to have a nice day at home.  I'm looking forward to it.  More Summer days should be just like today.

Rain and heat and more rain

Happy Sunday, everyone.  It has been a hot week with lots of rain.  So many days this week we had rain in the evenings, making it hard for us to get out for much fun.  Then the heat and humidity arrived late in the week.   Thankfully, we were able to end our week with some fun despite the high temperatures and humidity.  

After posting the blog last weekend, we took a short Sunday adventure in the Webberville area.  I had to meet Nicol at the nearby Park and Ride, and the girls needed some exercise, so it only made sense to visit a park in Webberville for our walk.  The temperatures were high and after a short loop around the park, the girls were ready to get back into the comfort of the air conditioned car 

We then spent a little time picking up a few geocaches in the area.  I was pretty excited to see this little fawn close by when we made one of our stops.

And I thought this was a really pretty view of the Red Cedar River as it winds through the countryside.  

Monday, the heat continued, and other than some time outside during the day while I was working, we didn't take any adventures.  Mina got a little sassy with me that evening when I was just trying to get her to snuggle.

Tuesday brought us a combination of heat and rain most of the day.  We were even under a flood warning here in Lansing.  During the day, the girls spent time out in the yard when it wasn't raining, and they were entertained by a variety of fun brain games throughout the day, each of them got a frozen kong, and they ate dinner in a puzzle game.  But despite my best efforts, neither of them were completely happy about the fact that they didn't get a walk or other adventure.  Peaches kept insisting that I let them outside after dinner, but she wasn't one bit happy about the rain that she encountered.  

We had rain on and off throughout the day on Wednesday, but once again, the girls spent any time that they could out in the yard while I was working.  We had more brain games and food puzzles for lunch and dinner, but they really wanted to get out for more fun.  The weather just wasn't cooperating.

I kept an eye on the weather as the time got closer for our Wednesday night shelter dog walk.  I didn't want to cancel if we didn't have to because I know how much the dogs enjoy their time out of the shelter.  The rain stopped around 4:30, so I decided we were a go for our walk, but when I left home to drive to the shelter the rain was coming down pretty hard.  It cleared up again, and I got 5 dogs harnessed and ready for some fun.

When we left the shelter for our walk at 6pm, it was sprinkling, but by the time we got back the rain had picked up a bit.  Luckily most of the dogs were happy to be out for our walk despite the rain.  

I was pretty soaked when I left the shelter, and I thought I might take the girls for a walk after getting home.  By then the rain had cleared and the sun came out, but it was getting late and I still needed to eat dinner, so we just spent some time outside in the yard. 

While Mina was hanging out in the back yard, Peaches followed me in the house when i went in to make dinner.  She also followed me out front when I went to get something out of the car.  She just kept looking at me and trying to convince me that we should go for a car ride.  She really wanted to go somewhere, but I let the poor old girl down and we stayed home.

Thankfully the rain moved of the area for Thursday, but the temperatures weren't about to cooperate.  It was was warm and humid, but cloudy, after work on Thursday so I was able to take the girls along for my visit to the South Lansing Farmer's Market.  I have to be really careful since this area is all on asphalt and I don't want to burn their paws.  

Sweets and Treats by Tangie had a bowl of cold water out for them, and they got lots of love (and a couple of small bites from my egg roll).  They always love their visits to the Farmer's Market and they always make friends while we're there.  They also dragged me into Soldan's for a quick visit before we left.  It was a good little adventure.

Friday was another hot day, and the girls spent some time outside while I worked, but it was so humid that I limited the time they were out.  After dinner, I decided to take a drive out to Dewitt and let the girls have a good run at the dog park.  They were both so happy to be there.  After a long week without much time for real adventures, it was some much needed fun for all of us.

We spent an hour at the park, and by the time we left, we were the only ones there.  When I was ready to leave, the girls happily jumped in the car and crashed as soon as we got home.  It was a quiet evening at my house.

After all of their fun on Friday, the girls slept in on Saturday morning.  I was up early to get ready to head to the shelter for our Saturday morning dog walk and Mina didn't even get out of bed until after I was out of the shower.

It was a very humid morning which made for a steamy walk with the shelter dogs, so we shortened our walk and spent more time sitting in the shade at our water break spot.  That gave me the opportunity to love on all of the dogs.  When we got back to the shelter, they were all very happy to be back in the cool air conditioning.  I'm sure that they all took a good nap too.

Before I left, I made sure I finally got a chance to visit the two pot-bellied pigs that are currently at the shelter and available for adoption.  They are very sweet and love soft dog treats.  I really want to take them out for a walk!

On the way home, I decided that I wanted to get the girls out early so that we could beat some of the heat.  My intention was to take them for a visit at Preuss Pets and then maybe take a quick walk around the block.  When we arrived, Peaches needed a potty walk, so I changed the plan and decided to take our walk first.  Before I knew it, we had walked the couple of blocks down the street to Turner Avenue which was closed for Scrapfest, and I decided we'd check it out. 

A short section of Turner was blocked off for the festival, and we were able to stay in the shade along the sidewalk and see most of the art.  There was a tent at the far end with a musician and there were vendors and even a couple of food trucks. 

The girls made new friends and they had the best time.  We stayed pretty comfortable the whole time by staying in the shade.

When we started to head back to Preuss, I made a stop for a fresh made lemonade at one vendor and some Greek fries from one of the food trucks, and we took a minute across the street in Turner Park to share the fries.  The girls were pretty excited about their special treat.  

I'm so proud of how well they did.  I get so many comments about how well-behaved they are in situations like this and it really makes me happy to know that the time I spent training Mina has set her up for success in the world.  Peaches isn't as calm and relaxed as Mina, but she is certainly getting better every time we venture to one of these events.  I think the regular visits to the Farmer's Market have helped her too.

After finishing our fries, we walked back to Preuss, took a walk around inside, and then headed back out to the car.  I made a quick stop across the street at Speedway for gas, and then we made the drive out to Dewitt to visit Felzke Farms to pick up some blueberries and a few veggies as I wait for my garden to start producing (we're getting close).  We had to drive by the dog park on our way to the farm, and the girls got so excited as we drove by that I promised them we'd make a quick stop after we finished at the farm.

There was a family with two beagles and two young girls there when we arrived, and Mina learned quickly that the older daughter would throw the ball for her, so she quickly made a new friend.  I didn't want them to over do it with the heat, and the distance a 6-7 year old can throw the ball limited her running, so it was perfect.  Meanwhile, Peaches happily just sniffed and explored.

Finally the family left, and I took a walk around the perimeter of the park with the girls.  Mina took a break under the agility tunnel before we did a quick run through on the jumps and then I went to sit in the shade while the girls watched a squirrel on the other side of the fence.  After about 30 minutes at the park, we loaded up into the car to head home.  After lunch, they settled in for a nice long nap.  The rest of our Saturday was very quiet.

Peaches has had some quirky issues this week, things that are hard to explain unless you're with her and see them.  While physically she is still very active and gets around pretty well for an old lady, I'm a little worried about her mentally.  I think some of the issues may be caused due to the fact that her hearing and eyesight are starting to fail her, and she's learning to navigate the world with these issues.  But she was acting fearful and would try to hide in the basement or the bedroom, or she'd just stand by the door waiting for me to let her outside.  One evening, I had to resort to giving her a Trazadone that I had left from when Mina had her spay surgery just to get her to settle down for the evening.  Luckily she sleeps fine at night, and most of her issues occur from mid-afternoon through early evening, but her inability to relax is stressful for us both.  The last couple of days have been better, and I'm going to credit it to the fact that she got out for some adventures and got plenty of exercise.  She was so happy at the dog park on Friday night, and I was relieved to see her doing better.  I'm keeping an eye on her and will definitely discuss her issues with our vet if they continue.  Hopefully she just had an off week.

Fiona is doing great and got to have her first corn on the cob of the season this week.  She loved it!  Currently she's in a stage where "no" is one of her favorite words, which I'm sure drives Nicol crazy.  But it's kind of cute too.  

We have lots to do today, including mowing the lawn and working in the garden, but of course I went out to start the mower and it won't start.  Looks like the battery for my electric start may be dead and needs replaced, so I guess I'll have to deal with that.  The mowing just may need to wait another day,  but with all of the rain weve gotten this week, the grass is getting pretty tall.  This afternoon, we'll get out for a short adventure to keep the girls happy, which will include a stop at Pet Supplies Plus for their Ice Cream Social.  It should be a good day.

Happy Sunday!