As Summer Wanes

It happened as I was driving to Albion after work on Friday to take the girls for a hike. I noticed the difference in the air and in the landscape.  The slight dulling of the green of the trees as they lose chlorophyll with the cooler evenings and as the darkness lengthens with each passing day.  The vibrant green of summer is quickly fading into fall.  The late summer flowers with their blooms dying, the slight yellowing of the landscape, and those dull green tree leaves slowly preparing for their autumn showcase before their long winter's rest.  It has it's own quiet beauty, and yet I am never ready for it's arrival.

I know that fall is quickly heading our way and the cooler temperatures we experienced last week made it feel like fall had already arrived.  But warmer temperatures returned this week to bring back summer for just a little longer.  I was happy the 70s returned this week, but I know that this beautiful weather won't last forever.  So we're going to enjoy it while we can!

It was so nice on Monday and I was happy to spend a peaceful evening at home.  I played ball with Mina, tried to get Peaches to play a little tug, spent some time in the garden, and even ate dinner on the patio.   

Then we sat outside and quietly watched the sun set at 8pm for the last time until next March.  It will take some time to adjust to the darkness as early as it is now.  It certainly makes the nights feel much longer.  

Tuesday, the girls spent much of the day outside in our beautiful weather.  Mina has a new favorite spot she likes to lounge and Peaches seems happy to wander around the yard.  With her anxiety issues, she rarely relaxes when she's out there though, so I make her come inside periodically for some short naps. But I know the colder months are coming, so I want them to spend as much time outside as they want.

After work and dinner on Tuesday, I took the girls to Island City Dog Park for a little fun.  It was empty, as usual, and we enjoyed having the space all to ourselves.  It was just what we needed.

We had another dog park visit on Wednesday, this time to Padgett Park in Dewitt over my lunch.  I had to get the girls out for a lunchtime adventure because I had our shelter dog walk after work and then had plans to get together with Vanessa, Katelyn, and Emmalee for dinner.  

Emmalee is in town from Chicago after finishing her residency at Nothwerten University Hospital earlier this summer.  It's crazy for me to think that its been 7 years since she moved there for medical school.  We haven't all gotten together in such a long time and it was so nice to spend time with them all.  We laughed and had such a great time sitting on the patio with some Mexican food and some drinks.  I was reminded of how important friendships are and I'm glad that we can stay connected despite all of our crazy lives.  

On Thursday I was happy to get the girls out for some fun after work  First, we visited the South Lansing Farmer's Market where I was able to pick up a delicious dinner.  We sat there while I ate, and afterwards, we made the drive to Old Town to visit the Old Town General Store to pick up a few items. 

Then we made the drive to Mason to meet up with a few fellow geocachers for a short event. We followed that up with a nice walk around Mason.  It was a really beautiful evening for a walk.  And on the way home, we stopped for some ice cream because we deserved a treat.

When Friday arrived, I decided to make the drive to Albion after work to get in a few miles on the NCT.  I knew I wouldn't have time for hiking the rest of the weekend, and I need to make some progress every week if we want to finish our 100 miles this year.

The weather was great and we really enjoyed the quiet time we had on the trail.  We finished our hike with 3.1 miles on the trail. I was very pleased with that.  I'm happy to report we now have hiked 63.6 miles this year and only need 11.4 miles more this month to get us back on track to reach our 100 miles by year-end.

Then we made the drive home for dinner.  Afterward, I had a few things to get done around the house, but shortly after dark I sat down for a relaxing evening while the girls napped.

On Saturday morning, Vanessa joined the girls and me as we made the drive to Chicago for the Illinois Shorthair Rescue reunion. 

Our drive went smoothly and we arrived early for the reunion, so we were able to get the girls out for a nice walk on the nearby trails.

As always, we had a wonderful time at the reunion with our fellow volunteers and all of the amazing brown and black spotty dogs.

There was food and treats, games and prizes, and of course the obligatory photo.  Before we reached the end of the day, Peaches was ready for a little break so she sat out in the car with Vanessa for a bit.  

After her rest, she joined us for the end of the fun.  Then we said goodbye to our friends and loaded up the car for some more adventures.  It was such a good day.

While it wasn't originally part of the plan for the day, we ended up in downtown Chicago to help a friend.

While there, we decided to stop in Wrigleyville and we ended up there after the Cubs game.   It was a cool atmosphere to experience, and I was happy we were able to get the girls out for a walk.

It was a nice little walk and we enjoyed some of the sights and sounds as well as a little geocaching. 

As we made the drive to our hotel after our time in Wrigleyville, we stopped nearby for dinner.  Then we took a short after-dinner walk with the girls.  It had been a full day of fun and we were all ready to get checked-in to our room for the night.

We all had a great nights sleep, and the girls even let us sleep in a bit before they woke me up for their morning potty break and breakfast. 

Our plan for the day was to slowly weave our way home while stopping along the way for some geocaching adventures. 

We found a nice little park which was home to the Ray Franzen Bird Sanctuary as well as a small dog park.  We enjoyed our walk along the boardwalk at the bird sanctuary and then let the girls burn a little energy with a run at the dog park before getting back into the car.

When we left the park, we were all ready for lunch, and Vanessa found a spot to get some Italian Beef sandwiches along our route.   

I had never had an Italian Beef sandwich before and I was excited to try it.  

After ordering our food, we got settled at a table outside on the deck so the girls could join us and eat their lunch too.  Of course they also each got a bite of Italian beef too.  

We all enjoyed this delicious stop!

After lunch, it was time to continue our journey.  We picked up a few geocaches nearby, then hit the road toward Indiana.

We had decided to make a stop at Indiana Dunes State Park so that we could stretch our legs and the girls could get a little beach time and a big drink out of Lake Michigan. 

It was an absolutely gorgeous day to be near the Lake, especially since we're nearing the end of summer and beach season.  I was very happy to stick my toes in the Lake, too

We enjoyed some geocaching in the area as well as some nice short hikes.  It was great to be able to stretch our legs and enjoy this nice state park.  It was the perfect stop to add to our fun for the day.

Following our visit in Indiana. we were on our way to Michigan where we had one more stop planned along the way.  Since we'd be driving right past Battle Creek and had enough time, we decided to make a stop at Historic Bridge Park to make a little more progress on the NCT.  It was another perfect spot to stop and stretch our legs, and we ended up getting 1.5 miles on the trail to keep us on track tonreach our goal this month.  It was the perfect way to end our adventure filled weekend. 

We made it home before sunset, the girls had dinner and a quick trip outside while I unpacked, then I got cleaned up and sat down for a quiet night at home.  What a wonderful weekend we had!

We now enter our final week of summer and, thankfully, we have some fun planned.  It will be our last hurrah before fall arrives.  I can't believe how fast this year is going!  I hope you all have a great week!

September and I have a complicated relationship

It's Sunday again and all I can think is how fast the days are going by lately.  This first week of September started with Labor Day on the first.  The girls and I had had a busy couple last days of August, so I thought we may start September with a quiet day at home.  

After a quiet start to our day, I decided to run to Speedway for a Mt. Dew and maybe get the girls out for a walk nearby.  Somehow, we ended up in St. John's, and once we were there, I thought it would be fun to make a trip to Uncle John's since we were so close.

This time of year, the sunflower fields are in full bloom and the apple trees are full of ripe apples, making it a beautiful time for a walk on the Farm Trail.  We really enjoyed our 2.5 mile walk around the farm on this beautiful, sunny day.

After 2.5 miles in the sun, Peaches was ready to call it a day, so I gave the girls a drink and then loaded them into the car.   Then I drove the half-mile down the road to Phillps Orchard for a cider slush and a monster cookie.  

I decided i did not want to get back onto US127 with all of the holiday traffic for the drive home, and instead, I decided to make a slow back road drive home, picking up some geocaches along the way.  We were enjoying our drive until suddenly my tire pressure light came on in my car, and I could tell that the tire was losing air.

Luckily, I made it to a nearby gas station before the tire went completely flat, but I could hear the air coming out of the tire and knew I'd need the spare in order to make the drive home.  

It was quite an ordeal working with AAA to get a tow truck to come out and help with the spare replacement, but I was somewhere safe and the girls were excellent while we waited.  I finally got the spare on after quite a long wait, and we made it home safely much later than I ever thought we would.  My quick trip turned into a really long day, but ultimately, all that matters is that we made it home safe and sound.  But it seemed a fitting start to September.   I really don't like this month.

I had taken the day off Tuesday with the original plan of going somewhere fun, but after our crazy Monday, I decided staying home was a much better decision.  I started my morning with a tire repair and an excellent experience at Discount Tire.  Then I ran several errands, picked up some lunch, and headed home for the day.   I did get the girls out for a short walk around Dewitt and a quick trip to Padgett Dog Park before dinner, but otherwise, we had a pretty lazy day.

The weather forecast for Wednesday had the day starting out nice, but with cooler, rainy weather moving in for the afternoon.   I decided to take advantage of the nice weather while it lasted, and got the girls out for a very nice lunchtime walk around Benjamin Davis Park.   It was sunny and beautiful when we started, but by the time we finished, gray cloudy skies had moved into the area.  Boy was I glad I got them out when I did.

The radar didn't look promising for our Wednesday night shelter dog walk, and we didn't have many dogs to walk either, but I decided to head out to the shelter after work and hope for the best. 

While it was raining when I arrived at the shelter,  by the time I got the dogs ready and our walkers arrived, the rain had nearly stopped.  We had three under socialized puppies that we just couldn't get to walk, so a couple of volunteers stayed behind to play with them.  That left us two dogs to go out for our walk, and they were both very happy to be outside enjoying the fresh air.   I was so glad all of the dogs got out of their kennels and got a little exercise and some time with our volunteers.   

Thursday morning was chilly and required pants, socks, shoes, and a jacket.  Ugh!  I'm not ready for this weather yet.  I started my morning by taking the girls to the East Lansing Dog Park following an early morning doctor's appointment nearby.  Then it was back home for work.  

It was a big day in our family as Fiona started preschool that afternoon.   In true Fiona form, she was a little shy at first, but she went off with her teachers without one look back at mom and dad.  And when it was time for pick-up after school, she was the slowest kid to leave.  She is going to love her Nature pre-school this year.  I just cant believe how grown up she's getting already!

After my work day, I made the drive to Langsburg to watch Brezlyn's golf game.  It is her second year playing on the Varsity Golf Team, and I want to be there to support her as much as I can since the poor kid lost both of her grandpas this year.  My dad would have been there if he were still alive, and I know that she misses having him there watching her.  While I know I am not a real substitute for him, I want her to know I'm here for her.  I can't believe the baby of the family is a Senior!  

Our evening adventure after work on Friday took us to Old Town for a walk.   Of course, that also meant a visit to Preuss Pets.  The girls were extra interested in the Koi ponds on this visit and loved their time at the store. 

Just look at how happy Peaches was after our visit to Preuss and her walk around Old Town!

Saturday I met my mom at Mancino's in Owosso for lunch before heading to her house for a visit.  It was a cool, cloudy day, but overall it was still a nice day to be outside.  We walked around the yard with the girls while we chatted.

Then I tied the girls to nearby trees while we picked apples.  I got a good workout shaking the tree and we got almost all of the apples that were remaining in the tree. The girls were not happy that they weren't allowed to help us! Now I just have to find a little time to core and cut apples to make applesauce.   

We walked around the yard another time before we finally got into the car to start the drive home.  The sky over the farm fields were pretty spectacular on our drive. 

We slowly wandered our way home enjoying the farm fields and big cloudy skies.  We got home in time for dinner and spent the rest of the evening watching football.

We all must have been exhausted after our long weekend because we all slept in Sunday morning. 

After getting up and around and eating breakfast,  I debated on what we should do today.  We have a lot of progress to make this month toward our 100 miles on the NCT, but I also kind of just wanted to stay home.  

Ultimately, I started a load of laundry and then decided to make the drive to Battle Creek to hike.

We started with a hike between Kimble Pines and Historic Bridge Park.   It was a beautiful day and I have always loved this section of the trail. The late summer flowers are blooming and the bees and grasshoppers were abundant.

I forced the girls to stop for a picture on the bridge and Mina was not happy about it.  She definitely enjoyed this hike though.  We all did.

We arrived back at the trailhead after completing 5 miles on the trail, and of course, I made the girls stop for another picture. 

Peaches didn't stand still for long because she was ready to get back to the car.

Since the weather was so nice and we still had a little time, we made the short drive to Historic Bridge Park to get in a little more time on the trail.

We finished the day with another 1.5 miles at Historic Bridge Park for a total of 6.5 miles for the day.   We made really good progress today, and we only need to get another 14.5 miles this month to get us back on track and reach 75 miles by the end of the month.  If we can get there, I'll feel much more confident that we'll get our 100 miles before the year ends.  I really just don't want to have a lot of miles to hike when we reach December.   

We got home in time for an early dinner and then watched the Lions lose to the Packers.  Now we'll enjoy a quiet evening at home.  

Sadly after tonight, we only have one more 8pm sunset, and the cooler temperatures the last few days have made it clear that fall is on it's way. Thankfully,  the weather this week will climb back into more summer-like temperatures and we will make sure we enjoy it.  But those earlier sunsets are really making me sad.  I'm just never ready for September.