Fun, food, festivals, and finishing lots of to-dos

We've had quite a busy week full of fun summer activities.  The temperatures were pretty hot to start the week, with a little cool down on Wednesday, and then a return to the 90s as we ended the week.  We're just about to enter the final month of summer and back-to-school is in full swing, so we are definitely doing everything we can to make the most of the summer days that remain.   

I wasn't very good at getting pictures early in the week, probably because we didn't do anything exciting.  My Uncle Charles has a farm and received some special permits from the DNR for deer causing crop damage and offered me the opportunity at getting some of the meat.  Last week he dropped two deer off for processing, one each for me and Nicol, and on Monday Nicol made the drive to the processor to pick up our meat.  I met her in Perry to get my box of over 40lbs of venison.  This will go a long way to help with feeding Peaches and I was happy to be able to fill my freezer for her.  As you can see, I have a quite the freezer full to feed her with over the next few months.  

Monday night the girls were still recovering from our big day of hiking last Sunday, so we just spent some time in the yard that evening.  With the heat on Tuesday, we did the same thing, and I spent a little time in the garden.  I finally got my first tomatoes.  It is so strange to me how slow my garden is growing this summer.  Other than the cucumbers which have done pretty well, everything else is way behind, although I'm starting to see some progress finally.  I've decided I'm just going to be grateful for anything that I get out of the garden this year.  And those two little pear tomatoes were pretty tasty!

I worked a half day on Wednesday so that I could take Mina to the Dog Days event at the Lansing Lugnuts baseball game.  This has become an annual tradition for us and I love it.  They allow dogs at every Wednesday home game, but I really enjoy the day games the best, and this game was also the kids fun day where some of the local kids camps come for the game too.  It's a great time with Mina because she is so easy and loves kids.

I was starving when we got there so I got the chicken finger basket and sat down to eat and share a few bites with Mina.  We spied this adorable GSP/English Pointer mix from our seat.  He was very sweet.

I was even more excited about this game because Nicol, Tyler, and Fiona joined us for the fun.  They got there a little later than I did, so Mina and I did some laps around the stadium while we waited. 

When Nicol arrived, we headed out to the lawn area where there are some really nice tables with umbrellas for shade.   She, Tyler, and Fiona enjoyed some good baseball food and Fiona got her first taste of cotton candy, which she loved!

Fiona got a chance to play in the bouncy house after finishing her food and she loved it! She even made a friend.

Mina insisted on another lap around the stadium and I made her pose with the Taco Bell seasoning packet because I thought it was pretty funny.  

When we got back to the table, she was eyeing the two little leftover pieces of Fiona's corn dogs, which of course she got to finish.  She was a pretty happy pup.

The Lugnuts won the game, and I made sure to get a picture of everyone before we left to commemorate Fiona's first professional sporting event.  I was so glad that they had joined us!

When I got home, Mina got to stay home and relax while I took Peaches and Mia for a nice walk around the neighborhood.  They were pretty happy to be out enjoying the afternoon.
 

Then, after we got back from their walk, I headed out to the shelter for our Wednesday night dog walk.  I got lucky enough to walk a dog and was pretty exciting to walk beautiful Superior.  He's still just a puppy at 10 months old and has the prettiest eyes.  He was pretty interested in my phone!

On Thursday, the girls spent a lot of time out in the yard throughout my work day.  I was glad that they had because after work, I had to head out to the Olivet area for a home visit for ISR.  I met a very nice family with a sweet 12 year old GSP who are looking to add a new GSP to their family after the recent loss of their male.  After the home visit, I made the drive home, fed the girls, made myself dinner, and then headed outside to enjoy the evening on the patio.  

On Friday, I dropped my car off early for a small repair and oil change before starting my work day.  I picked my car up at lunch and ran a few errands, then headed home to finish my work day.  Right after work, I had an appointment at Discount Tire for the repair of a small hole in a tire and a tire rotation.  The car is now ready for a nice road trip!

After all of the running around and craziness of the day, I was excited to take the girls out to the Island City Dog Park for some fun.  I love this park because we're always there by ourselves and the girls can just run and explore without having to deal with other dogs.  This also allowed me to bring Mia along for the trip and I am so glad I did.  She was running and having such a good time.  I loved seeing her so happy.  After a hot 35 minutes at the park, everyone (except Mina) was ready to head home for the night.

We are on vacation this week, and I had a spent a lot of time earlier in the week slowly checking some things off my to do list.  By the time we reached Saturday morning, I still had a few things left on my list, but I also had some plans for a little fun.  We left home early to drop off some Styrofoam for recycling and to make a quick stop at the Holt Farmer's Market for a few treats from Fur Real Dog Snacks.

Them we made the drive to Williamston for the Dog Days of Summer Festival where we participated in the PawK.  It was a short walk around the park and it benefitted the Ingham County Animal Shelter Fund.  

Luckily it was early enough that the temperatures weren't too hot.  The girls enjoyed their walk and they all got medals when they finished.

After we finished the walk, we headed over to the pools for a drink and a little cool-down.  While we were there, I had a nice talk with a women who had recently lost her GSP.  After we talked for a bit, she shared with me that she was the Mayor of Williamston.  We enjoyed our conversation with her.

Then we checked out the vendors.  Mia got to try her first pup cup which one of the vendors were giving out for free.  I was pretty proud of her for letting a complete stranger give her a treat.  She loved it!

Then it was back to the car to cool down in the air conditioning!  Peaches was wiped out and ready for a break and so I said goodbye to our friends there and headed out to check another item off my to do list. 

We made the drive to Old Town for the girls to get their nails trimmed at the groomer there.  Peaches normally hates her nail trims, but she did much better than normal today.  I was very proud of her. 

Since we were in Old Town already, we took a quick walk around Art Feast.  There were lots of vendors and people around and the girls were all perfect.  Before we left, I picked up a lemonade and a quesadilla from a couple of the food trucks there.  We walked back to the car so I could eat while the girls were comfortable in the A/C again.

We ended our day of adventures with a quick trip out to Sleepy Hollow State Park to meet up with some fellow geocachers and partake in a special event there.  We didn't stay long because Peaches was over the heat and humidity, but we had a little fun before we left.  It was a very quiet ride home!

The girls had lunch when we got home, and then we headed outside so that I could mow the lawn before some rain moved into the area.  The girls stayed outside while I mowed the front yard, but were ready to head inside when I moved to the backyard.  It was really weird mowing the backyard in the full sun without the nice shade from the Willow Tree, and boy was it miserably hot!  I checked the garden for any goodies before I headed inside.  Those tomatoes were pretty tasty!

I finished my afternoon with a hair cut and finishing up the laundry and a couple other quick errands.  Then, when I got home, I finished folding the laundry so I could pack, and then I packed the car for the big trip we'll be taking this week.  

With the car packed and the gas tank full, we're ready to leave for a nice trip north for the week.  I'm so excited that we'll get to spend most of the next 7 days north of the Bridge.  I'm looking forward to some quiet time, some relaxation, and the chance to see friends.  Plus I'm excited to share the UP with Mia.  It should be a great week!  Now off we got to spend the day in the car!  

Progress

Boy oh boy did we have a busy week.  I'm not sure how we ended up with so much happening, but it certainly felt great to get so much done.

My Monday morning started with getting a new roof on the house.  I was up earlier than normal so that the girls could have breakfast and spend some time outside before the roofing team arrived because I knew once the work started. they'd be stuck inside all day. 

While they were outside and I waited inside, I did dishes, a load of laundry, and some other odd jobs.  By time the roofers arrived around 7:30am, I had accomplished quite a lot, including cooking myself a hot breakfast which is definitely not normal on a weekday morning.

There was lots of load noise throughout the day, but I was able to continue my normal Monday work routine despite the noise.  During all of the chaos, the girls were excellent, even Mia, who I had been concerned would not handle it well.  But she did great! 

When the team of roofers took a break for lunch around 1pm, i was able to get the girls out of the house for a potty break and a walk around the neighborhood.  The weather was beautiful and we had a nice little walk.  

When we got back from our walk, we all had lunch, and then the girls settled in for their afternoon nap while I got back to work.

It was a very long day with lots of noise and commotion, and I was so proud of all three girls for handling it so well.  

Thankfully there was no project on Tuesday,  so the girls were able to spend lots of time outside during the day while I worked. 

After work we drove out to Mason to meet up with a group at the Daily Scoop.  The girls were happy to say hello to everyone.  Even Mia seemed happy to be there, although she did start to show some signs of stress at the end of our visit.  She is getting so much better in busy situations and around crowds.

Before we left Mason we took a nice walk around the Courthouse and around the downtown area.  Then we got in the car and headed home.

After dinner, the weather was so nice that I decided to spend some time enjoying the lovely weather and the lighting bugs.  The girls were pretty happy to spend more time outside too.

We were up extra early once again on Wednesday because we were expecting the arrival of the tree removal company.  Sadly, I had to have my Willow Tree removed because it had reached the end of its life.  The normal life span of the Corkscrew Willow is 30-50 years, and I know from speaking with one of my neighbors that the tree was already pretty well-established when she moved in 47 years ago.

I decided I'd spend some time out in the yard with the girls that morning to enjoy the last hours of my beautiful tree.

I was able to spend some time in the garden which is finally starting to produce some veggies, although much later and slower than normal. 

Then I just sat on the patio and watched the girls enjoying their time outside.  When 8am arrived,  I brought my laptop outside to work for awhile too, since i knew we'd be stuck inside once the tree removal began.

The team finally arrived around 10:30am, after dealing with a morning tree emergency.   The entire project from their arrival until they pulled away after the final clean-up took just over three hours.  Of course, I had to take several pictures to document the whole process.   It sure was sad to watch the tree come down so quickly after standing tall there for so many years.

And now i have this huge empty spot in my backyard!

As the tree crew was finishing up, the team arrived to install my gutters.  I didnt know they were coming that afternoon, but their timing was perfect. 

It felt great to get so many big projects completed this week after feeling like I spent the last year and a half letting things continue to fall behind.  I still have some other projects to do around the house, but theses three were definitely the biggest items that I needed to check off my list.  Progress!

I was excited that we had a nice group of dogs to walk at the shelter on Wednesday night.  Rum Tum Tugger is my favorite at the shelter right now.  He's a pointer pitbull mix and super sweet.  I always love spending time with the shelter pups.

I was up early again on Thursday, this time for Mina's annual vet appointment.   While we waited, she was obsessed with the "fleas" hanging from the ceiling in the lobby.  

This little stinker weighed in at 54.4lbs which is up 4 pounds over her weight from last year.  Since she doesn't over-eat, I blame it on the lack of adventures we had while my dad was sick.  She'll need to lose a couple of pounds to get back to a better weight, but I don't think that will be a problem as we get back to hiking and walking more regularly again.  Otherwise, she's a happy, healthy, normal GSP. 

With the high temperatures and poor air quality that we've been having, it's been harder to spend much time outside the last few days, but we did enjoy a quiet night on the patio Thursday evening and Mina took full advantage of our.new backyard to play several rounds of fetch while Mia and Peaches ran after her or just wandered around the yard.  It was a nice evening after a few busy days.

Friday was a busy day at work, plus I was able to get a few errands done over my lunch.  After work it was too hot to take the girls for a walk, so we just went for a drive in the country.  It was a nice way to end our week.

Saturday morning I was back at the shelter to walk more shelter dogs, and I was excited that I actually got to walk a dog myself because that doesn't happen often.  Of course, I picked my buddy Rum Tum.  He's such a nice walker and I really enjoyed walking with him.

On the way home, I stopped at the Mason and Holt Farmer's markets to buy a few things, stopped at the grocery store for some much needed items, dropped off my Styrofoam recycling,  and completed a couple other errands.  Then when I got home, I let the girls out and checked the garden for anything that needed to be picked.  We spent the rest of the day quietly at home in the air conditioning after our crazy hectic week.  

Today, despite the ridiculous heat, I needed to get the girls out for some time on the North Country Trail.   We are so far behind working toward our 100 miles for this year, that we need to average 14.5 miles per month for the remainder of 2025, so we can't waste a free Sunday.  We headed out mid- morning for a drive South with a plan of attack to get in some miles and hopefully not get too hot.

Our first stop was Jonesville.  I knew that the trail here was mainly paved, but also well shaded so I hoped we'd able to get in at least a mile.  I didn't even wear shoes that were appropriate for a long walk, instead I had on a pair of comfy slide on sandals.  So when we got to the trail I slid off my shoe and stepped barefoot on the pavement to make sure it wasn't too hot for paws.  Luckily it was nice and cool, so off we went.  We walked about a half mile until we reached a section of the trail in full sun where we turned around and headed back to the car.  We finished our hike here with 1.15 miles on the trail.  

Next we headed to Fireman's Park in Litchfield.  This section of the trail starts in a park and is mostly grassy.  It eventually becomes wooded, but not until you walk a quarter mile in the full sun.  

But once we reached the woods, it was so much cooler, with a nice breeze and shade, plus some pretty views.

With the heat we still didn't go far, and finished with a nice drink in the shade and 1.25 more miles complete.

We loaded up into the car and enjoyed some air conditioning before heading on toward Homer.

Homer is just a short drive from Litchfield and Peaches hadn't fully recovered by the time we got there.  I knew we weren't going to go far here because the trail is mainly on sidewalks through town.  But there is a small section along the river that was perfect for a short walk.  We walked back and forth along this section until we reached a half mile. Then it was back in the car to continue our trek north.

Our next stop was Albion.  First we added a half mile along the trail in one of our favorite wooded spots along the trail there.

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By the time we reached thia spot, Peaches was walking nicely beside me, but Mia and Mina were still going strong. Crazy girls! 

As a reward for being so good all day, I took the girls to Reiger Park for some time in the river.  This was a big hit!  As a bonus, we added another quarter mile on the trail.

Finally, we headed to Marshall to finish our day of hiking along the Riverwalk.  I hadn't planned on a long walk here, but somehow we finished with another 1.6 miles on the trail and a quick dip in the river for the girls  before we got back in the car for the drive home.

We ended the day with 5.4 miles on the trail, which was more than i thought we'd get, and three happy girls.  Everyone had dinner when we got home, and then after a quick potty break, they all passed out.  

While the girls slept, I treated myself to Mexican for dinner and then spent some time out on the patio before sunset.  

We had such a great week.  Not only did I make a ton of progress on my to do list, Mia made so much progress this week too.  She is getting more and more comfortable, trusting, and confident, and her personality continues to show more and more.  I'm looking forward to another great week and watching Mia continue to grow and thrive.