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The Last Dance
The Last Dance We took our last hike of the year today. Over the weekend we went to a park south of here, part of a Kalamazoo County park, Prairie View. It's been there a few years now but since my Malemute Rocky was aggressive with other dogs we never visited the park. A hiker friend at Al Sabo reminded me of it, so Saturday we drove out there. Gracie loved it. She likes meeting other dogs and they will teach her how dogs behave. She was a little tentative at first, but she played about an hour. We took her back again the next day and she was more comfortable. There are some trails there too so we took a short walk, about a half hour. I was hoping an hour playtime before her walk would tire her out a bit and make her a more obedient, more attentive. I was wrong. She likes the other dogs but she esteems the hike above all other endeavors know to the canine mind. Yesterday we tried playing some catch at the schoolyard a bit down the street- it's only a five minute walk. The yard is fenced so I took her tennis ball and she had a great time chasing that...but it's just a lawn. There's no critters to smell, no wildlife, no deer shit. So today it was back to Al Sabo. It's right and proper to finish out the year there, we love it so much. It was cold- fifteen degrees with a stiff wind. The sky was bright blue with a few clouds blowing overhead and it was pretty comfortable walking as long as we weren't facing west. We took a trail north and east that turns north to the west branch of Portage Creek and I got a couple of pictures through the trees of the creek channel, still flowing and wandering it's way through the marsh, and PD in her Michigan burque. Gracie is oblivious to the cold and the wind. It makes no difference to her if it's eighty five degrees in the shade or twelve below. In one photo here you can see a wind turbine erected by Kalamazoo valley Community College. They have a training program for aspiring technicians. I'm fascinated by wind power but the high towers limit my admiration to looking up at them, not down from them. It was a beautiful day. The sun was bright if not warm. The wind was kicking up pretty lively and the woods were alive with it. I took one photo framed between two trunks of a three trunk oak and that left trunk was creaking and groaning with the strain. It sounded a little like a woodpecker. All around us the trees were protesting, clicking and cracking in the gusts. It's been a good year for us. We watched the seasons change and took life easy. I'm wishing all my friends here as fine a year in 2015 as we had in 2014. You have all made my year a lot more fun, and I'm happy to have met you. Happy New Year! Become a member now and get a free tote bag. |
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Thank you, Pink! She gets better every day, but that's how it works. There just comes a day when she seems to have an epiphany, and she had that a week or so ago, when she did it all perfectly. I even let her run off leash a bit Monday, in a meadow at Al Sabo. It makes your heart sing to see her bounding through the grass, young and free. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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That looks like just the kind of place I enjoy hiking in. There's a great park system on this side of the state. Huron-Clinton Metroparks are focused on the Huron and Clinton rivers. Opportunity may knock only once, but temptation bangs on the door forever!
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Happy New Year! It must've been cold? All you can see are your wives eyes. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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That looks like just the kind of place I enjoy hiking in. There's a great park system on this side of the state. Huron-Clinton Metroparks are focused on the Huron and Clinton rivers. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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We have just a dusting of snow- it's been a weird year. Twenty inches of snow in November and very little in December. Until yesterday we were having temps in the high forties! When we hiked Monday we lay down in a pasture in the sun for twenty minutes or so and it was lovely. PD said we should have packed a picnic lunch. I think it was forty two or forty three, but the sun warmed us right up. Happy new year to you, sweetie! Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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Thanks motorcycle man! The worst part about the cold? No girls in running shorts and tank tops. I love me some tight black ski pants- they are a fine thing. But a hard assed woman with muscular thighs in short shorts is a sight to behold. In ordinary circumstances they wouldn't give me a second glance, but I have a cute dog. When I had Rocky- he projected masculinity. Girls could not resist him. And he didn't give a shit. They would coo over Rocky and he was like "Hey! I'm walkin' here, if ya don't mind!" [image] Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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12/31/2014 5:41 pm |
I like how your camera (or software) pulls blue out of all that grey and brown. Beautiful.
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I like how your camera (or software) pulls blue out of all that grey and brown. Beautiful. This camera does take good pictures- thank you. But it has some user unfriendly issues that I'd like to get around. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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I always enjoy these stories and the beautiful photos, especially of the 4-legged lady with black hair, dear B, I hope the weather warms up at least another 25-30°, just to make these outings more pleasant for you all. Very Happy New Year to you, PD and the other lovely lady... May 2015 be a most wonderful year where an enjoyable life becomes so much better. Very warm hugs to you. Happy new year, Amelia! Thanks for helping to make it so much fun. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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Thank you dear. Happy new year to you too! Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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It was cold, because of that strong wind. Usually I have to take my hat and gloves off after twenty minutes or so, but not today! Still fifteen degrees is not to bad if you walk, and don't too take long a break. Gracie doesn't much care for breaks anyway. Happy new year to you too, koffla! Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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You're very welcome, dear B... I hope I can make 2015 even more enjoyable for you. Enjoy the weather if it doesn't trouble you. Surely you know that Amelia is only part of my username and that my off-site name is Melissa, which you are entirely welcome to address me as? xoxo I hope to see you in more dresses in the new year....short ones. I do so love a short dress. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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Thank you, dear! I hope you will post photos of that trail- I'd love to see them. I hiked back into the Mazatzal Wilderness in Arizona forty years ago and camped next to a creek in a mountain valley. I loved the southwest. The scorpions were a disappointment though- I got stung on the shin by one. Gracie is not only photogenic, she's a smart cookie too. I'm training her to a dog whistle now- she hasn't made a mistake with it yet, after four days. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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Thank you for visiting, and thanks for your remarks. That made me very happy. And happy new year to you to, SassyG! Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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It has been an honor to have met you ... The Happiest of New Years to you ... ***********If you have a yen to get" Up-a-Tree," Then it's just a hop-and-a-skip to get down with Meeee !
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Happy New Year!
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Happy New Year to you too, my dear! Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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I agree Spunky, but it took too long. Wish I'd met you sooner. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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It has been an honor to have met you ... The Happiest of New Years to you ... Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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What a beauty your Husky was. I had a red husky with two different color eyes. He was my ex husbands and rather feral when we first met. He was 8 when I began training him to walk on a leash. He pulled me like a sled dog. He came to love our hikes so much that it didn't take long before he walked by my side with no leash at all. He was fierce and protective of me. I could go out walking with him at night and always feels safe. Rocketman used to stop traffic, literally. Folks in cars would stop in the street to admire him, and ask about him. One day a school bus stopped, and the driver opened the door to praise him, and all the kids popped the windows down, too. he was very nonchalant about it all. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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Happy New Year! Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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Gracie does a really good job of getting you guys outdoors in all weather! Maybe I need to get a pup, once I retire... Happy new year!
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Gracie does a really good job of getting you guys outdoors in all weather! Maybe I need to get a pup, once I retire... Happy new year! I do believe that she's the smartest dog I've ever known this closely. She has a willful streak, but now she's getting a little older and we're starting to click as a team. She is a thing of unsurpassed beauty when she flies through the prairie grass- and she does fly! There is pure delight in being young and alive- quick! Young and quick. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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Happy new year, Goodyear! It's been such a pleasure talking with you these past months. Thank you! Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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HAPPY NEW YEAR! love your pics hugssssssssssss V Become a blog watcher sweet_vm
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Thank you Sweet V! I have fun taking them. I wish I could post the the scent of pine and spruce and the bite of that cold crisp air too. I feel more alive out there. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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Ah, thanks! I was lucky to get that! She doesn't want to hold still. As a puppy she tan from the camera...now, it's a matter of surprising her. We took a break today on a hill between the swamp and the marsh and she sat staring and smelling something that I couldn't see- but she didn't want her picture taken doing it! Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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Yep! there are still plenty of places inside Al Sabo we haven't hiked, and then there's the boy scout camp that we can trespass on. We're old people- we can just play dumb and the most they'll do is tell us to get out. We haven't done all of them at Asylum Lake either- we've been using the clock to determine a lot of our hikes, so we repeat circuits quite a bit. Then there are other Preserves to try. I'd like to hike the Lakeshore North Country Trail sometime. It runs forty two miles, from Munising to Grand Marais, behind the Pictured Rocks. If my knees will hold up...when it's cold they protest some of this hiking. One of the things that's fun in going to Al Sabo day after day is watching the seasons change- every day it looks a bit different. Anyhow, I have a lot of work to do before I'm ready for a long hike. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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This time of year they should be black and white, but we're stuck at grey and brown. We got our snow in November and very little since. We need the snow- it keeps the Lakes up. It would be hard to get into the school building, but you can walk on the grounds. All the ballfields are fenced, and there is one right up next to the street that I used. It has gates but they aren't locked. I've seen other people playing with dogs there so I thought I'd try it. We probably won't go back often- it's just a lawn after all. I only took her there because of the fence. There is certainly violence here in schools, but no shootings. There are gangs, and gang shootings, but they've happened in the streets, not in the schools. All the same, I wouldn't want to be a student or a teacher these days. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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Happy New Year! I have a minute alone and trying to catch up. It is warm here, 6C or 42 F. I was to the grocery store, a two mile walk and then two miles back with a large shopping bag. It was heavy from a bag of apples, a head of cabbage and a roast chicken and other items. I bought pomfret cake, a.k.a. Pontefract cake, because if they have it I am buying it. I deserved a few sweets on the walk home and it is one of my favorite things. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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