Change Is Hard

…but change is certain.

Category Archives: spring


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Holy springtime Batman!

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Wasn’t it just last week that we had snow?  OK, maybe two weeks ago tops?  And it’s been icky and cold and rainy since.  Then we got one or two days of warm weather and while I wasn’t paying attention spring appears to have sprung!

This morning Katie and I went on a little yard reconnaissance to see what we could see.  First off, out near the mailbox our creeping phlox has little pink buds!  Yesterday there were only small green nubs easing up out of the cold wet soil.  I’m sure of it.  And the peonies that were planted a couple of years ago?  A day or so ago there was no sign of them.  This morning?  Well, see for yourself:

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And my violets are blooming,  trees-9371 as is the bleeding heart that had only just sprouted out of the ground last time I checked.  Even the red bud tree is in bud!  trees-940

Everywhere we looked we saw signs of spring.  Katie had a wonderful time, such wonderful things to smell!  trees-933 I tried not to look at the dandelions flourishing in among the chosen plants.  trees-9421 Have to get cracking or I’ll be overrun again this summer!

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Doggie plans

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We’re going to doggie school tomorrow morning! I don’t get to take Katie as much as I would like, economics being what they are, and my work schedule being so random. But tomorrow I don’t have to be at work till the afternoon, so Katie and I can attend a competitive obedience class for a small drop in fee. YEA!

I should be working more with Katie.  Since our last disastrous fun match we’ve worked only a little bit in between the thunder storms and random work schedules. It’s hard to heel around the sofa, but we’ve done some of that and a little bit of work at the park too. She’s getting better, but not nearly as good as she was last summer when we worked every day at the park. Of course I didn’t have a job back. Darn job interfering in dog progress!  LOL!

It was 79 degrees outside when I emerged from the library after a full day of being inside a dark old damp clammy building. Can’t waste an evening like that, so Katie and I went to the local softball park.  I thought we’d practice some heeling, but  Dad had just fed her and she wasn’t nearly as interested in me as she was in sniffing stuff.

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She sniffed the pond for a bit but it wasn’t particularly interesting, so off we went down a path into a big field.  katie-1474

She had to keep coming back for me as I was busy taking pictures of all the pretty brown grasses, and wasn’t keeping up.  I found a couple of pretty places for her to model for me as well.  There was a viewing deck at the far back of the property that I’d never seen before.  Not sure what we were supposed to be viewing, but we tried to look like we knew what we were doing.  katie-1481

And there was a pretty red twig dogwood bush out there, shining in the lowering sun that I asked Katie politely if she’d sit next to.  She did, but it was grudgingly.  She really wanted to be running around and sniffing more exciting things rather than posing for me.  katie-1491

It was a pretty long walk, and we were both hot and sweaty when we got back to the car.  Well.  I was sweaty, she was panting.  She had a drink, so did I and then we went home.  She’s sleeping now.  This walkie thing is wonderful, wears her right out!

Wish us well in school tomorrow morning.  I need all the help I can get!

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Need a funny story?

Tonight as I drove home through our subdivision I noticed a Canadian goose sleeping alongside a driveway a couple of doors down. I thought it was odd, but then again the driveway is a single car width dirt drive, with ponds on both sides.

This spring I’ve witnessed the territorial aspects of the pair of geese that appear to live in the bigger pond.   They consistently and with intensity chase away any other pairs of geese that happen to land on their pond. So it was with laughter that I watched the homeowner try to come home from work this evening. They pulled into their drive; the goose was still sitting in the middle of the driveway.   The SUV stopped. It’s not like they could go around the goose, with water on both sides. Suddenly, with great noise and a very wide wingspan the mate of the sitting goose rose out of the water and attacked the stopped SUV. Then the goose on the driveway got up and flapped it’s wings at the vehicle as well. With both geese honking and flapping their wings in front of the SUV, the homeowners finally backed up and drove away.

Eventually the geese settled back into their pond, the homeowner circled around and successfully made it up their driveway and into the house.  Obviously there’s a nest somewhere near the driveway.  I have to wonder how they’re going to get out tomorrow morning.


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Went for a walk

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Yesterday it was finally warm enough not to freeze off vital body parts, so I took myself off for a walk. I used to have a favorite four mile run, and since I haven’t been able to run for a very long time, I walked the route, just to see what had changed during this last long winter.  I thought about taking the dog, but decided I wanted to walk further than she was able to go.

It was a beautiful day, blue sky, bright sunshine.  I walked along a packed dirt road, realizing that it was a perfect day for a run.  But I’m in no shape to begin running yet, still nursing the stress fracture in my foot.  So I settled for a walk.  Turns out it wasn’t such a bad thing.

At the two mile mark there is a small park with nature trails that I have never explored.  Usually I am running as I go by this spot, and have never taken the time to stop and find out what was there.  I saw this past winter a map that said there was a heron rookery at the end of these trails.  So yesterday, armed with my trusty camera I headed down the trail to see what I could see.

My first decision was which way to go at the fork in the trail

trees-877 Hmm…should I go into the woodlands or the meadow?  I decided maybe a heron rookery would be in the woods, but I wasn’t at all sure.  The woodland path headed downhill, and I reminded myself that I’d have to come back up anything downhills I traversed.  Funny.  In the old days when I was in better shape I never would have thought about that.  Sad.

I stopped to take a few pictures of the path ..

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and some fungus on a tree.

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Right about then I heard such a shrieking, grating, loud noise coming from up ahead.  It was the sound of blue herons!  Disturbed blue herons!  I couldn’t see anything, so I hurried down the trail toward the noise.  Not too far ahead this is what I saw, up in the sky:

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Can you see them?  There were thirty or forty (hard to count them all!) blue herons flying in big circles above the rookery.  I counted eighteen nests, but it was hard to see, there are probably many more.  The herons kept flying in higher and higher circles, their squawking decreased, and it became more quiet in the woods.  The path continued downhill, but was becoming waterlogged and muddy, so I eventually turned around and climbed the hill back to the road.   It was an amazing experience.  Once the leaves are on the trees I won’t be able to watch the nests, so I hope to go back and watch again soon.  I don’t think I was the one that disturbed them, as I was quite far away, taking quiet pictures.  But we’ll see if they all go up in flight next time I’m there.

On the way back home I walked through the wetlands down below the rookery, enjoying the sun and blue skies.

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It took me forever to do this four miles, especially with the side trip into the woods.  I doubt you could call it a workout, but at least I was out on a walk!

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Later in the evening Katie and I went to the park so that she could walk and sniff around as well.  I think we both need to do this more often, especially since the weather seems to have broken.

Shoes are broken in too.  Fun times.

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It's a long story

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For years I’ve looked longingly at the Easter egg coloring kits each spring.  We had such happy times as kids making colored eggs.   Some years I think I’ll just color Easter eggs by myself.  But then I think; “How ridiculous!  You live with one other person!  How many hard boiled eggs can you two eat?”  And so I don’t.  But this year my sister is visiting, and as we shopped for Easter dinner she convinced me to buy the egg coloring kit, and today we braved the cold outside and did some really creative work.  If I do say so myself.

easter-2009-013 Why, you would be right to ask, are we coloring eggs outside?  Well I was worried about spilling food colored water on my tile floor or granite counters and so I banned us to the outdoors.  My sister was freezing but I thought it was perfect weather to be dying eggs! 🙂  And I wonder why everyone doesn’t do this outside, as we made quite a mess on the tailgate of her truck!  We had fun, even if she did freeze her fingers off!

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I personally think our results are quite striking.  Though the husband did ask why we didn’t have any plain solid colored eggs.  Heck.  We could have just done simple single colored eggs, but where’s the excitement in that?  So here are our beautiful, fun filled, adults goofing off, eggs.  They make me smile!

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Happy Easter everyone!  We hope you and your families have wonderful, safe, peaceful and entertaining holidays!

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One last time?

So my grass is getting sort of green. My daffodils are up about 4 or 5 inches, some even have tiny little blossom buds on them. The birds are running around making nests, I’m starting to think about getting out the gardening stuff, planning the garden, looking for weeds.  You know, getting into the spring thing.

But they are predicting a big storm starting tonight. We’re supposed to get 4-6 inches of…dare I say it? SNOW!!! So it goes, springtime in Michigan. Doesn’t let a person get to complacent. Ever.

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This picture was taken April 13, 2008.  Hope what we have coming isn’t more than this, but I’m afraid it might be.


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Happy Gotchya Day Katie!

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Two years ago today Katie picked us to be her roommates!  She was ten weeks old and already had an attitude!  She wasn’t afraid of anything or anyone; she played the part of a tough girl, but she turned out to be a sweetie.   When she wasn’t being a devil girl!

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Notice the weather we had that day!

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In fact we had a lot of pretty days that spring.

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And this is Katie today, on this fine “spring” morning!

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Happy “Gotchya Day” baby girl!  We’re glad you chose us.

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Not predicting spring.

I know I said weeks ago that I was done predicting spring. After all, it keeps getting cold and wet around here after a few days of teaser warmth. I’ve lived in Michigan all my life; you’d think I know this. But each year I find myself pulled into the excitement, think that winter is over, get all happy and such. And then it snows. Or freezing cold drizzle descends. Disappointed again.

So this year I declare myself free from the whole spring anticipation frenzy. Free to enjoy each day for what it is, whatever it is. Not going to look forward or become disappointed if things don’t go exactly right.  Not going to be sucked in again. Not this year. No siree. Not me.

Hey! Did you see that the goldfinches are turning gold? In little bits and splotches the male feathers are turning from drab green to bright yellow. Must be it’s finally spring! WAIT! I didn’t say that!

Darn. Sucked in again.  🙂

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