Dad and his little sister.
Happy Birthday to this little boy who grew up to be the man who taught his children to be kind to others, to always keep learning, to pay attention to the world, and to never give up.
We all miss you and mom.
Love,
the Badger kids.
zzzzzzzzzzz
Out and about here in Michigan this winter I haven’t see a lot of vibrant color just shouting to be photographed. Though I’m sure if I really spent time looking I could find some. There was that barn I passed on the way to doggie school last Sunday; in certain light it would be vibrant. And I might have used it for this photo challenge if I hadn’t noticed a friend’s running shoes just the other day.
They were bright pink.
It’s been a few years since I considered myself a runner. I guess it’s been quite a few years because now that I noticed it seems like running attire, shoes included, have stepped it up a notch. You could even say that running attire is now vibrant.
So during my walk at the local mall this morning I took a few shots of running stuff in all it’s beautiful color. These pretty new duds might even inspire me to get back out on the road.
Maybe.
You can see other people’s interpretation of vibrant (and we all need some strong color about now) over at the original post. The link is on the word ‘vibrant’ above. Or you can check out a few of my favorites (so far), here, here, and here.
I liked this a lot too.
Enjoy.
Camouflaged Katie
No one else was out there. Poor working fools.
We walked a trail we’ve traveled often, though it’s different each time we visit. On this trip we had bright blue skies, brilliant white snow and enough breeze to make the trees creak. Other than the trees it was quiet.
Lots of coming and going.
Plenty of animals had been out since Thursday afternoon’s light snow. The tracks I found most interesting were those of what might have been a dog except there were no corresponding human prints. Sometimes the ‘dog’ tracks were headed the same way we were, and other sections of the trail showed him headed the other way. His prints were about half again as big as Katie’s.
Katie’s print on the right, next to the ‘dog’ print.
Sometimes his prints intersected those of a rabbit. Or smaller things like mice or moles.
Intersection
We also ran across smaller tracks, with a walking pattern that was more linear…more like I imagine a cat might make.
Cat walk?
All of this evidence of another world made me realize these woods were home to a community that we hardly ever see. After all the people go home these forest dwellers come out and search for food. There’s a whole world right here among the tall trees that we never notice as we walk our dogs, that we’d never notice if it weren’t for the thin coating of fresh snow.
I wondered where all those animals were napping while we were walking and began to wonder if the ‘wolf’ (as I’d begun to think of the one who made the ‘dog’ tracks) was watching us as we moved through his forest. I wondered if the rabbit got away, and what the deer had found to eat. I marveled at all the tiny tracks, picturing little rodents scurrying, always across the path, from one little tunnel to another, never down the trail like the larger deer and rabbits walked.
What’s up there mama?
The trees creaked, the sun shone, Katie ran ahead and then urged me to move along faster. We had a great time, she and I. And as we left I thanked the animals for sharing their home with us.
Another great day of retirement.
We’re just visiting.
.
Katie here.
Boy I had a big day yesterday! I thought maybe it was my birthday or something! Cause my mama took me all sorts of places and each of them was fun with lots of stuff to sniff. And can you believe that she chauffeured me around all day long? But I was sure it wasn’t my birthday, cause I remember my folks ignored me completely that day.
So I wondered… what was up?
Anyway, I woke mama up early and she said that was good because we wanted to be at the Winter Dog Show before 10 to watch our friends Karen and Deuce compete in conformation that morning. In case you haven’t met Deuce, he’s an absolutely beautiful cocker spaniel. He came to my park last winter and we had fun, but he’s been so busy doing classes and his therapy dog work that he hasn’t been able to come back out for another walk. Here’s Deuce and me last winter. (Click on any photo to see more detail.)
Me and Deuce. He’s a good guy.
And here is Deuce and his mom yesterday at the show! She was getting him all beautiful. He did really good, and won an award which made his mom very very happy. Deuce is happy all the time, so it was hard to tell if he was excited about his award.
Getting his handsome on.
Deuce got his picture taken with a celebrity doggie. I could have gotten mine taken with the celebrity too..but I told my mama no way was I going to allow some huge doggie to hold me! No siree! My mama said that was OK, it wasn’t all about me anyway. I did let people pet me when they asked though. I’m not so shy as I used to be and lots of people said I was really soft. Several of the adults told my mama stories about shelties they had as kids. I guess I remind people of happy times.
Deuce was looking for a treat.
We were at the dog show for a couple hours, and as it got more crowded I got sort of hot and started to lag behind my mama. I was ready to get out by the time we left.
We didn’t see any lineups of shelties.
Then mama took me to her favorite park, Kensington, and we walked a bit on the bike path. That was more like it mama! It was cool and I trotted out front of my mama sniffing, sniffing, sniffing! Eventually mama got cold She’s kinda prissy, my mama, so we got back in the car and drove over to her home town!
This is fun mama! And cooler too!
Mama said she wondered if the city park was open. She used to take swimming lessons there on the lake. The beach is on the opposite end of the lake she lived on as a kid. She hasn’t been back to that park since at least 1978, maybe before that! And guess what? It was open! So we went down to the beach and walked around a bunch and watched kids sledding down the hill, and other kids playing hockey out on the lake right where mama used to swim. We even went out on the ice! Mama said that was a very weird feeling.
On the ice of my mama’s childhood lake!
We drove by her old house too, and the garage door was open and people were home. She almost stopped, but then she decided that would be weird so we kept driving.
And then we went to my other park, Indian Springs, and watched more kids sledding. And I chased a mouse (or something) under the snow. And we ran up and down the hills. It was just so much fun. I wasn’t even tired, but mama was cold and her feet were wet.
I smell something under here mama!
So we finally went home and I figured out what was going on. Daddy was making a whole bunch of noise fixing something in the house. And guess what? He wasn’t finished! He’d go up these weird stairs and then disappear into the ceiling and then there was all this clunking and pounding above my head and I did not like it! No I did not! So I barked and barked and barked and mama told daddy she was taking me out again. (HEY! That works!!!)
We ended up at a store where we walked around and around and around and …well, you get the picture. I got to sniff a lot of stuff including CAT FOOD! Did you know that cat food smells really really good?
Eventually mama picked out a very small package of treats and we went up to the cash register. I don’t get to go to the store very often but I remember very specifically that if I walk up behind the cashier, right into her little space, she will give me a treat! So I got one! HA! Mama forgot to bring me treats the whole day we were going all over, but I got one at the store! Cause I am seriously cute you know.
This one smells good mama!
It was a great day. We drove lots, and I even fell asleep in the car, which I never do. Mama says I am a very good traveler. I think we should do this again.
What do you think? Should we go on another adventure soon?
Looks interesting over there…
Sheltie in snow on a Sunday.
Did you get my good side mama?
Go over to Cee’s original post to see other interpretations.
I’m feeling pretty lucky to be living up here in Michigan right now, as the blizzard Jonah is bearing down on the south and east. So far this winter has pretty much passed us by. Sure we’ve got a tiny bit of snow on the ground. And it has been cold for a couple of weeks, but this winter is nothing like the last two evil and nasty winters we all suffered through.
Still, this week’s photo challenge is all about looking forward from the middle of the long winter. What makes us feel hopeful that we’re headed toward warmer weather? What keeps us going when we’re tired of shoveling, scraping frost off windshields, bundling up, driving on treacherous roads?
Stopping for a quick visit at Matthaei Conservatory always lifts my winter blues. It’s tropical inside with lush green trees and flowering plants. And in the back is the dry hot air of a desert complete with intriguing desert plant life. For a little while you can lose yourself in another place. A warm place.
I always like to stop and visit a huge rotating pot full of colorful plants. The plants are changed with the seasons, but the best part of this exhibit is the kaleidoscope that transforms the colors in the pot into changeable art. I took this image through the eye of the kaleidoscope. As the pot of plants rotates the image changes.
Spring in the eyepiece.
It’s magic and always makes me smile. And smiling in winter? Well, that’s the first step on the road to optimism.
See other optimistic responses at the original link above. It’s early…so I haven’t picked out any favorites yet. But optimism is such a wonderful concept, they’re all bound to be great.
Another view…just turn the pot.
Many of you have heard about the water crisis in the city of Flint. It’s making national news.
Essentially the short version (and the short version doesn’t do justice to the actual reality) is that years ago an emergency manager was appointed to handle Flint’s financial woes and in an effort to save money the water supply was changed from the Detroit system and the Lake Huron to the Flint River. Turns out the water from the Flint River ran through old pipes and the combination was deadly. Now there is lead contaminated tap water in homes, businesses, and schools. The water had been consumed for over a year before people persistently making noise finally caught media, and thus government, attention.
Of course it is much more complicated than that. There are all sorts of politics involved. And charges that only minority dominated cities were put under emergency management in the first place. But the bottom line is that once again concern about money trumped concern about people’s safety.
Tuesday night our governor gave his State of the State speech and he spent most of it talking about Flint. He explained the timeline of events from his point of view, and though he took ultimate responsibility, he also wanted to assure everyone that his people had not told him about the magnitude of the problem until recently. And he’s going to prove that by releasing his emails.
Somehow none of that is making anyone feel better.
Early Wednesday I went for my walk up at the mall. Walking alone, I had plenty of time to notice the snippets of conversation between other walkers. Here’s just a bit of what I heard, each of these from a different pair of walkers.
“Governor Snyder said he didn’t ….”
“The corrosive water ran through the old pipes and leached lead into the water…”
“We don’t want to hear you say you’re sorry…”
“Well, it just really seems like…”
“I don’t know how it all can be fixed…”
“Finger pointing won’t help…”
“None of the Republican candidates are talking about water…”
“Who’s going to pay…”
I’ll let your imagination finish these conversations. Regardless of where your mind takes you it will be a dark place. There are no easy answers to this monumental problem. The governor has declared Flint a disaster area. The National Guard is passing out bottled water and filters. The mayor of Flint has had a meeting with President Obama in the oval office and the President has promised to help.
But ultimately the problem will take years to correct. And the underlying political issues? Those may never be sorted out. When General Motors abandoned Flint, taking with it thousands of jobs, many people left the city. The resultant lowered tax base couldn’t meet the needs. Inept politicians ran the city, ultimately causing financial ruin and emergency management. Should that have happened? Whose fault is it?
More importantly, what can be done to avoid in the future the series of events that led one community down the garden path to tainted water?
Change is hard.
Change Is Hard 