Change Is Hard

…but change is certain.


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Learning to puppy

It’s been a long, long time since we lived with a puppy. Some thing had to be relearned immediately. Some things are lifestyle changes that we can grow into even as she grows.

When you have a new puppy you have to look in all directions before you move your feet. She could be anywhere and most of the time she’s behind your feet, between your feet, next to your feet or chewing your feet.

When you have a new puppy you must never ignore sounds no matter how faint. She’s almost always doing something and sounds are your first hint of it all going wrong.

Tearing sounds, gnawing sounds, throw up sounds, peeing sounds, the sounds of toenails racing in places she shouldn’t be, clanging sounds of food bowls being overturned, the sounds of shoes being dropped in other rooms…the possibilities are endless.

When you have a new puppy you must give up cleaning, unless it’s cleaning up poo or pee. There’s no time to do anything but follow your adorable little puppy around, ensuring there’s less poo and pee to clean.

When you have a new puppy you give up your luxurious long morning snoozes. Little puppies have little bladders and need to go OUTSIDE RIGHT NOW! It’s OK, because being an older new puppy parent you probably need to GO RIGHT NOW too. Hopefully not outside though.

And speaking of snoozes, when you have a new puppy you learn to nap when she naps. Which, if you’re perfectly honest, is quite often. And you’re probably sleepy (see early morning observations above) so take that nap!

When you have a new puppy your vocabulary is reduced to “Awwwww” and “NO!”

When you have a new puppy you must remember she’s not the dog you had before and will probably react differently to things like opening the oven door or blowing your nose or using tinfoil. Or she might react exactly the same, crazy way.

When you have a new puppy you have to learn to manage the leash with a twirling, dancing whirlwind on the other end.

When you have a new puppy you spend more time down on the floor than you have in years, playing ball, tossing chicken toys, tickling tummies, and laughing.

When you have a new puppy you need to stop wearing earrings because little squirming puppy kisses turn to chewing on hair, noses, chins and ears. And earrings are irresistible.

When you have a new puppy that has fallen into a happy, exhausted puddle of puppy nap right in the middle of the living room floor, you tiptoe around her and settle in a nearby chair to watch her sleep.

Because she’s so cute. And because everyone knows to let a sleeping dog lie.

Happy 3 month birthday, little Penny. Welcome home sweetheart.


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A glimmer of possibility

Wednesday afternoon the sun came out and temperatures rose into the 50s F (10s C). The snow began to melt, birds were singing, and spring felt within reach.

“Can we please go outside, mom?”

Little Penny, experiencing her first spring day, was ecstatic. And, because she wanted to be outside exploring her yard, she began to ask to go outside.

Our first picture together.

And just like that a corner has been rounded in our potty training effort.

Wednesday afternoon she began going to the back door and whining softly. Once, when I didn’t move fast enough to suit her, she pawed at the door.

Trying to engage the puppy in the reflection.

I’m pretty ecstatic too.

We’ve gone a whole day without a potty accident in the house. She’s napping at the moment, exhausted by all the tours of the yard, the grasses pulled, the gardens explored.

“Hey mom! This grass smells great!”

I’m grinning as I type, because I can tell she’s going to be an awesome dog.

Oh, I still miss my Katie-girl. I will always miss her, and Bonnie before her, and Daisy before Bonnie. As I walk around the yard, little Penny dancing on the end of her leash I talk to Katie.

She sits when she’s interested in something. We didn’t train her to do this. I spent years trying to get Katie to sit when a car drove by.

“See your little sister, baby-girl? See how she’s running and grinning and having the best time in your yard? Isn’t she cute? She’s got so many adventures in front of her, doesn’t she, sweetie. You keep watch over us, Katie-girl, and thanks for guiding us to this little one. She’s going to be special, just like you.”

“I think this piece of grass needs to be pulled up, mom. Don’t worry, I’ll handle it.“

Yep, this one’s a fire cracker, all bundled up energy, bursting into zoomies at the slightest instigation, never complaining, always happy, and definitely smart.

“Can we please go out again, mom?”

There’s going to be some stories to tell, no doubt about it. I can’t wait to get started. I think she’s pretty amped up too.

“We had a really good day today, didn’t we mom!”


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I’m a lucky Penny

Hellooooo Everybody!

Penny here.

You may have been wondering when I’d get on my mom’s blog and introduce myself. You probably thought I was shy, after all that’s a sheltie trait, being shy until we get comfortable with stuff.

What’s that over there?

Well. That’s not me.

Let me get something straight right from the start. I’m not shy about anything. And I’m not afraid of anything either.

My first day at my forever home.

I am a very confident and smart sheltie-girl. My mom said my sister Daisy (who lived until age 10 and died in 1990) was the sweet girl, and my sister Bonnie (who lived almost 15 years and died in 2006) was the good girl, and my sister Katie (who you all knew and loved) was the pretty girl, but I’m the smart girl.

I think I’m going to grow up to be an excellent shredder.

I’m also a very busy little girl, I want to know what’s going on all the time. I’m supposed to be a cuddle bug but frankly I’m far too busy to be cuddling on the sofa. Maybe later after I get this house and my folks in shape I’ll have time to cuddle. Right now I need things to be just the way I like them, and frankly my folks have been slacking.

I expect more adventures and I’m going to make sure I get them!

I absolutely love retrieving my ball!

Mom says we’re staying in right now cause I don’t have all my shots yet. She says we’re going to visit the vet soon and get some more shots taken care of. I don’t know. Katie told me sometimes the folks take us places that are not adventures and try to pass them off as fun.

Ahem. Let me remind them, I’m the smart girl.

I love chewing on stuff too.

I can tell you right now that they won’t get away with that! No siree! I can smell a con a mile away. Though Katie told me that the vet is really nice, and helped her feel lots better for a long time. So maybe the vet “adventure” will be fine. I’ll reserve judgement.

Sometimes I get a little excited.

Anyway, I’m settling in here with mom and dad. I’ve been here almost two weeks. Yesterday I sat on my sister’s rug and watched the birds, and mom smiled when I put the first nose prints on the sliding door. And she got kind of teary when I found a stick on the deck and broke it up into tiny pieces. I guess I remind her of someone.

How come you get teary eyed, mom?

I’m a happy, talkative little girl who’s not shy about telling my folks off if they don’t attend to my needs fast enough. I love my mom and dad, my toys, my (numerous) beds, my Mama S (my breeder mom) and my supper.

Not necessarily in that order.

I tell my folks off regularly.

And I like going outside to pee, preferably every 30 minutes. And today I didn’t have one single accident in the house! Mom says she’s very proud of me. I’m sort of proud of me too.

I like to sleep with my duck, cause sometimes I miss my sisters.

That reminds me, I need to go tell mom I need to go out. I don’t really need to go out, I just like watching her put on her shoes and coat and stuff. And I like to be carried outside, cause I get to kiss her and get kisses back while we’re walking down the deck stairs.

Kisses and eating snow are the best parts about going outside.

It’s exhausting being me.

Yep, time to go outside.

Talk later everybody, your Lucky Penny.


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Color in a drab world

A week ago yesterday the sun finally came out. We’d had weeks on end, it seemed, of nothing but cloudy skies, cold wind, and sleeting rain.

A pretty day for a run. Or a walk if you’re not a runner.

It is, after all, Michigan in February.

This week’s artsy-fartsy image.

But when the sun broke through all the grey I couldn’t help but want to get out and see if I could find any color.

There was still ice back in the wetlands.

I went to my local Metropark, Indian Springs, because it’s close to home and the bike trail meanders through wetlands, hills and woods. Perfect for testing my spring thesis.

Red twigged dogwood

What spring thesis you ask? Well…I think about February around here Spring starts flexing her muscles and if you look and listen carefully you’ll know she’s right around the corner, just waiting to burst through the last bits of winter.

Light shone through last year’s beech leaves

My husband saw a red-winged blackbird this week, though we haven’t heard them yet. If they’re here, than it’s officially spring, no matter what the skies drop on us.

Flying free in the sun.

Oh, to be sure, I know this winter has not slunk off into history yet. There will be more snow. More cold. More windy sleet. But on that Saturday, just eight days ago the sky was a brilliant blue, and it was warm enough take pictures without wearing gloves.

You can’t beat sunshine and woods to lift the winter doldrums.

I thought you’d want to know, especially those of you even further north than me, that it won’t be long now. Nope, check your gardens, especially those near your house. You might find some hope poking up, reaching for the sun, ready to put a smile on your face.

Skunk cabbage poking up, a first sign of spring around here.

And if not, go for a walk in woods near you and keep a sharp eye out for hints that we’re almost out of the deep freeze.

I know, I know. Every year, every single year, I go on and on about spring being near, that we’ve almost outrun the cold, and then we get slammed with a blizzard.

Last year’s teasel.

I know I’m being foolish (again) by believing that this year will be different.

These leaf buds are bound to pop soon!

This year we won’t have those last winter storms, when buds are opening and fruit trees are vulnerable. This year we’ll head straight into warm summer afternoons, we’ll bypass the last salt trucks and snow plows.

That blue sky just has to be a hopeful sign!

Yep. This is the year we jump straight into spring. I’m sure of it.

Aren’t you?

Head on out for a walk, you never know what you’ll see!


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Don’t forget the pelicans!

This is a post I thought I’d have up a long ago. But exciting things interrupted the flow (and she probably always will).

I interrupt this blog to announce my intention to control everything my mom does for the foreseeable future.

A week ago, long before we knew we’d be sheltie parents by the weekend, I went out looking for barns and failing at that decided to check out Midland’s Overlook Park to see if the pelicans I’d heard about would be there.

Saw some barns along the way.

I saw lots of other stuff, but no pelicans for the first couple hours. The sun started going down and it got colder. I hung out, hoping. But how long should I wait?

I’d just about given up, had started texting someone about something or other, my mind moving on from the cold parking lot in the growing dusk, when suddenly, out of the corner of my eye I saw a flash of white, right up near the edge of the pond directly in front of me…and behind the chain-link fence which is covered with vines.

Hard to focus through a fence!

A squadron of pelicans had landed! I squealed even though I couldn’t get a clear shot of them.

Next to me in the parking lot was another photographer, also with a long lens, also frustrated that the big white birds were swimming up and down along the edge of the pond, obscured by the fence.

At first all we got were pelican behinds.

But we waited, hoping. And eventually the six of them edged out just a bit into water unobscured by the fence. It was very, very, very cool.

The initial six.

And as the dusk intensified four more pelicans arrived to join the pod. Most of the time we couldn’t really see them…they’d swim out toward the middle a little bit and then all of the sudden they’d all flock back to the edge as if something startled them.

Much more obviously pelicans from the side.

But I’ve been reading how scoops of pelicans can work together to herd fish into more shallow water for easier fishing. It’s possible that’s what they were doing.

Maybe they’re fishing.

Groups of pelicans are called several things, according to articles I’ve found. “A group of pelicans has many collective nouns, including a “brief”, “pod”, “pouch”, “scoop”, and “squadron” of pelicans.” You can google it too….they’re called different things depending on what they’re doing at the time. I don’t think I used the right terms, but it was fun to read about.

Reflecting on his evening plans.

Regardless of what they’re called, they were magical to watch, and I’m really glad I stuck around, and I’m doubly glad they decided to show up, right in front of where I was parked!

See you next time, you guys!

And now you’ve seen them too!


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Introducing a Pretty Penny

Katie here. I know you haven’t heard from me much since I crossed the bridge.

My sister Payton and me.

But that doesn’t mean I haven’t been working. Mama asked me awhile back if I’d help her and daddy find a little sheltie girl. She said they had been real lonely without me and she knows shelties are a working breed, so she thought maybe I’d work at finding the perfect little girl for them.

And guess what? My half sister Payton’s human mom knew a breeder who knew a breeder, and last night mama and daddy picked up my little sister! Meet Penny!

This was her first evening, sitting on my sofa. She was a little overwhelmed.

She’s nine weeks old and just the cutest little thing! And you know what? I’m not even jealous like I used to be when mama or daddy paid attention to anyone else but me. Living here across the bridge teaches us lots of lessons, and one of those is that our folks’ hearts are expandable and there’s always plenty of love for every doggie.

Her first meal at my house….eating from one of my many bowls. I guess it’s her bowl now.

I’m really happy for mama and daddy….and I promise to supervise things to make sure they teach her all the stuff I taught them when I was there. You know. Like my one picture one treat rule. That’s probably the most important thing Penny needs to enforce because you know how mama is with that camera of hers.

Little puppy in a big new world.

But she also needs to knows it’s OK to get mama up at 4 a.m. if she feels like it, cause mama will get up with just the tiniest little whine. Mama is a softie.

Penny, some of her siblings and her mom at her breeders house.

And she needs to know that daddy likes to cuddle on the sofa some, and even if she’s not in a cuddle mood (you know I was not a cuddle bug) she should snuggle with him a little bit cause it makes him feel good.

Checking whether daddy has anything good to eat

And that’s her most important job … to make mama and daddy smile. In return they’re going to show her such a good time! Oh the adventures! And the walks at all my parks! And school, I need to tell her about all the treats she’ll get at school. And the lake house, she’s going to love the lake house! Why, she might even get to meet some of you! I sure loved my visits, you guys are the best!

Notice how these photos are blurry? Mama was using her phone and Penny doesn’t stay still very much!

I can’t wait to watch her grow up, she’s going to be a looker, but in her own way, you know? Mama really believes every sheltie is different and it’s her job to find out what each one is most passionate about. Me? I was passionate about food, um, camping, but Penny might love doing something else.

Mama and daddy will let her try different things, and Penny will decide what she thinks is the most fun. Because fun is what it’s all about, right? That was another of my rules, that mama and daddy provided me fun adventures, and I recommend Penny strictly adhere to it! It’s important for her to ask them every single day what fun thing they have planned. Otherwise they get lazy, you know. She needs to keep after them for their own good.

Dreaming about all the fun she’s going to have.

Anyway, I know you guys will give her a resounding welcome, she’s going to fit right in. Yep, this is going to be fun to watch, and you can be sure I’ll be watching over her and my folks just to make sure things go well.

A princesses work is never done. But I don’t mind one bit.

Welcome to my world, pretty Penny! Welcome to your world!

Looking out the back door at her backyard.


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Searching for a barn-ican

Wednesday I suddenly found myself with a few hours free in the afternoon. And we had sun with the rest of the week predicted to be cold and rainy. What should I do?

What would you do?

On the road looking for interesting barns.

I decided I should head out in search of a few photogenic barns. I wasn’t sure where I’d be going, but just going in search of barns felt great. I told myself it didn’t matter if I found any. I had a full tank of gas and nowhere I had to be.

The barn’s kind of boring, but the tree is nice.

But after a couple of hours I wasn’t thrilled with what I’d found. I seemed to be in familiar territory and hadn’t seen anything new. Then I turned one more corner and found this one. It was perfect.

This was exactly the kind of barn I’d been looking for.

Maybe I wasn’t going to find any more great barns, but it was still early, going on 3:30. I knew I wasn’t far from Overlook Park in Midland, where another photographer had seen pelicans this winter. I’d been there twice before, searching for the pelicans, but hadn’t seen anything more interesting than geese and ducks.

But she’d told me, just recently, that it was always dusk when she saw the pelicans. Would it be worth it to hang out there until the sun went down? I decided to go see.

Can’t get too close, but it was fun to watch the ducks.

Overlook Park, located in Midland, Michigan, is basically a parking lot perched on a hill looking out over the retention ponds of DOW Chemical. I’ve seen eagles and hawks and geese and ducks and deer there. But never pelicans.

Most of the action was happening way over there.

When I first arrived there was one other car parked there, somebody with binoculars scanning the ponds. I pulled in and immediately saw something big headed our way. It landed in a tree on the outer edges of the park, not so far from the parking lot. I thought maybe it was a juvenile eagle. But I was wrong.

Do you see it in the top of the tree on the right?

It’s a hawk, I think, though I’m no expert on differentiating between hawks. As soon as I got out of the car he (or she) spotted me and I knew right away it was going to take flight. I wasn’t wrong about that!

We have lift-off!

I tried to keep it in the frame, but that was just about impossible.

Beautiful bird.

It flew off to my right, into the woods where it could have some privacy. I sighed and returned to my search of the water, looking for pelicans.

I wondered if the pelicans were way over on the other side of the pond, with the hundreds of geese and ducks over there. If they were, there wasn’t a chance I’d ever see them. Even as I considered what else I could shoot, hundreds of geese lifted up, at once, in groups of a dozen or two and flew overhead.

I’m always fascinated by how nature just settles right in next to industry.

The noise was amazing. I don’t know if they were headed to their night roosts, or just stirring up trouble because they could. After they moved on I hunkered down to wait some more. The sun was going down and it was getting colder.

A steady parade of deer headed out to the end of a peninsula and settled down for the night.

I wondered if I’d be lucky. I had no idea from which direction the pelicans would come or where they’d land. So much of the water was far away from where I waited. I reminded myself this wasn’t Disney World, the pelicans weren’t on the clock. There were no guarantees they’d show up at all.

Meanwhile I was entertained by some adorable diving ducks. You’d see them swimming…

Lots of little ducks

…and then suddenly they’d disappear, leaving only a ring of ripples to show they had ever been there.

Where’d they go?

Then they’d pop back up again somewhere else. It was so fun to watch.

Hey! Wait up!

Still…I was there for pelicans. Would they come in as the sun went down or arrive under the cover of darkness? Would it be at the other end of the pond? Had they migrated on to somewhere warmer? Were they even still in the state?

Would they show up at all? How long should I wait?

How long would you wait?