Change Is Hard

October 24, 2021
by dawnkinster 45 Comments

Walktober 2021

As usual I had grand plans for Walktober. A place a couple of hours away was calling my name, but also as usual life got in the way and I can’t find a day when I can spend four hours to travel plus a couple hours of exploration.

So that adventure will have to wait for another time.

Meanwhile, it’s not that I haven’t had mini adventures right around here. Katie and I have wandered in plenty of parks this month. Any one of them would be a wonderful Walktober. But she already got to do her Walktober, and I wanted one of my own.

*“Hey mama! I should be included in EVERY adventure!”*

So I’ll share an adventure I recently had with a college friend I haven’t seen in many, many years. Since she retired from her career she’s become interested in birds; she’s joined birding groups online and is learning all kinds of cool things.

She’s seen my posts about the birds out at Kensington, and has never had a bird land on her hand before. She, like so many of you, wanted to experience that for herself. So we met out there on Wednesday.

I get such a kick, every time I take someone new out there, watching their face the first time a little bird lands on their hand. Every single person grins with such a quiet but intense joy.

The little birds weigh next to nothing, they rest so lightly on the fingertips, you’re not sure they stopped there at all. It’s magic.

So, we wandered the trails in the woods, stopping every time we heard the little ones chripping overhead, offering them special treats of peanuts and suet balls and black oilers.

Some of the birds were quite decisive, others took their time to select the perfect morsel.

It was a wonderful walk in the woods, on a beautiful, perfect day. We even saw a bird new to both of us, a juvinile red headed woodpecker! We didn’t get a close look, but we saw him (or her?) flit through the trees several times.

*Did you know a juvinile red headed woodpecker has a brown head? Me either.*

What an extraordinary bird, so beautiful when it flies, with slashes of bright white across the back of it’s wings.

So even though I didn’t get to travel to the far-off park this time, I promise I’ll share it with you when I do. Maybe it will be in November. Maybe it will be in 2022.

*The regulars were still in residence, even this late in the season.*

It’s nice to have something to look forward to.

Thanks, Robin, for hosting this Walktober for all of us. It was wonderful to get out into the world and enjoy everything that October has to share.

*“But next time make sure I get some treats too!”*

October 20, 2021
by dawnkinster 27 Comments

Wordless Wednesday

October 18, 2021
by dawnkinster 31 Comments

My advice – when you’re stressed, take a walk in the woods

Katie here.

Yes, I know you heard from me quite recently, but mama has been really busy and being a responsible dog, I feel the need to fill the void here on ~~mama’s~~ my blog.

*Deuce and me before our walk in the woods!*

Because mama is so busy it’s pretty easy to make her feel guilty about neglecting me. So I’ve been ~~exploiting~~ using that guilt to get her to take me on walks at several parks.

*Sitting together for our obligitory picture in the fall leaves.*

Having wonderful October weather doesn’t hurt either. I think mama should thank me for getting her outside to enjoy the last bit of warm weather before it starts snowing.

Anyway…last week I got to meet up with my friend Deuce and explore Dinosaur Hill, a park over near where he lives with his mom.

*Deuce thinks he’s going to get a treat photo-bombing my shot!*

As you can see, somebody had decorated the park, getting it all ready for Halloween which is coming up soon here in the United States.

We had a real nice walk. So nice in fact that we walked all the way around the little park two times! I felt wonderful, and sometimes I even led out front, something that I never did even back when I was a youngster!

*Hurry up you guys, it smells great over here!*

Mama was real happy that I was real happy.

I guess I should tell you guys, if you don’t already know, that I have some days when I don’t feel so good. It turns out my kidneys aren’t working at full strength.

*Don’t feel bad for me, I’m still a happy girl.*

A few weeks ago the vet said I had progressed to stage 4 kidney disease and that made mama and daddy very sad. But then last week my numbers were a lot better, so now they feel a little bit better.

I don’t know what’s in my future, but you can be sure I’ll parlay it into more walks!

*Deuce thought he’d find treats up there, but nope!*

In fact, a couple days after my Dinosaur Hill adventure mama took me to one of my own parks, Davis Lake Overlook which is right by my house. I call it Katie’s Park II.

It was another beautiful day, kind of windy, but I don’t mind that, wind just makes me more beautiful.

*Me at my park on another beautiful day!*

Mama said we were only going to go a little ways down the trail. She didn’t want me going too far because she didn’t want to have to carry me back. Silly mama!

*I thought we should keep going, right down this big hill. Mama thought I was over estimating my ability.*

We got to the top of a big hill and mama said we should turn back. I said no way! We argued about that for quite some time.

And then I won and we went down the big hill and up the other side and around to my favorite part of the park. I walked all the way back too, I never once asked mama to pick me up.

*We saw a little bit of color. Of course mama had to take a picture.*

So there mama, you don’t have to coddle me! On these bright beautiful fall days I can’t wait to get outside and into the woods!

*I thought maybe I’d find something good under the picnic table. But nope.*

In fact, mama took me to another of my parks tonight, but I’ll save those pictures for another post.

*Hey! Do YOU guys have any treats? Cause mama is restricting treat dispersment around here.*

I figure you’re pretty much overstimulated with all these images of me. Though I have to say, there’s not a bad picture in the bunch. Naturally.

Talk later,

Your Katie-girl, rock star, hiker extraordinaire, and all around glamour girl.

October 17, 2021
by dawnkinster 27 Comments

Change

Unexpectedly I have spent the last few days down in Ann Arbor. Before I left town Saturday morning I did a quick drive through the downtown area, reminiscing about the days, more than a decade ago, when I was there every day working on my graduate degree.

I didn’t end up stopping anywhere yesterday, but I saw that my favorite bagle/fragle place, and my favorite flower shop are now canibus stores. (With home delivery!) My favorite ceramic studio and gallery is now a sushi place. And my favorite vegan restaurant is a Christian Science Reading Room.

Nothing stays the same. But I’m gonna really miss that fragle place.

October 11, 2021
by dawnkinster 44 Comments

Princess Katie does Walktober with the Queen

Katie here. Things have been kind of boring in my world lately – as you may have noticed I haven’t gone on any adventures in forever. So this year’s Walktober seemed the perfect opportunity for me to kick it up a notch. Or ten.

*The moms put us up here ’cause some really big dogs were coming. And because we are cute.*

So I instructed mama to invite my friend Queen Abby (and her mom) to accompany me on my Walktober adventure. Abby was pretty excited about going on an adventure too. We think alike, Abby and me, mostly by ignoring each other. It works for us.

*“Hey Katie, let’s not look at them when they take pictures of us, OK?”*

Anyway, we met at Hudson Mills Metro Park down in Dexter which is near Ann Arbor Michigan. That way neither or our ~~servants~~ moms had to drive too far.

*Queen Abby refused to smile, stating she was too regal to stoop to the paparazzi’s level.*

It was a pretty day, though it started out foggy. But I don’t mind that, foggy means cool, and cool is, well cool to us shelties. We wait all year for the temperatures to drop so we can show off our beautiful but heavy coats for everyone to see

But I digress. I’m here to show you all the fall color, right? Hmmmm….down here in lower Michigan there’s isn’t that much color quite yet.

Mama says the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is at peak color right now. She’s not up there. I think she’s sad about that, but she sure wasn’t sad about going on an adventure with me!

*A little bit of color against a beautiful blue sky.*

Abby and I even put up with all the photos the moms wanted to take. As long as they didn’t want us to sit too close together we were willing.

And we managed to find some color under a couple of trees so that the moms felt like this walk qualified for a Walktober.

*We paused to rest at this spot that was right next to a disc golf tee, so we got to see lots of guys throwing stuff. I thought that was facinating.*

We had a wonderful time. The moms were very careful to let us rest as much as we wanted. After all, both I and the Queen are seniors now.

*We sat in this pavilion, the concrete was nice and cold.*

But we walked a good long way too, just real slow. The better to appreciate our adventure, you know.

“*Seriously Katie, does your mom always take so man*y pictures?”

I think Queen Abby was glad she granted me the playdate so we could go on on a Walktober together.

And I was really glad to share my adventure with her too. But, eventually, we had to leave. We each went back to our waiting carriages.

*I was disgruntled because my treats had not been placed in my private compartment as requested.*

I don’t think Abby was quite ready to leave. I didn’t want to say goodbye either.

But I was ready for a nap, and slept most of the way home. Except when mama stopped to take pictures of barns. But I forbade her from showing those on my Walktober post!

I swear, that woman has no boundries! But I’ll forgive her, cause I had a stupendously fun day!

Talk later, your adventuring girl Princess Katie.

PS: Thank you to Miss Robin for hosting the Walktober again this year! It got mama to take me to a park, so I owe you!!

*Come along with me, there’s another adventure just over here!*

October 7, 2021
by dawnkinster 30 Comments

Practice makes perfect

Our community band headed back to rehearsal this week. Tuesday night was the first time we’ve played together since March of 2020. Though we normally start up again in September after the summer break, this year we delayed starting so that the school system could decide what the protocol for our playing in their buildings would be.

We are required to where a split mask while we play, and our instrament bells must be covered as well. It’s kind of crazy, because, at least for woodwinds, air blows out through all the keyholes too which remain uncovered.

Several people protested that playing band instruments while wearing a mask was ridiculous. I suppose it is. I’m on the board and we decided early on to send out a survey, telling our musicians what the requirements would be and asking if they would be playing this season. About 50% decided they weren’t comfortable and opted out.

I understand, I waffled myself.

But in the end, for me, the chance to play overrode lingering fear of contrating covid again. Though I have to tell you, playing while wearing a mask is not easy. Playing while wearing a mask when you haven’t played more than a handful of times in the past 18 months is really hard. Playing while wearing a mask when you haven’t played much in the past 18 months and while wearing glasses that fog up is really really hard.

We’re practicing Christmas music; our first concert will be in December, and Santa will be there, so we’re motivated. I’ll be practicing this week while wearing a mask so I can figure out how to breath without fogging up. And so I can blow for longer than one measure without getting winded.

*Santa from another concert, another year, another lifetime ago.*

Yep, I have a lot of work to do. But we’re playing music again, a sure sign that the world is beginning to right itself. And that makes me smile. I hope you have found reasons to smile this week too. Even if you’re wearing a mask and fogging up your glasses.

Change is hard.

Wordless Wednesday

October 6, 2021 by dawnkinster 22 Comments

October 3, 2021
by dawnkinster 20 Comments

Northern Lights

No, I’ve never seen them in person. Well. I might have seen a tiny bit of some once, but I’m not sure.

I’ve been watching all the great Northern Light images popping up on Facebook. Many are being shot in northern Michigan, often very near where I used to live a lifetime ago. Sometimes I can tell exactly where the photographer was standing because I’ve stood there myself.

*Creating pollution, light and otherwise while waiting for the Northern Lights.*

Now days I live far away from the northern reaches of the Upper Peninsulia which would be my first choice of viewing locations. It’s just not practical to jump in the car when conditions are right and drive ten hours on the off chance the dancing lights appear.

But I’m sure, sooner or later, I’ll be in the right place at the right time. In fact I was, kind of, a couple years ago.

*I never saw this fist cloud that night, only when I reviewed images later.*

These are photos from 2019 when we were in the UP in the fall and northern lights were predicted. Not only predicted among local northern light buffs, but also on national news networks. Everyone knew there should be lights that night.

Which is why we found ourselves on a beach looking out at Lake Superior along with a few thousand of our closest friends, all of whom were enjoying bonfires producing smoke obscuring the sky.

*Bad composition, but the Milky Way is there.*

Yep. That’s the closest I ever got to seeing the Northern Lights.

*They’re out there somewhere.* *I never did figure out what that red spot was in the water.*

It was a crazy night, and though I was facinated by the others on the beach, mostly Michigan Tech students, we couldn’t see much of anything out over the water. I didn’t even look at these images when we finally made it home from our adventures. We’d seen so many other wonderful things that trip I never thought about these shots at all.

But I have to say…maybe, just maybe I did see some Northern Lights that night. In spite of myself.

*There were people and bonfires as far down the beach as we could see. In both directions.*

Note: These aren’t great images, but to see them at all you’ll probably need to be in a dark room and looking at something larger than your phone.

October 1, 2021
by dawnkinster 26 Comments

Brown sugar

I think about Aunt Vi nearly every morning. Some of you will remember she was my husband’s aunt who lived to be 102.5 years old.

She liked to use that extra .5, because at her age, every month counted. Kind of like a little girl who might answer the question about her age with “4 and a half!” eager to head to kindergarten when she turned five.

Anyway, I think about her most days as I make my morning oatmeal. During her last year of life she lived in a nursing home, where the only meal she would eat was her breakfast oatmeal. And the only thing that made that meal edible was the brown sugar she kept in a baggie in her nightstand drawer.

She showed me that bag on one of my visits, a worn out baggie, opened and closed numerous times. The kind where you have to line up the two sides correctly to get the bag to seal.

*At 101, still at home with her bird Charlie*

It it wasn’t completely sealed, the tiny bits of brown sugar hardened at the bottom of the bag.

And I think about it now. Sprinkling that brown sugar on her oatmeal (which she said was often cold by the time it got to her) was the highlight of her day. Those bits of sweetness were like gold might be to someone else.

And it never occured to me to offer to bring her more. I could have shown up one visit with a fresh bag of brown sugar, sugar that was still soft, but more abundant. Sugar she wouldn’t have to ration so tightly.