Wordless Wednesday – in the backyard today.
Tag Archives: fall
Walktober wrapup
Thank you all for sharing your Walktobers with us! It’s been an honor to be the keeper of your walks this season. I loved every one of them and I know you will too!
I thought we should start with Robin from Breezes at Dawn since she’s been the host for our wonderful Walktobers for so many years. She and her husband traveled through Pennsylvania and stopped to get a little hiking in. Her pictures are, as always, just stunning.
Then we had Elisa visit from her blog Elisa’s Spot who shared lovely images from one of her walks, both in color and in black and white. She made me stop and think because I’ve never thought about doing black and white images in the fall. But it worked so well on her post, I think it’s something I should try.
And here’s Penny, my young sheltie, from my own Change is Hard with her over zealous Walktober where she shares three walks she went on in one week! She was only 10 months old when she did her Walktober, and she managed to go further than I did at 6 decades plus! She’s going to be a handful, this one, when she grows up!
Next we have Monkey, another sheltie, writing on his mom Debbie’s blog Musings. He did his walk with his mom and took us to the Douglas-Hart Nature Center on a beautiful day. They had quite a lot of fun exploring the trails with Halloween decorations and pretty flowers enhancing the fall foliage there.
And Frank shares a post on his blog, Beach Walk Reflections, about his walk on the beach and into the woods, with stunning photos of both.
Shelly, from Quaint Revival, took us on walk down memory lane as she shared images from her past. Check it out, there’s surely something in there that will make you smile.
Debbie, from Musings of a ND Domer’s Mom, went for a walk without her Monkey and took us to Whiteside Garden in Charleston, Illinois. There she saw many beautiful things, including sculptures and blooming flowers along with wonderful fall color.
Next up is Linda, from Walkin’ Writin’, Wit & Whimsy, who loved the concept of Walktober and decided to share photos from one of her favorite places, Council Point Park, where she introduces us to some of her favorite squirrels!
Then Barbara, from In the Woods, takes us on a walk at the Carolina North Forest trail system, in North Carolina. There she found light even in the deepest woods and she shares it with us all.
Frank, from Beach Walk Reflections, takes us on another walk on the beach. He likes to ponder as he walks, and this time he was pondering the color brown, which he thought was an odd color to be thinking about on a beach walk, but he has some stunning photos to help us all appreciate the color.
Then Penny, being the overly controlling dog that she is, reminded us not to forget, and just to put us all to shame, she did another Walktober!
Jo posts in her blog, Still Restless Jo, about her exploration of Castelnaudary in rural France. She and her husband walked the canal path and saw beautiful boats navigating through the locks there. If you read the post following her Walktober post you’ll see even more about Castelnaudary.
Deb at The Widow Badass and her little Bowser take us on a beautiful walk through their woods. They saw all sorts of color. It’s always fun to have a little four-footed adventurer along for the walk.
Diana, from My Life and Horse Stories, shared her birthday with us. The cake looked great! She and her daughter explored Solvang and visited some of their favorite places there.
Helen, from Helen’s Home World, and her dogs, Liam and Teddy went on a walk with a lot of other shelties. Sheltie meet-ups are so much fun! Having many of the shelties in Halloween costumes made this walk even more special.
Dale, from A Delectable Life is up next. She did a couple walks and combined them into her post. Note that at the beginning there was still a lot of green in the trees, but by the end things had pretty much turned to glorious fall colors!
And here comes Linda From The Task at Hand, with her walk in two different areas of Texas. She shares some amazing images of beautiful late summer/fall plants in bloom! What a nice change from all the cold and dropping leaves up here in Michigan!
And lastly, I got my walk in just under the wire, posting about it at Change is Hard. I went down to Hidden Lake Gardens near the Michigan/Ohio state line. I had a wonderful time exploring the garden and my memories of being there as a young child many years ago.
I hope you enjoyed all these walks! I find it fascinating to see different parts of the world, and how we each approach a project like this. We all live in such wonderful places, it’s fun to share them with each other.
I thank you again for taking the time to walk (or run or skip or boat or bike…) and photograph and write about your times in the special places you visited. And thank you for supporting Walktober! It’s a very special tradition that I hope will continue for many years to come! Thank you also to Robin for sharing the concept with us all in the first place!
Images in this post were taken in my yard the day before our Halloween freeze and snowfall. The yard is brown now, but I have these memories to keep me warm.
Don’t forget to get out and do your Walktober
Hi everybody! It’s me Penny!
I know, I know. I’m monopolizing mom’s blog. But she’s kinda slacking off and I think it’s important to remind you to get your Walktober linked up to mom’s official Walktober post so she can do a wrap-up and include everybody’s adventures.
I think she said she wouldn’t be doing that until sometime in early November, so you have some extra time! I’ll try to get her to put a new end date out there so you know, but in the meantime, don’t wait for her, get outside while the getting is good!
I had such a good time on my official Walktober (where I got to go on three walks!!!) that I decided to go on another one! I think it’s a fine plan to go on more than one Walktober, especially since we’ve had such beautiful weather!
I hope you are having beautiful weather too.
Last Sunday mom and I went down to Ann Arbor and met a friend and her sheltie, Finn. Finn’s mom was Queen Abby’s mom and my sister Katie and my mom and Queen Abby and her mom used to go on walks together.
I had never met Finn before but we hit it off right away. He’s 2 years old and a real gentleman. Also he’s very handsome, don’t you agree?
We walked around Island Park, in the Huron River. It sure was pretty! The trees were just beautiful. Of course that meant the moms wanted pictures of us in front of all of them. Sigh.
Finn and I aren’t experts at this posing yet. It was a challenge, my mom says, to get us both to sit next to each other and at the same time.
She thinks we’re just young.
In reality Finn and I discussed it and decided we weren’t going to cooperate entirely, after all the moms shouldn’t get what they want without paying up.
Right? Right!!
Luckily for us Finn’s mom brought yummy treats and he shared them with me. I admit I am something of a treat hog. I actually stole quite a few treats that were meant for him.
It was 42 degrees and windy while we were there. Finn and I thought that was just about perfect, but the moms were cold. Not our fault, moms, that you didn’t plan very well. Next time you should wear a heavier coat, like us.
After we walked around the island a few times, dragging the moms over bridges and through the woods, the moms decided they were cold and tired and we had to go. Finn and I weren’t cold or tired at all.
I protested at leaving, so mom said we’d stop at another park on our way home. Turns out we stopped at her favorite park (go figure) and she took me to a part of the park she always took my sister to in the fall.
But it was Sunday and the park was busy and there were too many dogs there, so she took me to a new spot she’d never explored before. It was beautiful!
She said she was very very pleased by how good I was, posing for her and coming when I was called. She said as long as no other dogs were around she’d trust me to sit further away from her. I told her not to worry, I was laser focused on her. And her treat bag.
When we finally got home I crashed for a long nap. I sure had fun with Finn and I hope the moms can find a fenced in place so we can play together. We’re about the same size and we really wanted to play off leash.
Anyway, that’s my second Walktober post, I really was just supposed to remind you to get out and do your walks before it gets winter cold! But I couldn’t resist sharing this walk with you.
The trees were beautiful and I wanted you all to enjoy the wonderful day Finn and I had together!
Talk later.
Your Walktober-girl,
Penny.
PS: Thank you to everyone that has already posted their Walktober, human and dogs as well. I delegated keeping track of them all to mom. I hope she’s up for the task. And speaking of mom…when the heck is she going to do her Walktober?! I better get to bugging her!
PPS: I got spayed today, so I’m a little sleepy. I’ll bug her about her Walktober tomorrow.
Goodnight people!
Wordless Wednesday
Overachieving Walktober
Hi, hi, hi, HI Everybody!! It’s me, Penny!
Mom was talking about Walktober this week, and I wanted to know what it was, cause I’m only 10 months old and I’m curious about everything! When Mom explained it to me I just knew I had to get right on it!
After all, I’m a sheltie and shelties love to go for walks!
Right away I knew I should tell you all about the three great walks I’ve already had this week! And it’s only Friday!
First off, last Sunday, I got to go on a walk with mom and her friend and her friend’s dog Whisky! Whisky is an 11 month old cocker spaniel and he was very excited to see me!
We walked in a beautiful little park, Dinosaur Hill, that I understand was one of my sister Angel Katie’s favorites. It had a river that ran right through the middle of it and I sat on the bridge with all that fast moving water under me without freaking out!
Mom was very happy with my “behavior” as she calls it.
Then a couple days ago mom took me to a park in town. She thought she’d photograph me around the playground stuff.
But there were moms and kids playing there, so we pretty much stayed around the perimeter at first. Mom found this cool musical instrument.
Mostly we walked around and read the dedications on the benches and under trees that were planted in memory of people. One tree in particular was very sad. It is for Madisyn who was one of the 4 victims at a school shooting that happened just up the road from us a couple years ago next month.
Then mom got a chance to photograph me with some playground stuff, but while we were there a big group of high school students arrived to take pictures.
But we met a new friend! Meet Lulu! Her dad was walking her in the park and stopped by to talk. Lulu is a 5 year old mini Australian Shepherd.
Lulu wasn’t that into me, though we did exchange pleasantries. She and her dad wandered away and mom took me over a bridge to the park pavilion for my final portrait of the day.
What do you think? I’m thinking I’m growing into quite the regal young lady.
My last walk (so far) was yesterday. It was rainy outside and mom said we needed to keep training, so she took me for a walk at the Home Depot! Wow, that was a different kind of walk!
First we stayed outside and I checked out the pumpkins. Mom wouldn’t let me buy one, but they still smelled good.
We went inside and I barked at a man getting a cart! Mom said no bark, but geeze, that cart place was super noisy!
We heeled around the aisles a whole bunch. I was a little squirrely at first, but eventually I settled down. We did sits and stays too. Everybody smiled at me but no one asked to pet me. I guess they knew I was working.
Then on our way out mom introduced me to some tall dude in a red suit. I was not at all sure about him, no siree!
Mom said I did really good at the busy store. I slept all the way home. And now she says I am going on an epic walk this Sunday!
Well gee, mom, I’m not sure the nice people want to hear about another walk of mine. You better be at the top of your game if you want me to share that one with them too!
Anyway, I need a snack and then a nap. In that order. I can’t wait to see where you all go on your Walktobers! Mom says she has no idea where she’s going to do her walk because she’s so busy taking me places! As it should be.
Hee, hee, hee.
-Your Walktober girl,
Penny.
Official kick off of this year’s Walktober!
OK everyone, today is the official beginning of Walktober, though if you’ve gone out exploring early, we won’t argue!
But if you haven’t yet, find a place you’d like to walk, or drive, or jog, or swim, or bike, or roller-skate or hike, or canoe, or whatever and spend some time doing just that. Then write about it. It could be an essay or a poem or a run-on sentence. It can include pictures, or you can just describe it and let our imaginations run free. Alternatively you could just show us the pictures without any text if you aren’t in a writing sort of mind frame.
You have until the end of the day October 28th to complete this adventure, though if you need a few more days just let me know. I’m flexible!
Help us see a part of the world we might not ever get to see without your help.
Or show us around your familiar yard or neighborhood. Wherever you go, it’s all good.
You could spend some time in a city…..or head out into the wilderness.
Tell us why the place you visit is special, or why you don’t think you’ll go back. It’s all part of our celebration of October!
When you’re ready to post, link to this official Walktober post, and at the end of the month, probably early November, I’ll gather all the links and put them into one big post so we all can see where we all went.
I can’t wait to see what you decided to share with us all!
Today’s photos are from a drive/walk I took at the Shiawasee Nature Preserve at the end of September. I saw so many egrets there; this series of images was just one of the hungry birds.
I haven’t decided if that walk will be my official Walktober…I have so many other photos to share with you from that day so maybe I should use it. But I would really like to explore somewhere new. On the other hand, if time gets tight, I might just share the rest of this wonderful walk with you.
We’ll have to see how it all works out.
Oh, and just a fyi, Penny says she’s thinking about doing her own Walktober. Since she’s only 10 months old she’ll need a little help, but so far she thinks she can do it all on her own. Silly girl.
If you have any questions about Walktober, you can email me at dawnkinster@gmail.com, or just comment here.
Have fun everybody!
Pie conversations
I was talking to my mom yesterday evening. Not literally of course, as she’s been gone since July of 2004. Not even out loud because my husband and my dog were watching football nearby and the Lions were winning.
No, I was talking to my mom because I was making an apple pie with apples I’d gotten from an orchard a couple of towns west of here. It was a last minute decision to run over to Spicers Orchards to get old fashioned baking apples, on a beautiful, crisp Sunday afternoon.
My family used to go to Spicers when we were kids, in the 60s and 70s. Back then it was a one building small place with acres of apple, pear and cherry trees. I have lots of good memories of all of us there.
But it’s not small anymore.
When I arrived, late in the day, I noticed right away all the additional parking. Most of which was filled with cars. An entire field that used to be, well, a field, was parked full of cars. Not to mention the regular lot next to the building that houses the bakery and picked fruit and jelly and stuff. And another full lot across the street.
Something told me Spicers is not the same anymore.
I hadn’t worn a coat, assuming I’d park in the lot and buzz into the store, grab some apples and go. Apparently it wasn’t going to happen like that. I tromped up and down the hills and finally made it over to the store.
For the weekend (I assume just the weekend) they had moved the sale of donuts outside and the line, double wide, stretched from the back of the building, where the tables holding the donuts were, to the winery on the other side of the huge parking lot. There seemed to be nothing left of the small local orchard I remembered. It just wasn’t the same.
Inside, where apples and cider and fudge and ice cream and jelly and cookies and bread were being sold, the line went from the cash registers (now 4 instead of 1) to the back of the store. The place was packed with people.
My first instinct was to turn and flee.
But I was there, so I found some courtland baking apples and a half gallon of cider and I got in line, trying not to feel claustrophobic as people pushed by, their arms laden with goodies. I have to say those cashiers were expedient, and I was paying and back on my way walking up and down the hills to the distant car before I could consider buying a cookie.
So I was telling mom all of this while I was peeling and slicing apples, as I was mixing and rolling the pie dough. It’s not the same, I told her, just not the same.
Then, with my head in the pantry, grabbing some sugar, I had a flashback to a pie she used to make. We called it cheesecake but it obviously wasn’t. There was cream cheese and maybe lemon pudding, in a graham cracker crust. For half an instant, probably because I’d been talking to her about Spicers, I thought I’d just ask her what was in that pie.
It’s still a gut punch, even after nineteen years, when I realize all over again that I can’t ask her anything anymore. It’s not the same, mom, just not the same.
But the apple pie? It pretty much looks the same as the apple pies mom used to make for us decades ago. Mine isn’t as pretty as hers were, but I’m betting it tastes the same.
Some things, regardless of commercialism, never change.
Don’t forget Walktober this year!
As you read in a previous post, Robin is a little busy so I’ll be collecting your Walktober adventures this year.
If you’re new to the concept of Walktober, it’s pretty simple. Sometime between October 15 and the 28th go on a walk (or a bike ride, or a boat ride, or a car ride, or a jog, or a hike, or climb a mountain, or explore a town or show us your backyard!), take a few (or a lot) of pictures and show us around your part of the world by writing a post and linking it to my official Walktober post.
I’ll be posting the official start to Walktober on October 15th. But if you want to walk earlier, feel free to link it to this one! I’ll find it.
And sometime not too long after October 28th I’ll write a post with all the links to your walks, so that everyone can see where everyone else went! And if you need some more time, just let me know. I’ll wait to post that last compilation till you get yours written.
I can’t wait to see where you all go. I haven’t decided where to take my official walk. So many options, so little time!
Stay tuned!
Pictures in this post are from Shiawasee Nature Preserve, a walk taken a few years ago. I figured you wouldn’t mind seeing them again.
Change Is Hard 