Mom says she has lots of photos to edit from her trip, but I keep asking her to do stuff with me so she hasn’t had time to mess with those old photos. I did let her edit the images in this post, cause they’re about me and I know how much you all want to see me.
This is mom’s favorite back yard weigela bush. It has three different shades of pink blossoms, that all bloom at once. This was the bush Mom was asking Katie to pose in front of in June of 2022 when she and dad noticed how sad Katie was.
Mom says that’s when she and daddy decided it was time to let Katie’s soul fly free. So when she sees this bush in bloom she always thinks about Katie and that day, and it makes her sad.
But did you see what’s on the bush, just to the left of my right ear? Go ahead and look again. Maybe make the image bigger on your device.
See it?
Yep…a butterfly! Mom had been out taking pictures of it earlier, from a good distance away because she didn’t want to scare it off. And then, when she thought it was gone, she took me out there to get my picture with the blooms, and the butterfly flew right around our heads and settled down eating and drinking.
It wasn’t afraid of us at all!
It stayed out there, flying around near us the entire time Mom was taking my picture. Do you think maybe it was Katie come to visit?
Those of you that remember Katie know that every spring mom took her somewhere to do a yellow flower photo-shoot. It started out as a joke, since mom’s yellow flowers aren’t all that exotic.
But it turned into a fun outing for them and mom got some really sweet photos of Katie smiling at her parks.
Well now, mom doesn’t want to give that up so guess what mom and I did last week?
I suppose that wasn’t very hard to guess, was it!
Yep, mom rushed me over to Katie’s park when the sun came out one day. She had seen lots of yellow flowers in people’s yards and she figured as long as the park staff hadn’t mowed we’d be good.
And we were!
There were sooooo many pretty yellow flowers that I could hardly decide where to sit. In fact I didn’t want to sit at all.
I mean, if you’ve got the space and time, why not run through the yellow flowers with the wind in your furs? Right? So I did.
Several times.
Mom says I’m a very good model. I say as long as she has treats I’ll be a good model.
Cause if there’s one thing that Katie taught me it’s that you only have to sit for one photograph as a time and the flow of treats should be constant. And when the treats are done, so am I.
Thanks Katie-girl. You’re the best big sister ever!
Now I have to go comfort mom because she says that after looking at these pictures she realizes that I’m growing up too fast. She says she wants to slow it all down, but I gotta tell her, there’s no slowing me down!
I was driving to Kensington Easter Sunday morning. On the way I passed a place where Katie and I have walked together a few times. Every time I drive through this town I think of her.
“Oh Katie.” I said out loud.
“I love you mama,” she replied, also out loud.
Proof that it’s possible to continue driving, even when your eyes are leaking.
I am between laptops, the old one is being migrated over to the latest version of wonderfulness. (That was sarcastic, you know I hate change.) It’s a slow process, mostly because of pictures. So while I don’t have full access to stuff stored there, and now other places, I have been trying to wean myself away from the camera.
It’s not easy.
Cedar waxwings
My husband says I had over 250,000 images stored on the laptop. No wonder it was just chugging along. I know that I don’t need all of those and I had started the process of weeding. But I got bogged down, and that was before I was knew and became intimidated by the sheer number.
Lake Michigan
Anyway.
I will find some images to add to this post, pulled from an external hard drive, of which I think I now have 4. How about I randomly just pull some pretty pictures and stick them here and there in this post and see how it turns out?
Katie
I’ve been wondering, but not seriously, if I could pick just my favorite images and put them in a file folder and let the rest go. Of course this wondering was way before I knew there were 250,000 to choose from.
I wonder how big the favorites file would become?
Magnolia in Florida
And would the favorites have classifications? You know, like Katie, and night skies, and barns and Penny, and Alabama, and camping, and family and my Great Lakes?
Wait. That’s kind of what I have now.
Chippewa Nature Preserve
Maybe I should just find another hobby to obsess over. But I haven’t learned all I want to learn with photography yet.
It’s the same with watercolor painting. I like to paint, but what do you DO with all the stuff you produce?
Ingham County barn
I need to learn to be ruthless and throw stuff away.
We remodeled the basement, and in that process moved everything that was piled down there out to the garage, into the guest rooms, the dining room, the living room. What once were slightly disorganized piles of stuff hidden away are now slightly disorganized piles of stuff all over the house.
Milky Way and the Harrisville lighthouse
The remodel is essentially done and it’s time to move this stuff back. But would it make more sense to put most of it at the curb? Perhaps without even looking at it? Because if I look, well, that’s how I ended up with 250,000 images stored on my laptop and me with decision paralysis.
Norway
Stay tuned. Or not. We can always figure it out tomorrow. Or next year. I think I’ll go look through some old image files.
I would like to let you all know that my good friend Deuce the cocker spaniel is now safe with me and his other dog friends over the Rainbow Bridge. Last night mama asked me to keep an eye out for him because he’d be journeying today, and to make sure he got introduced around here once he arrived.
Deuce, May 23, 2012 – March 18, 2025.
She said she didn’t want him to feel alone or scared, and since we were buddies back in the day she knew I’d be glad to see him again and that I’d take good care of him. Well, it turns out there were several dog friends waiting expectantly for him, so he had quite a wonderful reunion.
Deuce could fly even before he crossed the bridge!
Mama also asked me to tell you about his remarkable life because, she says, typing when her eyes are leaking is really hard. So, let me tell you about my friend Deuce.
Always happy when he could run on a trail.
Deuce and I go way back. Our moms got us together pretty often to walk in parks, near his house and over at my parks too. Some of my best walks ever were with my friend Deuce.
We sure enjoyed walking together.
He was always a gentleman and let me pee on stuff first, then he’d pee there to validate the spot. We usually walked separately but together, if you know what I mean. If either of us discovered a good spot we’d invite the other one over to enjoy it, but in general we were our own dog on most of our walks.
Sometimes he liked to photobomb me, just for fun.
Not to say we didn’t sit near each other a lot when asked, mostly to humor the moms.
Yep, we’d sit together if it made the moms happy.
But Deuce did a lot of other things besides walk with me. He was a very dedicated, certified, therapy dog. He visited nursing homes and schools and had special friends there that loved him, and he loved them back.
Deuce pays his respect at a wall honoring military dogs who have gone on ahead.
As soon as he put his therapy dog vest on he knew he was working and he loved every minute of it. Why he even went up to people in wheelchairs when he was out and about and not in his official capacity. He just seemed to know when someone needed a little snuggle.
A special stop to visit Cody the therapy dog.
He liked adventure too. One summer I took Deuce and his mom camping with me. Deuce had never camped before but he settled right into the new experience. He had his own tent that he shared with his mom, and his own chair to sit in when we hung out around the fire.
We each had our own tents, no cohabitating allowed!
But mostly on that trip we walked and played in the woods around the campground. Deuce liked to climb up on stuff we’d find there; he was a very good jumper.
Deuce never met a log he didn’t want to climb on!
He was a few years younger than me, so usually I let him jump high up and pose and I’d settle myself somewhere below.
We liked to goof off together.
Both of us were good about sharing our moms. And we let them take as many pictures of us as they wanted. Which, I guess, is good now that he’s up here with me. I think all those pictures will make our moms feel just a little better as they remember all the good times we had together.
I love you, mom! We’re a team!
I feel I’ve known Deuce forever! I first met him at doggy school where we were both learning obedience. Deuce was much more obedient than me. He was such a fast learner and such a good dog. He was and always will be his mom’s Little Buddy, and he’d do or learn anything for her.
She doesn’t know what she will do without him.
Deuce and his mom on our camping adventure.
Deuce says he wants to reassure her that he’ll be watching over her and his younger brothers and if she needs him, especially to put the youngest one in his place, why, he’ll be right there. Guaranteed.
His walks with his mom were special.
He says he’s sorry he had to move on, but as the top dog of the household it’s his responsibility to make sure everything up ahead is copesetic. He says that will be one of his main duties while he’s here waiting for his mom.
I figure there will also be time for long walks, and maybe even some running and jumping, just like he and I used to do.
Things look good up here, mom!
Deuce and I used to race each other sometimes on our walks. We’d line up and the moms would call “COME!” and we’d both run toward them. I usually let Deuce win. Though it’s entirely possible he was just faster than me. Up here ,everybody wins and we get to run and run as much as we want!
He beat me fair and square on this race.
Deuce and his mom were a great team. He wants her to remember him that way, as part of their team while they did obedience, or rally, or when he was working as a therapy dog, or even when they were just walking through the woods together.
Team Deuce.
Deuce says he’ll always be part of that team and he’ll always love his mom, just like she’ll always love him.
Deuce looked handsome in any season.
He reminds us that love is forever, no matter what. I know you guys will miss seeing him every day, but if you look closely, when you’re out in the woods, or napping on the sofa, or training one of the younger dogs, I bet you’ll see him, right there, just around that corner.
Deuce stayed with my folks once, after I had to leave. He helped them when they were missing me.
You might not see it right now, but he’s smiling, and patiently waiting until he sees you again. In the meantime Deuce and I have walks to do and dogs to meet. Please be happy for us. We are young and healthy and feeling wonderful now.
Sometimes Deuce looked like a grumpy old man, but he was always smiling underneath.
We promise we’ll be right here when it’s your time to cross the Rainbow Bridge.
We’re together, right here over the bridge, waiting for our people!
Deuce is a special boy, and he touched the lives of a whole lot of people. I know you all wish him the very best adventures over on this side of the Rainbow Bridge.
Well, we’ve got a lot to do up here, so I’ll sign off for now, Deuce and I just wanted you to know we’re doing just fine and we love you.
Talk later,
Your Bridge Tour Guide, Katie-girl, and her Intrepid Buddy, Deuce.
I’ve been blogging since September 2006, when I was in grad school and a fellow student was putting together a host something or other to support people’s blogs. My first post was about writing an assignment for one of my classes.
I didn’t know what a blog was back then, but I liked to write, and I thought the blog would be a good place to put my thoughts about going back to school as a middle aged student. Now I read some of my oldest posts and think …. man, those were good (and sometimes bad) days.
It was all a new experience for me, being a student again, and I enjoyed almost all of it. Riding the city bus, hanging out with people half my age. Experiencing new things. Just being in Ann Arbor.
And then the blog morphed, especially after I graduated, and even more after I retired.
Now it’s more of a photo blog, a pet blog, a travel blog (when I’m lucky), a family blog. Sometimes a not anything in particular blog.
And here’s my dilemma. The blog is huge. There are months missing because when I transferred it to WordPress some months didn’t come on over…but overall it’s still huge. I pay a fee every year to keep it going because I’ve used so much storage. Someday I won’t pay that fee any more. Then what?
In library school we talked often about how technology is a double edged sword. That as it changes the ability to access the information changes. That we have paper documents and art from centuries ago, but someday soon people won’t be able to access things on floppy discs or thumb drives because there won’t be hardware left that anyone knows how to use.
Yet paper lives on.
I’m not thinking that stuff on my blog needs to be preserved for decades, but I would like to read it when I’m old, which is at least a couple decades from now. In particular I’d like to be able to read about Katie.
So I’m thinking about researching a way to print the blog posts about her. She was over 15 years old, so there are quite a few. If you remember, she was a prolific writer.
And if that works I might want to print the posts about going to school as a middle aged student. That was an extraordinary experience. There were fewer, if any, pictures in those, so they might transfer to some sort of paper document easier.
I don’t know.
I always have these ideas and then I get discouraged trying to figure out solutions. So if you’ve read my wandering words this far and you have knowledge of some way to print blog posts, let me know your ideas!
Well, it’s that time of year again…time to dust off the ole walking shoes, grab your phone or your camera (or both!) and head out to find something interesting or boring, pretty or mundane, to share with all of us in the world.
What’s it like this October where you live?
We didn’t have a lot of color on my walk, but I found a little bit of it!
Interested bloggers want to know!
The most eager Walktober participant I know is our girl Penny, so I’m going to let her kick off this event. She’s so happy she’s darn near panting with joy. Or maybe she’s just drooling. Hard to tell. Anyway…here comes Penny!
Hi Hi HI HI HI HI!!!! It’s me, Penny!
This is me on my Walktober !
This will be the second Walktober of my entire life, cause I’m not even two years old yet! But I remember last year and it was so much fun I could hardly wait for October to come around again.
We hiked on trails like this for most of our walk, but also across grassy meadows too.
Mom says I shouldn’t wish my life away, and time is short no matter what we do. But I’m just a puppy and I try to get as much fun stuff smashed into every day as possible. Mom says I’m exhausting.
Whatever, Mom.
So anyway, Mom took me on a walk in one of mine and Katie’s parks and I thought I’d share it with you as my Walktober 2025.
We started out in Katie’s part of the park and walked up and down the hills. Mom always tells me about Katie when we walk there. I don’t mind, Katie seems like she was a pretty awesome girl and I love hearing about her adventures.
I was quite proud of myself for jumping up on this bank.
After we got up and down the last big hill we arrived at a meadow and Mom had me practice my recall on the mowed path.
I’d say my recall is pretty spectacular…a long as she has treats! HA!
I’m coming, Mom! Get that cheese ready!
Then we wandered through the meadow and back into the woods and over to my part of the park. Mom and I walk over on that section a lot, but we usually enter it from a different parking lot that is about 1/2 a mile north (as the crow flies, lots further if you take the trail) of where we parked this time.
Pretty in purple.
Mom and I wandered around and she took lots of pictures. Eventually we made it to my pond. It was really pretty.
My pond.
It was after we moved on from my pond that things started getting messed up.
I wanted to go back to the other parking lot (which was still about a mile away from where we were) like I was used to when we visit the pond, and Mom wanted to head back to the parking lot we were actually parked in (which was also about a mile in the other direction).
Mom had me stand near the one tree that had changed color. It’s another sassafras tree.
Mom had never gone back to that parking lot from our pond before, but she had a photo of the trail map (because she’s a smart mom) so she wasn’t worried. She studied the map and we walked on a brand new trail that she was sure would take us back to that meadow and eventually back to our car.
There were lots of trails to choose from.
But it was winding through the woods and didn’t feel like it was going in the right direction. And Mom couldn’t figure out exactly where we were on the trail map. It was getting hotter and she didn’t have that much water for me.
So she started getting worried.
How about we rest on this nice bench, mom?
Me? I wasn’t worried! I just kept sniffing and tugging Mom along. Why I even surprised a mouse! Or, if I’m honest, the mouse surprised me, cause Mom says I jumped about 3 feet straight up into the air when I found it!
What’s over here?
Anyway, after awhile Mom decided we needed to turn around and go back the way we had come. That meant we added another mile or so to our hike, because we had to go back to the pond and then back to the trail we had come on, then all the way back to the car!
At least there was shade in the woods!
I didn’t like turning around, but Mom said not to argue with her just this once please, so I decided to be good.
But Mom, we were going this way!
We made it back to the pond, and then back to the meadow and then back to the car eventually. Mom was hot and sweaty and crabby.
I think it’s this way, Mom.
I, however, was a happy girl! Another long Walktober in the books for your gal Penny!
Mom found some interesting leaves and light.
So here’s what you need to do…go do your own Walktober (but you don’t need to get lost) and take a few pictures. Remember you can walk in the woods or in a town, even in your own back yard! You can ride a bike, or take a car ride, or jog or skip or even ride a unicycle!
Just do what you do and then show us your world by writing a post on your blog.
We were lucky to see this monarch butterfly too!
Then link it up to this post and at the end of October my Mom will gather up all your links and put them in one giant post so everybody can visit everybody else’s walk!
Mom says if you need a little extra time, or have questions, just let her know.
You know how sometimes you sign up to do something and when the day and time comes around you sort of wish you hadn’t because staying home and doing nothing in particular seems so much easier than getting up and out?
Yea.
Saturday morning I was signed up to go on a guided hike at one of Katie’s parks. I have been on a couple of these walks, and I always enjoy them, usually learn something, and am always glad I went.
Still.
Saturday morning it seemed to take a gargantuan effort to get myself up and fed and showered and out the door in order to meet over at the park by 10 a.m. Seriously, 10 a.m. seemed early to me. Even though for 30+ years I was at work every weekday and often weekends, by 8.
This is what retirement has done to me. It has turned me into a sloth.
Anyway.
By 10:00 a.m. Saturday morning a group of about a dozen people had gathered in the designated parking lot. We all set off up a hill to our first stop on the hike, the Davis Lake overlook. Our guide, the manager of parklands in our township, explained how the lake was formed and the importance of the hills and wetlands to the formation of the Shiawasee River which begins in our township.
At this park we have something called a ‘fen’ which is somewhat unusual. That’s a wet prairie-like landscape which is host to any number of rare insects, plants and even fish.
The park manager talked about all the partnerships our township has with researchers at universities around the world, adding that the research grants helps to pay for managing the land.
We went further into the forest where we stopped and looked at the tree canopy and the understory and the ground cover. He talked about different plants that grow in the forest when they have enough light and space to thrive.
He said a healthy forest would have a variety of trees, and within a variety, several different ages. He’s working to make sure we have young trees coming up to replace the older ones that have been around for over 100 years.
Then we moved out onto the fen, where we took a quick right, off the path, to see a wildflower, the gentian, a small, blue, fringed flower that blooms in the fall. I’ve seen other blue gentian flowers, growing on rocks along the Great Lakes, but I had no idea we had them in my very own neighborhood!
For me that little blue flower was the highlight of the walk, but we saw lots of other plants too. Our guide showed us the dying plants, the seed pods, and those hanging on with a bit of color. He described what they would look like next spring, and urged us to come along on the spring hike next year.
I, of course, have visited this park often, with Katie and now with Penny. It’s a beautiful place to wander through woods and meadows, around glacial lakes and up and over hills. The part I hiked Saturday, with the group, is unofficially named after Katie around our house. Penny has her own part of the same park, just a bit north of where we were. I took her there Saturday afternoon and we had a great time. But I’ll let her tell you about that when she’s ready.
Saturday morning our group had a beautiful day, with a bright blue sky, warm temperatures and a little breeze. It was such a wonderful walk, fun to be out with other like minded people. We all learned a little something and had fun doing it.
It was a reminder to me that when you sign up for something, during an optimistic moment, you should follow through and get yourself to the event. Even if you have grown into a sloth.
Because if you do, you’re going to be sooooo happy that you did.
I guarantee it.
(Now. You might think this would be a great Walktober. And it would be, but it’s not. I don’t think anyway. We’ll see. I hope you are all thinking about where you’d like to take us on YOUR Walktober coming to a blog near you sometime between October 17 and the end of the month!)
You know I keep track of my mama and daddy even though I’m across the bridge, right? So I know when they’re upset. Thursday night I noticed mama had wet eyes so I paid extra special attention and wasn’t surprised when she started talking to me.
Don’t we look alike? That’s Payton on the right.
I’m a very good listener.
She said that Payton, my half sister, was going to be crossing the Rainbow Bridge on Friday, the very next day, and she wanted to make sure I’d be waiting for her so that Payton would have someone there right away to show her around.
She didn’t want Payton to be alone as she arrived.
We are both very happy girls.
Well of course I told mama not to worry, I’d be right there, first in line to greet her as soon as she arrived, cause after all, she’s my little sister!
Payton and I met a couple years ago when our moms got us together to go for a walk, way back in July of 2021. It was pretty warm and we were both mature so there wasn’t a lot of playing between us. But we did sniff hello and go on a congenial walk around Payton’s large estate.
She enjoyed sharing her home with me. She lived in a beautiful place.
Most of the time while the folks were sitting around talking we were hanging around snoozing.
A nap on the deck is always a good thing.
Or sneaking treats from the other’s mom or dad. Sometimes mama said she couldn’t tell us apart, especially from the back.
We knew how to work it, that’s for sure!
We were good about taking turns getting treats.
Then in May of 2022 Payton and her folks came over to my house and I showed her and her sister Tally around my park.
The two of us and our dads. We were already discussing how to thwart the moms taking pictures.
We had so much fun together, we even conspired to give the moms a hard time getting pictures of us, just for fun. But you know how moms are, they’re pretty stubborn, and they got a few good images of us.
She looked so beautiful in the afternoon sun.
Secretly I’m glad they did. Now that we’re both gone I think the pictures will give our parents some comfort, you know?
We were giggling because the moms couldn’t get us to sit together for a picture!
Payton was a very smart little girl, she even earned her UDX title in Obedience and she did rally and agility too!
Payton and I were not impressed with mom wanting a yellow flower shot.
Payton loved her mom and her dad very much, but she was definitely a daddy’s girl, helping him do the yardwork and enjoying a daily golf cart ride with him to inspect her estate.
She loved her folks so much.
She lived to be 15 years old, just like me, and just like me she was tired at the end, but she had a very wonderful life, and she lived every minute of it to the fullest.
Payton had the best smile.
She was a feisty little girl that managed her household and she will be missed so much by her family and friends.
But don’t worry everybody, we’re together now and healthy and happy. There’s so much to do here, so many things to sniff, and we have so many friends with us, why there’s always a game of ball to play, and walks to take and soft beds to nap on.
“Come on Katie, let’s mess with the moms again!”
And don’t get us started about the treats! My oh my, there’s any flavor we might want, and we can have as many as we want! It’s crazy!
Anyway, I know those of you that knew Payton will miss her terribly, but I wanted to reassure you that she’s just fine and when it’s time we’ll both be right here, along with all your doggie friends and fur babies, waiting to show you around.
“We’ll wait for you guys to get here!”
Well, Payton and I have a nice walk scheduled next, we’re going to explore that meadow of wildflowers over there, so we have to go for now. But we’ll be watching you, and if you get sad again know that we’ll be right there.
Promise.
Payton. Never forgotten, loved forever.
Shelties are always loyal and we love you all very much.
We had some really hot weather up here in Michigan and it seemed to last forever. Of course it didn’t last forever, but for my two nights of camping at a local state park the heat hung heavily in the air even late into the night.
Even though it was hot I enjoyed a fire each evening.
I hadn’t camped at this park for a few years, not since Katie and I camped there and struggled with noisy kids partying all night just a few sites away.
This site is surrouned by woods.
This time it was much more quiet. I was in my favorite site at this campground, full shade, with lots of privacy. I went there specifically to watch the birds that hang out in the trees surrounding the site, many of which I don’t see at home around my feeders.
My app Merlin says this is a wood thrush. I don’t think we have wood thrushes in Michigan.
And I went to give Penny an opportunity to see a campground for the very first time. Her dad brought her over in the evenings and we sat around and talked.
“I’m a little anxious, mom. And it’s hot out here!”
She sat around and observed. Everything.
“What’s that over there, mom?”
I didn’t ask her to get into the tent for a number of reasons, one it was too hot inside the tent, and two she isn’t really happy in the tent yet.
“Mom, do you have any treats over there?”
But she did get to watch people and dogs and kids walk by and begin to realize she didn’t have to bark at everyone.
“You’re still here, right dad?”
It wasn’t easy for her. Watching dogs walk by, listening to noisy trucks as they hauled trailers past our site was hard.
“Dad? Those kids on bikes need to be herded!”
But little kids on bikes? Now that deserves a big bark, mom!
“So, this is your favorite site mom?”
We still have a lot of work to do, it was all new to her. But I can see potential.
“OK mom, that was interesting, I’m going back to my air conditioning now!”
There are, of course, a lot of memories at my favorite site, memories of camping with my Katie-girl. And I think she was there with me last week.
My girl used to use this leash to wander the site when we camped together so long ago.
I miss her so much, even while little Miss Penny is bouncing around distracting me. Penny says that’s OK and I appreciate her giving me some grace.
Hey Katie-girl, I know you were there.
On my last day at site 16, just before I started packing up and while I was feeling sad and missing Katie, a female cardinal arrived. She hopped around, up on the picnic table, underneath it, across the parking pad, always keeping an eye on me.
“Hey Lady! Don’t feel sad, she’s right there in your heart!”
I kind of think Katie sent her. She made me smile, just like Penny does, who, I’m sure, was also sent by Katie.
I don’t know what this bird is, but it’s pretty!
There’s lots of summer left. I hope I get to take Penny to another campground before the end of the season.
“Just remember lady, you’re never alone!”
And I figure by next summer she just might be ready for a real adventure, even if it’s camping in our own backyard.
Change Is Hard 