Penny, our 4 month old sheltie, has been fully vaccinated for a couple weeks now, so it’s safe to take her beyond our neighborhood. The little girl has no idea how big the world is, but we introduced her to a tiny part of it last weekend.
Where are we, dad? Is this another vet?
On Friday evening my husband and I took her to Katie’s park. She wasn’t sure about the whole adventure thing when she emerged from the car.
I think turtles have been here, mom!
But by the time we got to the pond she was having a good old time. There were so many things to sniff!
This is kinda fun, you guys, being out here in the evening!
We just wandered around the pond, we didn’t do the whole trail. After all, she’s just a little girl, and there will be plenty of time to explore the whole park in the future. This visit was just an introduction.
What’s this down here, dad?
Of course I talked to Katie quite a bit as I took pictures of Penny and her dad. Katie says she is fine sharing her park, especially with her little sister. Of course I wish she could have been there to introduce the park to Penny herself, but I like to think there was a bit of Katie there, showing us all around.
Is there another puppy here, mom?
Then on Sunday I met a friend and her five month old cocker spaniel named Whisky for a longer walk at a park Katie had only visited once.
Ok Whisky, I’ll let you give kisses to my mom. This time. (Picture by Whisky’s mom, Karen)
We walked on a combination of cement paths, wooden boardwalks and dirt paths along a fast moving river.
These leaves smell AMAZING!
Personally I liked the woods the best, and once Penny got over the abundance of leaves on the ground, and realized she couldn’t eat them all, she settled right in trotting along the path.
This place is so cool!
She also got to see lots of other people and dogs enjoying the park. She was interested in all of them. When she sees something new she sits, very alert, and considers what it might mean. She’s a thinker, this one.
What might that be over there?
I think she had a wonderful time. It was her longest walk, and in a new environment, and she was a trooper.
This was the very first log I’ve ever jumped over!
She fell asleep in her crate on the drive home and pretty much napped the evening away. But the next day she was bored at home, now that she knows there are more exciting alternatives out there.
Hey mom! Did you know I can do zoomies in the WOODS?!!
I belong to a Michigan birding Facebook group and there have been images showing up of some loons that are currently hanging out at Kensington Metropark, only 40 minutes away from me.
The blue herons are back and nesting in their rookery, waiting on this year’s crop of little ones.
The weather hasn’t been great. And I’ve been occupied with a certain fuzzy puppy so I hadn’t made it out to the park. But we all know that loons wait for no woman.
“Hey lady! Don’t forget us in your quest to find loons!”
So Monday I headed out much later in the day than I’m usually at the park. Instead of early morning I was heading out there as the day was closing and evening was descending. It felt weird walking onto the boardwalk while most people were heading back to their cars.
“Where have you been? I have to do all the nest building around here!”
On the other hand I didn’t see too many people, and those I did see were mostly photographers there for the soft late day light. Just like me.
“If you’re not going to feed me then you’re not worth my attention.”
I ran into one photographer who was headed back to his car. He was all excited about the loons he had photographed “right near the nesting sandhill cranes.” He wanted to show me his images on the back of his camera, and I have to admit they were beautiful. I was excited for him too. “I can’t wait to get home and see these on a bigger screen,” he said, as he scampered off (there’s really no other word for how he moved but scampered!).
I knew the feeling.
Any loons out there?
But the light was fading and I hadn’t made it out to the bay with the nesting cranes and loons yet. So I left him and walked as quickly as I could until I saw the crane on her nest.
“Midway through my shift and I’m getting hungry, I wonder if I can get something delivered.”
Then I moved slowly, to a better position, and stood for a long time, another photographer nearby, silently shooting images of her as she moved around her nest.
“I need to stretch my feathers a bit.”
And, as she stood up, I gasped quietly in delight. She had an egg!
“That egg was pressing up against my breastbone!”
Then another crane on the other side of the lake began to call. Our nesting mom stretched her neck and called back…
“Hey you! Be quiet, you’re stressing the baby!”
…and then was joined by her spouse who was standing nearby.
“Hey don’t upset the Mrs! It’s quiet hours now!”
It was pretty amazing to be so close.
Then she got back to work cleaning the nest and checking her youngster, still in the shell.
“There, there, little one, mama’s got you all warm and safe.”
In between watching her I tried to see if there were any loons out in the bay. There were a lot of ducks, but they were all far away and the light was fading fast. There were probably a couple loons out there, but I couldn’t be sure. What I was sure of was the spouse of my nesting crane stalking past me headed for quieter dining.
“You can’t get a quiet meal around here.”
Eventually I moved back to the main path where I saw the spouse of the nesting pair strutting his stuff. I guess he had had enough and needed to get away for awhile.
“I hear there’s a new bar and grill down this way,”
I found him shortly after, having a drink at the local pub.
“And another thing, ever since she had that egg she ignores me. It’s always all about the egg!”
He was sharing tales of woe and his fear of becoming a father with the local bartender, this muskrat who was munching on bar snacks.
“I know what you mean man, sometimes it’s just easier to hang out alone.”
In the end I never did see the loons up close, though I walked all the way around the lake.
Toward the end of my walk I was focused on capturing the moon in the branches of a tree, almost back to the car, when suddenly two cranes flew low right over my head and landed on the path directly in front of me.
A nice evening was coming to a close.
That was startling, and I was kind of worried about getting past them in the growing dusk. They seemed intent on me paying some sort of passage ransom.
Notice this one is missing his or her right foot.
So I threw some seed toward them and inched by. As I was doing that I heard rustling in the reeds right behind me. Turns out there was a third crane walking back there, perhaps a distant family member of the two who had just dropped in.
“Just toss us the food, lady, and nobody gets hurt.”
Regardless I bid them all a good evening and scurried back to the car. Night was closing in on the rookery and it was time for me to head home.
Thus ends another beautiful day at the rookery.
I didn’t see the loons, but I had such a wonderful walk and saw plenty of things that made me smile. And now I hope you’re smiling too!
HEY! I know Mom said I should just lay low for awhile cause you guys have seen enough of me, but HEY! I’m right here people, and I’m pretty stinking adorable, and everyone, just everyone says they want to see more, more, MORE of me.
Right???!
Watching the neighbor and his dog Simon jog past our house.
OK, so maybe not everyone. But majority rules, so I’m going to tell you about my recent adventure anyway, cause I’m the majority and I do what I want. Mom and Daddy have begun to understand that about me.
But I digress.
My first visit to the neighbor’s pond.
Mom and Daddy are still being very protective of me, and decided I couldn’t go anywhere that had other dogs for two weeks after my last set of vaccinations. Geeze. All the other dogs get to go and I’m stuck here at home with a couple of old folks.
I swear, they can hardly get up off the floor after getting down there 5 or 6 times every morning to play with me.
Sometimes I think I should trade them in for newer models, but something tells me if I just wait a little bit longer (say, a week or so) there’s going to be all sorts of fun stuff to do!
My back yard is fun and stuff, but I want to see the WORLD, Mom!
Anyway, Mom decided that we could visit our neighbor’s pond today. It’s just across the street and no doggies go over there, so she figured it would be the perfect place for me to explore.
Mom! This place is AMAZING!
And boy was she right! We found out right away that I’m not afraid of getting my feet wet!
My very first muddy feet!
In fact I loved walking along the shore in the water even though Mom said it was really cold and wouldn’t let me explore near the deep parts.
I thought it was important to taste it too, in order to get the full effect….
Nom, nom, nom.
…but I don’t think I really like the taste. I might have to taste it again, though Mom wasn’t real keen on me drinking from the pond. She says I have nice clean ice cold filtered water at home. I said, sure Mom, but that doesn’t taste like frogs and turtles and fish and muskrats!
Moms don’t always understand stuff until it’s explained to them.
Yuck!!!
I had so much fun over there. I got water up my nose and got to shake it off, my first real doggy shake. I think this little adventure proves I’m a big girl now, and ready to take on the world, if they’ll just let me!
Nothing that a little shaking won’t fix.
And just to prove how responsible I am, when we got back to my yard I helped Mom by picking up my poop bag she’d left behind and carrying it back to the house for her. I figured it was only fair that I pick up after myself in return for having a great little mini adventure.
Mom says that pond was nothing compared to what I could see if I continue to be a good girl.
Don’t worry, Mom, I’ve got this!
I told her just watch me. They didn’t name me Unstoppable Penny for nothing.
Hey Peeps, Penny here. You don’t mind being called Peeps, do you, cause I think of you all as my people! Yep, every single one of you. Mom says you can never have too many Peeps, and since I’m just a baby still, I’m taking her word for it.
Speaking of baby, mom took a bunch of pictures of me a thousand weeks ago when we had lots of snow, and she’s hardly shared any of them! Mom says she doesn’t have time to sort pictures cause she’s running around making sure I’m happy.
Personally I think she needs to hone her time management skills, in fact, as I recall my sister Katie told me this very same thing. Mom gets tied up with too many things and stresses out. Katie and I both suggest she just focus on the puppy all the time. I think mom’s stress level would lower right away if she did that.
What do you guys think?
Any-hoo, I’ve been bugging her (my most important job as new puppy in this household) to post my baby snow pictures before the daffodils bloom. I understand once the yellow flowers start showing up I’ll have to do a lot of modeling, and it would be embarrassing to still be working through snow pictures. Bad for my modeling career, you know, to be so far behind.
So far I’m still sleeping through the night and I’m mostly house trained. I can sit when asked but I’m not going to stay. No siree, there’s no stopping this girl when I get moving, and I’m mostly moving all the time.
Mom puts me in a timeout if I get overly excited or if I’m cranky. It’s not so bad, I have a big cushy bed in there, and some of my toys and a water bowl, so I don’t really mind going into my timeout pen. My Auntie calls it my rest stop. I do mostly fall asleep in there, so it’s a good place for me.
And when I wake up mom or daddy take me outside right away. I love my yard, but there’s a lot of presents from the resident deer out there that are apparently off limits. I don’t know why, I think they smell fabulous! Sometimes mom and daddy are no fun.
So this is my life right now. No parks quite yet, no walks with friends (I don’t even know if I have any friends!), no visits to the store, no adventures unless you call a sedate walk down the driveway and back an adventure.
WAIT! I DID have an adventure!
Mom promised me one last Friday and I was sort of excited. Not a lot excited because, never having had an adventure, I wasn’t even sure what an adventure was, but kind of excited. We ended up at the VET! And they stuck me twice!! I’m gonna check with Katie, but I’m pretty sure this is not what she was talking about when she told me about all the fun she had going on adventures.
Well, Peeps, I’ll sign off for now. Time to get a little shuteye in my rest stop. If you can, please poke mom for me (I do plenty of that but a girl can’t be poking constantly, it’s not lady-like) and see if you can prod her into taking me on a real adventure soon.
Mom says we missed Wordless Wednesday. She says it’s Thursday now and I need to move on, but seriously, I think Wednesdays are perfect days to showcase me, especially during my cute puppy days.
Cause everybody knows that puppyhood doesn’t last forever.
Mom called my name, so I turned right around.
So I have tasked mom with making sure she posts a picture of me, her Adventure Girl, every Wednesday.
I figured I better speed it up, in case there were treats.
And, because she messed up already, I am requiring additional photos today. Sort of an advance on future Wednesdays, just in case she loses track of time again.
Just the THOUGHT of treats made me leap for joy!
I’ve only lived with mom and daddy a month and I can already tell I’m going to have to keep them in line. They mumble something about being retired but that’s not going to fly with a puppy in the house!
I’m coming, mom!
I’ve got so much to tell you, but for now, over and out,
Really mom? One piece of kibble for all that?
Your feisty chewing whirlwind Adventure Girl, signing out!
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.
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.
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!
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!
Change Is Hard 