park | Change Is Hard

July 22, 2024
by dawnkinster 36 Comments

Finally!

Hey everybody, it’s me, Penny!

*Mom thought this mossy part of the woods was pretty. I think I made it prettier.*

Guess what? Mom finally took me to my park! She’s always saying we’re going to go to a park, or have an adventure and then stuff happens and I end up lolling around the house all day.

*Mom thought the light was pretty too. I thought better about climbing up there to be included in the image.*

Why the closest thing to an adventure around here is sleeping out back in her tent. Which I’m not at all sure I like yet.

Mom says to give it time, but geeze, Dad’s sleeping in air conditioning, on a bed. I don’t know why I have to be out there in the steaming warm night, sleeping on the ground with scary sounds just outside my window with Mom, just because she’s crazy.

Anyway.

Mom’s been working on this photo challenge, which has something to do with four seasons and she takes me along when she’s doing that.

*This is a pretty spot, Mom, will it work for your project?*

I like going to the woods now. In the beginning when I was just a baby I was sort of scared of the big trees, especially if the wind was blowing and there were all sorts of noises and leaves blowing around and stuff.

But now I’m a big girl, and I’ve figured out there are really cool smells out there in the woods! So today when Mom said we were going to go to my park (yes I have a park now that is named after me!), I got all excited.

It’s not very far away and we got there early in the morning when it would still be relatively cool. Mom unloaded me and off we went, my nose to the ground and Mom trailing along behind.

*The very first picture mom stopped to take this morning.*

But before we got to the top of the first hill Mom pulled me up and said we had to go home and look for something called bug spray. Mom said she was an idiot for not thinking of that sooner and no way was she going any further swatting at clouds of mosquitoes.

*Mom! It’s really buggy here! Hurry up and take your picture!*

I was a bit upset, but back in the car I went and we drove home where mom sprayed herself liberally and then used a doggie bug spray on my back and tummy, and put some in her hand and rubbed it on my face and ears.

Then off to the park (again!) we went! I was a little confused, but trotted right off, nose to the ground. We went up and down hills and through meadows and past wildflowers and ripening berries.

*Mom asked me if I wanted a berry but I said no thanks. I’ll stick with treats.*

Mom stopped for a lot of pictures that were not me and I was OK with that, as long as I got my fair share of photographic attention.

Because those come with treats, you know.

*Mom was bending over to give me a treat after I posed for her, and her camera took a bunch of pictures of me all on it’s own as I was rushing in to get my reward. It made Mom laugh.*

Anyway by the time we headed back to the car mom was sweating through her cloths and I was pretty warm too. It was only 73 F, (22.7C) but it felt a lot hotter!

*Slow and steady up the hills, that’s the way Mom and I do it.*

Mom made sure I got lots of drinks. All I had to do was look at her and she pulled my water right out of her pack. She carries more stuff for me than for her when we go on adventures! That’s cause I tip well.

Mom said I did really good this morning following directions while she got her summer shots for her challenge. She says she’s not showing those to you yet..she still has to get fall, and then she’ll tell you all about it.

*Mom thinks this is her favorite image from this adventure.*

Mom and I are an artistic team, and I’m an excellent model. I personally think she should set me up with a 401K and vacation days. It seems only fair as I’m doing all the work.

*I stop at this stump and sniff it every time we go down this hill. It’s where all the boys leave me pee-mail. I never stop at it on the way back up the hill*, *cause* *that would be redundant*.

What do you think? You can leave me your opinions and suggestions in the comments. And just for the record, I get more comments on my posts than any that mom writes. Just more evidence of my value as an employee. Maybe I should negotiate for health insurance too.

May 24, 2024
by dawnkinster 20 Comments

Hey! What about me?

Penny here. Geeze people, here I am having all sorts of adventures and mom and my aunt take off camping for a couple days and get to post about it for years. Ok. For days.

*This is my studious look. I think it works.*

But my point is, do I get to post? No I do not. I have not been given access. Until now, when mom finally gave into my pressure. I told her I won’t sleep in her stinking tent until she posts about all the fun stuff I’ve already done this month!

*We went to Katie’s park for our annual photo shoot.*

I know my friends have been wondering what I’ve been up to and let me tell you I’ve been really busy! And most of what I’ve been into isn’t going to get me into trouble either! Win-win!

*Mom likes a good head tilt, and I try to oblige.*

First off, as most of you know, my sister Angel Katie always had a spring yellow flower photo shoot with mom. Well, she told me all about it and I demanded equal yellow flower opportunity. I’m pretty sure it’s in my contract with my folks. So mom took me over to Katie’s park one day early this month.

Mom says I did really good. I thought it took way too long.

Then when my Aunt Beth was here we stopped near some other yellow flowers and mom grabbed a few pictures. By then I was an expert at being a model, so it didn’t take long at all.

*I think the sun was in my eyes that day.*

My Aunt Beth and mom and I also went on quite a few walks in different parks. We all had the best time with beautiful blue skies and hardly any bugs!

I got to show Aunt Beth several of my own personal parks and especially how well I can sit for the camera. As long as there were treats available, of course.

She was very impressed.

And THEN, the most exciting thing! I got to go on a walk with my Aunt Beth and my Mama S and my mom and even my doggy mom Vivian and her roommate Oliva!

*Mom asked them to walk up this trail to set us up for a photo.*

It was amazing! Three shelties all going for a walk together. I tell you what, we caused lots of heads to turn when we all walked by!

*It wasn’t easy to get the three of us lined up.*

OK, so sometimes I was a little rambunctious, and Mama S had to tell me to straighten up. After all, I’m still a baby…right? Oh…what….no? Not so much?

*Sometimes a girl’s just got to leap for joy.*

Well, I guess I’ll start acting more adult tomorrow, but that day I had so much fun! I got to share one of my favorite parks with my three moms and my aunt!

*Yep we had a great time walking together.*

I’m so grateful that Mama S brought her girls along on this walk! I promised her we’d do it again soon!

*That’s my mom, Vivian next to me (I’m in the center) and her bestie Olivia on the right.*

And then, still in the month of May, I got to go on a play day with my friend Lance! I can’t even begin to figure out how mom and dad managed to get this much fun stuffed into one month!

*My friend Lance on the left, me on the right.*

I think I better rest up for June!

Talk later,

Your playful pup, Penny.

April 7, 2024
by dawnkinster 23 Comments

Bird saga continues

A couple weeks ago I introduced a friend to the bird magic that is Kensington. You saw the angst with the red headed woodpecker, but there were other bird shenanigans that morning. For instance there was this grackle dad and teenager who seemed not to agree about something very important.

“*Hey dad, can I have the keys to the car tonight?*“

“*No! Your legs aren’t even long enough to reach the pedals!*“

Soon dad will be busy with a new brood and teenager will get more freedom. But until then, from the looks of jr’s face, there are more ‘discussions’ in the wind.

March 14, 2024
by dawnkinster 41 Comments

Sunshiny Day!

Hey Peeps! It’s me, Penny!

*Come ON! We’re going for a walk in the woods!*

Yesterday the sun came out and it was so pretty that I bugged and bugged my mom to take me somewhere fun.

*I would just like to point out how beautiful my fur is.*

So she did! We went over to a park in Rose Township. Usually we don’t see anyone over there, but since the day was so beautiful we saw quite a few people walking in the woods.

That’s OK, Mom just asked me to sit and watch her while other people and their dogs went by, so I did. Apparently mom and I are very slow walkers.

*This is a very scary horse dung bucket. I barked at it a lot.*

We went up and down some hills in the woods and I wasn’t scared at all about being under the trees! I guess that’s because it wasn’t windy and nothing weird was blowing around. You know, like leaves and stuff.

*Hey Mom! I jumped over the rock, you got that on film, right?*

Then we walked beside a couple of pretty ponds. Mom was using a compass on her phone to check out where Southeast is in relation to the bridges we were standing on.

Apparently the Milky Way core is visible again and at this time of the year, the SE is where to find it.

Whatever, mom.

On the way back to the car she let me pick which trail to follow. She was sorta glad I picked the shorter one, especially after a fat tire bike went by and I got the zoomies.

*This is me being crazy. Mom was not amused.*

Mom says zoomies in the woods are not as fun as zoomies in the living room.

I beg to differ.

*OK, I’ll be serious if I have to be. For a moment anyway.*

Signing off for now,

your zoomie pal, Unstoppable Pretty Penny.

March 7, 2024
by dawnkinster 14 Comments

Which one of these is not like the others?

From my walk a week ago at Kensington.

At first glance I thought I had a tree filled with blue jays. But one is not like the others.

Ha. Made you look!

March 1, 2024
by dawnkinster 34 Comments

Titmouse v.s. chickadee

I went out to Kensington this morning. I haven’t been there to walk among the birds in a long time. I have loads of images to share with you. But this little sequence made me laugh.

I hope you enjoy it. too.

*Hold your horses, I’m getting my peanut!*

*Yep, the patient bird gets the biggest peanut.*

When I get some time I’ll look at what else I found and I’ll share the best of it with you. It was a wonderful day in the woods.

February 19, 2024
by dawnkinster 38 Comments

How much is YOUR library worth to you?

Tonight’s local news aired a piece about property taxes, specifically one woman’s fight to eliminate the only tax, she says, that risks a person’s home if left unpaid. She said that people who can’t pay for food or utilities have to pay their property taxes or risk their home.

She concedes that some things property taxes pay for, like police and fire, are necessary so she’s fine if money for those are collected, but she specifically seems to be angry about paying for a library, which she says she never uses.

When I moved to my little town in 1992 the library here was housed in a historic one room school building, and had been since 1976, with books crowded onto shelves and piled on windowsills. It was a tiny space but it was a library and I was grateful it was there. In 1998 the community approved a .41 millage to build a township building to hold offices and the library. The new library opened in 2002 and operated on that .41 millage until just a year or so ago when we approved an additional .5 millage in support of the library.

I’m pretty proud of our community for passing those millage requests the first time they were put on the ballot.

According to information online the Springfield Township Library serves a community of 14,000 people, has a collection of over 70,000 items and has public internet computers, wi-fi, meeting rooms, interlibrary loan, adult, teen and children’s programming.

*Our township offices including the library, built to blend into the landscape.*

I know this is true because I’ve used nearly all of it. And every time I visit the beautiful building with it’s big windows looking out over parkland I’m grateful all over again for our local library.

Still, one part of my brain understands where the woman is coming from. She never uses her library, yet she pays for it. I’ve been thinking about that since the news aired.

So…I wonder…what do you think about being forced to pay for something you don’t use? Should there be a use tax instead? Or some other way to fund things like libraries?

*The parkland adjacent to the library includes Katie’s park.*

On one hand I get not wanting to pay for something I don’t use. On the other hand…I hope I never have to use the fire department…but I’m still willing to pay for it. And wasn’t there a time, back in the Ben Franklin days, when people paid a fee to have fire department service, and if your house was on fire but you hadn’t paid the fee they let it burn?

Is that the way we want to live now? How much is your library worth to you?

Interesting question.

PS: If you’ve read this far, go read this post, written almost 15 years ago about one night I worked at a public library. Made me smile in remembrance.

February 11, 2024
by dawnkinster 28 Comments

Cee’s photo challenge – dirt roads or pathways

Dirt roads and pathways are everywhere around here. So when I saw Cee’s challenge I knew I’d find something fresh, some place you haven’t been with us before.

*This should do, mom!* *It’s dirt and it’s a path…right?*

Friday Penny and I spent all day exploring. We started out at a new park I’ve renamed Penny’s Park. I’m sure she’ll have a lot to say about it and the other places we visited when she’s recovered from all that exploring!

January 31, 2024
by dawnkinster 31 Comments

Before and After, Penny’s version

Hey guys, it’s me, Penny!

Mom says Karma has come up with a photo challenge, something about before and after.

Well. I told mom that I wanted to play too, but I couldn’t take any pictures, mostly because I don’t have thumbs. So I assigned her to get some great pictures of me in before and after situations.

I think you will soon agree I have this before and after thingy down pat. And that, for once, mom followed directions!

We had a big storm last week, then most of it melted and then we got 5 unexpected inches of snow yesterday!

By the weekend they say we’ll have sunshine and temperatures in the 40s! Wow, sunshine! All this beautiful snow will be gone again. Mom said we had to hurry today before it started to melt!

*Even without lots of snow this pond sure was pretty!*

When we were walking out there today big poofs of snow kept falling off the tree branches and dropping on me! I was freaked out until mom told me to stop being a baby.

I guess I’m still a little girl, I’m only almost 14 months old. I got braver the longer we were out there. But I did giggle just a little when a big poof of snow fell on mom and cold water ran down her neck. Hee hee.

Anyway.

Mom took me to this same park earlier this week when there wasn’t much snow, and then today we went back so she could get more pictures with the beautiful snow!