It seems like it’s been a long time since I promised to show you the best images from my latest walk at Kensington.
Red tailed hawk in the morning light.
While I was walking it didn’t seem like I was taking many photos. But when I go back and look there are way too many ‘best’ images.
Who’s that up there?
So it will be hard to choose just a few. I so much wish you could all walk out there with me.
Enjoying breakfast.
Though I know from experience that I do better photography when I’m walking alone. No one really wants to keep waiting for me to catch up.
Hey! That’s my peanut!
I also don’t want to be those annoying people who talk so loudly while walking in the woods that they broadcast their arrival long before they’re visible.
Yes, I know I’m beautiful.
And I have never understood those people who are racewalking through the trees. I can’t imagine they see much at all.
I’ve been looking for lunch in the mud.
I have a hard enough time spotting wildlife when I’m moving along at my snail photographer pace.
Hey lady! I’m right above your head! Give me a treat and I won’t deposit anything on you!
Anyway, here’s a handful of images that I really enjoyed taking.
Just stopping in to tell you that mom has been sick. She got that covid thing and she’s been mostly in bed for a week.
I felt like Rin-Tin-Tin on these rocks at a rest stop!
Being the loyal canine I am I’ve mostly been in bed all week too.
At least she didn’t ask me to actually slide down this thing!
Even when mom had a fever and kept pushing me away cause she said I was too hot I pressed up against her cause I know what she really needed in order to feel better is more of me.
Mom says she has a picture of Katie in this same field.
Cause she couldn’t be out and about we haven’t had any adventures lately, but the pictures here are from my last set of adventures.
Mom said the light was really good here. I guess so. I only care about the treats.
Mom says we’ll get back on the road again in a few days. She says she’s mostly still tired.
Come on mom, stop messing with the camera!
Me? I not tired at all! I’m ready to go as soon as mom says the word.
What’s that over there, mom?
Until then, I remain mom’s heating pad. Whether she wants one or not.
Mom told me you were all waiting for me to tell you about my day(s) of adventure. I thought I had delegated that to her, but you know how hard it is to get good help these days.
You have to cross the railroad track to get to my park!
So I guess I best get to the telling.
Mom?Are you going to take pictures of me all day?
Mom and Dad are having some work done in the food room. Given that’s my favorite room in the whole house I tend to keep a very close watch on things going on in there.
Mom says I get under everybody’s feet and somebody’s going to get hurt.
It was a windy morning!That made me kind of nervous.
Plus did I mention I bark very loudly and for a long time if anyone uses a power tool in my vicinity? Uh huh. So Mom decided she and I needed to go on an adventure all day, or until the nice men with the power tools vacated my property.
Mom said in addition to the wind, the light was really beautiful.Huh. I thought it was ME that was beautiful.
We went out early in the morning and our first stop was MY park! Did mom tell you I have a park named after me?
What is it with mom and wanting me to sit on stuff?
Well, it’s not official or anything. Not yet anyway. I know Katie has a park, and I’m really happy that now I do too! It’s a new part of a big park, and you have to walk over a railroad track to get to it.
Mom doesn’t like crossing railroad tracks.
That creeps mom out, but I told her not to fixate on it and just keep moving. Geeze. Sometimes mom is a wimp.
There’s a pretty little kettle lake back here.
It was windy the morning we were there, and cold, but I was having a great time exploring until mom tried to walk with me into the woods. I’ve told her and told her I don’t really like being in the woods. And that day there were leaves blowing all around and trees creaking and stuff.
Did I hear something back there?
Well mom finally got the idea that I wasn’t happy there and we went back out to an open part. I liked that much better. But the wind was getting worse and it was cold and mom said we needed to move on.
We spent some time in the car warming up and then mom took me over to 7 Lakes State Park. It’s about 15 minutes from our house and a park mom has never explored before.
Mom found lots of interesting stuff to photograph at this park!
A sign there said it was called 7 Lakes because a developer dammed up a river and it flooded 7 small lakes into two bigger lakes. Then the developer decided not to build on the property and sold it to the state for a park.
This is a real pretty state park!
It’s real pretty. There’s lots to explore there, but this time we just walked out on the earthen dam. Mom took lots of pictures that weren’t me.
There was a little island out there with some geese swimming in the open water.
Then on the way off the dam mom asked me to stand on some big rock. I thought it was more fun to stand with just my front feet on the rock. Mom thought I was pretty cute that way too.
There are trails and lots of things to explore at this park. We’ll be back for sure!
Like this, mom?
Then, since the tool guys were still in my food room, mom took me to a third park, about 30 minutes away. It’s near a library where she used to work. We’ve been there once before.
I’m not sure about this bridge mom, there’s water under it!
Somehow this park always gives mom uneasy feelings. She doesn’t know why. She says she never sees any other people there, but the day we were there we met a nice young couple out walking. It was getting late so we only did one small loop. I was getting tired of posing, but I stood on the bridge for her, and then on a log. But I wasn’t happy about it.
I don’t really want to sit here, can we go find some food instead?
I was so happy when dad texted mom that the tool guys were gone and we could go home. I’ve never been to three parks in one day before! It was fun but it was exhausting!
Last picture of me today, mom!Promise?
During the day we drove around a lot too, and mom figured out I’m a pretty good rider on long drives. She says she is glad about that because someday we’ll go on a big adventure together!
Bigger than three parks in one day mom? Wow! I can’t even imagine that!
Mom even managed to find a barn on our adventure!
Oh – it turns out the tool guys weren’t done with the project so mom and I had to leave home again on another day this week. I’ll have to wait to tell you about that day, cause I’m still pretty exhausted and need a nap.
I bet you’re exhausted just reading about our adventure day!
It’s a pretty cool barn, I can understand why she stopped.
Mom says you guys don’t need to hear from me so often. She says it’s her blog and shouldn’t be all about me. I like to point out regularly that her life is all about me.
Ahem.
Mom took me to a new park last week before the snow.
Anyway, she’s had a couple important thoughts on her mind and has been meaning to blog about random stuff for awhile now. As you may or may not know, she’s meaning to do a whole lot of stuff that doesn’t get done. So I decided to help her out by putting together a random blog with some of her thoughts and some of my thoughts.
You can judge which thoughts are most important.
Don’t worry mom, I’ll write your blog for you!
No pressure to vote for mine or anything.
So,anyway, she watches a lot of HGTV. Mostly because there isn’t any violence or scary stuff and no one looses anything most of the time. Mom doesn’t like conflict. But she knows that most of it is staged, ’cause there’s no way all those couples can like totally opposite stuff and still be together. One wants to live in a city high-rise and one wants to live on acres in the woods? How’s that supposed to work out?
Me, I think we should all live in the woods!
Don’t you wonder if some of them are still together?
And how come so many of the women come off as so controlling and well…b****y? Sometimes mom has to turn it off because the (mostly) women annoy her so much. And how come the closets are always hers? Where’s he supposed to put his cloths? In the kids’ rooms? Maybe the garage?
Of course mom has her own closet drama. We won’t go there.
Maybe you could store your shoes in here, mom!
I on the other hand wonder why people’s dogs don’t get to decide where they’re going to live. I think any dog would opt for lots of fenced in land to run on. I don’t know a dog around that likes to go on a walk by first getting on an elevator. And those high-rise balconies? You call that an outside space? What if a little doggie falls off? Huh??
Now THIS is a good outdoor space!
Mom also wonders about this open concept thing. It seems to be what almost everyone wants and she wonders if these people, particularly the young people, have ever lived with other people in that kind of space.
Is this open concept?
Mom and Dad’s house is open concept. They remodeled it long before that was a thing, and in general I like it cause I can run really fast with no walls to slow me down, but mom says if you live in an open concept house you have to listen and watch whatever the other people want to listen to and watch.
I’m a big help, right mom?
Sometimes mom would just like it to be quiet. She says she’d advise all those people looking for open concept houses to make sure they each have somewhere of their own to retreat to when they need a little quiet.
Just image if there were a bunch of kids too! Kids and dogs racing around a big open concept house. Yep….I think that would be perfect, but mom says it makes her head hurt. What do you think?
I think having some kids to play with would be just fine.
And mom’s been thinking about the cable/internet bill. She hears so many people talking about streaming stuff, and she’s not sure she’d even know how to do that. We don’t have any of those subscription things, and sometimes something she’d like to watch is shown only on Peacock or Hulu or Netflix or any number of other services that she hasn’t even heard of.
Is that a peacock over there?
The cable bill is big enough, why would you want to pay for more when we don’t even watch all the channels we have? Yet….maybe it would be nice to have some other options. Still, shouldn’t we be satisfied with the stuff we already have? Cause mom says we have a lot.
Personally I don’t care one way or the other. It’s all noise to me. Just don’t have any doorbells or dogs barking on there. And nobody up on that screen better move too fast either. Cause I’ll be on guard, yes I will. I’m watching you all the time, even when I’m sleeping. Constantly on guard to protect my people, that’s me.
Always alert!
In fact, mom and I just came in from a neighborhood walk and about the time we got back to our driveway four trumpeter swans flew over. They sure make a lot of loud, weird noise when they fly! Mom thought it was cool. I just stood very still and watched.
I’m not always brave.
After they were gone I pulled on my leash and stood up on by back feet and barked very loudly in the direction they had gone. I told them! They won’t be back any time soon! Don’t come near my mom you guys! Yes I can make myself very big, like a grizzly bear, when I want to scare something off.
Mom says I’m nothing like a grizzly bear, and I’m only brave after whatever riled me up is gone. Big brave girl, she calls me. She says this habit of mine doesn’t bode well for future camping.
Gotta keep an eye out all the time around here.
I say she needs a grizzly bear camping with her to keep her safe. What do you think?
A couple weeks ago we got some real snow, the first of any significance this season. It came to us blowing from the northeast, unusual for around here, and it was wet, sticky snow.
The pond across the street.
It stuck to all the tree trunks and branches, outlining everything. From a distance most of the woods around here looked like birch trees.
Heading out to see what there was to see.
I wanted to get out to get some pictures. It was so pretty for so long. But the weather was also miserable for a long time, the roads covered in slippery snow, the wind blowing, the temps in single digits.
The roof of our township offices.
I don’t want to even talk about the wind chill temperatures.
The woods across the marsh, trees painted in snow plaster.
Still, I’d look out the back windows and it was sooooo beautiful.
Up and down hills on the way to the park.
So one afternoon, with the sun peeking out from behind the typical Michigan winter clouds, and temperatures above zero, I ventured out.
Faux plaster.
I went to a park in the next township west of here. I didn’t walk very far, but I enjoyed being out there, and I hope you enjoy the photos as much as I enjoyed taking them.
I should have brought my skies.
Those of you that live in warmer climates….this is what you’re missing!
Red, white and blue on a pretty winter day.
Now…stop laughing, and no fair sending me pictures of blue skies and golden beaches!
Boy I bet you’ve been wondering where I’ve been! I know I’m probably the most important concern on your minds all the time, and in the interest of getting you to relax, I’ll bring you up to date on my adventures.
Me in my chariot.
There have been plenty.
Since it’s the holiday season I guess I should start out with my walk a week or so ago. I got to go to a park with my friend Whisky and his mom. (And my mom came too.) There were Christmas lights everywhere!
My friend Whisky-Roo and his mom.
There were lots of people and their dogs walking around and I was a pretty good girl about not barking at stuff. Even when people came out of the dark and startled me.
Sometimes I get worried that Mom isn’t paying attention to all the people walking by when she’s taking pictures.
Mom said it was pretty hard to get pictures of me looking at her cause there was so much other stuff for me to look at!
We spend way too much time sitting in front of stuff when we should be walking, Mom!
Then this week mom took me to Davis Lake Overlook Park, which is near my house. I’ve only been there one time before, and that time we walked in a different part of the park.
I think we should go down the yellow trail, Mom.
So on this walk everything was new to me. Boy I had fun sniffing. I’d go from one side of the trail to the other, nose always to the ground.
I feel like I’m wearing camouflage, Mom!I blend right in!
Mom said I did very good not being scared of being in the woods. When I was a little girl the big trees kinda scared me, but I’m a big girl now, and a lot braver.
Mom asks me to sit in front of stuff all the time.I think she needs to have an intervention.
Then guess what? My Uncle P. came to visit us! It was his first visit since I moved in. He’s so much fun! I liked him right away. A couple days ago he and Mom took me back to Davis Lake Overlook and we walked on a completely different trail there.
My Uncle Paul.
Part of it even Mom had never been on before! Mom says she might rename this park Penny’s Park. I think that’s an excellent idea.
Istay very focused on mom. When she says “OK!” I’m going in for my treat, yes sirree!
Mom says she’s still thinking about it. She says change is hard.
I think this is an excellent park and should definitely be named for me.
Anyway, we had a great walk even though it was foggy and cold. I didn’t mind that a bit of course.
I gave her my best pose down by this little pond.It’s my Christmas present to her.
I loved walking with Mom and Uncle P. They thought they’d be wearing me out so I’d be calmer when we got home. But the joke was on them - I wanted to play, play, PLAY when we got back.
They, on the other hand, needed a nap.
Never underestimate a Penny.
Silly people. They should know by now you can’t wear an Unstoppable Pretty Penny out!
Hee, hee.
Well, I might have taken a LITTLE nap.
Talk later, it’s time for me to go open my Christmas present, your Unstoppable Girl, Penny.
Me just before our walk. I think they do bonfires at this park sometimes.
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!
This is me “getting ON it” on a log. Get it?I’m so funny
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!
I love how the fall leaves compliment my coloring.
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!
This is as close to each other as we wanted to sit on this walk.
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!
A bridge is no big deal, mom!
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.
Mom’s always telling me not to sniff other dog’s private areas. Especially if they’re bigger than me!
But there were moms and kids playing there, so we pretty much stayed around the perimeter at first. Mom found this cool musical instrument.
Mom played a bunch of music on this. I was not entertained.
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.
We’re so very sorry, Madisyn.
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.
See all those students showing up behind me? That’s why my ears went flat.
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.
I play bowed, but Lulu wasn’t in a playful mood.
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.
I think I have this posing thing down!
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!
On the road in my chariot.
First we stayed outside and I checked out the pumpkins. Mom wouldn’t let me buy one, but they still smelled good.
I thought this one smelled perfect.
We went inside and I barked at a man getting a cart! Mom said no bark, but geeze, that cart place was super noisy!
Hmmmm, I could store my special toys in this.
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.
Sitting still is not my favorite thing to do, mom.
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!
Gotta keep an eye on anybody wearing fuzzy red clothing.
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!
So many parks, so much walking to do!
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!
Will pose for treats.
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.
Oh! I almost forgot, here’s some beautiful color for you from our local park!
Don’t worry, I’m sitting on my leash and I have no intention of going anywhere except to mom for a treat!
Mom is busy doing stuff that doesn’t involve me so I stole her laptop. I don’t think she’ll even notice unless one of you snitches on me. Which I’m sure you won’t.
This is a kayak launching dock. Pretty cool! Mom says we aren’t going kayaking though. Bummer.
So anyway, it hasn’t always been this way with her being so busy. She’s been taking me to a lot of parks lately.
Uh oh! That feather moved! I don’t think I like it!
She says the weather is just perfect, a little cooler, but sunny skies and the trees are just starting to change colors.
Yep, most of the color we found was on this limb. I don’t think that counts as fall color, mom.
She says we can’t waste days like this, so she’s been taking me to a new place almost every day, and I thought you might like to see.
This was at a different park on a different day.
Mostly she’s been training me to pose for her. I wasn’t so sure of this concept at first.
Mom thought I’d never sit on this log for her, but I can channel my inner diva just fine. When I want to.
But eventually I figured out that after I pose I get a treat, and that big black thing in front of her face isn’t really scary after all.
A girl and her shadow.
Plus I talked to my Angel Sister Katie who told me that treats were an integral part of park visiting and especially posing. I think I’m getting it!
My sister sat right here a couple years ago. Mom smiled when I didn’t argue. I think Katie smiled too.
But I could always use more practice, so I’m bugging mom every day to take me somewhere. I find that poking her hard in the knee works pretty good. If you have any other suggestions let me know.
Margo, over at her blog, That Little Voice, posted a black and white photo for a challenge. It reminded me how much I enjoy black and white photography, and I said as much. We both mentioned that we don’t do many these days, and I suggested this week we each try to post one black and white image.
So I went out with Penny looking for an opportunity.
For me the thing about black and white is finding simplicity. I like images that aren’t busy, trending toward modern art.
I didn’t exactly find that on this search. But as soon as I took this shot I knew it could be interesting in black and white.
This is Penny exploring a boat ramp at a local lake when the lake was mirror smooth. I was letting her decide if she wanted to get her feet wet. She wasn’t excited about the chance, the only one with wet feet at the end of the day was me. She was curious about the water, hence the ripples around her nose.
I think I’ll keep an eye out for another black and white image when Penny and I are exploring. You never know when you’ll spot something cool. Thanks to Margo for inspiring me to go out and look for black and white!
So this is the pond Katie always got her picture in front of.
I bet you’ve been wondering what I’ve been up to, and since mom is off doing dishes or laundry or some other boring thing I thought I’d tell you about last weekend when I got to visit my sister Katie’s park and I walked all the way around it for the very first time!
Is there something back there?
I’ve been telling Mom I was a big girl and I could walk around that park, but for some reason she’s never taken me. I think she just wasn’t emotionally ready to handle it, you know?
It’s really nice here, mom!
I know this is Katie’s park and it’s not like I’m asking her to rename it or anything. But sometimes mom is a little slow to move forward. So I waited patiently (I’m really good at patient) for her to be ready to share the park with me, her new little girl.
We stopped at the memory tree. Mom didn’t have to explain it to me. I understood.
Well. Let me tell you it was worth the wait! Though I am not thrilled about sitting on some rock in the parking lot. Apparently Katie would pose for her there. I don’t see what the point is, so I declined to pose.
Tell me again why you want me up here, mom?
I am my own girl. Mom said that was OK, I’m allowed to be me, and she loves me just the quirky little girl way I am.
Mom says she always takes at least one artsy-fartsy image. I guess this is it.
Anyway…mom put a long line on me so I could wander further away from her. But she kept calling me when I wasn’t paying attention.
Did you call, mom?
I’d turn right around and run back to find out what she needed. And to get a snack.
This is a pretty fun game, mom!
Mom says I’m very good at something called distracted recall. She says that’s a very very important skill to have. Whatever mom, if you bring the snacks I will do recall all day.
Are you coming, mom? Katie says you lag a lot on walks.
The park was pretty the day we visited, and mom promises to take me back again real soon. I can’t wait. I liked this park a lot because we weren’t in the deep woods and I could see the sky.
Is there something back there?
Mom is figuring out I like to be in open places the better to make sure there aren’t any monsters around.
Sometimes mom focused on stuff that wasn’t me! Incredible. Katie told me to get used to it.
It’s possible to be an Adventure-Girl and also a little nervous all at the same time. Mom says that’s OK too.
I think I’ll get braver and braver the more adventures we go on. Mom’s going to put up another tent in our back yard after it stops raining. She says it has a little window down near the floor and maybe I’ll like it better. I don’t know, mom. Right now I’m thinking daddy has the right idea about camping.
Mom got a lot of pictures like this too. Tee hee.
I guess I’ll have to trust you, mom, and check out the new tent when you put it up. Maybe I’ll turn into a camping dog eventually. Dad reminds mom that I’m still just a baby.
I took a nap when we got home. Mom woke me up when she took this picture. I was not amused.
Change Is Hard 