Change Is Hard

…but change is certain.


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I’ve been busy!

Hi there, it’s me, Penny!

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.

I stay 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.


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Holiday music is everywhere

My mom used to say she wished the radio stations continued to play Christmas music after Christmas day. Back then you had to be in the same room as the radio in order to hear and she didn’t have time to listen before Christmas morning. She had four kids to shop and wrap for and a big holiday dinner to prepare. 

She didn’t have time to enjoy the season until it was over.

The Clarkston Community Band, pictures from the audience perspective taken by my husband.

I wish she could have attended the concert our Clarkston Community Band played last Friday evening. Pretty lights and lush music shaped our theme of “Let there be Peace.” 

“Bugler’s’Holiday by Leroy Anderson

I don’t think there’s a better way to get in the spirit of the season than to go to a live concert, right in your own community, performed by your friends and neighbors. The musicians might not be professionals (though sometimes they are) and the performance might not be perfect (though sometimes it is) but the spirit is real and the motivation is pure.

Friday night songs like “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, “White Christmas” and “I’ll be Home for Christmas” got us all into the right mood. When the audience sang along on a medley of Christmas carols I had to stop playing for a moment and just listen to all those voices joined together. 

Pure magic.

Santa waits in the wings

Yep, Friday night we filled that auditorium with love. Toward the end of the show lots of children came up on stage to ring jingle bells as we played “Here Comes Santa Claus” in the hope they could convince Santa to stop in for a visit.  These kids were very convincing, and Santa showed up right on cue. Their faces, when they realized he was standing right behind them, were priceless. 

More magic.

Excitement builds as they hope for the big guy to arrive.

And then Santa conducted our last piece of music, “Sleigh Ride,” because it’ can’t be a holiday concert without a ride through the snow behind prancing horses, even if it’s all only in our imaginations. 

A perfect ending to a perfect evening.

Friday night we all came together for a moment of celebration and peace, even knowing the world is filled with unrest. We all left that night smiling and you can too. This season, check your local high school’s web page. There’s likely a holiday concert or two near you this very week. Please take time from your preparations to support those musicians. They’d love to see a full house and you’ll be glad you went.

I guarantee there will be magic bouncing off those walls.

Happy Holidays to you all.

Penny and I wish you all a peaceful holiday!


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Walktober wrapup

Thank you all for sharing your Walktobers with us! It’s been an honor to be the keeper of your walks this season. I loved every one of them and I know you will too!

I thought we should start with Robin from Breezes at Dawn since she’s been the host for our wonderful Walktobers for so many years. She and her husband traveled through Pennsylvania and stopped to get a little hiking in. Her pictures are, as always, just stunning.

Then we had Elisa visit from her blog Elisa’s Spot who shared lovely images from one of her walks, both in color and in black and white. She made me stop and think because I’ve never thought about doing black and white images in the fall. But it worked so well on her post, I think it’s something I should try.

And here’s Penny, my young sheltie, from my own Change is Hard with her over zealous Walktober where she shares three walks she went on in one week! She was only 10 months old when she did her Walktober, and she managed to go further than I did at 6 decades plus! She’s going to be a handful, this one, when she grows up!

Next we have Monkey, another sheltie, writing on his mom Debbie’s blog Musings. He did his walk with his mom and took us to the Douglas-Hart Nature Center on a beautiful day. They had quite a lot of fun exploring the trails with Halloween decorations and pretty flowers enhancing the fall foliage there.

And Frank shares a post on his blog, Beach Walk Reflections, about his walk on the beach and into the woods, with stunning photos of both.

Shelly, from Quaint Revival, took us on walk down memory lane as she shared images from her past. Check it out, there’s surely something in there that will make you smile.

Debbie, from Musings of a ND Domer’s Mom, went for a walk without her Monkey and took us to Whiteside Garden in Charleston, Illinois. There she saw many beautiful things, including sculptures and blooming flowers along with wonderful fall color.

Next up is Linda, from Walkin’ Writin’, Wit & Whimsy, who loved the concept of Walktober and decided to share photos from one of her favorite places, Council Point Park, where she introduces us to some of her favorite squirrels!

Then Barbara, from In the Woods, takes us on a walk at the Carolina North Forest trail system, in North Carolina. There she found light even in the deepest woods and she shares it with us all.

Frank, from Beach Walk Reflections, takes us on another walk on the beach. He likes to ponder as he walks, and this time he was pondering the color brown, which he thought was an odd color to be thinking about on a beach walk, but he has some stunning photos to help us all appreciate the color.

Then Penny, being the overly controlling dog that she is, reminded us not to forget, and just to put us all to shame, she did another Walktober!

Jo posts in her blog, Still Restless Jo, about her exploration of Castelnaudary in rural France. She and her husband walked the canal path and saw beautiful boats navigating through the locks there. If you read the post following her Walktober post you’ll see even more about Castelnaudary.

Deb at The Widow Badass and her little Bowser take us on a beautiful walk through their woods. They saw all sorts of color. It’s always fun to have a little four-footed adventurer along for the walk.

Diana, from My Life and Horse Stories, shared her birthday with us. The cake looked great! She and her daughter explored Solvang and visited some of their favorite places there.

Helen, from Helen’s Home World, and her dogs, Liam and Teddy went on a walk with a lot of other shelties. Sheltie meet-ups are so much fun! Having many of the shelties in Halloween costumes made this walk even more special.

Dale, from A Delectable Life is up next. She did a couple walks and combined them into her post. Note that at the beginning there was still a lot of green in the trees, but by the end things had pretty much turned to glorious fall colors!

And here comes Linda From The Task at Hand, with her walk in two different areas of Texas. She shares some amazing images of beautiful late summer/fall plants in bloom! What a nice change from all the cold and dropping leaves up here in Michigan!

And lastly, I got my walk in just under the wire, posting about it at Change is Hard. I went down to Hidden Lake Gardens near the Michigan/Ohio state line. I had a wonderful time exploring the garden and my memories of being there as a young child many years ago.

I hope you enjoyed all these walks! I find it fascinating to see different parts of the world, and how we each approach a project like this. We all live in such wonderful places, it’s fun to share them with each other.

I thank you again for taking the time to walk (or run or skip or boat or bike…) and photograph and write about your times in the special places you visited. And thank you for supporting Walktober! It’s a very special tradition that I hope will continue for many years to come! Thank you also to Robin for sharing the concept with us all in the first place!

Images in this post were taken in my yard the day before our Halloween freeze and snowfall. The yard is brown now, but I have these memories to keep me warm.


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Don’t forget to get out and do your Walktober

Hi everybody! It’s me Penny!

Helllloooooo everybody!

I know, I know. I’m monopolizing mom’s blog. But she’s kinda slacking off and I think it’s important to remind you to get your Walktober linked up to mom’s official Walktober post so she can do a wrap-up and include everybody’s adventures.

This is the Huron River last Sunday. Isn’t it beautiful?

I think she said she wouldn’t be doing that until sometime in early November, so you have some extra time! I’ll try to get her to put a new end date out there so you know, but in the meantime, don’t wait for her, get outside while the getting is good!

Sometimes mom takes pictures that aren’t me. I think this one is stunning.

I had such a good time on my official Walktober (where I got to go on three walks!!!) that I decided to go on another one! I think it’s a fine plan to go on more than one Walktober, especially since we’ve had such beautiful weather!

I hope you are having beautiful weather too.

We had such a beautiful day.

Last Sunday mom and I went down to Ann Arbor and met a friend and her sheltie, Finn. Finn’s mom was Queen Abby’s mom and my sister Katie and my mom and Queen Abby and her mom used to go on walks together.

Meeting Finn for the first time.

I had never met Finn before but we hit it off right away. He’s 2 years old and a real gentleman. Also he’s very handsome, don’t you agree?

Handsome Mr. Finn.

We walked around Island Park, in the Huron River. It sure was pretty! The trees were just beautiful. Of course that meant the moms wanted pictures of us in front of all of them. Sigh.

We were focused on Finn’s mom who had treats!

Finn and I aren’t experts at this posing yet. It was a challenge, my mom says, to get us both to sit next to each other and at the same time.

She thinks we’re just young.

“OK, here’s the deal. When they get us all set up for a picture, you get up. Then the next time I’ll get up.”

In reality Finn and I discussed it and decided we weren’t going to cooperate entirely, after all the moms shouldn’t get what they want without paying up.

Right? Right!!

“Or….we can just make sure we’re not both looking at them at the same time.”

Luckily for us Finn’s mom brought yummy treats and he shared them with me. I admit I am something of a treat hog. I actually stole quite a few treats that were meant for him.

I think Finn really wanted this treat, but I’m pretty sure I ended up with it.

It was 42 degrees and windy while we were there. Finn and I thought that was just about perfect, but the moms were cold. Not our fault, moms, that you didn’t plan very well. Next time you should wear a heavier coat, like us.

A little wind in our fur felt good.

After we walked around the island a few times, dragging the moms over bridges and through the woods, the moms decided they were cold and tired and we had to go. Finn and I weren’t cold or tired at all.

“Let’s go see what’s on the other side of the river!”

I protested at leaving, so mom said we’d stop at another park on our way home. Turns out we stopped at her favorite park (go figure) and she took me to a part of the park she always took my sister to in the fall.

“So…my sister Katie always sat here for you?”

But it was Sunday and the park was busy and there were too many dogs there, so she took me to a new spot she’d never explored before. It was beautiful!

“This is pretty cool, mom!”

She said she was very very pleased by how good I was, posing for her and coming when I was called. She said as long as no other dogs were around she’d trust me to sit further away from her. I told her not to worry, I was laser focused on her. And her treat bag.

The light was especially nice in the woods.

When we finally got home I crashed for a long nap. I sure had fun with Finn and I hope the moms can find a fenced in place so we can play together. We’re about the same size and we really wanted to play off leash.

It’s exhausting being a sheltie at my house.

Anyway, that’s my second Walktober post, I really was just supposed to remind you to get out and do your walks before it gets winter cold! But I couldn’t resist sharing this walk with you.

Some trees at mom’s favorite park on Sunday. Cause this is a Walktober after all.

The trees were beautiful and I wanted you all to enjoy the wonderful day Finn and I had together!

“Hey Penn, want to go grab lunch later?”

Talk later.

Your Walktober-girl,

Penny.

PS: Thank you to everyone that has already posted their Walktober, human and dogs as well. I delegated keeping track of them all to mom. I hope she’s up for the task. And speaking of mom…when the heck is she going to do her Walktober?! I better get to bugging her!

PPS: I got spayed today, so I’m a little sleepy. I’ll bug her about her Walktober tomorrow.

Goodnight people!