weather | Change Is Hard

August 20, 2016
by dawnkinster 21 Comments

Camping is awesome – even in the rain

This is my campsite!

Katie here. What? You thought mama likes camping in the rain? I guess she’s not opposed, as long as it’s a nice gentle rain that stops by morning and then the sun comes up and dries everything out before we have to pack it into the car. That kind of rain.

But of course that’s not what happened.

I’m getting ahead of myself though, let me start at the beginning. Last Monday we drove all the way over to Leelanau State Park; it’s way up at the tip of the little finger of Michigan, just north of Northport, one of mama’s favorite towns.

We went there so that we could visit a bunch of people, some of whom had never met me! The first person we hung out with was Karen, a friend of mama’s from years ago. They used to work together in the Upper Peninsula in the 80s. We had dinner at her house and mama and I ran up and down the 46 stairs to the beach a bunch of times while mama took pictures of the sunset that night.

I’m not scared of these stairs mama!

Mama has figured out that I’m not exactly telling the truth when I say I don’t do stairs. I ran down those 46 stairs no problem each time. And the first time back I forgot, and ran up halfway before I asked to be picked up! Bummer! Mama’s on to me now!

Sunset light makes me extra beautiful in my beach chair.

That night her friend came up and camped with us at our site. It was fun to have her hanging out with mama, though I have to admit I went to bed as soon as we got back to camp while mama and her friend drank wine and talked.

The next day mama and I went into town and visited Dog Ears Books in Northport. I didn’t get to meet the resident dog Sarah, because she wasn’t in that day, but I got to meet Sarah’s person Pamela, and I got to wander all over the store with my mama as she picked out a few books.

I like this store! Support your independent book seller!

We visited the marina too. I enjoy walking out on the docks and looking at all the beautiful boats. I imagine what it would be like out on the big lake on a sunny afternoon.

This one’s for sale mama, want to buy it for me?

It would be perfect as long as my mama remembered to bring the treats. Which she forgot a lot on our walks during this camping trip. Just saying.

Back at our campsite mama noticed a big beautiful cloud out over the lake. This park doesn’t have a beach, just a lot of bushes that grow in the water. So mama hiked out through those bushes and into the water to get a picture of the beautiful cloud and some sailboats.

The ‘path’ back to camp.

She figured her feet would get wet, but that was OK. When she finally came back to camp I had to say “I told you so mama!” because of course she got more wet than she expected. Mama never pays attention when she’s trying to get a good picture. Silly silly mama.

Really mama? You couldn’t keep your shorts dry?

She changed her shoes and her shorts and spent the rest of the day moving the wet things around the campsite, following the shifting sun. When we went to bed they were still pretty damp.

That night the whole campground was full! Most every single site had one or more tents in it. We had lots of crazy screaming little kids on one side of us and a whole big group of teenagers on the other side. It was a lot more noisy than before. But I was tired from all our exploring so I went right to sleep.

Peterson Park has a giant tree!

Mama had hoped she could try some star photography, so she set her alarm for 1:00 a.m. so she could go out and check the sky. Of course she got me up then too, to go do my jobs. She thought that by doing that I might let her sleep later than 6 a.m. It’s always good to have hope.

So at 1:00 we were outside, mama checking the sky, me checking for pee-mail. She said the sky wasn’t good for star shooting; to the west it was totally dark and there were clouds and stars just above us. Out over Lake Michigan it looked dark…like fog. Or something.

We walked about three campsites down the road so I could pee, and then mama felt weird being out there alone so late, and she tugged me back to our site. I didn’t want to go back into the tent but she insisted. And as she turned around inside to zip the door shut she noticed that the young tree on the other side of the road suddenly bent over in strong wind! That seemed odd because it hadn’t been windy when we were out there. And it wasn’t windy where our tent was only a few feet away.

So she watched. The tree whipped around, over and over, the waves began to crash, but the wind was louder than the waves. Mom was worried. Then the rain hit.

It came down in sheets, hard against the tent. Mama hoped the weight of us inside would hold the tent down. She worried about what she might have left outside. Like her shoes. And the tent bag. And who knows what else. I slept through the whole thing.

It rained hard from 1:10 a.m. until 6:00 a.m. Mama stayed awake through most of it worrying. But at 6:00 it seemed to stop, and she had to go to the bathroom (I guess listening to all that water will do it to some people!) so she woke me up and we crept outside. Things seemed to be OK. Her shoes were soaked, but other than that we were good. So we headed to the toilet. We were halfway there when the rains came back. Mama debated what to do. Go back to the tent? Or keep going? She decided what the heck…we were going to get wet either way, so we kept going. By the time we got to the toilet it was just pouring. We got soaked!

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz…

Back at our site she gave up trying to keep anything inside dry, we just dove back into the tent. I was a mess. Mama was a mess. She dried me off with our last dry towel. Turns out I thought that was fun, almost like a game, so I made mama laugh even though she was dripping wet too. We went back to sleep. Well. I went back to sleep. Mama lay there worrying about how she was going to pack up the campsite in this pouring rain. She had to be out by 11:00 a.m.

Then guess what? The rain stopped at 8 a.m.! Really! It just stopped! Mama had already decided that she was going to pack up at 8, regardless. So she got up and got moving fast. I got put in my crate just to keep me from tracking more mud into the tent. I was not happy.

Not fair.

I am never happy when she packs up our tent. It’s my tent and I want to stay longer! Even if everything is soaked! It’s not fair that she put my in my crate in the car where I couldn’t see anything. But she says it’s just faster without me running around after her barking and getting under her feet.

I don’t want you to pack up mama!

I guess she’s right, because she got everything packed in an hour. We stopped on our way out to toss the garbage in the bin. It was about 9:10 when she popped out of the car to toss the garbage. The rain began again in earnest at 9:11. I swear, we were soooo lucky to get it all packed up in that one hour.

Through the rain we drove south around Traverse Bay, and then north along the other side. We were going to visit Gerry up near Eastport. I met Gerry a couple of years ago, along with her dogs the Cowboy and Miss Sadie. She lives near the water too and has a lot of stairs up to her house.

I’m not walking up all these steps mama!

Once again I had no trouble going down the steps but I made my mama carry me up every.single.time. After all, I am a princess.

Once inside her house I noticed immediately that there was a sofa! And I spent most of the evening napping on it, or Gerry’s chair. And mama and I got to sleep in a real bed! Gerry was very nice to offer us her spare room, especially since everything we had was wet!

Hey mama! A sofa!

I had a great time at Gerry’s house. We went for walks through the woods and we visited her neighbor and I got to nap while they were talking. I napped a lot on this trip. I think that’s one of the best parts about camping, all the naps.

What? I was just resting my eyes!

The next day we went for one more walk and then it was time to head home. I don’t know about mama, but I was exhausted!

Sure is pretty ‘up north!’

We stopped at my favorite park in Greyling, and a couple of rest stops, but most of the way home I was asleep. Don’t tell mama, she thinks I’m vigilant all the time.

At the little park in Greyling. It’s not raining!

It took mama two days to get everything totally dried out once we were home. I’m already asking her when we’re going again, but she says she’s tired. She slept a lot yesterday. Even more than me! I suppose I should let her rest for at least a couple more days before I bug her about our next adventure. Maybe we could stay in a hotel. I have to admit I did like sleeping on the bed that last night. We’ll see. I can always count on my mama to come up with something fun.

She says she has lots of pretty photos to show you and she’ll do that sometime if I ever finish this blog which she says has gotten way too long. Obviously she forgets I’m the princess of the house.

My mama. Secretly I think she likes camping a lot too.

Even when it rains.

Traverse Lighthouse!

August 8, 2016
by dawnkinster 16 Comments

Just a walk in the park

I’m at my park!

Katie here. It’s been forever since I’ve been able to blog. Mama has been hogging it with all her travel adventures, which by the way, she did not take me on. Just to point out the inequities here. But she flew back home on Friday and this morning she said that it was such a pretty day she’d like me to take her to my park!

Well! You know how I love my park. So I barked and jumped around her ankles until she got moving toward the car! Heavens, I haven’t been to my park in a long time! Mama says it was only the month of July, because she was gone, but in dog years the month of July is a bajillion years!

If you have a treat I’ll sit!

I had so much to catch up on that I stopped a whole lot along the walk. I had to smell everything! And leave pee-mail for my dog friends. Everywhere. After a long time my mama said, “Come on now Katie-girl, you don’t have to pee on everything. Everyone will know you were here. After all, it’s YOUR park!”

Mama was sort of sad because the only flowers left out there were queen annes lace and (oh no!) goldenrod! She says the summer is slipping away and she can’t figure out how to hold on to it. I told her that the reason the summer was going by so fast was because she’s spent most of it somewhere else! And that she needed to spend the rest of it with me. Me me me me me.

Late summer flower.

But anyway.

The best part of my walk this morning was that I met a new friend! A little girl and her mom and baby brother were out walking in my park! I was resting in some shade when they showed up. The little girl was so beautiful! And she asked the right questions before she came up to me. She asked if it was OK to let me sniff her hand, and then she asked if I liked to be petted!

Only a little of this still in bloom.

Mama told her that she asked exactly the right questions and that it was always important to ask the doggie’s mom or dad first. And that if she petted me on my side I’d like it better than on my head. Mama says she was hoping I wouldn’t back up and shy away, cause I break little kids hearts like that all the time. But I was thinking my mama should just quit talking and let the little girl pet me!

And you know what the little girl said as I was lying down and letting her pet me on my soft fur? She said I looked just like a princess! Isn’t that cool! She knew I was a princess! I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, everyone should know I’m a princess, it’s perfectly obvious.

Mama told her she was right, I was a princess! And that we had named the park after me. She smiled and asked if she could get a picture with me. I guess she knows royalty when she sees it! So I sat on a bench and let mama take a picture of the two of us. Mama is going to email it to her mom.

I was having so much fun I didn’t even notice this guy. Do you see him?

It was special and I’m glad I met her. She is a very nice little girl, a princess herself I think. I hope we meet her again some day at my park.

I had a wonderful time and now I’m hogging all the air conditioning in my living room by sleeping on the vent. I’m so glad my mama is home. She says we’re going on a walk with my friend Deuce tomorrow night! It’s about time she gave me the attention I deserve.

Natives and invasive mixed together, on our way out of the park.

I hope you all are having a wonderful summer too. And that you all have an air conditioning vent to nap on.

When are we going back to the park mama?

August 7, 2016
by dawnkinster 11 Comments

WordPress Photo Challenge: Morning

Morning in late summer over our local wetlands.

To see more interpretations of ‘morning’ click on the link above. Or, check out a few of my favorites (so far) here, here and here.

And this one too.

August 2, 2016
by dawnkinster 10 Comments

Paddling the blues away

Morning light.

My family has come out to the lake and gone home again. The house feels empty and I’m feeling a little blue. But this morning the sun rose on another perfect day and there’s nothing to do when you’re feeling blue except take a paddle on a gorgeous lake.

So I set out.

Let's head out and see what there is to see.

Let’s go see what there is to see.

This is what we lake people call ‘water ski water’ because it’s the perfect glassy surface to fly free at the end of a tow line. I’ve had plenty of beautiful skis like that over the years but this morning was designed for more quiet refection.

Going around a bend I lost the perfect water and headed into a bit of a wind. And I realized I had forgot the sunscreen and the water bottle.

Paddle harder!

So paddling got more difficult physically and mentally. But I wanted to see how far I could go with a bum shoulder. So I’d rest a bit, floating silently, looking at all the lake houses, now empty of their people for another week.

And up at the next point I saw a tree. A tree that made me feel even more blue.

Not fall color. Not.

Because surely that was not fall color! Surely that was just caused by the drought. Even though it’s sitting right on the shore with plenty of water. Sure.

I quickly paddled around that point, and the water was smooth again.

Mom and Dad are everywhere on this lake.

I’d have to go way past that island and around that next point to get even close to the mountain where my parents’ ashes were spread. So even though I was curious about whether I could paddle that far I floated a bit and reluctantly turned around for home.

After all the turkey buzzards were circling above, waiting for me. And I wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction of dehydrating in the hot Alabama sun.

Ever hopeful circles.

As with any trip, the paddle home seemed a lot shorter than the going out had been. Partly because that breeze was at my back. Partly because I’d moved into a rhythm, one with the water and the sun and the breeze and the paddle.

Still, home looked pretty good.

Home and shade, plus a bottle of water, await.

July 28, 2016
by dawnkinster 6 Comments

Rain dance

It’s day one at the lake and I’ve been itching to get onto the water but the weather has been fickle. Neighbors tell me that they haven’t had rain in weeks but there was a good chance for it today.

Of course.

All day the wind has been gusty and and blowing away from the house, so I hesitated taking the kayak out, concerned about battling the elements to get back home. Twice I went out to chance it and was turned back by the wind.

By evening things had settled down, the sky was still a pretty blue with puffy white clouds. I decided to take the kayak up the slough toward the cyprus trees.

Quiet down here.

Just a short jaunt.

It was peaceful up there, water like glass reflecting the pretty trees. But I noticed the clouds overhead were changing.

Uh oh

And I heard a noise coming up the slough behind me. It sounded like a fast boat, which would be unusual, but newcomers to the lake sometimes mistake our little slough with a throughway to bigger water. So I moved over to the side and turned around to watch.

It took me a moment to realize that it wasn’t a boat coming around the curve. It was rain. Really loud hard pounding rain. The kind that will instantly soak you.

Is that RAIN up there?

Nothing to do but sit there and watch it come. It began to sprinkle a few fat drops on me. I braced myself.

And there it sat, about 10 yards away from me, the water pouring down and the lake rough with wind. I continued to sit in a slight shower, complete with sun above.

Reflections

Then it moved across the slough, up the hill and disappeared. I shook my head as if to clarify what I had just seen.

Drip

And then I paddled peacefully through the sun drenched evening on a little piece of a big lake toward home.

Home again, home again, jiggity jig.

July 7, 2016
by dawnkinster 18 Comments

Adventure – Day 5 – the long way home

I should have driven home on day 4; I was planning to go straight home after my two nights at Taquanamon Falls. I was out of food. The tent was wet. The holiday weekend, when campgrounds fill up and traffic gets crazy, was right around the corner.

But I was having too much fun.

So I searched for a State Forest campground to spend one more night, a campground that was sort of on the way. And I found one, situated along the Munuscong River near Pickford Michigan, still in the Upper Peninsula. After all the rain we’d had the river was wide and muddy.

The river mirrors the weather.

There were several families settled into spots along the river. The mosquitoes were in residence there too, so I chose a large grassy site, further away from the river, which enjoyed a stiff breeze. In fact I didn’t slide my $13.00 payment into the secured payment pipe until I got the tent up because I wasn’t sure I’d be able to do that with the considerable wind. But it went up easily. I think it was glad for the opportunity to dry out.

Drying out.

I was glad myself. Everything got hung up and aired out. The site was huge and covered in grass. No mud. Towering pine trees. Perfect.

Even better, I was only two miles from an old barn. A photogenic old barn. So after camp was set up, on my way into town to find food, I stopped. Of course.

Maybe it’s the barn. Maybe it’s the setting. Maybe both.

And the next day on my way home I lollygagged. Turns out there’s a lot of farm country between the Upper Peninsula and home. Lots of great barns. And that day there was a stunning sky filled with puffy white clouds that begged me to stop and attempt a capture.

Wheat field, clouds and a barn.

So I did. In fact I stopped several times. Seems every exit I took there was something beautiful to enjoy.

Pretty spot on a pretty day.

Barns. Barns everywhere. Long, straight country roads crossing flat country with farms tucked in behind nearly every stand of trees.

Tucked way back there among the trees was a beautiful barn.

Along one country road I met a couple of friends. They had come out of the woods and were walking down a lane.

This is OUR field lady!

They were not that excited to see me. After a long stare they turned and bounded back toward the woods.

Run! She’s got a CAMERA!

Soon they were almost hidden from view.

I don’t think she can see us now.

They made me smile.

But…back to barns.

Nice and square. With hawk.

There were so many pretty places to stop.

Barns and clouds – winning combination.

I could have stayed out there all day. Wait. I did. What a gift retirement is! Time to play along the way home. Time to enjoy a beautiful sky and ripening wheat fields, meadows of wildflowers, soaring birds, bounding deer.

A fence can’t contain the beauty.

And so ends this adventure. The camping gear is packed away. Katie the dog has forgiven me for leaving her behind. Husband has listened to the stories. The laundry is done, gardens weeded, groceries purchased, meals cooked. I’m going to visit Aunt V this afternoon.

Life has settled back into the familiar pattern. Adventures are, after all, only adventures if they are occasional. Sporadic.

Still…stay tuned.

One last pretty barn.

July 5, 2016
by dawnkinster 21 Comments

Adventure – Day 3

The biggest, deepest, coldest lake of all.

It’s Lake Superior Day! Well. OK, it’s not a nationally recognized holiday but for me day 3 was all about Lake Superior. I couldn’t be in the Upper Peninsula, so close to the big lake, and not go for a visit.

So I drove from Tahquamenon Falls State Park up to Grand Marais which sits on the shore of the massive Great Lake and arrived just as a storm was rolling in.

It’s raining out there.

Perfect timing! Some people might be bummed out that there was rain (literally) on the horizon. But not me. The sky was amazing and I rushed down to the shore.

Low hanging clouds were fascinating.

I was not alone.

Kids heading out to witness the storm. And collect rocks.

Though there was wind and the threat of rain, several families strolled the beach.

Beach walking.

Once the clouds rolled through I went for a quick lunch at a local restaurant, wandered the town and checked out the bay. I don’t know why, but this kayak caught my eye. I still haven’t figured out just why I like this shot. But I do.

Waiting to go for a ride.

With some advice from friends I traveled along the shore of Lake Superior, visited a waterfall….

Young, foolish parents. Don’t do this if you visit.

…and explored a campground, potential for a future adventure…

Beautiful campground way back in the woods.

…but my all time favorite place on this adventure was along the trail to the Au Sable Lighthouse. I’d visited the lighthouse two years ago, and this year I didn’t walk all the way out there. Too many tourists.

Come walk on the beach with me.

This time I took a short trail out to the lake and walked along the shore. I love Lake Michigan, enjoy Lake Huron, was pleasantly surprised this past spring by the beauty of Lake Erie. But there’s something extraordinary about putting your feet in Lake Superior.

Superior bubbles.

Lots of people had been before me. But I had the place all to myself for the time I was there.

Evidence of visitors past.

I climbed up on some big rocks and listened to the lake gurgle against the underside of them. Watched the water move, the clouds, the seagulls. Took a gazillion photos. Smiled.

Amazing.

Eventually I climbed down, gathered up two rocks from the shore and headed back to the car. Someday I hope to camp at the Hurricane River campground which sits right across the trail from the lake. Not during a hurricane of course.

My last stop of the day was Munising. By the time I arrived it had begun to rain in earnest so I stayed only long enough to check out the harbor and grab a sandwich for dinner.

Headed out into the mist.

Pictured Rocks is there, and it would be fun to take a kayack tour of the cliffs. But that would have to wait for another trip, a sunnier day. I headed back to the campground, two hours away, satisfied with what I had seen on this trip to Lake Superior.

I ate my sandwich in the tent as the gentle rain fell. And fell. And fell. It rained for nine hours, luckily all overnight. In the morning I’d head out again. Time to go home.

Or not.

Summer playground.

June 24, 2016
by dawnkinster 11 Comments

Other pretty things

When Katie and I camped in northern Michigan over on Lake Huron we had a great time even though we had to cut the trip short due to rain.

Fishing boat chugging along the horizon at sunrise.

Ship chugging along the horizon at sunrise.

But when she was telling you all about it she focused on herself. As befits a princess I guess.

Our first day was beautiful.

Still, there were plenty of pretty things up there that you didn’t get to see because they weren’t always about her.

Loved how the lake disappeared into the morning sky.

There was beauty in the big expanse of the space, and tiny things too.

Is this a buttercup?

So I thought you might want to see a couple of the things that didn’t get shared. And yes. One or two of them might even include the princess.

Low clouds closing in.

But don’t tell her.

“The spotlight should ALWAYS be on ME mama!”

She’s already got a big head.

“Which is prettier? The lake or me?”

June 21, 2016
by dawnkinster 18 Comments

Nothing to do

Remember when you were a kid how you’d hound your mom (or dad) during summer vacations about having nothing to do? And no matter what was suggested it wasn’t what you wanted. Even though you couldn’t exactly say just what that was.

Retirement can be sort of like that. Or not.

Checking out the buffet.

Katie and I have been camping in the back yard the last couple of nights. This morning, with a thunderstorm in the forecast, I went out to pack the tent up. I was feeling privileged that it was 7:30 on a Monday morning and I wasn’t sitting in commuter traffic on the freeway. The neighborhood was quiet, sun shining softly on the leaves, only the sounds of the birds to interrupt my wandering thoughts.

Got any jelly there lady?

A chipmunk and a fat squirrel skittered away from me as I startled them mid-breakfast. A rose breasted grosbeak flew off the feeder, an oriole streaked away toward the woods.

I smiled.

I’ll just get a drink while I wait.

And then part way across the back yard two tree swallows flew in formation right toward me, perhaps 6 inches above the grass. They swooped and swirled through the yard. I stood still. They circled me several times, flew low and then swept up over the tomato cages, then down across the lawn again. Like stealth bombers, their wings were silent unlike the other birds that frequent the yard whose fluttering wings and grumpy cries always let me know when the feeder is empty.

I recognized in that moment how lucky I am. I can stand perfectly still in my backyard, in the middle of a weekday morning, and enjoy doing absolutely nothing.

I demand fresh oranges!

I’m reading a book, Slow Love; how I lost my job, put on my pajamas, and found happiness. by Dominque Browning. The author is describing her transition from frenzied work to unemployment. This afternoon I read the following passage which perfectly described how I felt earlier in the day:

“I begin to understand how nothing to do is its own state of grace, difficult to find deliberately, nearly impossible to recognize. Nothing to do means I can sit and look and let my mind wander, then empty, then fill again, with wonder or with grief, with anything or with nothing at all. “Nothing to do” is not the same as “Nothing can be done.” One is hopeless; the other the place from which hope becomes possible.”

In the heat of mid-morning, standing still in the light, I realized that nature was enjoying my yard every day. Used to be that I didn’t get to see it, but now, now that I have nothing to do, it’s all right there for me to enjoy.

Pretty darn cool.

Grape jelly again?!

June 17, 2016
by dawnkinster 24 Comments

Evil waves !

No it’s not mama who thinks waves are evil. It is I, Princess Katie, who doesn’t trust those noisy, ever moving, elusively wet things. Not at all. And mama knows I don’t like them, yet she took me on an adventure where there were lots of waves! Sometimes I don’t understand my mama. At all.

Our home away from home.

But you know what? I had a really good time anyway. You know how much I love to camp with my mama and we went to a park we’ve never been to before, way up north, on the shores of Lake Huron. Mama scored a beautiful campsite with our own private path to the beach (and those pesky waves!). Lucky for me it was a ‘no dogs allowed’ beach so I didn’t have to spend much time out there!

Some people ask me what I do all day when we’re camping. Well! Let me show you! We go on lots of walks around the campground where I can show off my beautiful self…

Not too many people around to admire me!

…and we take lots of naps. When my mama is reading in the tent I like to nap up on her bed, right next to her…

Reading is boring mama!

…unless I’m busy keeping watch on my private pillow from my own private window.

What’s going on out there?

And when my mama is reading in her chair outside I like to keep track of the world while keeping cool under the picnic table. It’s my secret hideaway. Nothing gets by me!

My secret hiding place!

But we explored lots of other places too. This campground has a dog beach and the first evening we went to find it. The path went through some tall trees and the sun was getting low which made the trees (and me!) just glow. Mama spent a long time in there taking pictures of everything.

Isn’t the light cool in here?

When we finally got to the dog beach I made it very clear with my flat ears that I did not like it mama! I especially didn’t like when the noisy waves were behind me. Mama tried to tell me that these were just little, harmless waves and she wasn’t going to make me get my feet wet but I was still very glad we didn’t stay there long.

What IS that mama?

The next morning mama almost missed the sunrise! I slept all night, hardly moving at all, while my mama shivered under four blankets while wearing layers of clothes. She finally fell asleep in the early morning hours and expected that I’d wake her up at the usual 5:30. But I didn’t! It was so nice sleeping in the cool night air that I just rolled over and kept sleeping. She woke up at 5:45 and woke me up! She wanted to go out on the beach to see the sun? Is she crazy?

The sunrise was nice but I didn’t want to be there, so she brought me back to camp, put me on my long leash and gave me breakfast to keep me busy while she went back out on the sand to take more pictures.

Morning light on my fur.

Well. I do not like to be separated from my mama! So after I finished my breakfast (You didn’t think I was going to leave that in the bowl did you?) I figured out my leash wasn’t really attached to my collar and so I walked casually right back out to the beach to find her!

Hey mama! Whatcha doing out there?

She turned around to check on me and there I was, standing next to the path (I don’t like the sand in my toes.) watching her! Mama came running and I got hooked up to my leash really good. I think she was sort of surprised that I came back out on the beach on my own. I like surprising my mama. Keeps her on her toes.

Later that day we went on a little road trip. And guess what? I got to see a real lighthouse in person! This is Sturgeon Point lighthouse. It’s very beautiful. Mama would have walked up to the top, but the tower was only open on the weekends. And she had me. As you know I don’t do stairs.

What is more beautiful than a lighthouse? Why ME of course!

Of course there was a beach there too, with even bigger waves and I didn’t like it. So mama and I walked around the grounds of the lighthouse instead of out by the water like she wanted. She’s good about compromise, my mama.

There is also a one room school, the Old Bailey School, on the site. Mama said that since there weren’t any waves nearby could I please sit and look pretty so she could take a picture with me and the school. But I was more interested in what that thing was over to the right of me. Plus there were two people on the other side of the school and I could hear them talking and I wanted to go see what was over there. So all my mama got was this.

What IS that mama?

By the time we got back to camp I was exhausted! I slept all night again, and mama shivered all night. She put on all her clothes and even wore a pair of socks on her hands and she was still cold! I don’t know about you mama! I was wearing all my clothes too and I thought the weather was perfect for sleeping! Anyway, this time my mama set her alarm to wake us up at 5:30 so we could go out and see the sunrise. It was spectacular. I couldn’t stop looking at it.

The sun’s got nothing on me!

Wouldn’t you? Out on the horizon was a fishing boat which made it even more interesting. The sky was just gorgeous. Everything was gorgeous, and this time I didn’t even act scared of the waves! I let mama enjoy everything!

Colors beyond description!

But then the clouds started rolling in….

Uh oh…

…and it began to rain. And rain….and rain. Mama and I hung out in the car. We drove into town so she could check the radar. We drove back to camp. We hung out in the car again and it continued to rain. And the wind picked up and the waves were getting bigger and noisier.

Getting noisier out here!

Mama thought about another night of sleeping in the cold. And now we were both wet from me making her take me on walks to do my thing. Even if she wore all her clothes again she’d be cold. And she didn’t think we’d ever be dry again. So she packed up camp. She didn’t even ask me if I wanted to go home! And I did not!

Goodbye lake! We’ll be back!

Sometimes mama uses that old excuse “because I said so” and I have to just go with the flow. But I have to admit I was really happy to see my Dad when I got home. I guess it’s nice to be here too. I slept upside down on my king sized bed that night. But now I want to know….what are you going to do to top this one mama? Huh? Huh?

What’s next mama?

It better be good, that’s all I have to say. Because a princess has certain expectations you know. And it’s very bad if she’s disappointed. I’m going to go take a nap now, in preparation for the next royal event.

I like the woods best!

Change Is Hard

…but change is certain.

Tag Archives: weather