Therapy at North Bay Park ...a Photo Essay of My Day

For me there is nothing quite as therapeutic as some sunshine and a date with my camera! Today I took the doggies out to North Bay Park, which is a couple of miles from my house. The sun was shining and it was warm with a lovely spring breeze.

it's been far too long since I've taken my camera out to play...

this is good for my soul!

And speaking of my camera, I need to talk about that word a little. To me, the word camera seems cold and metallic, much like the device. "Camera" comes nowhere close to describing how I really feel about this little piece of metal, plastic, and glass. Granted, it is only a thing, but it's a thing that I really love! For this reason, I refer to my camera as my "camrade" sort of like a comrade. :) My family members have heard me say this so much that they've begun to use it themselves, which I find endearing.

Today's little excursion was a therapy trip for my dogs too. It's been a long time coming for these sweet, faithful girls! They needed to get out of the house and see a bit more of the world! They are happy and well-loved to be sure, but the truth is that when I'm in school they spend a lot of time waiting for me to get home...and waiting for me to finish my homework.

Ditto and Dinah, my "doggy daughters," enjoying their ride in the car.

Once at the park, one of the first things I saw was a kite stuck in the edge of a tree. This made feel a little sad, and it made me think of life. Sometimes I feel as though I'm "stuck" just on the edge of freedom, just on the edge of breaking through to a more fulfilling life...a lot like this kite. It's the old "if only" adage that so many people live by, but that I try not to dwell on too much. I also thought about the child who lost this kite. I wonder what that day was like? I wonder how much time the adults who were present had to spend consoling?

We started our walk with a lovely view of the path stretching out ahead of us...

...but it didn't take long for the girls to find a log that smelled absolutely heavenly to them.

After stopping to say hi to lots of passers by, and of course to have a nice, long sniff at every opportunity, we finally made it down to the water. The sun was shining and the water was beautiful. Even the old, dead logs were glittering like diamonds!

These are the prescription sunglasses I got for Christmas last year. It was nice to finally put them to use for something other than driving in the car or walking around campus at Eastern. I am one lucky girl!

Once around the other side of the lake there was a bit more shade. The trees in Michigan are just gorgeous right now. They are all rife with buds and the colors are just beginning to burst forth in anticipation of warmer days ahead.

Standing under these huge trees, I felt almost as if it was raining willow branches. The way they were swaying in the breeze, and blocking the sun from my face...it was like a magical little world under the willows, belonging only to me. But, as if on cue, there was the ever-present reminder of humanity. A huge plane taking off from the local airport. I like the juxtaposition between nature and people in the photo below.

Also in a strange parallel to life, my walk wasn't all sunshine and roses. {Fair warning: if you are squeamish you may not want to look to closely at the following two photos!} About half way around the lake, I saw what I first thought was an old, hollow log next to a tree, but it didn't look quite right. Upon closer inspection I realized it was actually a dead fish. To be honest, I couldn't decide at the time if it was a dead bird or a dead fish, but after showing the pictures to Michael, we decided this was most certainly a former fish. How it got up next to the tree I have no idea. I'm certain there is some interesting story that goes along with this image too, much like the kite, but your guess is as good as mine!


All in all, dead fish included, I had a lovely day that made me feel more refreshed than I've felt in a long time. To top it off, I came home to find a very sweet card and gift from my young friend, Kyra. This is the little girl I cared for from the time she was two weeks old until she turned three-and-a-half and went to preschool. You can read more about my time with K. in this post, but the gist of the story is that this sweet gesture really warmed my heart. Kyra's mom called me last week to tell me how much they've been thinking about me. I've been thinking about them a lot too, but with all the craziness at school, calling them back has remained on my to-do list. :( We haven't been able to make time to see each other nearly as much as either one of us would have liked this past year, but the love is still there. Kyra is five now, which is unfathomable to me. She's a lovely little girl and I still miss her so much it hurts sometimes. It was really nice to know they were thinking of me, and the bracelet she made is darling. I've been wearing it all evening, but I did take it off for a minute so I could scan it in:

So sweet...what a lovely day it's been!

My Girl

I know you've heard of a pig in a blanket, but how about a dog in a blanket? This is our little fur-monster in a photo taken just a few minutes ago. She is nothing if not spoiled!

This past week has been a little rough for our poor puppy. On Monday she had to get six teeth pulled. It's a little annoying because when we asked about her bad breath this fall, they said we should possibly consider getting a dental done because of her age (she's 9) but not to worry about it too much. We switched over to the specialty dental food at that time and went on with life. Despite the more expensive food, the bad breath persisted. This was not only unpleasant to endure, but I could just tell Ditto wasn't feeling the best, which made me sad. We did indeed schedule the dental cleaning, as soon as we were able to come up with enough money. She went in Monday to have the procedure done. For dogs, even routine dental work is done as a surgery, so Michael and I were both a little nervous when we dropped our baby dog off Monday morning.

As it turned out, everything went fine, if you count having six teeth pulled as fine. Obviously they needed to come out...the vet apologized and explained that there really was no way to save the teeth. They had no explanation for why this happened, other than old age. It's a little hard to understand because we have always fed her dried food and taken good care of our puppy. She's been on antibiotics since she came home, but she is definitely beginning to feel better. Starting around Thursday she wanted to play again and ever since then her energy level has continued to increase. It sort of seems like we have the old Ditto back...our playful, hyperactive Jack Russell Terrier. In retrospect, I can see that she must have been in a lot of pain, which we were just chalking up to her getting older. I feel really badly about that, but I suppose hindsight is always 20/20...

Sad but True

I've become one of 'those' people, you know...the ones who put outfits on their dogs. I honestly couldn't resist when I saw the Christmas costumes marked down to 50% off...I couldn't pass up such a great deal. Of course, they say you're only truly getting a good deal if you're buying something you would have bought at full price. Oh well...I think the pictures speak for themselves!

Look, it's Dinah, Santa's long-lost Reindeer!

And of course Ditto, Santa's little helper

Duke & Honey

A few weeks ago I had an opportunity to take some photos of two golden retrievers. Since school and life have been so busy lately, I just now got a chance to process all the photos. These dogs were so sweet, they are best friends and I think it shows. I'm happy to have these completed and I can't wait to get them returned to the client. My snow day has been very unexpectedly productive and it feels good to be getting things checked off my list!

Winter's Welcome

One of the very best things about being in the educational field in Michigan: SNOW DAYS!! Granted, these days have to be tacked onto the end of the year, but there's just something wonderful about getting an extra day off for what would have been the last day of school before break. Of course since I'm only a sub, this means no pay for me...but I'm OK with that.

Michigan is getting pelted today. We've already had about 3-4" since 4:00 a.m. and as I look out my window right now, I can see a steady snowfall covering the tracks the dogs have made. Even Eastern closed campus today, which NEVER happens. You can imagine my surprise when I checked my email this morning and saw this message: "Eastern Michigan University is closed today (Friday, Dec. 19) due to the weather." Another weird thing happened today too. We were listening to the weather channel this morning for updates and the local emergency broadcast cut in with a message, "The Ann Arbor area is at a stage yellow winter weather alert level," which was followed by information about the hazardous roads and extra driving time. This is just weird. I've lived in Michigan for over 15 years and not once have I heard such a message. I think the big concern is the ice because it really does complicate things...but still, an emergency alert message for a snow storm??

So of course I had to take a few pictures this morning. Unfortunately I don't have my good camera because I left my battery charger in MD and both my batteries have since died, but my camera phone does OK with enough light.

Winter has certainly made herself welcome, even before she's technically supposed to be here. She's even sitting in our chairs:


The weight of the snow and ice caused our bushes to spread out so you can barely see the path to our front door. Of course this is pre-shoveling.

Even Santa, who normally enjoys a rather sheltered existence under the porch received his fair share of snow with this storm.


And last but not least, the dogs have to be mentioned. Ditto has always liked the snow, she scampers right our into it and begins the work of making tracks through the yard. Sometimes she even sticks her nose into the snow and makes a wuffling sound like she's snorting. It's always funny to me that her normally white-looking coat doesn't quite look white next to the snow.


And then there's Dinah with the short legs and low, low body. She does not enjoy the snow. She stands at the door and gives me an imploring look when I make her go outside. This morning her legs basically disappeared in the snow, which was pretty darn funny, poor dog!

Happy Birthday, Doggy!

Today is Ditto's 9^th birthday! I'm finding it hard to believe she has been with us for so long, and at the same time I can't really remember a time without her. I can still distinctly remember the day she came home as a tiny little puppy--it was love at first sight. Happy birthday, pup...here's to many more!

P.S. Yes I have a web site for Ditto...check out her Dogster profile and leave her a birthday bone!

Squirrel Season

Anyone who knows me in real life knows my dogs are two of my highlights. I'm one of those nutty people who treats dogs like children, even though I do know there is a significant difference between the two. At our house there are two dogs, Ditto and Dinah. Ditto is Jack Russell Terrier whom we have had since she was seven weeks old. She'll be ten in October, and although she's still going strong, I can definitely tell she's not as young as she used to be. There is, however, one important exception to this:

SQUIRREL SEASON!

Every year around this time, our little dog turns into a monster. As fate would have it, we happen to have two full grown walnut trees in our back yard. You'd think one of us might have thought about the implications of this when we bought our house, but nope! Squirrels are foraging and scampering back and forth at all times of the day right now. Ditto is in seventh heaven, while I on the other hand, am in hell. I don't just love dogs, I love all animals. I usually won't even kill bugs or spiders, so you can imagine how I feel when Ditto gets another victim. She gets at least one unsuspecting prey every year, and usually two or three. Oh the sounds they make when captured...screaming in terror as they are being murdered right before our eyes...it's absolutely horrifying!

The hardest part for me is that it's not even Ditto's fault--she's simply doing exactly what she's been bred to do, hunting. She doesn't even do anything with the squirrels after she gets them, which is her trait. Jack Russells are bred to "go to ground," locate and kill their prey, then leave the goods for their master to do with as he or she pleases. In our case we DON'T please, so our little hunter is left wondering why we take the prize and put it in the ground. Actually she's probably not, I'm sure I'm anthropomorphizing with that statement, but still...life can get pretty interesting around our house this time of year.

I found a poem online that sums up the personality of our little JRT to a tee:

The Jack Russell Terrier
by Diana Langford, from the Jack Russell Terrier Club of Great Britain

"Find me a Doberman, I'll cut him to size --
And tear him to pieces, in front of your eyes!
I'm cocksure and bossy, the King of the patch,
Bring on your Alsatian, it can't be a match!
I'm a dirty street fighter, my language is foul,
I'll fight to the death, never throw in the towel.
Don't step near my missus, don't push me too far,
Get right off my pavement, take your hands off my car.
And when she's alone, I sit on her knee,
She knows she's quite safe, relying on me.
Don't walk by my lorry, when I'm at a show,
When I'm guarding my ponies, I'm lethal you know.
I'll follow a fox, to the depths of his lair,
But I like creature comforts, get out of my chair!
I'll not walk at heel, or sit when I'm told,
But I'm loving, protective, brave, loyal and bold.
My life is full of the moment, importance and bustle,
I know I'm the greatest --
I'm called a Jack Russell."
--

Blue is Better!

You may remember my post about my attempt to keep my dog, Ditto from biting and chewing on some bites she got on her feet. Well since that time, my efforts have been basically to no avail. The sock trick worked for a while, but inevitably I would see her manage to work her way around my contraption. We found some after bite cream that seemed to help quite a bit, but that only lasts so long, besides the fact I don't really want my dog eating a bunch of anti-itch cream. I finally decided I would have to break down and buy her an Elizabethan collar to keep her from continuing this problematic behavior. I went to PetCo and was introduced to the newer, more pet friendly version of the plastic cone collar. The first size we bought was too small and she was able to maneuver around it, but I think we've finally found the size that will work. I can already see that the bites she couldn't reach with the first collar are much improved, so I imagine she will be as good as new in a few more days. In the meantime, we get to be graced by the presence of this lovely little face, neatly framed in blue:



Isn't technology wonderful?

Pathetic Puppy

Our dog, Ditto has been chewing at her paws these past couple days. At first I thought nothing of this because, after all, she can be a bit neurotic at times. Then last night she got the sheets wet at the bottom of our bed because she was licking at her paws so much--can you say ewwww?! After that happened we tied a towel around her neck to try and discourage her licking. Then today I noticed she's getting scabs in the place where she's been chewing incessantly. I don't see anything wrong with her paws, so my best guess is that she has some mosquito bites under her fur or something. Well I finally got fed up with her chewing on her feet this afternoon (she would bite at them and then shake her head a little as if it was really bugging her) so I decided to get creative. Socks seemed to be the best answer. I checked to see if I had any leftover kid socks since they would be the perfect size, but no such luck. My next option was an old pair of my socks. I put them on her and secured the ends with hair ties to make them as snug as possible. I wanted to be sure not to make them so tight as to hurt Ditto's feet, but I wanted them to stay put too. This quickly got on her nerves and she was walking in a really funny way.


The solution didn't last long because she just couldn't stand the feeling of those hair ties near her paws. Here she is looking all forlorn after having pulled off one of the two socks...time for me to get even more creative!

My next tactic was to attach the hair ties to her collar and then attach them to the socks. This way she wasn't as annoyed by the ties and the socks would still stay in place, thereby preventing her from chewing off her paws!


Clearly neither of the dogs were too thrilled with my creativity, but I figure I can endure their penetrating, pathetic puppy stares if it's going to save us from unnecessary money spent at the animal clinic! Besides...it didn't take Ditto long to decide she could live with the socks enough to play ball, and subsequently fall fast asleep on the dining room floor under my feet, which, consequently, is where she is as this is being typed. Welcome to my wacky world!

Dreams & Disappointments

Last night I had dreams that both my dogs died. It was horrible, and it seemed so real that I still have a sad feeling in the pit of my stomach. I guess it's because so many things are changing for me right now...I'm generally feeling somewhat sad and rough around the edges. I was so relieved when I could give both my fur babies big hugs this morning.

So far this summer all my attempts at enjoyment have been somewhat disappointing. The family and I tried to go to the Howell hot air balloon festival this past Saturday night, but by the time we got there and spent way too much money on parking and unmentionable fair food, we heard that both the balloon launch and the dusk balloon glow/fireworks show were canceled due to high winds and threatening thunderstorms. We tried to make the best of the situation, but overall it was a big let down. Then last night I had a big party scheduled for the fireworks in my neighborhood and it poured down rain on my parade. Again no fireworks! We did make the best of that one and people came over to play games instead, but still...I feel a general sense of blah at all this.

I don't know if it's just because I'm getting older, and therefore busier, or what exactly...but it just seems like a big rip off when you put so much time and energy into an activity and you don't get the same amount of enjoyment back out. Gah!!

My Best Ffriends

These girls rock my world...as a favorite quote so eloquently put it:
"It's no coincidence that GOD spelled backwards is DOG!"