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Sunset on New Years Day, somewhere on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
So. My grand plan to return to semi-regular blogging has been derailed by work. January was pretty busy for us. Lots of constant movement was involved, but included lots of time in the much warmer south. There were days of 70 degree weather. Coming back to Michigan’s 0 degrees was a little hard sometimes.
From our time in Arizona.
I caught a nasty cold the first of the year. David came down with it a few days later. I healed up, as I got to rest. He hasn’t rested, so he’s still fighting it. He’s finally taking some rest days now.
We got a new truck. It’s a 2013 Peterbilt with a mere 50,000 miles on it. Our old Pete had 975,000 miles when we let her go. This is the rig I drive now. Seeing it like this always makes me blink in surprise. It doesn’t feel quite so big when I’m driving it. I do notice that getting into a car is weird now. David says that means I’m really a truck driver.
Tucker grew these past couple months. He gained 5 pounds, putting him at 50. He also got longer and thicker through the chest. Solid muscle, is our Tucker. He likes spreading out on beds like this.
Full moon somewhere in Texas, as we headed out of San Antonio. Next full moon, I’ll be using my telephoto lens to get a more detailed shot.
Our first trip out was Michigan to Omaha, NE to Phoenix. We got to sit in Phoenix a few days, which was nice (and warm). Then the hard running began. We went to San Antonio, then to Tampa, up to Georgia, then Michigan, back to Florida (Miami this time) and then back to Michigan. There was a day or two where we got to stop, but it was a lot of non-stop driving. There were days where I’d drive an 8-hour day while David slept, then he’d get up and drive while I slept, then I’d get up and we’d switch again. At the end of it, I told him I didn’t really want to be running quite that hard all the time.
Tucker finally got to romp. When we reached Florida the first time, we had a bit of time. We got the dogs out and let them run. Doesn’t he look happy about it?
They wrestle. Phoebe puts up with his physicality for awhile, then will get frustrated and chase him off. He likes that, though. This was in Ocala, Florida, and there was frost!
We had breakfast there and when we walked out of the truck stop, the dog on the left was just outside the door. We both did a double-take, thinking Tucker had somehow gotten out of the truck. Then we realized he was missing the white parts. This dog is named Gunny, and he was almost aggressive at first – lots of growling. We didn’t want any dog troubles, but his owner kept assuring us it would be okay. We let Tucker off leash, and they began chasing each other around. Tucker was faster, and kept circling outside Gunny and almost herding him.
There was much doggy joy. Phoebe tried to run with them, mostly to control the situation, but it didn’t work. These boys wanted to run.
Later that day we were at another driver’s home, picking up a vehicle they couldn’t deliver due to a break-down. Tucker got to run the fence with their Shih-tzu, BamBam, as well as see horses and a cow and an Australian Shepherd to also run fences with. Tucker is taking it easy on BamBam here.
There was a rainbow.
And birds to photograph (Eastern Bluebird).
This is what greeted us when we got home. There’s a good foot and a half of snow on the ground at our house. Before we could even park in the driveway, David had to run the snow blower.
Hobie was waiting for us. He seems to be doing pretty well, though he’s a bit lonely. We don’t want to try another cat – a kitten needs socializing and attention, and an adult cat doesn’t have the survival skills to live out here. So for now, he spends some time alone. Once spring comes I doubt he’ll really notice as much.
Both dogs really love the snow. Phoebe rolls around in it every chance she gets. Tucker likes sproinging through it. He was coming to get me in this picture.
See all that snow?? One good thing about living in a cold climate is getting to knit and wear fun things. (I cut my bangs back a little since I took this picture the other day – they were a little crazy).
So, that’s what we’ve been up to. I think I may try updating with my phone. I need the reminders of where I’ve been. It takes nice pictures as well.
Hello again, my long-neglected blog. I have decided I miss the daily photos and stories. I’m over on Instagram (@gemmy1) but it turns out that the writing is just as important to me. For some reason, this format works for me to keep track of things. I thought I was done with it, but it turns out I’m not. So I’m coming back.
To help me with this, there is a new camera in my life. A Canon Rebel T3i, purchased for an early Christmas gift on Black Friday from the comfort of my chair on my phone. 🙂 We didn’t leave the house Friday, though we did make a purchase.
Yesterday I wrapped some gifts. I want to get them out early. I think I missed Christmas last year for many people, as I was in a pretty low place. I’m in a much better place now – it’s bright and cheerful and I like it ever so much. So this year I’m getting an early start and getting things mailed.
I do want to learn the technical aspects of my new DSLR. So far I like it a lot on auto. My old DSLR (a very old Sony) and I never quite saw eye-to-eye, but the Canon and I see things just about the same way. In some ways it’s even better because it pulls in light better than I may see it. So I foresee a happy future with it. Ever since this summer’s unfortunate kayak tip where I had both my phone and my camera with me and both got wet, I’ve been pretty camera unhappy. I replaced my go-to Sony Cybershot with the latest model, only to find something changed with it. It didn’t see the same way I did, the way the previous models had. My phone does see the way I do, so it’s what I’ve been going to.
Hobie gets shorted a lot in the photo department. He’s hard to get a good photo of due to his runny eyes (a symptom of the kitty herpes he has). So I worked with it – him on the table, me sitting in front of him taking pictures – and ended up with a couple I liked. Above is one – I love his whiskers. And this is another – he looks like a happy Buddha to me here.
Things that have changed since I was last here:
1. I’m no longer a secretary/office manager. I’m now a truck driver. It feels pretty bad ass. 🙂
2. Sadie is no longer with us. I still miss her following me around, keeping an eye on me. I felt safe with her around. Tucker and Phoebe are great at notifying us of potential trouble (or imaginary trouble) but Sadie would’ve taken care of any trouble. We buried her out back by the Art Chalet, in the field where I plan to eventually build a walking labyrinth. She will be at the heart of it.
3. In my capacity as truck driver, I’m team driving with David, so I’m no longer alone for weeks at a time. I think it helps with the being in a good place. We have an “us” again, and I love it. Our first trip out felt like a honeymoon. 🙂
4. The camera situation.
5. My mental well-being (this being the biggest change, and the best).
So, expect to see me here more regularly. I’ll be trying for the daily picture/post, but it may take me a little to get in the swing of it. It’s been awhile.
The dogs and I have been walking every morning. This morning’s walk was delayed by me needing to fix breakfast for David, who was home for 24 hours. After he left the dogs (most notably Tucker) started becoming annoying. So I pulled on my boots and said let’s go!
The ferns in the woods are getting tall and thick. Tucker negotiates by sproinging over them like a deer.
Phoebe, on the other hand, walks around them, finding a path.
This amazingly colorful creature is a damselfly of some sort. At first I thought it was a butterfly by the way they were flying.
So even though it rained last night I decided to walk down to the river, mainly to show you why I don’t generally walk down to the river in late spring and summer. My previous walk down there is just below and was 7 weeks ago or so.
The way down was boggy and buggy. I saw this guy.
I understand why David refers to it as a cedar swamp. A couple times my boots almost got pulled off! I finally reached what I think of as the Island, the high spot between the swamp and the river field.
I was wrong about the grass. It’s more like 4 ft high out there. There are some paths through it, most likely from the deer.
Closer to the water it isn’t as tall. I could see Sadie. Tucker was sproinging through it like a deer. Add he made his way across I heard “rustle rustle rustle splash!” as he ran out of field and ended up in the river. Here are some pictures of him sproinging.
He’s such a happy dog!
Sadie chose to go swimming again. Phoebe waded a bit. Tucker again took an unexpected swim and didn’t seem to like it. Getting back through the grad field was a little challenging. The path had closed up behind us and I hadn’t checked for a landmark. Now I know it’s the big dead tree.
Then it was back through the forest floor and home again. Every dog is now napping quietly.
Here’s a tuckered Tucker.
He thinks my hammock makes a fine bed.
I’m not one who likes a full schedule. I need time in my days/weeks/months for just doing nothing. I haven’t had a lot of that lately. Between work and school, I’m running all over the place. I am learning to drive a big truck, and finally feel comfortable doing so. I understand where my trailer is now – something I was having trouble with. Now that I”m getting it, I can back up that sucker! Next week is finals of quarter one of two of truck school. So far, so very good.
And now for pictures! I’m going more or less in time order, since it’s been awhile since I unloaded my camera.
These poppies are from my trip to California at the end of March. My grandmother passed away and I went to be with my mom. We took a drive and I was determined to find some poppies to take a picture of. I did, and the color of them makes me happy.
This rose is from my grandmother’s garden. I love how it just seems to glow from within.
The central California foothills are the landscape that is burned into my soul. I have loved everywhere I’ve ever lived, but this landscape of rocks, oaks and green hills soothes me like no other can, except anything with water.
April 3 was the first day of truck school. I’m learning a lot, enjoying knowing the instructors and other students and eager to be done so I don’t have to stay home alone any more. It does mean big changes with critters, but they’re ones I’m willing to make for the sake of me and my marriage.
Our sixth anniversary was April 28. We went to Grand Rapids to visit the Grand Rapids museum, have a good dinner (we went to The Twisted Rooster and I wholeheartedly recommend it – great food!), and see a movie (Oblivion, with Tom Cruise – we both enjoyed it).
This display was at the museum, up high. All the colorful birds just really caught my eye. The exhibit was old Victorian case collections and described how they preferred to look at collections, rather than things in their natural habitats. It was very interesting to see things like these birds grouped together. I think I like seeing both.
While he was home for our anniversary, David left a few days before my birthday. He sent me flowers at work, though, and a balloon. I was grinning all day.
I celebrated my 50th birthday by getting out on the water, for spring had finally come. I almost talked myself out of it, worrying about going alone, blah blah, but then just went, and I was soooo glad I did!
Pretty painted turtle – it had climbed up a tree branch to sit out over the water. I was careful not to scare it, as it had obviously worked hard to get there.
Afterwards. I was so peaceful and relaxed…
The dogs have been getting walked in the woods a lot. Tucker is a little taller than Sadie now, but lighter. He’s getting to be a better dog all the time.
And he’s very photogenic.
When we’re walking is when his herd dog breeding shows. Sadie was meandering up behind us when he went into his crouch.
Then he leaps into motion.
There is a quick altercation – lots of teeth (though less teeth now as he’s growing up mentally).
And calm. When we walk, he spends probably the last 25% of any walk pestering Sadie, trying to get her to chase him. He loves to be chased.
And no blog post would be complete without a chicken. 🙂 This is not Jack! This is one of his kids – I thought I had 4 pullets hatch last summer. What I forget about the BBS Orpingtons is that the cockerels are slow to show themselves. I even thought Jack was a pullet for the longest time. I call this guy Samuel, because he’s Jack’s son. Heh. That’s how my mind works when naming chickens…We lost Romeo in March (while I was in California, so I’m not sure what happened to him) so Samuel gets to stay, as I prefer to have 2 roosters with a large flock of hens – this way they get watched out for.
Yesterday the temps reached the mid 60s. I was in a funk so rather than sit around I took the dogs for a walk. We have a small spring that starts at the base of a tree and I wanted to see what it was doing. While looking, Phoebe stuck her nose in for a drink and suddenly started acting like a bouncy pup. Hey mood was infectious so rather than walk the normal walking path we headed into the woods.
Not all of it is quite so open. The path home was full of fallen trees, black mud bogs, ice and snow patches. I kept to deer trails which works as long as there’s no overhangs. The deer either just walk under or bound over. It’s a little trickier for me.
I usually don’t get down to the river because of this grass. Right now it’s all last year’s grass so it was walkable. When it’s all green and lush it’s 3 feet tall! There was a lot of water due to recent flooding but I had my boots on so my feet stayed dry. The dogs all got involved in chading.
Sadie went swimming with no hesitation. Phoebe waded then hit a deep spot and ended up swimming. Tucker fell in and didn’t seem to like it. I tried getting him to fetch a stick but he said no.
This is a branch of the Pine River and is the border of the back of our property.
The neighbors in back evidently have better access as there’s a bench and a deer blind.
After a hard run. They spent a few minutes cooling bellies and eating snow.
Self portrait towards the end. My mood was much improved. I made sure to do a couple yoga stretches and some deep breathing as well. Now if they’ll just be wrong about snow the next few days…
Yesterday started with icy conditions, tapered off to rain then back to ice. Classes were cut short so everyone could get home before dark. This morning there’s a coating of ice on everything. It’s ice you can walk on if you walk carefully due to the ice pellets giving it some texture. It’s not sheet ice, at least, on the ground.
Everything has the pebbly ice finish.
The geese are the only ones out and about. All chickens are in the barn.
I think this is the worst I’ve seen it. I’m just glad I don’t have to be anywhere today. The cars I hear going by are struggling on the hills.
I was just transferring pictures to my laptop (291 since last time I did so) and realized there were some pretty cool pictures there, and I want to share. So here I am.
From my adventure Saturday. My camera will do a panoramic sweep, so I did one to capture the breadth of the shoreline where I was standing. So much snow still, although Saturday night it began raining and continued through yesterday. This morning at 9, the temp was 43 degrees. If it continues like this, it won’t matter that I ran out of firewood. I’ve been quite comfy in the house (although it’s 64 degrees) the past couple days. And if it does get cold, my dear friend Candy supplied me with a number of phone numbers to get myself a face cord to get me through the last days of winter. (if the picture is cut off, click on it to get the full effect…it’s quite wide)
This picture made me laugh when I saw it because I remembered how Hobie slipped on the ice when he tried to walk down the windshield. We had a few days of icy rain this winter. The driver’s side door on Hank froze shut a couple times. If I hadn’t been doing yoga, I would not have been able to get in and behind the wheel a couple times there. Right now at home, the walkway and driveway are pretty much sheet ice. My Yak Traks are so very welcome then.
We almost lost Jack this winter. The dogs got bored due to the snow and Phoebe and Tucker ended up in the barn. Sadly, Baby Chicken was killed in the altercation, and Jack was wounded when he fought them. He had no outward signs of problems, but for a week he was very weak and I’d say close to death. I had to feed him egg yolks by syringe, and give him water that way as well. After a couple days of that, his strength began returning and finally he has recovered. I was very close to putting him down, but David suggested putting him in a cage in the house and seeing what happened. I’m so glad he did. When Jack crows, it sounds like the opening notes to “Get Smart” except in chicken.
I’ve taken such a picture before, but then the orange snow fence showed up in the background. Since we removed it and I saw the light hitting the icicles, I grabbed my camera and got out there.
Sunrise through the snowy trees. I love it when the light looks physical, like something you could reach out and touch or take into your hands.
I finished my orange embellished (encrusted, you might say) quilt. It’s 12 x 12 and fully covered in various orange things. This picture pleased me because of the accidental rubic.
More orange. I’m framing it in a shadowbox frame that matches the one my mom made for me. I plan to hang them side by side. They are quite cheery with all the orange.
A shot with more things in it. The overall quilt has a pattern within it – there’s a lighter orange spiral circling out from the heart. I’ll have to see if I can get a picture showing that.
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Tucker’s snow face. He certainly enjoys playing in the snow. Or he did until he cut his foot. Now he has to hop about on 3 legs in the snow, because he has an open wound on his foot and the snow crystals seem to hurt him. Not that this slows him down, mind you. It is finally healing over and soon he’ll be back to his normal wild self.
Tucker loves the recliner. He reclines it on his own – he figured it out when he was smaller and fortunately isn’t so big he’ll break my chair – and lies on the back. I should say he flops on the back. Sometimes he does curl up into a little ball on the back, but for the most part, he flops.
Big mouth Tucker jumping and trying to bite my hand. He’s a silly dog.
He’s grown to be nearly Sadie-size. She hates that. He is an alpha male and she doesn’t want to give up her alpha spot. But she’s getting older and sometimes she loses. They tussle a lot in the manner of wolves, but sometimes it escalates. Fortunately, they both defer to me and will stop.
This weekend he started curling up in the laundry basket. This was new.
From earlier in the winter. Big snow then sunshine. Getting all three to look at me, that wasn’t happening. But I liked this one well enough.
Also from my adventure Saturday. When I pulled up in the parking lot of Lake Bluff Bird Sanctuary, this cardinal was perched right there on these red branches. Looks like my camera focused more on the background, but I still like this picture a lot. I love winter branches.
I’ve not felt like getting out and having an adventure in quite some time. Yesterday I felt it was time. Michigan Audubon had notified me of nature walks at local bird sanctuaries and the one closest to me (in Manistee, an hour west) was supposed to be on the second Saturday of the month. A good adventure, I thought. Well, when I got there I was alone. I did get out and hike through the snow to a platform overlooking Lake Michigan.
There’s a lot of snow out there still-6 to 8 inches in many places. There was just enough wind to kick up some wave action. It was enough to soothe my recent yearning for the sea. I still miss the scent of the sea but often the sound is enough. That and all the negative ions.
It was too cold to stay long so I ended up in downtown Manistee. It’s a very old fashioned city – they never got around to destroying their downtown in the guise of progress.
I had lunch at a coffee shop, wandered through a fabric store and a toy store. There I found this tape for my collection. The name made me laugh.
It’s a clear packing tape printed with veterbrae. I plan to use it to reinforce some book spines :).
It was a nice day for driving and I listened to a book while I did. I had just gotten the audio of Dean Koontz’s
From the Corner of His Eye which is a favorite book. I like experiencing favorite books in audio format as I always get something new from them.
All in all it was a very fine adventure.
So, in the spirit of the season, I realized that if I kept putting off updating until I could, in the words of my critic self, “get it right,” I might not update at all…and I didn’t want that. So rather than trying to catch up, I shall start here, with some of my favorite pictures of late. School and work combine to eat up my time but I shall have a lighter schedule coming up, so I resolve to keep up here.
So for today, I give you the following:
Skully in his Christmas finery and snow. We are having a white Christmas here.
Turkey morning. The turkeys are growing well. I have the two Narragansetts (Steve and Tabby, named after the two Maine folks I “know”, Stephen King and his wife Tabitha) and Little Red, the Bourbon Red hen. They like to perch at night. Lately it hasn’t been on fencing but rather on the bulldozer parked out front. Come spring that poor thing will need a serious power washing…
Steve in all his glory. The ladies are behind him. What I recently learned about turkey males is that the whole tail fan swivels, so he can present it better. He likes to display at me. Recently a couple wild turkey boys came to check out the ladies and Steve about had a fit. There was much gobbling going on. Another thing I learned is that the gobble has a percussive dimension to it as well. He gobbles but also has some booming in there. It’s rather cool to be close up and hear it.
Icicles. They were three feet long in places. David was shoveling snow and threw some into the picture for effect. I liked it.
Sunset on Lake Mitchell. I had been trying to capture the glow on the water as the sun goes down for some time. This one is just so serene to me.
Mr. Tucker is growing like a weed. He is now larger than Phoebe in height and weight. He’s almost as tall as Sadie but not as bulky. This is his favorite bed – the back of my recliner. I guess he watched me recline and liked it because he does this himself. He stand up against the back of the chair and reclines it, then gets comfy. This morning he’s curled in a ball, but still on the back of the chair. If he gets too much bigger, he won’t be able to do this any longer, as the chair will fall over. Sometimes it does when he jumps up, and he steps off and remounts. He’s a very smart, funny dog.
His attack/herding position. He does this when he gets to the house first and the girls are lagging behind. Phoebe has always done it to Sadie, who will meander up looking everywhere but at her. Now poor Sadie has to contend with both of the others rushing her.
They were running too fast for focus, but I still like this picture a lot. Tucker loves to be chased. Sadie likes to chase him. So there is much running around the yard. Some biting occurs.
Tucker and Hobie have a love/hate relationship. Hobie talks a lot of trash and hits Tucker in the head a lot, but he keeps his claws in. Tucker’s recent reaction to this is to hit back only his paws are much larger. There’s a lot of “Tucker, leave the kitty!” being said around here.
And my final, favorite offering for today – the very picture of a joyful dog. (I was throwing snowballs for him to chase and catch.)
I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday filled with all the things you love. I have my sweetie home, lots of firewood, a big roast to cook and fancy schmancy cowboots on the way. I’m a happy girl.
July 22 – I’ve decided I’m going to write cheerful messages on some of the rocks in the driveway and then put them back where I found them. So far there’s just this one, but whenever it catches my eye, I do indeed smile.
July 23 – My Australorp hen was broody and I let her sit on some eggs. One hatched! I discovered this by noticing that the dogs were far too interested in a chicken and the chicken was fighting back. When I realized it was Mathilda, I ran over to find her protecting this wee one. Sadly, he was killed in a stupid barnyard accident yesterday. His mother was trying to keep some of the meaties away from the food I had tossed to her and she jumped at them. They jumped backwards into a broom and it fell on the chick. It would be like a tree falling on us.
There have been other chicken deaths lately. Rose, JuJuBee and one of the Barred Rocks all went missing. I found feathers from two of them. I’ll be glad when we get the rest of the fencing up, although it may have been a hawk. We also lost Reuben to another silly chicken accident. It looked like he was being chased and he ran between two saplings and got stuck and died in the struggle to get out.
July 24 – Half the meaties went to freezer camp. We ended up with an extra – the farmer doing the processing called David and said there was an extra chicken, were we sure we had brought 12? David didn’t know. When I picked them up that afternoon, they had given the extra to us. We just had to pay for the processing. I pointed out there was an extra and the farmer’s wife gave a big shrug and said “sometimes it happens.” When I got home, I counted and there were 14 left, so it wasn’t ours. I’m giving the remaining ones another week to fatten up some more, then they’ll be joining their brothers in the freezer. I’m keeping two hens (who are lean and active and actually can fly) to be the mothers of the future meaties. Frances, my one remaining Freedom Ranger will also contribute to the cause.
July 25 – I was on my way home and saw this turtle by the side of a very busy road, trying to get across. I turned around as soon as I could and went back to move it. Traffic was solid enough to have kept it from leaving the side of the road (it kept sticking its head out and pulling it back in with every car that zoomed by), but it couldn’t figure out to go back. So I picked it up (wearing a glove) and moved it about ten feet away from the road, facing into the field. A Google image search indicates it’s an Eastern Box Turtle. Now I’m wishing I had brought it home and introduced it to my field. I think our field would be a good turtle habitat. Then it would be safe from the road…
July 26 – I have been searching for a fan for awhile now. Last summer I started having the occasional hot flash and this summer has been worse since the temps have been considerably hotter. This fan makes me very happy. It kicks up a good breeze AND it has ducks. I thought I wanted a folding fan, but they don’t kick up nearly enough air. I found this at a local vintage shop, The Atomic Closet.
July 27 – I was driving up north to see my friend Marcy and saw this on a side road. The head is about three feet across. I couldn’t tell if it was made of fiberglass or steel, but it certainly made me smile.
I was going to pick up this! Our friend Beverly gave it to me – she was clearing out stuff she wasn’t using and remembered me saying I wanted a serger. I’m looking forward to giving it a test run. I wanted a serger so I could make one of these sweater coats (I already have the tutorial!) I even have an order for one from another friend, once I get the hang of it.
On the way home I saw a rainbow. At one point I could actually see it touch the ground. I didn’t go look for the pot of gold because it was in someone’s house. 🙂
July 28 – Even though we’re in a drought situation here, my garden is doing really well. We had a couple days of rain then warmth and things seemed to go crazy out there. Still no heads on the cabbage, and I have stupid squash vine borers in my zucchini, but it looks like I will get a lot of tomatoes this year.
Today I harvested three large (though not overly so) zucchini and a couple grape tomatoes. I’m really looking forward to the black cherry tomatoes. There are a lot of them on the plant but no color from them yet. I also have Early Girls, Golden Jubilee (a golden tomato that I thought would be pretty canned) and Romas. My Swiss Chard is quite harvestable. There are also some tiny watermelons that have plenty of time to become big melons, so I’m quite happy.
This is an onion that has gone to seed. Perspective is a funny thing.
Shiny art for you 