O, Happy Dog Day!

 

Human beings in these Disunited States are still at each other's throats this week, but dogs are better people. 

Buddy was tired from an earlier long walk, Molly yet a bit suspicious of the newcomer, and Peasy his usual little Chicken Little self (running back to mama whenever he got scared), but they managed together pretty well this morning, all three off leashes most of the time. There is nothing like working with -- and just plain being with -- dogs to lift my spirits! Therese (in top photo), of course, is also a good companion on the trail....

Winter Walk with a Friend: Priceless!

Facebook contacts are better than no social contacts at all, and it’s wonderful to be connected with old friends in far-flung places. I love the ability to be in conversation with an old friend in Nova Scotia and one in Seattle and another in Detroit, all at once. The value is undeniable. I don’t deny it. And yet, how much more thrilled I would be to have my friends in the same room with me! Or — outdoors!

Cold weather all over the country did not frighten one friend away from our plan to take a morning walk in the snow on Wednesday. Since I lack her experience with snowshoes, and also because I kept stopping to pull my camera out of its sheltered spot under my jacket, I lagged behind much of the way. 

When she reached the spot requiring a big step up, however, my friend waited for me to sure I could negotiate the rise.

Below, chairs overlooking a summer pond, so inviting on a July evening, look out now on ice from under thick blankets of snow... 

...while farther down the snow-buried path, wind-driven snow plastered on trunks of trees also makes summer a memory difficult to retrieve.

But doesn’t my friend look cute in her winter cap, her colorful clothing enlivening the almost monochromatic landscape? It’s good to be outdoors with a friend!

Returning from our walk, I looked back to see the path we had made through previously unbroken white landscape, a path my friend assured me would be drifted over again by the next day. Yes, I’m sure it will be. Our driveway is plowed every day and drifted closed again and again as the wind moves snow through the air like the grains of ever-shifting sand dunes. The days are cold, and it’s important to have warm clothing and the warmth of friends in a Michigan winter.

Walking with Friends in Fall Color

Monday was another perfect Leelanau fall day, and with Bruce filling in for me at the bookstore, I was free to meet friends for a walk in the woods. While waiting for them to arrive, I took in a few close-up wonders around the parking lot--the scarlet leaves and softly furred stems of sumac and a tiny spider on a big brown oak leaf.





Ah, here they are! Now we can hit the trail!


Every step of the path through the wooded dunes is inviting, but my friends and I step slowly, looking high and low...



and up and down.



Changes in elevation and soil bring changes in plant life.


A new trail loop skirts around the open dunes, rather than through the fragile habitat, culminating in a viewing platform over the gurgling creek. Most pleasant. Although my friends were upset by the confusing nature of the trail markings, they had both already been lost on recent occasions and now, luckily for me, knew the right way to go.



In leisurely fashion (for we are not speed hikers) we take in nature's miniature masterpieces--




as well as the big picture views.




There were short stretches of the walk where I lagged behind,



lingering over views on the ground and up through the leaves:



And the day was not over when we finished our loops.


Back at Ellen's house after our walk we continued our visit, talking of books and nature, life and death, travel and home. We enjoyed her homemade soup...


with Stone House bread...

and admired the beautiful fall colors in her garden.



Altogether, it was a most beautiful and satisfying day, one for which to be grateful in many ways.