Wednesday, May 25, 2011

May 24th 2011

Yesterday turned out to be a really nice day.  The day was warm with a cooling breeze coming through in the evening.  After getting home from the gym, and one heck of a workout, Mikey and I had originally planned to go see a movie.  Mikey suggested instead that we take the dog for a walk, and postpone the movie to the next day, when there was a chance of rain. That sounded like a good idea to me. 

Our usual route
After Mikey finally got ready, the three of us headed out on Diesel and I's normal route.  We headed out of the house and down the street.  Just on the other side of Auburn, a quick movement caught Diesel and I's attention and we both stopped to have a stare-off with a groundhog.  He was no more than 6 feet away from us, the opening to his tunnel between him and us.  We waited for a while before the groundhog finally turned back the other way, ducked under the fence and found a new opening to crawl into. We continued on and caught the Clinton River Trail.  Walked the CRT west until we came to downtown Auburn Hills.  There we sat on a nice metal bench while we contemplated walking to a friends house or to the Twist 'n' Dip for some ice cream.  The sweet-tooth in us all won over and we stopped in for some flurries.  Diesel got his usual doggie dish, and like always he tried to swallow it all in one gulp!  After our ice cream was finished, we continued on the route walking down Grey, all the while Mikey quizzing me on the types of trees.  Along the route we identified various Maples, Oaks, Hickories, Poplars, and numerous others.  There a quite a few different tree types that grow around southeast Michigan.
Mikey and Diesel walking along Grey

As we neared home the sun began to set, and it was pretty evident we were all pretty beat.  Ice cream and a long walk sure do hit the spot.  Always nice having some peaceful time with the family in the evening.  Though I am still hoping to get to the theater tonight and see the new Pirates movie. :)

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Our First Walk

I love spring! The weather in Michigan is just right for taking nice long walks after work without being too hot or too cold. And if you can plan them just right you can squeeze them in between rain showers.

Our walking route via Gmaps Pedometer
Today, Diesel and I completed our typical route. This route is roughly 2.8 miles, and takes about an hour for us to complete. It takes us through my neighborhood, onto the Clinton River Trail, into Downtown Auburn Hills, around through the Grey Rd subdivision.
 The weather today was pretty nice, sunny, few clouds, and around 54°.  It cooled down quite a bit on the way back, and I tried to stay in the sun as much as possible.

The Clinton River Trail just west of Adams

We didn't make any stops today, but we did see a rabbit and a black squirrel out today.  If I go at the right time, I have seen deer, partridge, rabbits, squirrels, fish, and some hawks, along with other birds.  We have also been lucky as to not have to deal with too many bugs, mosquitoes and nats can be quite annoying! There were quite a few people out enjoying the trail today as well.  Some runners, a few on bikes, and some dog-walkers like ourselves. 

One of the other things I love about spring time in Michigan are the colors!  The little green and red buds start to pop out onto the long, tall branches, and flowers begin to appear in the greening grass.  There were yellow forsythia, purple hyacinths, and red tulips! 
Some of the wonderful colors around town

There's not too much else to say about today's walk.  Mikey said he was going to join us but got caught up at his father's house longer than he had intended.  There will be plenty more chances for him this summer, as he has said he would like to walk with us more.  We also have a fancy new Subway downtown with a patio, it could be nice walking up for dinner some time. 

I will share more walks, and more photos next time.  Hope you enjoyed it!

Welcome!

I am not a very good blogger.  I always seem to drift away from the subject at hand and don't post often enough. My other attempts are hit and miss (Life As It Happens & Back to Little), but I am hoping that this will be one I can really get into.  What I am hoping to do with this blog is share with you the many walks my dog, Diesel, and I take together.

We are always walking about uptown or down the Clinton River Trail, even occasionally through the woods on our property up state.  Together, Diesel and I have seen dozens of sunsets, quite a bit of wildlife, and met many new friends. We walk on dirt roads, paved streets, gravel paths, wood chip walkways, plank bridges and have covered quite a few miles.  We may walk only a few hundred yards, a couple of miles, or if the weather is right and we have the time, we may even walk for hours.  We tend to keep to the neighborhoods of Auburn Hills, but you can catch us trying to walk as far as we can into Rochester before having to head home for the night.

I am not much of a photographer, but I like to think I have a decent eye, and a camera phone.  I like to take pictures of the scenery Diesel and I come across, or of any wildlife I can catch before it scurries off.  Hopefully my words will help fill in the blanks between photos.  I will also be occasionally including little maps of our routes in case you would like to explore them yourself. 

Hope you enjoy my new blog!

Jennifer