A Bit of Fresh Air

Sunday night I started to get a stuffy nose, and sure enough come noon on Monday I had a full blown cold in the works.  I left work early on Monday and came home and got some rest.

Today, still not feeling the best I decided to call into work. Diesel and I spent most of the morning snuggled together in bed.  He will take the spot of anyone who has left it. And besides taking up a lot of room, he's quite the cuddler.  As a matter of fact, as I am writing this, he has just awoken from another nap and has come walking down the hall from the bedroom stretching his poor legs.  Such a lazy dog if we'll let him.

Around 1 o'clock or so today, I couldn't help but notice just how awesome it was looking outside.  The sun was out, the sky was blue, and I could tell there was even a bit of a breeze.  A quick peek at the weather on my phone confirmed it.  Should we go for a walk? Will it make me feel any better? Could it actually make my cold worse? I just couldn't resist it though and I got my stuff together for the walk.

I got some water for us, and ate a quick banana while he finished his breakfast. He could tell something was up.  And sure enough, once he saw his leash he was ready to go.

I love all of the colors that come out in the fall

We took it nice and easy, and headed on down to the trail. Avoiding the millions of potholes that fill my street.  It always surprises me how many people are out on the trail in the middle of the day, but its good it gets its use.  We walked down the trail a bit and I was starting to get worried I was wearing too heavy of a hoodie, but I think it worked out ok.

The Clinton River in Riverside Park - Auburn Hills

We stopped at the Twist N' Dip and got Diesel a dog dish, which will probably be the last of the season.  I ate a nectarine I had stashed in my pocket and then we continued on.  I thought it could be a nice day to head into the park again and see how the river was flowing.  As we walked on down the road we stopped and chatted with a man outside of Duffy's that thought Diesel was a great looking dog.  Not to brag, but he is!

At the park, we walked along the river, and stopped to see some ducks.  The park was pretty quite today, with kids back to school.  The lunch crowd had started to thin out a little as well.  After we hung out there for a while, I decided that we should get on back home and rest for a bit. 

And rest we did!  Diesel took a nap while I watched a few episodes of Buffy on Netflix.  Now the nice weather has shifted to rainy and cloudy, but that's autumn for you.  At least my mums are getting water, and they'll continue to fill out my planter boxes a little more.  I love looking out the front window at all the awesome fall colors as they change day to day.

Auburn Hills Farmer's Market

My apologies for not getting this posted sooner!  I had plans to rush home that night and blog, but a friend called and needed some talk time, and before I knew it, two more days had past.

Auburn Hills Farmer's Market

On Thursdays in Auburn Hills, there is a small but delightful Farmer's Market on the corner of Auburn and Squirrel.  It runs from 4pm to 7pm, weather permitting. They have a few farmer's that bring their produce of course, but they also provide booths for other local businesses.  There's the cookie lady and her friend who makes smoked meats.  Duffy's Irish Pub can always be found grilling hot dogs and selling sodas.  Auburn Oaks Nursery has a booth as well, and has specials on many of their plants. I have also seen booths selling organic dog treats, home made pasta & cannolis, pies, fresh breads, jewelery and woodworking.  Nana’s World Café has also had a small booth offering up samples of their gourmet marshmallows. And one of the other treats I love, is the live music! A different guest artist each week.

In the past I have always just driven up and browsed the market on my own, but this year I thought that it would be nicer just to walk up with Diesel.  I have done this once before, and Diesel was so well loved and welcomed (even getting a free hot dog) I had to bring him again, and post about our walk.

Well come Thursday wouldn't you know it, the weather was hot! And usually on hot days I like to wait until after dinner when the sun has started to hide behind the trees a little more.  If Diesel and I were going to make it to the market we'd have to be on our way no later than 6 and it would take some extra planning and supplies.  I got on my lightest weight cloths, my walking shoes and packed my little backpack.  Complete with Diesel's travel water dish and a bottle of water, and for bring the goodies home, my farmer's market bag I got last year.

Diesel and I headed on down the road about 6 o'clock, hit the Clinton River Trail as always, and then made it to downtown about 20 minutes later. It didn't take any time at all to meet up with my mother-in-law who had stopped up as well.  And wouldn't you know it, as soon as I turned around there was Mikey on my motorcycle.  He deemed it too hot to walk but wanted to take our new bike out for another test run. We  let Diesel get some water and we rested in the shade for a moment and then the four of us wandered amongst the merchants.  While Diesel was busy making friends, I picked up some tomatoes, some garlic bread and an ice cold Arnold Palmer. Mikey headed on down the road to our friends house, while I parted ways with Margaret.

Our Farmer's Market Goodies

Since the sun had started to set, the air was cooling off a little better now and Diesel and I weren't in much of a hurry to get home.  We headed on back towards our house, but stopped at our friends house for a bit.  He ran and played with his girlfriend, a blond lab named Daisy while Mikey and I chatted for a bit with our friends and their kids.  It was a nice walk home after that reflecting on how delightful the day had turned out.  Hopefully next week it won't be as hot, but the forecast isn't playing to my favor right now.  But it wouldn't be a Michigan summer if it wasn't 80 and humid.