Northern Michigan

As we pull out of the driveway on our way to northern Michigan, I think about the Beverly Hillbillies.  I imagine that our car has some resemblance to the truck from the TV series that had Granny in the back on her rocking chair with other possessions.   We will be gone for 3 ½ weeks, so we are loaded down.  Inside the car are 3 dogs and 3 cats.  As a result, our clothing and light items are in 3 large water proof bags (canoe bags) on top of the car.  None of the dogs are riding on top of the car, but I must admit that Magnum’s (17 months) bed buddies – 2 different sizes of stuffed golden retriever dogs are inside one of the bags.  When I put them in the bag, I did question to myself if this was okay.

This will be the longest we have been at our place just south of Gaylord, Michigan.  It is also one of the wettest October’s they have had.  The house is in the woods and is gorgeous this time of year with lots of golden, orange, red, and rust colored leaves all around.  We take the dogs on at least two walks a day following a path from our house to the cross-country ski trail – all in the woods.  So, even when it is raining, we hardly get wet because of all the trees.  Our whole area of Michaywe is on an enormous sand dune, so the water runs right into the ground and rarely puddles.  With all of the leaves coating the paths, even when it is cloudy, the paths are light up with the colors.

When it is rainy, we go swimming and when it is sunny we canoe.  We have found several great places to practice tracking with Magnum.  A couple of the sites have transitions from grass to gravel to woods.  One of the sites provides opportunities for cross traffic because animals and humans walk over the track before it is time for Magnum to use it.  The cross tracks are presenting a challenge for him and I need to read up on how to assist him better.  He seems to have no problem with the transitions.

I’ve found a couple of places within an hour’s driving range to take Magnum to practice agility while we are here.  Jane, one of the facility owners, used to train at Bud Houston’s former facility between Marysville and Delaware where I also train.  She built her facility with Dogwood as her model. 

One of the joys of being here in Otsego County Michigan, where the entire county has a slightly smaller population than the county seat of Greene County, is the freedom from the usual demands of living in a community.  It reminds me of something Alan’s deceased mother Maxine said to me when she was in her mid 70’s.  She told me how much she enjoyed going to her family farm because there was nothing she had to do there, no demands on her time – good or not so good.  At the time it sounded strange to have a retired person talk about getting away from retirement, but now I understand.