Spring, Dr. Seuss Style

Branches full of mini palm trees.

I'm speculating here, but I'm pretty sure Dr. Seuss was inspired by spring when it came to his tree illustrations. Of course, I'm not even sure if Dr. Seuss did his own illustrations, but I dare you to look at the pictures in this post and not think about Dr. Seuss. Just try!

Jelly-fish-looking leaves.

Green flower firework explosions.

Bronze flower firework explosions.

Mini bouquet of roses!

All this beauty in a simple walk around the neighborhood after dinner. It's all there for you to enjoy. Slow down, look closely, let your imagination run wild. Nature is all around you.


Side Note:  For this walk I had Charlie connected to me with a hands-free belt leash, a small shoulder pack with her poop bags and treats inside, and my camera bag... all while carrying a filled poop bag with Charlie's "present" in it. Anything's possible!

Blues Amidst Green

I'm not a believer in organized religion and generally don't discuss my faith publicly - everyone has their own ideas. I will say, however, that I believe in Mother Nature. The book, The Celestine Prophecy, although a little hokey in places, makes some very good points about the renewing effect nature has on our "energy."

When I'm stressed, angry, sad, or just plain pissed off, I'm always amazed at how an hour in the woods, hiking and getting my body moving, erases all signs of negativity. Once I emerge from the forest, my head is clear, my outlook is bright and I can smile again. It's impossible to feel blue amidst the green. I think psychiatrists and doctors should prescribe a daily long walk through woods and mountains and streams instead of anti-depressants. Of course, this might put them out of business since it's their job to sell us pills.

I challenge you to find a secluded spot this weekend, sit on a rock, listen to the tree branches sway in the wind, watch the clouds scuttle by, inhale the sweet scent of earth. See how you feel when you get back to the parking lot. Sit in your car for a minute and let those feelings soak in. Carry them with you throughout the day. Share them with others through your smile and kindness. Pass it on.

Charlie's Shoe Fetish

I forgot to tell you the best part of our walk yesterday! You see, Charlie has this "thing" about shoes. She doesn't chew them up like some dogs, although I vaguely remember her ruining a couple pairs when she was a puppy. Thankfully she grew out of that stage quickly. No. Charlie likes to bring me shoes. But she doesn't just grab a shoe and sit in front of me with her tail wagging. Noooo. Charlie will take the very tip of a shoestring in between her front teeth, ever so gently, and with the shoe tenderly dangling from her teeth will begin to ascend the staircase, letting the shoe bang into each stair as she climbs to the top. And with each bang, I start giggling to the extent that by the time she's at the top, I'm in full-blown belly laughs. She then stands proudly in the middle of the living room with the shoe dangling mere centimeters from the floor, shoelace fully extended. And it's so god-damn adorable I can barely stand it!

I know that I encourage this behavior by laughing in the first place. Because she is able to illicit the laugh, hence attention, she will continue to do this as long as I continue to laugh. And that is just fine by me. It's cute and no shoes are harmed in the process. I truly believe that Charlie sees shoes as her "ticket to ride." When I put shoes on, we go somewhere. So when she brings me a shoe, I'm positive this is her way of saying she wants to go.

Which leads me to our walk yesterday. We walked past an older man resting on a bench with his shoes off twice; once on our way to White Water Park and then again on our way back. The second time he saw us, he engaged us in conversation and asked what Charlie's name was. I then learned that his dog, Peaches, who looked just like Charlie, had died a year ago. He was very happy to be able to pet another dog. And while I was chatting with him, Charlie innocently picked up one of his shoes and started prancing about with it. Being used to this behavior, I thought nothing of it, but then all of a sudden realized she just picked up some stranger's shoe! He started laughing and chased her in little circles to get his shoe back while Charlie thought that was the best game ever! He was really a good sport about it. And as we were walking away, all smiles, he thanked me and said "that was the best thing that happened to me all day!" How awesome is that.

Leash Hike: White Water Park

Barker-Stewart Island

Due to Charlie's blatant disregard for recall commands during yesterday's hike, I decided we would do a leash-walk along the Wisconsin River's River Edge Parkway today. We headed out toward downtown Wausau around 11:30am, merged onto the River Edge Parkway behind the Eye Clinic and went across the foot bridge to Barker-Stewart Island to do a lap around the trail and take a moment to watch the river as it lazily flowed past.

Remnants of original saw mill on island.

 

Train bridge on West side of island.

View of pedestrian bridge and downtown Wausau from East side of island.

After our lap around the island, we headed back to the River Edge Parkway and continued under the Scott St. bridge and behind the Marathon County Public Library where the dam for the White Water Park is located.

 

River Edge Parkway under Scott St. - hydro dam to the right.

Once we got behind the library, there's a short set of stairs that take you below the dam where kayakers enter the water at the top of the course.

 

Descending the stairs to the kayak launch platform below dam.

 

On the kayak launch platform looking upriver towards dam.

Charlie especially enjoys this spot to take a break, get a drink and explore along the shore. From here we crossed the street and headed down towards the White Water Park.

 

 



The River Edge Parkway continues along behind the seating area for the White Water Park and all the way down to Isle of Ferns Park. The picture below shows the beginning of the white water course as well as distant Rib Mountain and Granite Peak Ski Area in the background - with snow still on the slopes!

 

 

Ground seating along white water course.



Newly remodeled viewing area along course.

Here's a short video of the babbling water flowing over the boulders, followed by an impatient *BARK* from Charlie:

 



 

We got a little further down the trail when "nature called" and apparently the bathrooms are not open for the season yet, so we turned back and headed towards home, taking the Parkway through the undeveloped gap where it reconnects under Bridge Street. I had to steer Charlie around piles of broken glass, garbage and boards with nails sticking out of them... tempted to let her off-leash to run but too worried that she'd hurt herself on something.

 

Abandoned buildings along future expansion of parkway trail.

Once back on the trail, I started watching for river otters. I had spotted a pair of otters in this part of the river last year and am always on the lookout for them. Instead, I saw a dead deer in the water. What is it with finding death on all our walks?! Just a part of nature, I guess.

 

 

Charlie was really tired after two hours of walking. I was ready to go longer and just might go out again this evening by myself. It's been awhile since I've been on a solo walk (without dog) and think it might do me some good to have time to myself, untethered.





Comfort-Zone Hike: Fuel For The Soul

After a stomach-bug took me out for the whole day yesterday, I was worried about being too far away from a bathroom as well as dealing with lingering weakness from laying in bed all day. Charlie, however, was not going to let me off the hook; she needed a walk. And not just a lame walk around the neighborhood, she wanted to RUN. Also, she has this uncanny ability to tell when it's Saturday. And we always hike on Saturday.

Rather than trying to find a new hiking spot with unfamiliar trails, I decided we'd head over to my favorite park, Big Eau Pleine.



This park is like comfort food to me. I know our "regular" trail, I know how long it'll take us, I know where the bathrooms are, and I also know there will rarely be anyone else there. Charlie had a great time! She was happily tired by the time we got back to the parking lot and the fresh air helped me feel a lot better.

It turned out to be a much warmer day than expected - 73 degrees! I would have been grateful for some shade today, but you really can't complain on a day like this - although the ticks are out in full force. Charlie had her tick treatment last weekend (which is supposed to repel ticks), but still had some crawling on her. They are just so gross. If you don't have ticks in your neck of the woods, consider yourself lucky!

The fish were jumping along the shore and landing with big *SLAPS* on the water as ominous shadows from bald eagles and hawks followed above. Charlie was so curious about the fish jumping and swam out to investigate, only to be disappointed when she found nothing there.

We could use some shade here.

The grass is trying really hard to grow, but there's not much "green" yet. The tiny buds on the trees are just about ready to burst open. We might even have some shade by next weekend! It always amazes me how quickly everything blooms during the first couple weeks of May. All of a sudden it will be June and summer will be in full-swing.

There's a tiny frog on that rock!

We took occasional breaks in the private picnic shelters along the trail, while I continued to search for the hidden car key... with no luck, again. I have a feeling that after all this searching, Marathon County will be eliminated from the running in my next issue of Our Wisconsin magazine. Such is my luck.

No hidden key here.

At the very end of our hike, I saw a loon on the lake! I've never seen one here before. I hope it sticks around for the summer... there's nothing more beautiful than the sound of the loons while camping on a warm, starry night. I will be camping in this park within the next month, so I'll be sure to listen for the loon-song.

There's a loon in this photo.

It was good to be in a comfortable place today. As it turns out, I needed the renewing feeling of being surrounded by trees, sky, and water.

Fuel for the soul.