Two Days Later

January 13 2012
Check out the post from two days ago at the Grand Haven Pier...

Now check out these pictures from today!

We even got to go sledding at Duncan Woods. 

P.J. Hoffmaster State Park

Way back last year on December 19 2011 we hiked the northern portion of Hoffmaster, this is where you will find Little Black Creek.  We parked at the campground entrance (6585 Lake Harbor Road Muskegon, MI 49441) which is closed this time of year.  We were out for 3 hours enjoying ourselves.

 Along the drain, this is not Little Black Creek.

At the mouth of Little Black Creek, we had fun here and played in the "quicksand".  It sucked my boot down so deep Marie had to grabbed my arm and save me from being pulled under!

There were gulls.

 We crossed the creek and continued through the woods, now we are north of Little Black Creek.

Here we are high above the mouth of the creek looking south.

 This is a moss I have been seeing often this year and I can't say I remember it from years past.  I'm not sure what kind of moss it is.

Now we are going back to the car through the campground.                       

                                        

On one of the bridges we found this tribute to Dillon.  Later online we found a blog about Dillon, a little boy born too soon.

  Peaceful Little Black Creek, a wonderful day.

Where, oh, Where are we going?

January 10 2011

Marie observed that the temperature was 2 degrees on her way south to my house, so we decided to stay in the van until the temperature outside warmed up a bit.

Marie with her endless interests and hours of research had a few places to check out.  First we went to a road end, it was just the end of a road that didn't connect to another road but we were there.

Next we went south then east, not far to see, another road end.  Where are the plants, where are the wildflowers!  I like winter I really do, it's cool and fresh, quieter than summer, but sometimes I feel like I can't wait until spring and blooming wildflowers.

                                       

                                       Our route for the day

We went south to Holland, then northeast on Chicago Drive to find a part of some bridge Marie had read about on the http://www.historicbridges.org/  website.  We were going to find Chicago Drive Buttermilk Creek Bridge, and we did find it. 

Yep that's it, yawn.  After this we went on to seek out our original destination - the mouth of Bass River.

OK this might be another yawn, the mouth of the Bass River where it drains into the Grand River.  Everything was iced up so it is hard to see in this picture what is Bass River, or the Grand River, or just a field.  But it was a fun walk, we had to cross a rushing stream on logs.

Well this is where we crossed, doesn't look like much of a rushing creek. Hm.  But the sun was shining.

                               Bass River Rec Area Parking

                             Dried Queen Anne's  Lace 

Dried Teasel

           
Frozen Bass Lake (or Max Lake, I've always called it Bass Lake although Bass River doesn't flow directly into this "lake" which was dug when this area was mined for gravel). 


The last two photos are from the van as we drove through the countryside.

Maybe two more months, probably three months until we see wildflowers bloom here in Michigan.

Clara...the Final Chapter

Clara is the puppy we adopted August 17 2012, from Puppy Breath Rescue in Grand Haven. 

In this blog under 2012 you will find two posts all about our sweet, rambunctious, Black Lab mix pup.  The first post "Puppy Love Or Temporary Insanity?" talks about why I got another dog, partly because life is short or can be...
The second post "Puppy Clara"  featured her ears and how she was growing.

Well, Clara started having problems after her spay surgery at the end of November.  The vet at that clinic checked her in the middle of December and said she was fine.  The weekend before Christmas Clara started having pain. Not often, once a day, usually yipping when she got up from a nap.

So we go through the weekend, then Monday is Christmas Eve, Tuesday is Christmas, lots of stuff going on, and Clara was still having this pain coming from some where.  She would be her normal self most of the day.

 

I tried to contact Clara's regular vet, but I just got a message each day after Christmas.  There was no information online about when they would be open again.  If an emergency, take her to the emergency vet hospital in Grand Rapids.  She really didn't seem to be having an emergency.  I kept her close to home, no outings and no rough play.  Maybe her back was sore.

Wednesday, January 2nd, the vet was open but they couldn't see her until Friday.  Still Clara is fairly good but having more bouts of pain.  January 3rd, I called West Michigan Veterinary Services in Coopersville. It is distressing for me to make phone calls, I'm a bit timid. But when I called WMVS my call was immediately answered by a kind and sympathetic person.  I explained my tale of woe.  I was to call first thing Friday morning to get an appointment.

So Friday, my daughter and I took Clara to the new vet.  This vet check her out thoroughly, but tests were needed to pinpoint the problem.  Clara was vomiting once a day and having pain more often.  She was given a shot of Cerenia (nausea-controlling drug) and she was to fast for 24 hours.  Also we needed to bring in a urine sample on Saturday. 

I had done hours of research online trying to put Clara's symptoms together, nothing made much sense.  I thought maybe she had a back injury, although she had been close to home for weeks with no falls or jumping... 

 

We got through the 24 hour fast, poor pup thought I had lost my mind because I didn't feed her.  I would just give her one-third cup of water in her food dish every few hours.  The next morning I managed to capture a urine sample from the dog, that was a first for me.  Clara came along for the ride to drop the sample off at the vet.  She was feeling pretty good, of course she wouldn't walk into the building so I carried her.  We drove home, she was fine in the car. 

Clara with our granddaughter, Vivienne

The urine test came back showing no infection.  Throughout the day, Saturday, Clara was having more pain episodes.  Terrible yipping, then her body would harden with spasms.  She would lean against me, while I tried to support her.  I would tell her she was a good dog. We had been carrying her in and out of the house to potty, sometimes 12 times a day.  Saturday night was the worst.  She woke up in pain, and her bed was wet.  I really felt this was something more serious than a sore back.  But she would still wag her tail!

Monday morning, January 7, 2013, my sister Marie and I went on a different kind of adventure- she drove Clara and  me to the vet for another appointment.  They ran some blood tests, it took a long time, they thought the machine was having a problem.  Clara was just laying across my lap with her head resting on my arm.

It was a big shock when the vet told us that 6 month old pup Clara had advanced kidney disease!  Her numbers on the blood tests were extremely high, not a good thing.  I was a basket case after days with Clara having pain, I couldn't stand to see her in pain.  Any treatment held little hope, with poor outcomes. 

As much as I wanted to keep my puppy I made the decision to have her put to sleep. 
 

It has been a very sad week, but I wanted to get this post out there, in case someone might be having a problem like this with their dog.  I'm not sure how common this is especially in a puppy. 

Clara and me on a happier day

 

Thank you for your kindness everyone who was there for us at West Michigan Veterinary Services.  And, of course, my sister Marie for going through this with me.

Now we are dogless again, and though I came to care for Clara very much, I will never get another dog.

New Ottawa County Open Space

2011 November 29

       Eastmanville Bayou Open Space
(Ottawa County http://www.miottawa.org/ParksVI/Parks/ebayou.htm)
is open but under construction, located in Allendale Township along the south bank of the Grand River on 68th Avenue south of  Leonard Street.

The trail to the east starts off under the bridge and continues along a wide mowed loop trail, about one mile round trip. 

We continued farther than the loop trail until we were south of Deer Creek Park. 

   Grand River
We had to go off trail into some of the swampy areas.  We found an eagle's nest, singing trees, and lots of deer stands.  Our walk to the east of the bridge was over two miles.

The wildflowers aren't doing much this time of year, so we check out the trees, moss, lichen, rocks, or whatever we come across.

Bridge on 68th Ave over Eastmanville Bayou

Back to the van to warm up, it was 37 degrees and windy, then off on a trail to the west of the bridge. 

  This walk was just under two miles total. 

At some point along the Grand River here we found a jumbled mess of man-made debris- cement, cables, and whatnot.  Later after some research, Marie discovered there had been a cable ferry at this point a century or so ago.  It cost 15 cents for a man and his horse to cross the river and 25 cents for a horse and wagon to cross.

So you have the Grand River with a kayak launch, and a boat launch to Eastmanville Bayou, parking area, picnic tables. 

The end of November and we found mustard plants blooming, but it was a cold, gray day.

We walked about 4 miles today, we got back to my house early, so I made Kleepers.  Yum.