June 21st-27th

Last week we camped at a rustic campground along the shore of Lake Superior with our friends. June and Earl. Although the weather was rainy, it was mostly at night. The dogs ran the beach and swam until they could hardly muster anymore energy.

While hanging out in the camper, I worked on cutting vinyl card covers for the shelter's cat cages, sewed cat hammocks (generator powered), and created a cat adoption promotion flyer for July. We also watched some DVDs. This seems to describe the difference between camping and camper living. On Saturday, June and I went to the Bay Mills "Honoring Our Veterans" Pow Wow.

The Pow Wow had 11 drum groups from around the country and competitive dancing.

This is the Jingle Dancer competition. Their regalia is adorned with bells. Sunday we were back home to June and Earl's in Brimley. We're having such fun hanging out together that Roy and I have figured out a way to extend our stay into August!

June 19th G.A.A. Dog Trot

It's hard to believe, but this is Guardian Angels for Animals 6th annual dog trot. Guardian Angels for Animals is a charitable solicitation organization run by a small group of people, who volunteer their time and the funds they raise, to improve the lives of the animals housed at the Chippewa County Animal Control Shelter in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Through the efforts of this group, the county shelter operates as a "no kill" facility. Roy and I are proud to have been members for the last 5 years.


Registration for the event gets the dog walker a tee shirt, the dog a bandana, and provides funds to be applied toward the shelter animal's facilities and medical care.



The day of the walk was hot and muggy. We were fortunate to have some trees providing a shady spot for the walkers and their dogs to stay cool while waiting for the start of the event.


Some dogs from the animal shelter were present at the event and sporting their "Adopt Me" vests.


This greyhound is one of seven brought from a racetrack in Florida by Guardian Angels for Animals. All seven have been adopted. Isn't this one attractive!


The route is approximately one mile, but with the humidity it probably felt longer. Humans and dogs alike seemed to be panting.


The close of the event came as the rain clouds gathered overhead. The guy standing on the sidewalk is a very special volunteer, who comes to the shelter often and walks every dog! Now that's a way to stay fit! His wife is a super volunteer providing lots of pampering to the shelter's cats. The shelter is extremely fortunate to have them. It was a great day of fun, and support for a great cause!

June 11th-16th

June 12th was June's daughter Emily's wedding, so life has been busy. With the wedding to take place near a beach on Lake Superior (Big Pines), we have all been following weather.com faithfully. The weather has changed from lots of sunshine to lots of rain through the week. Despite the scary weather predictions, Saturday and Sunday were beautiful. There has been lots of behind-the-scenes scrambling to make the wedding events perfect for the couple, and Emily felt the wedding was the perfect day she had hoped for. The wedding was elegant. The reception was equally elegant, but with a lot of relaxed fun. Sunday gave us sunny weather for the gift-opening brunch. It was a pleasant mingling of families on the backyard deck and later indoors. The behind-the-scenes workers have been recouperating with a pampering lunch at the golf course club house, a pajama day watching our favorite DVD series, LOST, and walking in the woods with the dogs.

Yesterday and today June worked on wrapping up school end-of-the-year tasks. Earl's working. Roy has the materials to do a camper project. More on that later. Today I'll visit the animal shelter to work on projects. Saturday, June 19th, is their annual Dog Trot.

Cats

I was uploading my photos of the cats at Chippewa County Animal Shelter to the petfinder.com website, when Charles decided to create a photo moment of his own. This isn't the first time he's done this! From time to time he seems to enjoy putting the strings from the blind on his head and then sitting or walking around with them for awhile! What a character! This is a good example of why blind cords need to be free to come apart.

Beach Fun

Now that we're back home in Michigan, Sugar seems to know what's available for fun outings. She has gotten quite vocal in asking to go play. We've taken Sadie & Chico (June and Earl's dogs) along with Prin and Sugar to some of the two-track roads in Hiawatha State Forest, as well as, out to the beach. Sadie, a Springer Spanial, loves to fetch sticks from the water. The waves at the beach on Lake Superior create a challenge for the dogs fetching sticks. Sadie is an expert in handling them. Sugar is studying the waves and can handle about two before she's had enough, although, she's always eager for another toss of the stick. Prin and Chico opt just to get their paws wet on the shores edge. We'll have to get lots of beach trips in while we're here.

Chippewa County Animal Shelter

Last Friday I stopped by the animal shelter, where I was volunteering extensively, to see what had changed since we left in January. They have been busy making lots of positive changes, and it shows. They put me right to work posting flyers for the June 19th Dog Trot, as well as, designing a cat adoption flyer and researching products to create sneeze barriers between cat cages. Today I'm posting my cat adoption special flyer. I've been researching plexiglass prices and plastic sheeting for the sneeze barrier. I'm ready to make my first model. I'm back amongst my kitty cats and loving it.