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On Saturday, I left GR (with a couple of inches of snow on the ground) to head north to the Double JJ resort in Rothebury, MI where I would join my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew and his boyscout troupe.I spent the day watching (and photographing) the boys go horseback riding, dogsledding, and snow tubing. Just some of the winter activities available at the Double JJ. The day started off nice and sunny although it ended up just pouring rain. Rain in the middle of winter is rather bizarre, but I guess nothing surprises me this winter. I believe a good time was had by all even though there was no snow up there. Dogsledding without snow is accomplished by creating a "sleigh" with wheels that the dogs pull quite easily. I was pretty impressed with the dogsledding operation.
They have approximately 20 dogs that live there year round. The dogs work 5 days a week and take in a high protein, high-fat diet of 2,500 calories per day. They can eat more than that, but it is all just waste after the 2,500 calories. Interesting. Each dog can pull approx. 200 lbs. The "sleigh on Wheels" weighs about 700 lbs without people. So, it takes 4 dogs to pull the sleigh and another 3 dogs for the people. The smallest fastest dogs were in front and the bigger, slower dogs were in back by the sleigh. It was really cool to hear the details about the process. The guy training them has been working with the dogs for 9 years. The dogs just relax in the summer and work in the winter. It was pretty cool to see the dogs start barking when their trainers came over to the pen as if to say, "Pick Me, Pick Me!!!" You can tell these dogs really want to pull the sleighs (wheels or no wheels). They showed such excitement when they took off and seemed happy to be attached to the sled as the chosen dogs. With so many dogs, they all get turns.
The boys all wanted to pet the dogs and the dogs were OK with that. The Bull got loose:Yes, the bull got loose from it's pen but was quickly wrangled back. The animal handlers all do a great job. It was pretty awesome to be so up close and personal with the bull. I had a nice time taking pics of the animals that I don't normally get to see out on the honey creek. I would recommend a winter weekend to the Double JJ ranch. I enjoyed the activities, food and lodging in the cute little cabins. Too bad we didn't have snow.
I have always heard the following: If you don't like the weather in Michigan, wait a minute and it will change. Well, that has certainly been true this winter. We started out with a lot of snow in West Michigan (40" by January) and then, Poof! No snow. Then earlier this week it snowed. And poof, it is gone again. However, tonight the weather people are predicting 6" of snow in this area by Saturday morning. Wow, this winter has been very bizarre and cannot seem to make up it's mind as to whether or not it wants to be unseasonably warm or snowy... The pics were taken on the 18th (snow) and 20th (no snow). Very bizarre and not easy to plan the clothing.
Perhaps it is because I was born at O'dark30 or it just agrees with me, but I am definitely a morning person. The past couple of days have made me quite happy to be a morning person since I witnessed an incredibly red sky yesterday and the moon setting this morning. Love the moon shadows at night and the moon shining into my bedroom window in the AM.
The Bathroom. Now that I have a bit of time on my hands, I have decided to thoroughly clean my house. Today's task was the master bath. Too much dust and OLD products in there. Purge, purge, purge. Hundreds of vitamin tablets went into the trash. (What a waste of money.)
I must say that I have not used any of them in years. So, it was time. Time to pitch out the useless stuff in my life. I had no place for all those expired vitamins. Now I know how often I am willing to take things like Echinacea or St. Johns Wort (that someone sent me years ago). Never. Should you really take Echinacea if you are allergic to pollen? Seems like a bad idea. And who in their right mind wants to subject themselves to St. Johns Wort? It may be from a "Saint" but I have never been fond of Warts. : ) So, those products and about 5 other vitamins were dumped. Good riddance. More space for the stuff that was on the counter. How much money do you waste on Vitamins?
is not fun. I would rather be employed. I enjoy working. I don't enjoy looking for work. It is no fun.
I am staying busy, but it is not enough for me. I loved what I was doing... some would say I am a fool for that, but I enjoyed the balance between the technical world and the creative. I enjoyed trying to figure out why something wasn't working and how to get it working again. Ah well, soon enough I will be working again and will wish I had some more free time in my day.
but organizing. Cleaning out the office that was filled with paperwork and cds. It was time to clean it out and organize it. I will be ready to meet with the accountant early this year. I will also be ready to work on my photo business and put some presentation materials together. Day one of not working felt weird, but overall it was productive. Productive is good.
They have approximately 20 dogs that live there year round. The dogs work 5 days a week and take in a high protein, high-fat diet of 2,500 calories per day. They can eat more than that, but it is all just waste after the 2,500 calories. Interesting. Each dog can pull approx. 200 lbs. The "sleigh on Wheels" weighs about 700 lbs without people. So, it takes 4 dogs to pull the sleigh and another 3 dogs for the people. The smallest fastest dogs were in front and the bigger, slower dogs were in back by the sleigh. It was really cool to hear the details about the process. The guy training them has been working with the dogs for 9 years. The dogs just relax in the summer and work in the winter. 
