The 'Hood

Looking north, up the peninsula.



Looking south, toward town.

Some people have asked what the neighborhood looks like around here, so here are a few pictures up and down the street. It's not a neighborhood, exactly, but it's a fairly quiet street that goes up the east side of the peninsula (hence the name "East Shore Road"). Maggie and I have been doing a lot of our walking up and down this road, and we are able to go for long stretches between getting off to the side for cars going by. The drivers are generally pretty nice, and many slow down or move over.

When we're not walking on the road, we are generally walking along the bay. This is nicer, except for the rocky parts, which, when covered with snow, are hard to see and very slippery. But we pick our way through these parts and end up on some nice sandy stretches. And then we make our way back on the road, glad to be able to stretch our legs and get some traction!

The only problem with road-walking is, whatever side I am walking on, Maggie seems to want to be on the opposite. Here I am, trying to be a responsible pedestrian and walk on the left, and Maggie is stretching the cord on her retractable leash all the way across the road and over the double yellow line towards the grass (or snow) on the other side of the road! I thought well, maybe the other side is more nasally interesting...but then when we turn around, the same phenomenon occurs and suddenly it's the original, neglected side that holds all the wonders!

It finally occurred to me tonight that she has always been used to walking on the right. She has her whole life been one dog in a group of dogs, and since I had Emily before her, I trained Emily in the usual position on the left, and Maggie was stuck with the right. Until now, it hasn't been an issue, because the grass to the right of the sidewalk is just as good as the grass to the left. I guess from her perspective, she's still on the sidewalk, only this sidewalk is very wide and dark and has two orange lines in the middle!

So today I said hey, why don't you walk over here on THIS side, and tugged her over a bit more insistently...and I think she finally discovered that there is a place for her on the LEFT, and interesting things to sniff there, too!

Phew.

Here, Maggie weighs the discomfort of diving into really cold water against the potential thrill of catching some ducks (who had flown away right before I snapped this picture). She decided to remain warm and dry.




The Subie has to get a special mention, by the way, for being the PERFECT vehicle for northern Michigan weather! She is awesome! I keep thinking maybe I'll meet someone from Oregon who'll see my Portland plates and come say hello. (I was kind of dismayed to see that the Wentworth logo is completely covering up the word "Oregon," but I'm too lazy to remove it.)

But my real love is THIS: and I'm trying to figure out some good routes around town so that I can do my errands without the car.

Then I'll really feel like myself around here!