Category: Uncategorized

Northern Michigan

The weather up in northern Michigan was much nicer than last year when Matt and I went up there. we got to enjoy the water without wetsuits and could sit outside in shorts and such. One thing I got to do this time that I had not done before was to take a trip out on the water in the kayak. One still morning I paddled over to the University of Michigan’s Biological Station property and sat for awhile. I listened to a odd sound that I couldn’t figure out until I moved in for a closer look. Earlier, when I first made it over to that side, I spotted a group of about five or six deer taking a dip in the lake. The quiet and still of the water are nice but I would like to learn more about the proper way to paddle. BTW… click on the picture to see more of the weekend.

Weekends

Just about every weekend that I have been in town this summer I have been out of town. Fourth of July I headed up to Jack’s River in the Cohutta Wilderness to hang out with Ben, Katy and Adam. We went swimming at Jack’s River Falls and hiked out crossing the river so many times we lost count. The week after that I headed up to Panther Creek with Nick to go swimming with the dogs for a day. After that it was up to Rabun with Sam, Rupe and Dave for Hambidge’s Annual Hoot n’nanny.I fired some pottery and helped with the festival cleanup.

Next weekend it was off to Panthertown, NC with Chad, Katy, Ben and Ariel. We found a trail that took us by Pothole Falls where you can jump into a seemingly bottomless pothole and cram at least 5 people into a much smaller pothole in the middle of the river. We found a shelter just before a huge storm and visited a huge granite face at night to see a nearly full moon. The next day we went to Gorges State Park and swam at Pot of Gold. There you can sit behind a waterfall and tell secrets in audible seclusion.

This past weekend I went north with Derek and Woody. We were going to try and hit Tallulah Gorge State Park, but it started to rain on the way there and we turned it into a Wild and Scenic River tour stopping first at Gorges again and then heading to Bull Sluice on the Chattooga. At Gorges you can access the Horsepasture River. We made it Turtleback Falls which is a great rock slide that drops you into a great pool. It is really fun and we were lucky enough to have the place to ourselves for about a half an hour before about 20 other people showed up. It stormed in the middle of the day. We waited out the storm in the car and at Manrique’s and then headed to Bull Sluice. This rapid sits on the Chattooga. It’s popular with kayakers and rafting groups but you can also jump in and swim and get shot down the river.

Feeling like I had been ignoring the dogs for awhile I took them up to Allatoona Dam on Sunday to go hiking and swimming. This used to be a weekly off-leash dog hike but it has dissolved and now there are few people there. Most dogs are still off-leash despite the warnings from the guy at the gate. There are a couple spots for the dogs to hop in the lake and swim if they are brave enough. This weekend I am heading to Burt Lake in northern (lower peninsula) Michigan. More swimming and outdoor fun awaits.

Oh Yeah!!!!

This was in my inbox today, look who’s following me now.

Ted Schwartz (BizRealEstate) is now following your tweets on Twitter.

A little information about Ted Schwartz:


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Utah

Recently I went to Utah for a week to go hiking with Dave and Matt. The trip was a great experieince, with time left over to spend in Salt Lake City with Liza upon our return. It deserves more attention than I am giving it here but, as you can see, this is true of the blog as a whole right now. Enjoy the photos.

Extraction

On Wednesday I had to go into an oral surgeon to have my last wisdom tooth taken out. Please spare me the pain of explaining why one was left in there all this time. Let me only say that it had always been easier to leave it be until now; some dentists thought a cyst may be developing near it and wanted it removed once and for all. My dental history is a long and storied affair with several lengthy and numbing procedures. Receiving Novocaine injections for local anesthetic is fairly routine for me. But this time it was surgery and involved general anesthesia; being put to sleep – completely unconscious.

With Lauren gone, I asked Brennan to accompany me to the surgeon’s office and to drive me home afterward. I was expecting something fairly simple. Having already been through the extraction of the 3 other teeth during two separate procedures with only local anesthetic I was surprised when the appointment was only scheduled for 30 min and almost happy not to have to suffer through all the prodding and prying. Nonetheless, going under should always make you a bit nervous and it did on Wednesday. When I came to I was sitting in a small room where I apparently picked up and held Nemo for a bit.

Brennan and I headed to Publix to get some food and he did all he could to keep me awake. I think he thought I was going to fall over walking. I drank a fruit drink and a yogurt drink and proceeded to get sick on the way home. We had decided to go back to Brennan’s house where he could be there for me rather than me being at home all alone. Good thing, because the nausea and vomiting continued for the entire day.

Now, two days later, I am feeling better and have my appetite back but my jaw and wound are still sore. I go back on Wednesday for a follow-up appointment, but I would say that I have discovered that my body does not agree with general anesthesia.

Visitor in the Storm


One morning last week something weird happened to us. At the peak of the storm around 6AM we heard a loud scratching at our door. When I looked out the glass I saw a big black animal clawing at the door and butting its head into the door, pushing it. It was a freaked out dog trying to break into our house. We stood inside for awhile trying to figure out what to do. The dog continued to claw and butt at the door and even tried to chew his way in. Maybe he heard how we adopted another local misfit pup. I finally ventured out on the porch thinking that I could not stand to lose this dog (with a collar) and find out where it actually belonged.

It was friendly but scared and would not take treats. I looked at the collar but only found a 2010 rabies tag, no ID. The tag had Dekalb Animal Service number on it and a registration number. Lauren had tried to call 911 but hung up after being tranfered for the third time and having to repeat our address several times. The animal services said they would come by at 8:30 to get the dog and we put him on a leash and went to work with him contianed on the porch. The picture of the damage is above.

We left a note for the animal services people and went to work. They called Lauren and told her that the dog belonged to some folks who live one street over and they returned him to his house. The owners were out of town and the dog freaks out in the lightning (obviously). The owners were given our name and were grateful that we found him and could get him back to them. They’ve said they want to help us with replacing the damage to the door.