Lets see, what has gone on over the past 7 months?  Well this fall I finally got rid of the hideous wallpaper in my living room and gave it a paint job.  Looks great.  Now I just need to do the rest of the house.  I’m thinking actaully of trying to hire someone to do it but alas, I trust nobody around here to actually give a shit and do a good job so it’s likely I’ll just end up doing it myself.  Gavin the Wonder Dog had knee surgery about 3 weeks ago.  I guess that was the big event of the year for me.  Talk about nerve wracking.  Not so much for him I guess as for me.  He is my child after all and having to put him through reconstructive knee surgery was pretty stressful.  You never quite know how a dog (or cat) might respond but he seems to have pulled through with flying colors and he is getting his stitches out this coming Friday.  He should recover about 80% use of his back leg by summer if all goes well.

Speaking of family.  I hosted my first Thanksgiving this past year at my house and it was a blazing success.  Everyone showed up, everyone brought great dishes to pass and nobody complained that I didn’t watch the football game with them on TV. LOL.  Really, it is wonderful to me to have so many family members living in this area.  They are all solid people and they’ve always given me plenty of encouragement in my life, sometimes when I’ve really needed it.

Sister Sarah and Brother-in-Law Brian were here for Christmas with my niece Lucy and nephew Christopher.  They’ve grown accustomed to staying at my house which actually has worked out quite well.  For everyone.  I’m always awestruck by young children.  Their lack of inhibitions and curiosity about everything around them is entertaining at the least and knowing how wonderful  their parents are at least gives me hope that they won’t mind contributing to my retirement fund once they start working.  The wonder years are ahead for them and I can’t wait to be that “cool but somewhat weird” uncle that likes to play Lego and shoot the shit with Ken and Barbie.

So beyond that, there is not a lot of new shit going on right now.  I am looking forward to profit sharing coming up at work and I’m looking forward to paying off my debts and maybe getting a couple toys as well.  Stay tuned for that.

I will promise that this year I will try to keep this blog updated more often.  Seems that whenever I have thought about writing, I’ve always managed to find something better to do with my time.  I guess that comes along as one of the pitfalls of home ownership.  There is always something to work on.  So, until next time.  Cheers!

Tomorrow night I’ll be sleeping in the new house and I can only pray that Gavin the Wonder Dog takes chill pill by then.  He was a ROYAL pain in the ass today although I can’t blame him too much.  His world and daily routine has crumbled right before his eyes in the past few days and he’s taken it fairly well.  It will take some adjusting at the new house for him but I’m quite sure that he will come out just fine.

It’s going to take me a while to recover from this.  Tomorrow night, I will have to get the house in some sort of order so at least I can get from one end of the place to the other without falling over boxes.  It’s going to be a real challenge.  I’ve got a lot of shit.  You don’t realize what you’ve got until you have to pack it all up and move it.

Now, I’m off to bed to try and get some sleep before all hell breaks tomorrow.  Hope everyone is doing just grand!

Sarah is making her famous white chili recipie for dinner tonight.  That means the car ride tomorrow should be interesting.  Perhaps it will be nice enough to keep the windows down for a bit.  So for now, off to relax.

Today I packed up the dog and headed out to the lake.  The sun has been out for the past few days, something exceedingly rare this time of year and I figured I would take advantage of it today by bringing my camera along.  I ended up going down to a beach I had not been to in quite some time.  It was further south than I usually go but still on Good Harbor Bay, just down the road further.  It was quite nice.  There were a few people out today but because of the Super Bowl and my complete lack of interest in sports, it was pretty quiet overall.  Gavin was able to run around off the leash for a while and I spent some time trying to capture a few good pictures.  I’ve uploaded a new gallery at leelanauphotography.com, just click the picture below to check it out.

The folks are off to Iowa for about 6 weeks tomorrow morning.  They’ve decided to spend some time away from here this winter since it’s easy to get really stir crazy this time of year.  We still have a good 3 months of shitty weather before spring starts to hit, I really hate this time of year up here.  Luckily, my job keeps me quite busy so it’s hard for me to care much.  Mom and Dad will be staying with Sarah, Brian and Christopher and I’ll be interested to hear how that all works out.  I love my folks to death but given the choice, I would not choose to have them live with me for any extended amount of time.  I’m pretty sure my folks would say the same about me. Our family dynamics are a bit much to tolerate day in and day out.  And, at my age, and their age, that’s the way it should be.  Christopher will be spoiled by Grandma and Grandpa for 6 weeks, and, that’s the way THAT should be too!  He’s a lucky kid, even if the only words he can say are “doggie” and “LOOK”.  We’ll see if Grandpa can teach him a few words during his stay.

I have made a new purchase since my last entry in this blog.  Last week, I broke down and bought a Wii so that I too could join the ranks of 30 something’s who are sick of being out of shape but who don’t want to join a gym.  I have always enjoyed video games even though I suck at them and I like the concept of being more involved in them rather than just sitting on a couch with a controller.  The Wii promises to at least get me off my ass for a little bit each day.  Eventually I’ll buy the Wii balance board and Wii Fit Plus game so that I can actually start getting in shape.  Sadly, they are sold out nearly all over the country and it’s going to be several weeks before they get back in stock.  Oh well, I’ll be busy enough at work.

Bonus time at work is fast approaching.  Profit Sharing checks are handed out Feb. 16th and my Managers bonus is due in mid March.  Crazy thing about my job is that I make more in the first 3 months of the year than I do the next 8 months of regular work just because of bonuses.  It’s nice to get big fat checks but it’s also dangerous because it’s easy to just go out and spend it.  If I had this job at any other time in my life, I’d be broke all the time but fortunately I’ve learned how to manage my money in much healthier ways so I’ll be able to save what is necessary but I’ll also be able to go out and get a few toys to play with.  This year I am buying a keyboard and I’ll write more about that when the time comes.  So for now, enjoy the new gallery.

Young Chuck moved to Texas and bought a donkey from a farmer for $100. The farmer agreed to deliver the donkey the next day. The next day the farmer drove up and said, ‘Sorry Chuck, but I have some bad news, the donkey died.’

Chuck replied, ‘Well, then just give me my money back.’

The farmer said, ‘Can’t do that. I went and spent it already.’

Chuck said, ‘OK, then, just bring me the dead donkey.’

The farmer asked, ‘What ya gonna do with a dead donkey?’

Chuck said, ‘I’m going to raffle him off.’

The farmer said ‘You can’t raffle off a dead donkey!’

Chuck said, ‘Sure I can. Watch me. I just won’t tell anybody he’s dead.’

A month later, the farmer met up with Chuck and asked, ‘What happened with that dead donkey?’

Chuck said, ‘I raffled him off. I sold 500 tickets at two dollars apiece and made a profit of $898.00.’

The farmer said, ‘Didn’t anyone complain?’

Chuck said, ‘Just the guy who won. So I gave him his two dollars back.’

Chuck now works for JP Morgan.

Jirar was up here for a couple days this week and despite our continuing friendship, it’s somewhat difficult to see him leave each time he comes to visit.  I’m reminded that I’ve not done much to improve my social life in any substantial way, sure I’ve got friends I can hang out with but it’s not the same as having a spouse there to push you in the right directions.  I have to remind myself that I don’t have to be in a hurry to find someone else, that I can indeed be perfectly content by myself for a while.  I’ve got plenty of good things going for me not the least of which is a hugely supportive family both immediate and extended who have my back when I need it.

I did find out this past week that I am not going to be in a position to buy my condo that I am renting.  I’d need to come up with about 40K as a down payment to make it possible and I just don’t see that happening.  On a brighter note, my landlord did agree to extend my lease for another 12 months but after that I will have to find another place to live next summer.  This condo has been a great place for me.  The size is great, the location is perfect, and the cost of living here is right within a good range.  There are really very few good places to rent up here.  The houses for rent in town are really nothing but trash, obviously rentals that have been worn down by negligent landlords who don’t give a shit about the property.  The apartment complexes are nice but most don’t allow pets and to buy a home up here I have to either cut back on the toys that I enjoy and that keep me entertained, or I have to settle for a property that would end up needing a lot of work.  I’m really just over the money pit stage.  I don’t have time for it.  I have a list of criteria that I require for housing and I’ve found that it’s hard to find things that fit up here in the northwoods, even though the things I want should be common….around here they just aren’t.

Anyhow, now it’s time for bed.  Tomorrow I work in the morning and then hopefully, as long as the store is slow, I can get out of there by noon and get out to the cottage with Gavin to spend some time on the lake.

This is Memorial Day weekend and it is PACKED up in the northwoods.  It was a little chilly today (low 60′s) but that didn’t stop people from enjoying the sun.  There were tons of boats on Lake Leelanau today and of course everyone was up at the lake today.  I played with Gavin for a good 2 hours letting him chase the ball into the lake and retrieve it (his favorite thing to do in the world).  We then went over to Lake Michigan and played on the beach for a while.  It was nice to get away.  Tomorrow I head back to work.

Anyhow, here is a new picture.  Do you ever wonder what it would be like if we humans had to do this when we got wet?  Don’t have much else to write about tonight.  Time to go watch that 3rd Back to the Future movie!!

Big news coming out of Iowa on Friday.  No, Sarah and Brian are not expecting another baby (???–haha).  The Iowa Supreme Court is expected to issue it’s ruling on Same Sex Marriage in that state.  Not much has been said about this case except that initially things were going in favor of ruling their Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional.  If Iowa were to legalize SSM, it would be the first mid-western state to do so and the 4th state in the country to do so.  I’m not getting my hopes up however it would be nice to know that even amidst the miles of corn fields, there are at least a few people who get it.  If they rule in favor of SSM, you can expect all hell to break lose, the dead will rise, the sky will fall, and the Earth will cease to exist….at least that’s what the fundies have predicted.  If they rule against it, it will simply be another setback that we will have to overcome.

In related news, the Vermont legislature has passed a gay marriage bill that will legalize gay marriage in Vermont.  You’ll recall that Vermont was the first state in the country to pass a comprehensive “in all but name” bill to give gays and lesbians all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities of marriage but just not called marriage nearly 10 years ago.  The current bill moves their domestic partner program to marriage in what is logically the next step.  There is of course an issue here as well.  While this would be the fist legislature in the country to pass this sort of thing through the legislature (meaning this is not a court ordered change but a legislative change), the Governor has threatened to veto the bill.  The State House needed 99 votes to pass a veto-proof bill.  They got 95 votes.  The big question is whether or not the Governor will actually veto the bill or if he will realize that by doing so he is on the wrong side of history.  We should know the answer soon.

Not much else going on up here in the northwoods.  Easter is approaching quickly as I witnessed a bunny shitting in my garden this morning.  He’s apparently been living under my house…something I’ll have to correct rather soon.  Gavin chased him out of the yard this morning, sadly, he didn’t kill it.  Work is going well but the days are getting longer.  We are switching hours again starting on Sunday so we will be open now until 10pm at night which means I’ve just added 5 hours to my already long week.  We’ve entered a vacation black out period as well.  I get my regular days off but I can’t take any vacation days now until the end of May.  Oh well, that is what I signed up for I guess.

Anyhow, enjoy the picture below that was taken today.

Found a video on the net tonight I thought I would post.  I got this from a web site called wimp.com although this clip is all over youtube too.  You should check that web site out if you have high speed Internet (and are not at work).  Its a REALLY random collection of videos from around the Internet, many of them really funny, some of them really random, and some of them even educational.  This reminds me of my old cat Pooh who used to sit in the window and do this to birds.

I’ve always had 1 rotten tooth in my mouth (some would say more) and yesterday it came to a nasty death in the gooey Carmel of a granola bar.  Those of you that know me, this was the crooked one right in front that you could always see when I smile.  No pain, no trauma, it just had one bite too many and now it’s sitting in the cup holder in my car.  Nothing motivates you faster to take action than watching your subordinates snicker as you attempt to help customers while drooling out of the side of your mouth.  It’s been quite amusing actually and it’s a tooth that needed to be fixed anyhow.  I’m hoping that I’ll be able to get it patched up with a fake one that might give me a better smile and at least a decent shot of being able to brush it well.  Biggest concern is going to be what my insurance covers and what it doesn’t.  At this point in time I have absolutely no idea since this will be the first time I’ve used the dental insurance that I get through work.  This could be a real nightmare for me if it ends up costing me hundreds (or thousands) of dollars out of pocket.  Sorry folks, don’t have it…can’t get it…maybe I’ll just learn some new tricks and join the circus.  Partials are not cheap, neither are implants or veneers for that matter.  It’s not far fetched to note that good teeth tend to be found on people with either good insurance (which I’m not sure I have), or disposable income (which I know I don’t have).  We’ll see how it works out.

Certainly an interesting New Year for me.  I don’t remember much of this one and not for the reasons you might think.  I came down with something on New Year’s eve and ended up leaving work early with a fever of 102 degrees and rising.  Even a cold shower when I got home was pointless.  I don’t know what it was but I fell asleep at 4PM and didn’t wake up again until 8am the next day.  Fortunately by that point, I had sweat out most of whatever it was and the fever had subsided.  Today I feel better but am still quite cold even though this condo is like an oven right now.  No stomach issues but that’s likely because I didn’t eat anything for a good 36 hours.  Haven’t had any problems today so far.  Crazy way to start the New Year.

So I have a couple resolutions this year which (like everyone else) I won’t keep fully.

1 – To try and write at least 3-4 times a week in this blog even if it’s just to post a picture or some other random thing.  If nothing else, it keeps those who know me and rarely have a chance to see me informed about my life.

2 – To discover and then actually enjoy a new sort of cocktail – Cosmo’s are so cliche and cranberry juice gives me heartburn.  It’s time to move on.  I finally learned to quit buying cheap vodka, maybe this year I can learn how to mix a good drink with that $40 bottle.

3 – To work with Gavin extensively this year to finally get him properly socialized and trained.  He is an extremely intelligent dog however now at 6 years old he’s no longer a puppy and I can’t blame some of is poorer behavior on young blood.  If he is to survive in my household, he must be able to do more than sit and shake and he must be able to control his tongue.  He needs (and wants) a job, I intend to give him one somehow.

4 – To spend a bit more time this coming summer exploring in places other than Leelanau.  I’d like to make a trip up to the Big Mac this summer and perhaps take a long weekend in the Upper Peninsula near Pictured Rocks to take Photographs.  I finally have 2 weeks paid vacation this year, I am going to go and do some of the things I’ve not been able to do in a very long time.

5 – Finally, I resolve to continue taking care of myself both mentally and physically.  I need to lose some weight and I need to move on from 2008 and re-establish some longer term goals for my career and possible future relationships.  This one will take time but if 2008 was a low for me, than I have no other option than to go UP.

There you are, 5 resolutions for 2009.  Hope everyone had a great New Year, looking forward to living it up in 2009!

I got a kick out of the comic below.  This is how it is in retail.  People think the earth revolves around them and they are the fucking sun!  I have always said that there are 2 jobs that EVERY person on earth should have for at least 6 months sometime in their lives.  The first is working in a restaurant, because it’s really important NOT to bite the hand of those who feed you.  Chances are VERY high that if you get shitty service at a restaurant, you DESERVE it.  The second is retail because if we were not there to help you, you’d be dead by now perhaps having taken off your left and right leg trying to figure out how to operate that new table saw you bought without bothering to ask us first how to use it properly.  How would you feel if you were treated with disrespect over and over again not because of something you did but just because you happened to offer your assistance?  You can not be  a properly socialized person unless you have worked in some sort of service related field.

We are approaching the end of the year at work and all in all, it’s been a good year for me.  Despite the massive turn down in the economy, my company continues to grow (13 new stores will open next year in 6 states) and our competitors continue to slide into the shitter (layoffs and store closings all over the country forecast for Home Desperate and Lowe(s) Life).  That bodes well for my career and it speaks well for my company, that we are able to continue growing even with the economic crisis in full swing.  I guess I played my cards right deciding to grow with them.  That said, today was without a doubt one of the SLOWEST Saturday’s I can remember in a very long time.  Sales sucked, and the shoppers weren’t much better.  There are a LOT of people out of work up here, many of the people in the store are there just for something to do at this point.  I suppose you can only sit around and do nothing for so long before you start going crazy.  Nobody is buying anything, “just looking” they all tell me.  I hope to God things improve in the months ahead.  Traverse City is already a SLOW town, I’m going to go crazy if things don’t pick up pace….I need that rush, that constant activity to keep my head on.  Without it, I get depressed.

Well I’m off to bed now, I’ve got some catch up to do.

Everyone is now fully decorated for Christmas.  I went to Aunt Nancy’s tonight with Mom and Dad and we helped her decorate her tree.  Gavin came along for the pizza.  He’s going to have a different week as well.  He will be staying with Mom and Dad overnight on Wednesday without me.  I know he likes staying out at the cottage, he does have a tendency though to plop right down on the couch which is something my folks aren’t used to.  They just need to remember to cover it so his hair doesnt get everywhere.  Speaking of the cottage, I thought I would post this great picture of the cat from hell.  She does not like me and usually has come choice words for me.

As you all know, the cats are done.  It was an agonizing decision to make and certainly one that I did not want to make however nothing I have done to correct their problem behaviors has helped and I can no longer afford to continue letting them destroy this house.  Whatever their issue is, it is too costly for me to fix and I must resolve this problem as quickly and efficiently as possible.  In an attempt to do the right thing, I contacted the Cherryland Humane Society in Traverse City today to ask them what my options were for my cats.  The immediate response I got on the phone was intimidating, condescending and really horribly inappropriate.  As has been reported on the news, I understand that these folks have been inundated with pets since the economy went down the toilet.  People can’t afford them, their shelters are overcrowded and there are a LOT more animals today that need homes than there were even just 6 months ago.  That however is not my concern with this post.  I was asked the ages of the cats and becuase I’m an honest person, I informed them that they were 8 and 10 years old.  “Sorry can’t help you” was the response in short bitchy tones.  Apparently the Humane Society is not in the business of helping people whose pets are older than 5 years old.  They refused to consider them at all which tells me a lot about their primary focus (money).  The conversation continued and at this point I felt I was being treated as some sort of criminal for having the audacity to even consider giving up my pets.  Look, the issue is very simple here.  I have 2 cats that must vacate this house immediately.  There are 2 ways for this to happen.  Way #1 involves adoption through an animal shelter or adoption agency like the Humane Society who IS IN THE BUSINESS of treating animals with respect and dignity.  Way #2 involves leaving them in the woods somewhere.  NEITHER of those ways involve the cats STAYING in this home! Now, do you really think as an animal lover and someone who has had pets all his life is going to choose way #2?  I think not but that seems to be the only option anyone is willing to give me.

The humane society has made it perfectly clear that change can not and should not ever occur in a human’s life and circumstances could never possibly change.  They are intent on making what is truly one of the most difficult decisions I’ve had to make in a LONG time that much more difficult and in the process they’ve managed to piss off a potential donor or contributor to their cause.  There are very few non-profits out there that I would ever consider making a random donation to.  I support the Humane Society’s mission but they’ve been removed from my list due to the lack of professionalism exhibited by their employees.  YOU LOSE.

At the end of the conversation, I was given the name of AC Paws which is a pet adoption agency in Traverse City that works out of Pet Smart.  I sent them an email tonight explaining my situation and asking for their help in placing these cats in a new home while clearly stating that they can not stay here.  For now and until I able able to find some sort of support or help in this community, the cats will remain with me while I try to save up enough money to repair the damage they have already caused me both to my house and emotionally.

It’s too bad I am not yet able to afford my own house.  I’m OK with cats fucking up my own house, I’m NOT OK with cats fucking up someone else’s; ESPECIALLY when I can not afford to successfully repair the damage.  I’m off work tomorrow, likely will head out to Leelanau at some point.  I’ve not been in the mood lately for much writing.  I’ve been somewhat emotional I think due to the change in the weather.  I’m just not ready for winter this year..I hate winter to begin with.  I’m sure my mood will change soon.

This is THE weekend to be in Northern Michigan.  According to the news about 60-80% peak color right now and it’s going to be in the 70′s all weekend.  Amazing that I happened to have this weekend off from work.  I’ve uploaded a new album to leelanauphotography.com, LOTS of color tour pictures.  I spent today out with Gavin hiking the Bay View Trail again.  I did the longer hike this time, about 6 miles.  I remembered to take the backpack today with water.  Good thing I did too, it was freaking hot when we weren’t in the woods.  I got some great pictures this year with my new camera.  This is the first fall that I’ve had this camera and the thing has more than paid for itself.  Now I just have to narrow down the choices of pictures to order for my new frames.

Gavin is exhausted again (which is good) and he’s snoring loudly on my bed right now.  I’ve still got the cats as of this writing, as much as I hate saying it, their days are numbered at this point.  I’ve made the decision to remove them from my house and have asked around at work if anyone wanted to adopt them…no takers yet.  I would much rather find them a home than give them to the humane society.  I know what will happen to them there, especially considering the recent news paper articles about the huge number of cats and dogs that have been left at local shelters due mainly to people not being able to afford to take  care of them any more.  I feel bad but again, while I treat them like family, they are pets not people.  They are specifically bread to do what I want them to do and if they are unable to do it, they can’t live here.

We have another state that has now legalized gay marriage.  Connecticut now joins Massachusetts and California as places I could go to get married legally if I actually were in a relationship.  The anti-gay right wingers are foaming at the mouth over the ‘activist judges’, what they fail to see is that on EVERY court that has decided this, most of the majority opinion in each court were appointed by REPUBLICAN leaders.  They are of course labeled as activist judges becuase the right doesn’t agree with the outcome.  This is an area of politics that pisses me off.  People don’t even realize what hypocrites they are being half the time.  EVERYONE has a political agenda.  Some (the right) are just sore losers.  These rulings really bring out the worse in people.  It just blows me away to see the hate and fear that oozes from the eyeballs of these zealots.

On a happier note, I’ll leave you with another wallpaper size picture.  Be sure to check out leelanauphotography.com for the rest of the set.

Jirar has now left for the day, not sure when he will be back up north.  Our friendship is still fairly strong, we enjoy spending time together but it is difficult for me to see him go each time.  I miss him a lot, Gavin does too and so do the cats.  I know that at some point I’ll have to move on in my life, honestly I think both of us are kind of stagnating, not really knowing what to do or how to do it.  He wants the freedom to experience life on his own but struggles with the inherent uncertainties of life that go with that freedom and I want the security of a relationship because I’ve already experienced those uncertainties and really don’t want to do it again.  As I get older, life has become much less about adventure and much more about comfort and security.

So those of you who were not able to guess, the music in the previous post was from Monty Python.  I watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail last night.  I had not seen the film in years.  The slap-stick British humor is quite amusing to me, much more so than a spoof of Sarah Palin is on SNL.

Anyhow, tonight I may watch another film or I may try to clean the house.  I haven’t decided.  Somewhere I have to figure out dinner too.  Later for now.

The situation is not improving with the cats.  The house stinks…it’s 50 degrees and I have all the windows open right now to air it out.  I’m still cleaning up pet poop and the steps I’ve taken to try and fix the problem have not been working.  I’m afraid the end might be near for their existence in this house.  I just can not afford to fuck up a house that I don’t own.  As I was telling Jirar, if this was my own place, I would not even consider getting rid of them.  However, I don’t see how I can keep this up and not land in some pretty deep trouble when it comes time to move out of here.

Work is really slowing down lately.  We are starting to see some Black Friday shit show up at the store.  It won’t be long before they are cramming low margin crap into the store so we can contribute to the mass chaos the day after Thanksgiving.  I am putting my assistant on morning duty this year.  I’ve had to open for the past 3 years and I’m ready for a break from that this year.  She wants to open anyhow so she will not go out and blow all her money shopping that morning.  Works for me since I don’t participate in that early morning bullshit, I can sleep in then come in to work and clean it all up.  It’s a bit of an odd store to be in that day, we are usually pretty slammed in the morning selling all the shit we normally don’t even carry but come noon, it empties out.  Not too many people out there purchasing drill presses and appliances, or paint for that matter.  I’m sure we’ll see pretty good traffic that weekend though.

Well I must go now and make dinner and finish my laundry.  Here’s another picture.

I am a little distressed lately about my cats.  When I last wrote about them, I had indicated that they were living here on a trial basis.  Unfortunately, neither KD or Pooh has been able to correct some of the problems they have using the litter box and I simply can not afford mentally or monetarily, to allow their behavior to continue.  KD has begun marking again and I’ve spent the last month picking up Pooh’s poop off the floor.  Neither animal appears to be unhealthy, both of them know how to use their box becuase I’ve watched them both use it to make sure, neither seems to be under any great deal of stress or anxiety.  I’ve spent hours on the web looking for solutions and I’ve found nothing that is helping.  Tomorrow I will set up a 3rd litter box and I am taking down the baby gate that shuts off their room.  I keep them in the back part of the condo when I am not here, I am wondering if Pooh poops on the floor because he can’t get to the box fast enough.  By removing that barrier (which he has to jump over first to get to the box) perhaps this will reduce the problem.

It’s sad because up until last year, both of these cats had been great animals.  Jirar and I never had one ounce of problems with either of them.  Then, with Jirar leaving, a new roommate and the addition of another cat as well as easy access to the outside yard, both of these cats behaviors changed dramatically.  For fear of insulting the spy’s who read this blog, I won’t interject my opinion as to why my cats are now unable to cope with themselves.  I am willing to go 3-4 more weeks maximum trying to change their behavior.  If there are no improvements, I will be taking them to the humane society or I will attempt to find them a new home.  While I treat them like my children, they are in fact NOT children, they are pets.  Not expendable by any means but pets are bread to conform to the needs of humans, not the other way around.  I don’t have unlimited resources to fix the problems they are creating.

Tomorrow is a day off for me.  I think I will go out to the cottage with Gavin and perhaps spend some time on the boat.  It is supposed to be quite nice, it might be one of the last good days for boating this season.  Cheers!

Now then, Peterson Park was quite pretty today.  The sun was out and there was a ship in front of the islands.  Whatever company is using that shipping channel lately must have changed the type of freighter they are using.  This was not your typical lake freighter.  The bow and the stern were raised and were it not for my vantage point about 150 feet above the shore, it would have looked like the middle of the boat was under water.  I would be interested in seeing one of those up close.  I took Gavin down to the beach and let him swim and chase rocks for a good 30 minutes, he also managed to roll around in a mess of dead fish on the shore much to my delight…or rather his.

From there I headed back towards Leland and stopped at Houdek Dunes Natural Area.  Jirar and I had hiked this some time ago but it was in the winter and we didn’t do the whole thing.  Today I did.  This was a good 2 mile hike in a loop going through multiple types of wooded dunes and open dunes.  Thank god it was a cool day or I would have roasted.  This hike wore Gavin out but we weren’t done yet.

After that hike I drove down to the National Park and decided I was going to hike the Good Harbor Bay Trail.  This was a 4.5 mile hike that went WAY back into the woods away from the lake, crossed a couple different little streams and then looped around back to the trail head.  While it was very good exercise, I have to say that this was an exceptionally boring hike.  It’s flat nearly the whole way so it’s an easy walk but the scenery never changes.  It does not go deep enough or far enough away from the shore to change much in ecosystems.  Mostly pine and birch forest.  It would be pretty in the fall with changing leaves but it’s just not there yet…I doubt I’ll hike that one again.

Anyhow, I got some great pictures today and have uploaded an album at www.leelanauphotography.com.  Be sure to check them out.  I was going to try and get a good picture of the big tree at Peterson Park however the bikers had set up a food tent at the park and there were swarms of men and women in Lycra shorts and shirts.  Some people (no most people) should just not wear skin tight clothing.

Here is a picture from the new album.  Be sure to check out the others.

Good things are always off-set with some bad things.  This is the first birthday in at least 10 years where I have truly been alone.  Let me define that.  I do not mean that I feel abandoned becuase I certianly do appreciate and love the fact that my family, both immediate and extended, has been there for me this past year.  What I mean is that I’ve had to make decisions this year on my own that for the previous 10 years I have not had to do.  The end of my relationship with Jirar was and really still is a big deal for me.  Again, I don’t want to give anyone reading this the impression that I’m at all unstable becuase I’m not but I’ve had to deal with this loss surrounded by people who are in healthy and strong relationships.  I miss having that stability, I miss coming home from work at night and having someone else there to talk to, I miss being able to define my life as “we” rather than “me”.  Traverse City can be a lonely place to be when you are single and gay.  There isn’t much up here to do socially but then again I’m not a very social person and I’m not really looking that hard for friends.  I would much rather stay home and watch TV than put my self-esteem on the line trying to meet people.  Don’t get my wrong, I like living up here 3000% better than Grand Rapids however I might have adjusted better if I had moved up here as a single person, at least I would have known and anticipated what I was getting into a little better.  Oh well, hindsight is always 20/20.

So today, Gavin woke me up nice and early but I was able to watch the sun rise over Lake Leelanau.  It’s been I think 2 years since I’ve spent the night out here.  Now that I don’t live so close, coming out here finally feels like a mini-vacation again.  Today I am going to clean out my car from all the sand that Gavin left in it last night and then drive up to Peterson Park.  I want to try and get some orchard pictures today if I can find one where fruit is still on the trees.  I noticed yesterday as I was taking Gavin for a walk up the hill at the Cottage that the apple trees that line Laskey Trail do not have fruit this year…or they did and someone has picked it all.  Last year, they were covered in apples.  This year, nothing.  Could be it has been a bad year for pollination.

Well It’s time to get dressed now and start the day.  I’ll be posting pictures tonight sometime.