Brian Visits Grandma D

This weekend I have done something brand new to me - - I had my daughter and son-in-law's dog come to stay with me. He is a beautiful Golden Retriever who behaves wonderfully! I picked him up yesterday morning at Chad's parents' home in Hudson, Wisconsin. He had his over-night bag packed and was ready to go. We drove along the St. Croix River to Stillwater, then crossed back over into Wisconsin over the historic bridge so Grandma could try to take some nice photos of the fall color surrounding Stillwater. Well, I drove around a bit, but could not find any public place that would give me a vantage point. Come on, Wisconsin! Why don't you set aside a little place across from Stillwater where folks could park and appreciate the first town settled in Minnesota so many years ago?!

Before driving to my home, I had a couple of places in mind where Brian and I could visit a bit and get in some good walking. We stopped at my Aunt Liz's first. Brian was so excited to see her, that his wagging tail hit one of her decorative plates on a shelf and knocked it over. It didn't break, and Aunt Liz just laughed. She thought it was cute and wasn't worried about her plates. I took him for a little walk around her home and we came upon some wild raspberry bushes. We walked back to her home, picked up an empty cup, and returned to pick ripe raspberries. Yum! Did you enjoy them, Aunt Liz?

Next on my agenda was the beautiful 1.9 mile walk around Lake Normandale in Bloomington. Brian loved it. And I enjoyed it too. The leaves were lovely, and we saw many geese swimming and feeding. It won't be too long and the trees will be bare, the geese will have flown south, and the lake will be frozen. Ugh!

My home was foreign to Brian, and the sounds of the people living above and beside me brought many barks from him on Saturday. But during the night, he only barked once. Today he is much more relaxed about the sounds. He and I have logged many miles in the past two days. I'm sure Heidi will be considering getting me a dog so I will exercise more - not a bad idea, except for my allergies to dogs.

Brian, I have enjoyed having you come to my home. I hope you tell your mom and dad about the fun we have had. Come again!