Dennis...A Long Overdue Update

Doug's brother, Dennis, has been mentioned in several of my posts over the years; but I've recently felt that I needed to fill in the gap since my last mention of him. 

To briefly summarize, Dennis had his left leg amputated below the knee in 2014, due to complications from diabetes. It meant that he couldn't return to his apartment in Coldwater, Michigan because the structure couldn't be modified to accommodate a wheelchair. It fell to Doug and me to find an apartment for him so he would have a place to live when he was released from the hospital. 

We were so blessed to find Silver Star Apartments in Battle Creek, Michigan, adjacent to the Veterans Administration Medical Center there. The fully furnished apartments had been built to accommodate homeless veterans, of which Dennis was now one. And the cost was subsidized according to ability to pay. It was an answer to prayer. 

With the help of Home Health Aides, Dennis was able to live on his own at Silver Star until September of 2020, when, after a fall in his apartment, he was hospitalized for a time. Then he had to go to a skilled nursing facility for rehabilitation. Things went downhill from there. He was back and forth between the rehab facility and the hospital, losing ground steadily. 

He died on March 12, 2021. 

Dennis had three daughters but was divorced from their mother when the girls (who are now grown women but who we still refer to as "the girls") were about four and a half, two and a half, and one and a half. They moved to northern Michigan with their mother, and Doug and I had never really known them until all this began to happen with their dad. 

When Dennis had his leg amputation, the two older daughters came to see him in the hospital. The youngest had never really had an opportunity to know Dennis very well and was okay with leaving things that way. 

During the final few months of Dennis' life, Doug and I used social media to keep the girls up to date with the changes in their dad's health. As a result, our relationship with them began to strengthen. Now, although we are separated by several hours of travel, a healthy relationship with our three nieces is developing. 

Just recently, we all met at Dennis' gravesite, in commemoration of his birthday, after which we all went to Station 66, where we could sit at a picnic table in the shade of a tree and visit for as long as we liked over ice cream treats.

Before we parted that day, the youngest daughter, who had been essentially estranged from our side of the family for most of her life, suggested that we get together again before winter. It made my heart beat with joy. 

Family is important!

In the above photo, that furry little blob of black and white is the pet skunk of Daughter #1.

Catching Up

This post will cover an assortment of pictures and life updates that haven't been mentioned here since I've cut way back on my blogging. 

I'm going to begin with my oldest great-nephew, Curtis. The last time I posted anything about Curtis was in 2015, when he graduated from high school. That's largely because, with his involvement with college and the activities that go along with that period in the life of a young adult, I didn't see him again until his wedding last year. And now he's a daddy. I'm still trying to get my mind around that. But here are some pictures to prove the reality of it.

Curtis & Gaby on their wedding day

Proud parents of newborn baby, Magnolia Thea

Curtis' First Father's Day as a Father

Gaby and her new daughter

The next three photos are from Ouabache State Park, one each from April, May, and June.

The Redbud trees are so glorious at the park in the spring.

This one was taken two and a half weeks after I'd had a total left hip replacement. Doug had fitted the walker with a footrest which allowed me to keep my feet elevated, thereby reducing the swelling.

Ouabache State Park is home to a small herd of American buffalo, the newest member of which is this little calf, born on June 6. She has become the most popular attraction at the park...or at least the most popular attraction in the buffalo pen.

The next picture was taken alongside the street leading to our house in the retirement community where we live. It's not a great photo, but I include it because a quail is a relatively rare sighting for us. They're generally shy and not seen out in the open like this.

Quail

Early Spring at Ouabache State Park

The last couple of weeks have provided so many interesting sights at Ouabache State Park that I couldn't resist sharing them here.

On March 5, about five o'clock in the evening, a pod of about 16 American White Pelicans floated majestically over our heads and settled on the park's Kunkel Lake. We had never seen pelicans in northeast Indiana, although I understand they do make appearances in the area during their spring migration. They stayed clustered together as a tight group, and the Canada geese that consider the lake their own didn't seem to know what to make of this invasion. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera; and my cell phone wasn't up to the low-light challenge and the zoom required for decent pictures of the pelicans. But I'll post two pictures here anyway. If you can't see the birds clearly...well, use your imagination.

During today's visit to the park, a Pileated Woodpecker stayed in one place long enough to provide a rare opportunity to get some photos and even a video.

When we reached our usual parking spot by the lake, we were astounded by a deafening chorus of frogs croaking. At first, we thought it must be tree frogs making all the noise; but, in the end, we discovered that the entire chorus was originating from an area where recent rains had left puddles of water. Following is a still photo of one frog and a video of the "chorus."

We have also been seeing some Ring-necked Ducks on the lake this spring. Here are a couple of images as well as a video. The video includes a small skirmish between two of the male ducks.

And, lastly, Indiana's state bird, the Northern Cardinal, male and female.

Autumn at Ouabache State Park

Just a few images from November 2, 2021, at Ouabache State Park, near Bluffton, Indiana, to remember the now-faded fall colors. 

Eastern Bluebird

Ouabache State Park is home to a fair number of Eastern Bluebirds; but, even though we go there frequently, it's rare for us to see one of these birds that is willing to pose for photographs. We were blessed last Thursday, when this little guy perched in one spot for several minutes.

I'm so glad I had my camera close at hand.

April Snow

I abandoned this blog two years ago; and, for the most part, I've been content with that decision. Yet I sometimes had something that I would have liked to post here. Posting on Facebook just doesn't seem as satisfying to me as posting here on the blog. So I'm back. I don't know for how long or how often I'll post. I don't know if anyone else will see the photos or read the words; but this is something I enjoy doing, whether anyone else sees it or not.

We had a rare April snowfall this week. The snow came down the night of April 20. And the next day dawned brightly. I knew that I had to get out and get some pictures of the neighborhood before the sun melted the beauty away. Here are the results.

Our House

Great Sand Dunes National Park...And An Announcement

Our final sightseeing stop on our Last Hurrah trip out west in October was a very brief one at Great Sand Dunes National Park, near Alamosa, Colorado, on Monday, October 15. It was brief because we were homing. We'd had enough of motels to last us for awhile.

So, really, this visit to Great Sand Dunes involved only a few photos from the road to the Visitor Center and the scenery visible from the area around the Visitor Center. We didn't take time to do any deeper exploring.

Approaching Great Sand Dunes

One doesn't normally expect to find sand dunes so far from large bodies of water or nestled at the base of snow-capped mountain peaks or containing dunes in excess of 700 feet tall, all of which combine to make this a special place indeed.

The main dune field, at its widest point, runs six miles and, at its greatest length, eight miles.

The Sangre de Cristo Mountains provide a stunning backdrop to the dunes.

To lend perspective to the size of the dunes, those tiny specks on and at the base of the dunes are people.

And thus concludes the saga of our Last Hurrah trip out west. Thank you all for letting me share the memories with you.

And now the announcement. I've decided to retire from blogging. This will be my last post. It's impossible to adequately express my appreciation to all the bloggers who have encouraged and supported me since I started this journey back in 2010. Many of those special people are no longer blogging, and I've lost contact with them. Some of you, however, have been faithful encouragers almost from the beginning. Others have come along more recently. But all are truly appreciated. Each one has been a blessing, and I'll miss you.

As for the blog itself, my plan is to leave it active for now.

So my friends, thank you and farewell. May God greatly bless you and yours.

The End

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park

Our tour of Monument Valley on October 14, 2018, was truly a highlight of our Last Hurrah trip in October. The drive from Blanding, Utah south to Monument Valley is, itself, stunningly beautiful.

Approaching Monument Valley

Can you see the tour bus and all the people standing in the middle of the road in the above photo? That marks the exact location where Forrest Gump ended his cross-country run in the movie of the same name. Those folks standing in the middle of the road are attempting to capture that iconic image featured in the film.

The View from the Visitor Center

On a previous visit here, Doug and I opted not to spend the money for a tour of the valley that would get us up close and personal with these impressive sandstone monuments. But, since this was our Last Hurrah, we hired a tour guide this time. It was definitely worth it. The following images were captured on that tour. Look at how tiny the cars appear in the photos, to get a better perspective on the size of the monuments.

The picture above isn't a great photo. I included it because it shows some Navajo hogans. There are a few Navajo families still living in Monument Valley in these traditional dwellings.

Big Hogan

We spent more time at Big Hogan than we did anywhere else on the tour. Our tour guide, Tony, had a drum and drumstick with him and played and sang a couple of Navajo songs here, where the acoustics were great. 

Sun's Eye

Ear-of-the-Wind

The Totem Pole

My left hip and both knees were in very bad shape during this entire trip, but they reached new levels of pain and stiffness on the day of our Monument Valley tour. Originally, the vehicle for the tour was to have been an open-air vehicle, but they substituted the truck seen in the photo of Tony, Doug, and me because of cold temperatures (46° F) and strong winds, creating blowing dust.

Six of us showed up for the tour. One couple dove for the two captains chairs in the middle. One tall man (Ed) took the front passenger seat for the leg room it offered. That left his wife (Wendee) and Doug and me to sit in the third-row bench seat. 

It was so difficult for me to even get into the truck that Doug had to do some pushing and praying. Finally, I was on my knees on the floor of the middle section, trying to figure out how I was going to get to that third-row seat. With the other two people already in the center seats, I had nothing to grab onto to try to pull myself up, and there just wasn't much room to allow me to crawl through the opening between those two captains chairs. It was ugly, I tell you.

Finally, I was in the back seat, by the window on the left side. Wendee was by the window on the right side, and Doug sat between us. I was doing some self-talk by then. I knew I'd never be able to get out to take pictures at any of the scenic stops along the way, so I decided that I'd just stay in the truck and enjoy the views through the window. Doug had our video camera, so I knew I'd be able to relive the trip later through his video.

As the tour began, our driver's cell phone rang. It turned out that the couple who had grabbed the middle seats were on the wrong tour. So Tony turned around to take them back to the Visitor Center to pick up their correct tour. And the other two people who were supposed to be on our tour didn't show up. So that meant there would just be Tony and four passengers. Hallelujah!

Ed still stayed up front with Tony. Wendee insisted that Doug and I take the middle section. She didn't mind sitting in the back, and her much younger (and thinner) body could navigate the process of getting in and out better than my somewhat older and stiffer (and not so thin) one could.

The tour was wonderful after that. A portable step was found that made my getting in and out of the truck something that I could do without a push and a prayer. Well, there may still have been a prayer. Exiting the truck from that center seat was just a matter of hanging my feet over the edge and sliding out. So I got along fine, even without the helping hand that Ed offered me at every stop.

Just to let you know, virtually all that pain and misery left my body unexpectedly about five weeks later. I still have some residual effects, both in the hip and in the knees; but I'm so, so much better than I was that day at Monument Valley. And I'm working at dropping some pounds, in hopes that my joints will forgive me for the stress I've put them through in recent years and will be nice to me from now until the Lord returns or calls me home.