Tomahawk

Wisconsin – Friday, June 7

Mickey and I enjoyed a leisurely start to the day, and went out for brunch before she headed to school to prep for teaching summer school classes, and Tula and I headed out for some walking. We started by the Tomahawk River Trail, and were ready to get in a few miles, but it was shorter than I thought – only 1 1/2 miles round trip! But I did see and smell some lilies-of-the-valley – one of my favorite flowers! Before heading out for another walking path, I shopped for my donation-of-the-day, which was going to be a Kinship Mentoring Program which Mickey is involved with. This is a program that pairs up adults with children who need an extra adult in their life for whatever reason, and the adults often stay involved with their student for quite a few years. The mentors and students generally meet once a week in addition to special activities, and the weekly meetings are called KinsClub, and they always need healthy snacks for the kids to enjoy during the get-together, and that’s what I went shopping for. I ended up with fruit snacks, granola bars, cheese and crackers, PB and crackers and raisins. The students are also involved in a “Kids Give Back” program, so that they start learning they don’t always get something for nothing – and they might clean yards for senior citizens, or clean up streets, or other community jobs. So I was happy to contribute a little to a program that has been helping kids for years. Mickey told me that one student who had been a part of the program for years recently returned and made a $500 donation in gratitude for what the program did for her.

When I was done shopping for the snacks, Tula and I headed out for another walk along an old railroad trail, passing some huge lilac bushes (my other favorite flower!) in full bloom along the way. At first we headed in the less-traveled direction on the trail, but the mosquitoes were really bad, so we turned and went in the other direction where the grass was cut short, or the path was dirt. A deer walked in front of us for a while, and then I laughed when I passed a sign that said “Caution – Students on Trail” like they were some sort of wild animal! (There was a school nearby.) We walked until we came to a road outside of town, with a sidewalk, and then we circled back through town and neighborhoods back to Mickey’s house. Altogether we walked 5 miles, and Tula did well with the distance. It’s a good thing I walked a couple extra miles earlier in the week!

Once Mickey got back, we started getting ready to head for Marquette, MI for the weekend for a couple of fun family events. We fortified ourselves with pie and ice cream, then had an uneventful 3-4 hour drive to Marquette. The best sight along the way was a big, majestic eagle standing guard over a deer carcass by the side of the road.