Dogged Blog

So, is this poison ivy? Or not?

I recognize poison oak no problem, but here in the Midwest they have poison IVY, which I've never seen. But I know I have it on my property, because I have that familiar rash I associate with poison oak.

I've been staring at photos of poison ivy, and not only do none of them look exactly like any plant I have here, none of them look exactly like each other. So obviously poison ivy, like Lady Gaga, has more than one "look."

So tell me, Midwesterners and Easterners and anyone else from the lands where poison ivy roams free... is this or is this not the plant?

My dog is not a very large turkey, and neither am I

This is not the first time I've lived in hunting country, so when a friend told me that it's not just deer, but spring turkey season I need to be concerned about out here, I broke out the blaze orange gear for me and the dogs.

It worked fine until now; none of us has been shot. :)

However, I did hear some shots in the far distance today, and realized one thing I don't have, coming from coastal California: Blaze orange stuff I can wear when it's 77 degrees and muggy!

I don't mean the dogs; they have collars, bandanas and even mesh vests, although on Rawley, the orange mesh looks red and so,  not useful.

I mean ME. I have a blaze orange knit cap, and a blaze orange warm jacket. I see people around here in sort of a harness -- not quite sure what I'd call it -- but since spring turkey hunting season is over in two days, I guess I'll just stay out of the woods!

My plans for the holiday weekend? De-boxing!

I don't know if I'm ready to call it getting "settled," but I'm down to these last few boxes. My goal is to get them unpacked by the end of the weekend.

It's cold and raining, which I actually enjoy, but I feel bad for all the Michiganders who lived through a long winter only to spend their Memorial
day weekend like this!

The view from a desk in Michigan

This is the view I see from my desk in my new office in Michigan.

How do I insure the contents of my rental truck while I'm moving cross-country?

I am SERIOUSLY frustrated. I'm pretty good at Google, you know, but I can't find the answer to a very simple question: How do I insure the stuff I'm taking in my U-Haul from California to Michigan against theft?

U-Haul's insurance covers pretty much everything EXCEPT theft. I don't have homeowner's insurance, so what I need is a standalone policy to cover my stuff while I'm en route.

Since I'm surely not the only person to face this particular problem, clearly I'm missing something. What is it? Can anyone help me?

Me and the dogs are hitting the road!

So, guess who's going on a big-ass road trip? Me and the dogs!

That's right, I'm loading up the mini-van and hitting the road with Rawley and Kyrie. We're leaving in May and will be spending our summer months in Michigan on a beautiful four-acre property situated loosely between my friend Dawn's home in the suburbs of Detroit and Rawley's ancestral home at Lehigh Deerhounds a little north of there.

This isn't my first stay in the Midwest -- I went to college there -- but it will be my first since then. I've already checked in with the Southeast Michigan raw feeders' group, and felt very welcomed (although I do think they believe me to be insane, LOL). A few Midwestern friends direly informed me that I won't be able to find the kind of food I'm used to in California, but Michigan actually has the second largest number of sustainable farms after California, and the list at Eat Wild proves it!

I'm kind of dreading the actual drive, and the fact that my stuff and me are not likely to arrive at the same time -- I showed Kyrie when she was young and she was great in hotels, but this will be a first for the Rawls!

Anyway, I created a photo album of our "new" house on Flickr...  take a look!