I Like Thursday #173

 Welcome to my 173rd I like Thursday post.  What is I Like Thursday?  It is a day we share things we like/love with others.  How did it start?  LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color started rounding up different bloggers and began encouraging us to share, and put a bit of positive out into the universe.

I like having 2 days off in a row!  I know to most people that is a gimme, but for me over the past 21 months it has been few and far between.  What did I get done?  Laundry--washed, and folded, changed bedding, swept, and mopped both the kitchen and dining room, gave Bobbin a bath.  Processed beets for refrigerator beets, read a little, sewed a little, and went on some walks.  ( I know to many, again it is like what is the big deal?)  If you have ever worked overnights, and had split days off you would truly understand that it feels like no days off.  

Not a lot to share, but I saw this and thought it was awesome!

I saw these cute dog collars for Halloween.  

 Bobbin and I went for a hike today.  I have learned, Bobbin's distance is about 1.25 miles.  After that, she is just done.  The hike started out very windy, so no need for repellent, but when the wind died down whoo whee the bugs were horrendous.  I am glad I took Bobbin's back pack.  We got a name tag to go with the pack.  It was fun choosing colors, threads, and the fonts. 

We hiked along the Lower Huron Metro Park Path.  The path was paved, very busy, not many walkers but lots of bikers.  

The path winds along the Huron River.  Past some wetlands.

Through a field of goldenrod.

There was a neat thistle. 

Field Thistle also known as Cirsium discolor.  

Through some woodlands and we spotted a Woodland Sunflower

 

Helianthus divaricatus.

By a pioneer cemetery.

Nowland Cemetery was a cemetery for the Nowland family, an early pioneer family.

Near the cemetery gates were bunches of Orpine.

I hiked about 3.2 miles.  Bobbin hiked about 1.2, she then road the rest of the way in the backpack.  I will say that adding 12 lbs when you are hiking gives you quite the workout, especially when there are hills.

Oh the places you go when you read a book.  You can time travel, visit exotic lands, and meet new and exciting people all virtually!

A Dream of Death by Connie Berry.  Kate Hamilton has returned to Scotland's Isle of Rothsay to attend a tartan ball.  The return is bittersweet because the Isle is where her husband died, but Kate is determined to mend her relationship with her sister in law who owns and operates a hotel which was once the family estate.  When a body turns up, murdered in a similar fashion to a 200 year unsolved crime Kate is determined to unwind the mystery.  

Beaches, Bungalows and Burglaries by Tonya Krappes.  When Mae West's husband is jailed for a Ponzi scheme her lavish lifestyle of the super rich comes to a screeching halt.  Mae goes from driving a Maserati to a (gasp!) old, dilapidated motor home, and the only thing she owns is a campground called Happy Trails in Normal, Kentucky.  Mae goes to Normal with the intentions of selling Happy Trails, to only discover it is run down and inhabited by quiet the colorful crew of people, and Mae also discovers her husband took advantage of many of them too.  Mae's ex husband is soon found floating in the slime infested lake, and it is up to Mae to clear her name, and try to make good for all the bad her ex husband has done.  

Deserts, Driving, & Derelicts is book 2 in the Campers & Criminals Cozy Mystery Series by Tonya Kappes.  In this book Mae West has spiffed up Happy Trails near Daniel Boone National Forest, to the point where they are in National Park Magazine.  The local laundromat is where the ladies of Normal gather to play games, gossip, delve out advice and they even have a book club.  Mae helps Betts Hager with her cleaning business she meets up with the cutest little poodle that has her own nanny, and ends up with custody of the pampered pooch, and discovers the nanny has been murdered.   Mae is determined to find the killer and clear her childhood friend that has dropped in to see her.

The Satanic Mechanic by Sally Andrew is the 2nd book in the Tannie Maria Mysteries.  Tannie Maria is a newspaper columnist turned advice columnist in a small town in South Africa.  When a local celebrity environmentalist Slimkat is killed at a festival Tannie Maria much to the consternation of her boyfriend and police office Hank is determined to find the killer, after being visited by a Kudu.  

A Solitude of Wolverines by Alice Henderson takes place in Montana.  Biologist Alex Carter is sent to Montana to a wildlife preserve that was once a popular ski resort to track and count wolverines.  When Alex sees something on one of her trail cameras that just doesn't seem right, then her traps are destroyed, followed by Alex being ran off the road there is more going on that poachers, and local cattleman who are angry about grazing rights.  Alex discovers a severely injured man, but after hiking down the mountain to get help, he is no where to be found, Alex soon becomes the hunted.  

I read several books which take place in 1890's New York and feature Midwife Sarah Brandt, and gruff Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy.  This series written by Victoria Thompson has been very good and I am looking forward to reading more in the series. 

Another new to me author with a book set in the gilded age is Rosemary Simpson with the book What the Dead Leave Behind.  The story takes place during The Great Blizzard of 1888 and Prudence MacKenzie is waiting for her fiance; Charles to call, only to receive a message that he perished during the blizzard due to a freak accident.  A branch fell off a tree and hit him, knocking him out and he froze to death.  Geoffrey Hunter, a former Pinkerton and Attorney from the South, and best friend of Charles determines that the Ace of Spades discovered in Charles' hand at his time of death is a warning that things aren't what they appear.  An inheritance, evil stepmother and other sinister forces are at work for sure.  

Now head over to  LeeAnna's at Not Afraid of Color and check out the other I Like Thursday posts.