Things turned from great to sad

I didn't post yesterday simply because I didn't have the energy. We had an absolutely fabulously day Monday but things made a turn right after dinner when Anne got a call about her dog, Ginger. Ginger is one of my favorite dogs of all time.

She died suddenly and unexpectedly Monday night. Anne flew home Tuesday morning to be with her family. Ginger was one of the sweetest dogs I've ever known and I'll miss her. RIP sweet Ginger.
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The weather has been really beautiful the past 2 days and we had lots of indoor and outdoor activities. I'll start with the indoor.
​Laura made this baby quilt top for her niece's new baby. She used Mary Quilts' Quick Strippie. It's a great go-to pattern for baby quilts.

Here's a closeup of the fabrics she used. We were in another fabric store yesterday and she found the perfect Minkie-type fabric for the backing.
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Anne is working on a mandala applique quilt called Harmony. I can't find the pattern but, trust me, it's going to be stunning.
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She travels with the pieces to glue the edges down to prep for the applique.
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I even sewed more blocks. I'll get a count once I have them ironed.
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Monday started off with me, Chris and Ian taking a hike on Beech Mountain. We love this trail. It's never busy because it's not in the main part of the park. It's the closest trails to the place where we stay. (I almost said it's the closest to "our house". LOL), it's not too long, has good viewing points and has a little of every type of terrain. It's our go-to "first hike" trail.

I love these bare granite slab sections. This exists throughout the park. This one was one of the steep areas and there were other areas with granite steps and others with large rocks to scramble over.
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There are some easy sections.
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Some big granite slabs.
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There are areas where you can see that someone did a lot of work to move big granite slabs in place to be steps and bridges. You have to admit, that's a pretty fancy bridge! I can't imagine how they move these slabs through the woods and up the trails.
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Sometimes the granite can't be moved and the trail has to go around.
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In some sections we walk beneath giant rock walls and ledges and occasionally see a rock that may fall at any time.
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We spotted this interesting little plant that we have never seen before. I assume that it's some sort of fungi but I don't really know.

At the top we were rewarded with this beautiful view over Southwest Harbor.
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In the afternoon Chris and Anne floated while I waited for the car repair place to call me and tell me I need TWO wheel bearings replaced. I'm so glad I was able to get it to a shop and get the repair scheduled before we return home. It was getting louder as the time went on. Most shops up here have a minimum two week wait for repairs. It's also fortunate that we have 2 cars here!

These chair floats are the best! Ian, Laura, Chris and I floated again today for about 2 hours. It was glorious.
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I seem to be really popular with the dragonflies. Monday they were hanging out with me on the dock and yesterday I had at least a dozen of them land on me while I was out in the water. One even brought it's dinner and used me as a dining table. It was kind of gross and fascinating at the same time.
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Just before dinner Monday night, Anne and I took a nice kayak paddle around part of the pond. It was a beautiful evening and then it all went to hell after dinner.

Yesterday after Anne left we were all a little morose. We took a 3 mile walk in the neighborhood and spent the rest of the day reading and floating. The night was clear so we went to the dock around 10 to see the Milky Way.

​Today Ian and I plan to kayak the length of the pond and tomorrow we will probably get back on the trails.