T Stands for Taking Out the Dock

 Hi everyone. It's another Monday night/Tuesday and time for T again over at Bleubeard's and Elizabeth's blog . 

We've started our winterizing chores. It's that time of year already.  Back on the last day of September it was time to take the dock out of the water at my mother-in-law's home. It needs to come out because otherwise the ice can damage it during the winter or even more likely, crush it when the ice comes out in the spring. During ice-out you get a lot of moving sheets of ice, and they can slam into the dock hard enough to do a lot of damage. Some people run bubblers ( pumps that circulate water) so ice won't form around their docks, but the dock at my mother-in-law's is built to be removed. It just takes a couple of people.

That Saturday was a really nice day to remove the dock. The air wasn't too cold; the water was beautifully calm, and you can even see some of the leaves were just starting to turn.

My daughter and her husband came to help us take out the dock. The dogs had to be part of the excitement also.

Once all the top boards were removed, the frame and the stairs had to be pulled out of the water. This required someone to get wet.

Here my daughter is giving Miss Maddie some attention, and my son-in-law was unscrewing the dock frame so it could be lifted out. There's even a bottle of Diet Coke on the table for T day. 

 Mr. Pete was jealous of Miss Maddie getting all of the attention, and he had plow his way in for a pat or two-smile.

The hubby was the one who went into the lake this year. He said it wasn't even that cold yet.

Then the dock frame gets yanked out of the water and stored on land until next season.

Here's a portrait of the back-to-normal and healthy Miss Maddie. ❤ You might remember she had an accident getting out of the boat back on September 1 during which she popped a hole in her bladder as well as inhaled some salt water. I'm very happy she's all healed and back to herself. She even goes back to doggie daycare on T day this week. She'll be thrilled to see all her doggie friends. 

Below she is wondering (now that the dock is gone) how she is going to use the stairs to get in and out of the lake. Well, who knows what she is really thinking about, but she's definitely a dog who might think about that. 

And then we pulled the stairs out, and I guess Maddie was disappointed.  Grin. Not that the missing stairs will keep her out of the lake. She goes down the side of the hill and just walks in along the rocky shore. In fact, she'll go in the lake as long as there is any open water, including when there is still ice on the lake (in the spring) and there is some open water right on the shoreline.

When the dock was out we all went to grab a late lunch at a nearby restaurant, except obviously the dogs who had to wait in the truck.

Here you can see some drinks on the table including my husband's beer and some waters.

I  had my  pumpkin head beer with a cinnamon sugar rim which is seasonal and only available in the fall.   

And here's my lunch/dinner, which was also my dinner the next night. I had a shepherd's pie (yes made with lamb) and a caraway seed muffin. You can also see my beer, some waters and the empty sangria glass my daughter had.

It was a good day, and nice to have my daughter and son-in-law visit.

I hope everyone has a great T day and week ahead too.