May | 2021 | Change Is Hard

May 30, 2021
by dawnkinster 23 Comments

Memorial Weekend Musings

I recognize that not everyone has a National Cemetery close at hand to visit. And I know I just shared with you the one near me.

But that was before volunteers placed flags on the graves of our veterans. Flags that glow when the sun is just rising on the Sunday before Memorial Day.

And because you couldn’t all get there I decided to go for you, and for me, to see those glowing flags and reflect for a moment or two what it all means.

What does it mean, on this Memorial Day weekend, that so many people are on opposite sides of so many issues leaving no middle ground to talk?

Yet, both sides profess to love this country, a country that allows for differences of opinions. Just, apparently, not those opinions so different than our own.

When you walk among the white headstones in the early morning light, alone with no sound but the birds and a distant train, you have to wonder if we’re all so very different. If maybe, rather than different, we’re just stubborn.

Still. I know it’s complicated, I have strong opinions too. Things that seem so obvious to me. But, it turns out, things seem obvious to the other side too.

Talking louder doesn’t make you right. Or wrong for that matter. Just louder.

In this quiet place, on this quiet morning louder seems obscene. Even the birds and animals that roam here at night are quietly moving to the outskirts as the sun comes up, willing to give the place back to the humans for their special day. We might learn from them how to share the world.

Live and let live. Both sides. Everyone.

It’s easier to listen in the quiet, and it’s quiet out here. So many people, so many families represented. So many stories to be told if we care to listen.

The folks out here cared enough to give a part, or the whole, of their lives to keep this country safe. And strong. We should care enough not to harm it now. We need to stop yelling, trying to make our point, and quiet ourselves the better to listen.

*Sometimes it’s hard to let the light in.*

So many people are missed this holiday weekend. So many families bear the burden and deserve our respect and understanding.

*Dreams, achieved or not, make the world worth living.*

Both sides must move toward the middle in order to preserve what these families gave to us.

Both sides.

*Life is made of shadows and light together.*

It’s a choice we each have to make within ourselves. Find a quiet place this weekend and think about what it all means to you.

And if your family is missing someone today…know that we’re all out here sending you hugs.

May 28, 2021
by dawnkinster 11 Comments

Weekly smile

I have so many things to smile about this week, so many that there’s not enough time to sort through them all.

*“A guy can’t get any privacy around here.”*

As you have likely guessed I was camping way over by Lake Michigan again. Lots of pictures to sort through. Not enough time.

*“If I stay still, she’ll take that blasted camera out of here.”*

So this week I’ll stick to things around the house that have made me smile. You will note I don’t show you the garden as the grass and weeds infiltrating it do not make me smile.

*“Hurry, children! They’re watching us from both sides!”*

But my little friends sure did!

*“I don’t think you’re doing that right down there!”*

May 27, 2021
by dawnkinster 29 Comments

Joyous Lilacs

I’ve seen pictures of the Pt. Betsie lighthouse in lilac season. I’ve been covetous of those images because I’ve never seen it myself, never timed a visit to the lighthouse, one of my favorite places in this state, at exactly the right time.

*I always get a happy feeling, deep down inside, at the first sight of the Pt. Betsie beach.*

Yesterday, on my way home from a 3 night camping trip near the Sleeping Bear Dunes, I finally got to check that as done.

The lilacs were at their peak, the sky was cerulean blue with a few wispy white clouds, we were the only ones there.

Perfection.

*The view the other way was pretty striking too.*

I have many reason to love this lighthouse, one being it’s where my parents visited during their honeymoon in 1953, and where they went for their 50th wedding anniversary a year before they died.

*Gentle waves lapped at the base of the lighthouse.*

I like to sit and think about them there, and I hope they were close when I squealed at my first sight of the purple blooms against the white of the lighthouse.

*The iconic image. Even though I have hundreds of these I can’t resist this angle every single time I visit.*

I imagine they were, possibly, even squealing along.

May 21, 2021
by dawnkinster 20 Comments

Eagle search

In the past weeks we’ve seen stunning portraits of an eagle on Facebook, taken in the nearby Great Lakes National Cemetery. There’s a nest out there, says the photographer, so I thought I might head out early one morning and see if I could find the noble family too.

I got to the cemetery a little after six, just as the sun was beginning to think about emerging. There was no one out there but me and the stirring wildlife, moving quietly in the mist rising from the water into the cool morning air.

*The sound of geese wings were the only noise on this beautiful early morning.*

I drove to the very back of the cemetery which borders on a small lake. The photographer had said he parked at the back and walked across a field. I could see there was a newly plowed field adjacent to the very back of the cemetary.

How hard could it be to find an eagle’s nest?

*Early spring in Michigan, the colors almost look like fall.*

I tromped around that field with my feet getting increaingly wet and muddy. I saw plenty of spots I thought an eagle’s nest should be, but I never found the nest.

On my way past the lake again, headed toward the car, the rising sun was making the mist glow.

And the grave markers were beginning to glow too, hit from the east with the first direct rays of the day. Row by row names were being iluminated, making the sheer size of the loss overwhelmingly obvious.

I decided that was enough to call the photo shoot a success.

Even though I never saw an eagle.

May 19, 2021
by dawnkinster 32 Comments

Reunion in the woods

After more than a year of near isolation, this week I was finally able to travel to Ann Arbor to visit my Aunt. We used to get together regularly, to attend concerts and theater, to walk in gardens or around her neighborhood. But since February of 2020 we’ve only connected on the phone.

*Backlit may apple blossom hiding under the leaves.*

But we’re both fully vacinated and when the CDC lifted some restrictions we both felt comfortable meeting for a walk through the woods.

*I’m not sure what this plant is. It was tall, with small leaves on the flower stem, but larger leaves at the ground.*

She said she’s been walking at a metropark and that the dogwood was gorgeous this year. I hadn’t noticed dogwood in my woods yet so I was excited to see it for myself.

*The yellow flowers were beautiful around this bench.*

It was a Monday, when most people were working, so we had the woods to ourselves. The sun was shining, and it was warm enough to take off the sweatshirt early in our walk.

*Happy little violets were tucked away everywhere.*

We had such a lovely time, chatting and bringing each other up to date on things we’d been doing during the pandemic year.

*Little vignettes like this were easy to find.*

The woods glowed for us, with trillium….

*Not the sweeping waves of trillium of last week, but elegant in it’s own way.*

…and wild geranium….

…and even several jack in the pulpit plants!

But it was the dogwood that stole the show. It was everywhere toward the end of our walk. I loved the shapes…

*A hint of color, but a distinctive shape in silhouette.*

I loved the color.

I loved the optimism that dogwood provides, proof summer is on the way.

Everything in the woods that day made me smile, but what made me smile the most was finally spending time with my Aunt. That’s priceless.

Wordless Wednesday

May 19, 2021 by dawnkinster 8 Comments

May 17, 2021
by dawnkinster 32 Comments

Remembering Ricky

Katie here.

Mama said I could get on her blog to tell you about my buddy Ricky who crossed the Rainbow Bridge last week. He was one of the original dogs with blogs, and mama found his blog years and years ago when we were all youngsters. There were a bunch of shelties with blogs back then — Ricky and Misty and Miley and Reilly and Ludo and Morgan.

Mama thinks there were more, but she can’t think straight when her eyes are leaking.

Anyway, we noticed Ricky right away because he was such a dapper little man. So much sophistication in such a little package. Mama likes to call him Little Ricky, because he was tiny.

But he had a big personality.

Ricky had fun with agility, but he liked to do it his way. His mom worked and worked to speed him up, but Ricky was his own guy and took those obstacles at a speed he deemed appropriate. Especially, as we remember, the dogwalk where he liked to survey the entire facility as he moved arcross the top. Ricky, always so elegant, never felt there was a need to hurry.

Ricky was really good at learning tricks too, and for a time he learned a new trick every week. His mom posted videos of his latest accomplishments and we were always so impressed! He learned to hold things in his mouth, and spin to the left and the right, to play dead, and so much more. He was so smart, and he made mama and lots of other people smile every week.

In fact, Ricky was something of a celebrity, he had so many people that enjoyed watching him learn new things. I told mama that we should try to meet him, and she said she’d see if she could arrange it. And guess what? I got to visit Ricky two times! It isn’t often that a girl from a small town gets to meet one of her idols in real life, you know?

In fact, visiting Ricky was one of my very first big adventures, cause they lived hours away from me and in a different state and everything! It was on a trip to visit Ricky that I proved to mama that I was a good traveler!

Ricky was such a gracious host. He shared his house and his people and his beautiful yard with me without any protest. He was such a cool dude, we got along great because we ignored each other most of the time. He didn’t even get mad when I drank out of his waterbowl!

He was so polite and nice to me that when we stayed over night at his house I decided to invite him into our bedroom (OK, it was really his room, but he let us stay there) to do obedience with mama and me so that he could get some treats from her too. Ricky really loved treats.

And that first visit he took me in his car to one of his parks! I was so excited! Ricky, of course, was too cool to be excited about a car ride with a silly girl.

It was a very very beautiful park with a little stream at the bottom of a big gorge. We walked and walked, with lots of sniffing thrown in. Wherever Ricky sniffed, I sniffed; he was sharing all the best stuff with me!

And when we climbed back out of the ravine there were beautiful gardens and we sat close to each other on this little wall so the moms could take pictures. He was much more patient than I was with the whole picture taking thing. This was way before I contracted with mama about the one picture, one treat clause, so we ended up sitting for way too many pictures for way too few treats. But Ricky never got upset.

He was such a special boy.

I visited him a second time, and by then he had a little sister who was, of course, bigger than he was. We all went to a park together again and had a wonderful time. Ricky was so patient with all the girls, his mom, my mama, his sister and me.

I am so sad that Ricky had to go on ahead. But I can imagine him exploring the whole place, and finding the best sniffing spots, and where all the good treats are. And I bet he’s found Ludo and Reilly and Denny and Morgan and Misty too by now. Just picture it, all those shelties running and laughing and enjoying snacks. All those sheltie smiles as they play together while they wait for the rest of us to arrive.

It’s got to be one amazing place, over the Rainbow Bridge. I wish he could have stayed here with his mom and dad and sister, but I know he’s happy there too. He may have been a little guy, but he sure shouldered a whole lot of love from all of us who knew him.

See you later, Little Ricky. I’m so glad I got to meet you, and I’ll never forget your friendship. You were and always will be one classy dude.

-Love, your pal forever, Katie.

May 14, 2021
by dawnkinster 30 Comments

The next day

When I left you last, we had just spent the late afternoon exploring Trillium Hill and some of the backroads around Leelanau County. The next morning I lounged around in bed for a bit, enjoying the view from my window. It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day.

After we spent some time tickling orange tummies, we headed back out to see what we would find.

Since we had seen Trillium Hill with the sun going down behind it, we wondered what it would look like with the morning light on it’s face. We were not disappointed.

*Happy flowers with the morning sun warming them.*

At first I thought I’d just take a general shot from the road. After all, I had all those images from the day before. And who, really, needs more than a few dozen pictures of white flowers?

*The cowslips (or marsh marigolds) liked the morning light too.*

Well. I just couldn’t resist, because the light was different in the morning, and everything looked fresh and happy.

We probably stayed way too long there, but after all, we’re both retired. What better way to spend a morning than among acres of flowers?

*Another little pretty, hiding among all that white.*

Eventually we left the magic hillside to see what else was out there. Turns out there was a lot. But first we stopped at a winery to pick up a few bottles and enjoy the view.

*I loved the layers, from the dandelions to the grape vines to the two colors of orchards and the tall trees behind.*

Then we wandered, on conservatory trails, through woods just waking up to spring.

*How could you resist following this trail?*

Spring was enjoying a resurgence, but sometimes you had to look carefully.

We spent a lot of time in the woods. But we also drove on a lot of roads, looking for pretty stuff. It wasn’t hard to find things to stop for.

*Roads meander through such beauty that I can’t believe people don’t drive off the road just looking at everything.*

But mostly we kept our eyes open while we traipsed through the woods. We saw bleeding heart…

…and more Jack in the pulpit…

…and lots of regular stuff just bursting open in joy.

It was my last full day in the north, in the morning I’d be heading home, sad to be leaving but so very glad I’d been able to see spring in my favorite part of the state.

Usually my visit here is all about the lake. Or the stars. But this time it was more about the land. And what glorious land it is! I saw lots of good stuff on my drive home too, but it’s hard to top cherry blossoms and trillium.

They sure made me smile.

May 13, 2021
by dawnkinster 22 Comments

Trillum, cherry blossoms and a barn or two

There’s no better place to spend a weekend then in Michigan’s little finger, and I was lucky enough to spend last weekend there at the home of a friend. This trip had a specific purpose, to see Trillium Hill and cherry orchards in bloom.

*What’s that over there? Could it be a barn??*

But first I had a several hour drive up and across the middle of the lower peninsualia of Michigan. Right through farm country.

Plus I was lucky enough to have some pretty interesting skies which kept taking me off the freeway and on to back roads looking for that perfect combination of barn and sky. I kept promising myself that I’d get back on the road and stop stopping. But it was hard.

*This was my favorite barn on the trip north.*

When I eventually made it to Traverse City, still half an hour from my destination, the storm front I’d had so much fun photographing had gone through, the temperatures had dropped into the mid 30s, (-1.11F), and the wind had picked up. On the 7th of May sleet was hitting my windshield.

*Traverse Bay didn’t look very inviting.*

Things didn’t look promising for a photoshoot of flowers or orchards! But by late afternoon the sun was beginning to peek through clouds and temperatures, though not balmy, at least weren’t freezing. Still, we put on our winter coats, hats and gloves as we headed out to Trillium Hill.

*Waves and waves of trillum lit by a sinking sun.*

The hill is covered in acres of white blossoms and the lowering sun softened the light, making them glow.

*Trillums, the state flower in Michigan, as far as you could see.*

It was unlike anything I’d ever seen. And though you’d think there were only so many pictures to take of trilliums, you’d be wrong. There were infinite ways to try to capture the moment, and I tried to get them all.

I didn’t want to miss the cowslips along a small creek at the base of the hill…

…or the jack in the pulpit that gleamed in the evening light.

*I loved the light shining through the leaves.*

And of course, the stars of the show, the hundreds and hundreds, the thousands of trillum as far as the eye could see. There was simply no way to encompass the entirity, it was almost hard for me to believe it was real, and I was standing in the middle of it all.

Eventually we tore ourselves away from the hill and went looking for cherry orchards in bloom. Luckily there were still some puffy white clouds just begging to be used as a backdrop.