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.

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?

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?

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.

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

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.

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.