I was in Mackinaw City yesterday. It’s famous for lots of things, the Mackinac Fort, Mackinac Island, the Mackinac Bridge.
And the fudge.
Good stuff in here.
I stopped there on my way home from the Upper Peninsula specifically to do a storefront photo for Cee’s challenge. Not to buy fudge.
Of course not.
I’m home now. It feels kind of comfortable here. And warm, not to mention dry. Still…the memories of five days in the woods remain. Want to see a little bit?
The first day and night was spent with a friend at Pigeon River State Forest Campground. It turns out there are several campgrounds there, each of them small, many remote. We chose to stay one night at Round Lake which has ten sites. Only one other site was occupied. We had this beautiful place pretty much to ourselves.
Our campsite among the ferns on the shore of a small lake.
Pigeon River is in the northern part of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, about thirteen miles east of the very small town of Vanderbuilt. A couple of the campgrounds are set up for horse people, so if you love riding your horse through the woods, this might be the perfect place for you!
But I guess you’d like to take a tour, right? We did just that, taking a walk on what we thought was a trail marked on our map. We were very careful to pay attention to where we were, given we both have a propensity to lose track of things when we’re busy talking and catching up.
Turns out this wasn’t the trail at all.
We enjoyed beautiful blue skies and tall trees and soft ferns and lots and lots of wildflowers.
Indian paintbrush and daisies.
We even made a new friend while we were admiring an iris. As we hovered over the purple beauty at the side of a swampy ditch we heard a low growl. Startled we looked closer. Turns out we had ventured into the territory of this guy.
This is MY place ladies!
We moved on, enjoying the sunshine on the bright green ferns…
Just beyond the trees the sun made the ferns glow lime green.
…and the towering pine trees.
Tall trees made us feel tiny.
I bet you didn’t know there’s a herd of elk living in the region! I didn’t either. But our map (and the park ranger) pointed out a few places they like to hang out, especially at dusk. So as the sun got lower we jumped in the car and went ‘elk hunting.’
It was good we had a map. The roads back there are primarily unmarked dirt one lane tracks. We weren’t always on the road we thought we were on, but we could generally keep going in the direction we intended. Good thing we had a compass though because it was very easy to get turned around in the deep woods.
Wonder where this road goes?
We laughed as we sorted out our directions, heading to a place on the map that had an elk image. “You know, just because they put an elk on the map doesn’t mean they’re going to be waiting right there for us.” “This is probably a wild goose chase.” “I don’t think we’re actually on the right road.” “What are the odds we even see any?”
We came upon a break in the tall trees – a large open meadow. My friend said “You’d think this would be the kind of place they’d hang out.” as we both turned to look out the right side of the car.
And there, at the back of the meadow, were three of them.
They stared at us. We stared back. “You have the long lens! Quick get the shot!” she said to me. “I can’t figure out how to roll the window down!” I replied in a panic. (It was her car.) Somehow she got the window down, I got the camera up, and this is what we saw:
What you looking at ladies?
Seeing the elk was the highlight of the first day of my adventure. But we also enjoyed building a fire and sitting around it talking. I loved the way the trees turned into art as night overtook us.
Navy trees surround the lake.
A serenade of frogs woke us early, and after a night sleeping under the stars we enjoyed watching the sun touch the tips of the trees above us while we were still snug in our tent. It was a gorgeous new morning.
Good morning!
The lake mirrored the blue sky. We spent some time just sitting and enjoying the peace and beauty.
Round Lake.
We sat and listened to nature all around us. The frogs. The birds. The wind in the trees. And we commented that all of this would continue after we were gone. That when we were stressed by life we could remember Round Lake and smile.
I loved this visitor’s shadow.
Peace at Round Lake. Definitely a good start to my adventure. Day two coming up!
The zen of a campfire.
I was in Mackinaw City yesterday. It’s famous for lots of things, the Mackinac Fort, Mackinac Island, the Mackinac Bridge.
And the fudge.
Good stuff in here.
I stopped there on my way home from the Upper Peninsula specifically to do a storefront photo for Cee’s challenge. Not to buy fudge.
Of course not.
.
See me? I’m about 5 dogs in from the left.
I did not invite all these other beautiful dogs to my park! I am supposed to be the supreme princess! The most beautiful sheltie around! It’s supposed to be all about me! Me me me me me!
One lady. Lots of shelties.
Ahem.
I had to go to the groomer to get beautiful just for this party, and that’s not fair either. But I’ll stop complaining now.
Emily Ann was the star of the party!
Because actually it was pretty interesting. My dad even went! I mostly sat under the picnic table while he talked to some people that had two shelties. The three of us hung out together under the table. We got along just fine by ignoring each other.
Lots of sheltie smiles.
In fact I was content to ignore all the other shelties but not my mama! Oh no, she had to go meet them all. I watched her sit down on the ground with some of them and pet them and tickle their tummies and I wasn’t jealous at all because I had my dad.
One of the only pictures of ME!
My mama didn’t even take very many pictures of me! Can you imagine that? She was busy taking pictures of all the other shelties. She kept saying things like “Wow, that’s a beautiful dog!” and ” oh look at that one!” You’d think I’d get a complex or something.
Sheltie kisses.
But I didn’t, because lots of people thought I was beautiful too, and offered me treats which I politely refused. Until my mama took me for a walk and I met one lady sitting on a blanket. There were dog treats on that blanket! Her dog Sadie hadn’t eaten them, so I scarfed them up. Always willing to help out you know. Then she gave me a big treat and I chopped it right down.
Lots of sheltie lovers.
But then I did a bad thing.
Sadie came by and sniffed my butt and I turned around and nipped at her. My mama was mortified. And as our parents were pulling us apart I nipped at her again! Well! Sadie is only a puppy and my mama said I should have had better manners.
Sadie and her mom.
I was getting tired and hot by then and when we went back to daddy I nipped at another dog. So mama and daddy said that was quite enough and we went home. Mama says I have shown my true colors and now she knows to keep better watch on me.
Whatever that means.
I thought the party was interesting but I just got too warm and too tired and that made me cranky. A princess does not like to be sniffed so much. A princess is supposed to be kept cool and hydrated and well fed. I didn’t even have my princess pillow! I mean really, what were they thinking?
Sadie and a new friend.
Anyway. I’m sorry I nipped at those dogs and I’ll try to be a better sheltie-citizen in the future. Meanwhile, I think all the dogs had a good time and I’m glad mama and daddy took me.
Cookie has the right idea. Time for a nap!
Time for a nap now.
Pet me! Pet me!!
Happily spreading cheer.
And then I forgot all about it.
But this year, as he and I were perusing the local nursery, considering what to put into the pots outside the front door, I saw it again. Lantana in beautiful and cheerful colors.
Love these colors together.
And I thought of my mom who used to grow it in a small garden out by the driveway of her Alabama home. How it reseeded itself every year, tolerated drought, how deer didn’t eat it. So we bought some.
Such interesting shapes.
And now, every time I go in or out of our front door I think of my mom. I think she would have enjoyed the colors and the shapes. The interesting buds that turn into intricate blossoms. They would have made her smile.
They make me smile too.
When Katie and I camped in northern Michigan over on Lake Huron we had a great time even though we had to cut the trip short due to rain.
Ship chugging along the horizon at sunrise.
But when she was telling you all about it she focused on herself. As befits a princess I guess.
Our first day was beautiful.
Still, there were plenty of pretty things up there that you didn’t get to see because they weren’t always about her.
Loved how the lake disappeared into the morning sky.
There was beauty in the big expanse of the space, and tiny things too.
Is this a buttercup?
So I thought you might want to see a couple of the things that didn’t get shared. And yes. One or two of them might even include the princess.
Low clouds closing in.
But don’t tell her.
“The spotlight should ALWAYS be on ME mama!”
She’s already got a big head.
“Which is prettier? The lake or me?”
Several of my friends are vegans. Their diet includes no meat, no dairy, no eggs, which means no cheese! I’ve read enough to understand the health benefits of that sort of diet. And I haven’t been particularly interested in meat for a long time. Still. It seems overwhelming to move to the Land of Vegan.
I’m considering it more seriously now after attending a Veg-Fest last winter with vegan friends. I learned a lot, saw a lot of interesting things, but felt a lot of the booths at the show were hawking treats, chips and other type things that I’m already trying not to eat. I can’t imagine spending money to buy vegan versions of things I’ve been avoiding for years.
Like brownies. Or vegan ice cream. Which, by the way, was amazingly yummy. I ate two samples.
Still, I am beginning to explore recipes for main dishes that exclude meat and dairy. I’ve read 3 or 4 cookbooks, and gone to a healthy grocery story to find ingredients foreign to me. Seriously, what do you do with millet? I thought that was in birdseed? And ground flax? Chia seeds??? People eat those?
Today I made Lemony Red Lentil Soup. Hearty, easy and delicious. Could be a main course with some crusty homemade bread. Do I have time to make homemade bread? Well…yes…if I get organized.
Maybe there’s something to this vegan thing.
Yummy!
What is it about new things that frighten us? For me it takes longer to cook vegan because I’m always checking the recipe. Plus it seems like there’s a lot more stuff that needs to be chopped up. More planning ahead required. Different shopping at a different store takes time too.
For now I’m looking for a good bean burger recipe. If you’ve got one, feel free to share. And any other advice is welcome too. I’m going to try to incorporate a meatless meal into our weekly schedule — at first once a week, then maybe two days. We’ll see how it goes.
And I wonder if my vegan experiments should be described in a second and separate blog? Can I manage two blogs? Would anyone read them both? Would I just split my readers up or would I gain a different following? Does the world even need another vegan blog? I’ll have to marinate on that.
Marinate. Get it?
I crack myself up.
Veggies rule
.
Remember when you were a kid how you’d hound your mom (or dad) during summer vacations about having nothing to do? And no matter what was suggested it wasn’t what you wanted. Even though you couldn’t exactly say just what that was.
Retirement can be sort of like that. Or not.
Checking out the buffet.
Katie and I have been camping in the back yard the last couple of nights. This morning, with a thunderstorm in the forecast, I went out to pack the tent up. I was feeling privileged that it was 7:30 on a Monday morning and I wasn’t sitting in commuter traffic on the freeway. The neighborhood was quiet, sun shining softly on the leaves, only the sounds of the birds to interrupt my wandering thoughts.
Got any jelly there lady?
A chipmunk and a fat squirrel skittered away from me as I startled them mid-breakfast. A rose breasted grosbeak flew off the feeder, an oriole streaked away toward the woods.
I smiled.
I’ll just get a drink while I wait.
And then part way across the back yard two tree swallows flew in formation right toward me, perhaps 6 inches above the grass. They swooped and swirled through the yard. I stood still. They circled me several times, flew low and then swept up over the tomato cages, then down across the lawn again. Like stealth bombers, their wings were silent unlike the other birds that frequent the yard whose fluttering wings and grumpy cries always let me know when the feeder is empty.
I recognized in that moment how lucky I am. I can stand perfectly still in my backyard, in the middle of a weekday morning, and enjoy doing absolutely nothing.
I demand fresh oranges!
I’m reading a book, Slow Love; how I lost my job, put on my pajamas, and found happiness. by Dominque Browning. The author is describing her transition from frenzied work to unemployment. This afternoon I read the following passage which perfectly described how I felt earlier in the day:
“I begin to understand how nothing to do is its own state of grace, difficult to find deliberately, nearly impossible to recognize. Nothing to do means I can sit and look and let my mind wander, then empty, then fill again, with wonder or with grief, with anything or with nothing at all. “Nothing to do” is not the same as “Nothing can be done.” One is hopeless; the other the place from which hope becomes possible.”
In the heat of mid-morning, standing still in the light, I realized that nature was enjoying my yard every day. Used to be that I didn’t get to see it, but now, now that I have nothing to do, it’s all right there for me to enjoy.
Pretty darn cool.
Grape jelly again?!
