Catching Up... Fun at the Fair!

 I am so behind with my posts. I apologize. So I hope to start catching up!

These are my grandchildren - Edison and Harper - at the fair Labor Day weekend. They were actually having more fun than the expressions on their faces let on. It was a hot day!

Cook-Out on Lake Superior

Yesterday we packed a few things and headed north. We took the truck because we intended to go down a bumpy hidden two-track to a secluded beach on Lake Superior. It was a beautiful day and as you can see, we chose a sandy beach this time, not intending to go agate hunting as we did a few days prior. That's another blog I'll share soon.

It isn't easy to see, but the land mass in the distance is Canada. There are many white turbines turning in the wind.

Steve has the grill going. Oh, it smells sooo good! We're munching on cheese and crackers and sipping a sweet red wine. I love my local cherry wine here in Michigan but I haven't had the best of luck finding it lately. We are heading out west soon, and I can't wait to share some with our good friends!

Hank, of course, couldn't get enough of retrieving a stick from the water.

Keeping an eye on our lunch.

The Bratts are Ready!

Let’s Go for a Boat Ride!

Yesterday was a perfect day to take the boat out for a dry run, well, a wet run technically. But who wants to be technical on a gorgeous Sunday. Of course, our Skipper Hank came along. He was our navigator. Easy peasy, but we didn’t tell him that because the water was as flat as a pancake. Glass. Baby’s bottom.

We didn’t do any fishing.

But we are ready!

One of many secluded beaches on the St. Mary’s River.

These next two pictures show you the haze in the sky coming from Canadian and downstate Michigan wildfires.

We found a nice sandy spot.

So Hank could chase a stick!

And take a break.

Back on the water we watched a Canadian freighter glide by.

A perfect wet run on the water!

Ten Minutes of Spring, then Summer…

Trilliums in the UP

I love Spring and what it brings with it - renewal. I see baby animals everywhere: foxes, fawns (soon more will drop), calves, foals, etc. We may even have a mamma bear and her cubs on our outdoor camera one of these days. Or a moose and her baby will be captured photogenically? The birds sing so long and beautiful and are so happy in the morning (some start at 5:15 am and my alarm doesn’t go off until 5:50 am. Not so beautiful on the weekends when I am wide-eyed at 5:20 am due to their lack of a calendar that so dominates my world these days. I do salute them and smile.)

But along with that, comes new foliage. The gray of winter turns into a lush green, and leaves pop out so fast that I don’t notice because I’m usually on my way to work or back and during the day I’m inside.

But I noticed the leaves last night in the dwindling sunlight and realized the world around me is once again turning beautiful, a different season. They don’t care about my schedule or my mood. I am so grateful!

But wait. Wait! I checked my phone last night to check the weather so I could get my clothes out accordingly for today AND they were calling for 91 degrees! I’m in a classroom with no air and windows that don’t open!

Where, oh where, did spring go? My daffodils just ran their course this weekend and so did my single tulip. It is June 1 today. I haven’t planted a thing.

Ok, so we are hot in the UP. But I sure do not like to complain about it. 

I just miss Spring.

Love ~Debi

I Get to Be Me

 

I love my weekends. I mean, I REALLY love my weekends. I get to be me.

Work is hard. It is a necessity for certain reasons depending on the individual and the individual's needs. A paycheck is fantastic, but it doesn't take care of everything. I get tired, and I lose my way and who I am. By the time I get to feeling myself again, on the weekends when I get to be me, it's time to go back to work. But I like my job. But that's not who I am. My job doesn't define me. Or does it?

It's spring and spring is hard to get up here in the UP. You certainly can't buy it. Spring, I mean. No matter the amount written on that paycheck you got from working so hard, you can't make spring happen. So spring is hard. 

Decisions regarding life and the future are hard. Life is hard. 

I've spent an allotted amount of time outside being me, until the bugs find me. Today I itch at all the spots they invaded, bit me, then spit me out. Bugs are hard.

Kind of like work. It's a rollercoaster of sorts. Except I like rollercoasters. They take me out of my body, my head.

Today I get to be me.

Tuesday I go to work. Did I tell you I got a new job this week? I did. I'm proud of myself, but still at my age I'm nervous.

Okay, back to being me.

I love my weekends. 

The Opening of the Soo Locks

 You know it’s spring when the freighters glide in and out of the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie again. They don’t run through the locks January 15 through March 25. Sault Ste. Marie, or the Soo as we call it up here, is about a 40 minute one-way trip for us and sits on the Michigan/Canadian border. The locks run between the US and Canada. Ontario, Canada also has a Sault Ste. Marie across the River from us.

 

I like to memorize the stacks of the ships to see which company it represents on our Great Lakes. I’m sure I’ll be talking more about the ships. You might just call me a “freighter junkie”! This freighter runs for the Canadian Steamship Line. 

Ships Ahoy!

~D

18 Inches of Snow

Oh, spring, the season of sunshine, flowers, and… snow? Mother Nature seems to have a bit of a sense of humor as she sends a snowstorm just as I thought I could pack away my winter coat and boots. But I'm really not surprised. This is the UP after all. With a little bit of humor and peace, I can weather any storm, even a spring one.

I need to take a moment to appreciate the beauty of the snow. Have you ever noticed how it creates a calming ambiance when it falls silently from the sky, covering everything in a cozy blanket of white? It’s as if the world becomes still and peaceful, if only for a little while. And it’s not often we get to witness that kind of magic outside of the winter season. So, I embrace the unexpected snowfall and enjoy it while it lasts!

Hank loves the snow. I mean he really LOVES rolling in it, sticking his nose deep into it in search of a mouse, and chasing a stick in it even though it's so deep you think he'll quit the chase. But no, he'll get the stick.

He will miss this snow when its gone.

Steve Plowing Us Out

But not me. I am ready to put away my coat and boots, snowmobile apparel and, wait for it, my Christmas lights. They make a dark place in the woods a peaceful glow during the night.

Easter is a week away. The shipping season has begun and the freighters are navigating the Great Lakes. The mourning doves coo love songs to each other, even during the snowstorm. And this coming Wednesday they are predicting thunderstorms.

It is funny how living in the UP can bring along something unexpected to shake things up. It’s almost as if the universe is saying, “Ha! Gotcha!” But the good news is, we can always choose how we react to things. We can choose to grumble and complain, or we can choose to laugh it off and make the best of it. So go ahead, Hank, roll in the snow or slip and slide while playing ball with Steve.

I need to follow suit and take a moment to enjoy the little things in life, too!

Welcome to a New Look...

Hi Everybody! 

The Walking Stick is back but with an updated look! Once again I'll be sharing with you pictures and stories from the UP of Michigan!

And there will be much posted about the newest member to our family. Hank! He's our 2 and 1/2 year old chocolate Lab.

He loves his toys but he loves being outside even more. So, I'll be sharing the adventures of Hank Henry now and then.

Those of you who are new to my blog can catch-up at yoopers11.blogspot.com. That is where the Walking Stick began in 2011. I took some time off in 2020 and am now back with a new look for The Walking Stick.

I hope you enjoy!

~D