Musings

An all-day rain amounts to another personality in your living space, even if it is outdoors and you are not.

Seeking to recover a bit of balance, we headed out on a bit of a drive and a bit of a groc-store run. Down by the big lake to the south, Michigan.

We stopped at a pullover, which really is a section of the old road, when it was routed closer to the shore. We could hear the waves breaking not far to the west, but right here there was an island buffer, creating a placid bay, our distant vision concealed by heavy fog. A few years back when we last stopped here, the lake levels were lower, and we walked out to that “island” on dry rock. It was then the lake edge. How times change.

I even tried a wiggle picture (mini-video) here, hoping to catch the small movements of the water among the vegetation; I’ll have to examine it on the Big Screen, but I couldn’t detect the movement on the phone-screen.

We drove west to the next old-road pullover, and here we did see the waves rolling in across the shallows on the limestone shelf. The fog was thick and I had to dance to stay this close to the edge as the water surged toward me.

I returned to the car (rain, you know), and looked back, and the fog cleared and I could see the lighthouse. This change…in less than thirty seconds of silence except for the water-waves.

Posted at 10:22 PM | 1 Comment »

I could see the orange in the dawn sky through the leaves and went down to the lake to get a few shots. Love the graduation to deep purple-blue above, and the deep midnight-blue of the water.

Mid-afternoon, all was bright and I was surprised at how quiet the water was. Offshore breeze, and slight—it turns out. Love the riffles in the sand. Noticed a few snails(?) still moseying about in the sand; would have thought the cold would have slowed them too much for that….

Another part of my day…these controls of the wood stove (our only heat), and periodically loading the wood (fetched by The Guru). So far the temps have been moderate enough (fingers crossed) that stove-tending hasn’t been bad at all…kinda fun actually.

Posted at 7:08 PM | Comments Off on Clouds for atmosphere only

I remember when this fire tower was still open to the public. Great fun to traipse up story after story to reach the views, and sometimes the breeze, at the top.

Of course, the refuge was organized as a stopping place for migratory birds, especially this then-over-hunted species. This group is now stashing calories for the big flight.

Still many leaves on the trees, including these beech leaves (I’m pretty sure). I love the variation, from golden-brown to golden-yellow to yellow-green.

By the way, the most unexpected critter we found during the nature walk—garter snakes. Three. In different places. Good-sized, but not scary. Strip-y. This one, the first one…when s/he moved, rustling the leaves and detritus…I jumped, then spotted her/him. And calmed.

Posted at 10:22 PM | 1 Comment »

I am pleased at the orange-red reflection of the roof to the right.

Warmer night last night, and the sunshine predominated in the morning so we set off on a wee adventure. We went through Paradise (yes, it is possible), and on to the BIG Lake—fairly calm today on this shore. This is some of the support structure for the lighthouse at Whitefish Point.

We backtracked (because the other options, both long loops, didn’t appeal) and stopped at the BIG falls. The roar of the water and the feel of the mist still stop me in my tracks (best at the viewing deck to the far right). You can see that the leaves are mostly on the trees and the color is fantastic, although the overcast had set in by the time I took this photo.

Posted at 6:53 PM | Comments Off on Adventure (paved roads)

Bright sunshine all day—the sunporch even crested 70°F this afternoon. A flawless day. Well, with the wood-stove coasting along keeping the rest of the cottage toasty. Flannel sheets upstairs….

These images are from the beach…almost still water, little bubbles silently coasting slightly up and down at lake-edge*. And a few flowers still surviving the late-autumn coolness.

* I took this as a “wiggle-picture” (although that isn’t Apple’s name for it)—this version is still, however.

Posted at 7:51 PM | Comments Off on Moved beyond words

The last two-hundred-some miles we went through alternating bands of bright sun and snow/rain. The deepest accumulations of snow amounted to about three inches, but that for less than ten miles.

Here, it was the same pattern before dark. During a sunny phase, we went to the beach. Glorious.

Coming back, looping around the long way, we found this giant puffball, past its prime, so we won’t try to harvest it. It’s also not ready for kicking (I think), aka spore distribution…so the shoe-toe is just for scale (it’s not a threat).

Posted at 8:08 PM | Comments Off on We arrived

Leaf, I say, and not the car kind—the plant kind. Here’s a fine backlit-fern frond, and you can see all the sori/sporangia (what’s in a name?—those dark dots).

I think needles are leaves. Maybe they aren’t to a plant-dissector, but similar function…. I see these soft needles and their grey-green color and I think: tamarack…but maybe it’s another kind of larch. (Enough fussing on this ID for me for tonight.) Love the sweet gum (?) leaf caught in the needles.

Interesting that most of our trees are mostly green (or late-season green), but a few have already given up for the year, and have few leaves left.

Posted at 9:58 PM | Comments Off on Leaf theme

We were going to take a steam-train today. Then, the weather looked worse today than tomorrow, so we switched to Sunday.

Then, the train people cancelled—too much rain expected along the tracks. And it’s supposed to be worse east of here, especially in South Carolina—and that’s without a Joaquin landfall. We’re, of course, hoping the wind stays…minimal.

Love the unexpected color of the beauty-bush berries.

Posted at 10:22 PM | Comments Off on Looking out

Ginger blossom.

Learned new vocabulary today: fipple and aerophone. Fortunately for me, they’re related.

Only one branch is predicting autumn’s arrival.

In other news, I found hints of fall in a neighborhood tree…

…and saw the critter that the exterminator removed from a neighbor’s house.

Posted at 8:15 PM | Comments Off on Slow news day

There’s plain concrete…with a surface treatment (swab swoop?).

Here’s a different, knobbly concrete…with a decorative nut-husk.

On the other hand, this is a mailbox with living, green neckwear.

Posted at 9:34 PM | Comments Off on Personification