Category: MICHIGAN

3 Hour Tour – Lake Superior, Pictured Rocks and AMBER’S first BIG BOY!

We set off on a 3 hour tour only to find that Am didn’t know about Gilligan’s Island, so our lame jokes about the S.S. Minnow were lost on her. We decided to take a glass bottom boat tour of Shipwrecks, but at the last minute had to change to the Pictured Rocks cruise because of timing.

Pictured Rocks are 200 foot sandstone cliffs that have been mineral stained over the years by iron, calcium and copper. They are also being eroded away by the 30 foot waves that crash over them and carve out sea caves.

Lake Superior is the largest (400 miles across and 160 miles top to bottom) of the Great Lakes and the deepest. The water is so clear you can see the bottom in places. It started out quite nice and a bit warm, but before long sweatshirts won out as the air became so much cooler the further away from shore we were.


The schooner Madeline was in bay today and there was a music jam in the marina.

The soft sandstone sides are stained from the minerals that run sometimes continuously from natural springs.




The arch below has been carved through the centuries as have the sea caves.



This is Indian Head point and this arch used to have room for a small boat to travel under it until it’s collapse a decade or so ago.


See how perfect the break is on that huge rock? Makes you realize how soft and breakable these sandstone rocks must be.

The 2 pictures above and the 2 below are of Chapel Cove. They leave you a bit awestruck as you see the many layers upon layers of sandstone. The captain took the boat all the way into the cove so we could get a better perspective and closer view.




Notice the tree growing on top of that pile of rocks. If you look closely, you’ll see the roots actually drape across to the land!

Notice how clear the water is. You can see the previous remnants that have fallen from the cliffs above in the water below. It is quite shallow at points.


The lighthouse is on Grand Island on the last stretch of private land on the island. There are only a few houses, but if you own one, you own a percentage of the lighthouse too. It is no longer in use, but there is a conservation committee to preserve it. It was decommissioned a century ago and stands tall and proud still. Grand Island is a HUGE (larger than Manhattan) island that protects Munising Bay from the elements to some extent. The island is now owned by the forest service and it is a recreational area that you can ferry out to.

Obviously the wind blew a bit today, but we had fun and finished the day with hot fudge sundaes at Bob’s Big Boy.


She pleaded with me not to take these pictures and then reluctantly acquiesced to my request.

QUILT CAMP

Our ‘niece’ will be visiting for a couple of weeks and helping to organize around here. We will find some time for fun too though. We’re going to take the Shipwreck tour and see the Madeline that will be in port a few days.The one thing she wanted me to teach her, was to quilt. She picked out this pattern, a great beginner pattern and then from my quilt stash she picked out these fat quarters as well as many others for her quilt. Then she learned how to use the quilt bug to narrow down the fabrics to just those that went together well, which I personally always find exciting. To these we added a great border fabric and solid backing that she picked out when we went to town.

Today Am learned how to cut out her pieces using the quilt rulers and got a taste of the tedious part of quilting. The pressing and cutting take so much time. Tomorrow she can start sewing.

She’s getting her summer reading requirements accomplished while Sady keeps her company and reads along. And yes, Am is wearing a turtleneck in July – it’s been chilly of an evening here.

4th of July – Small Town USA

This is one of the reasons we left the hustle and bustle of large town west coast. Small town 4th of July parades. It seems like you either helped set up the parade, were in the parade or both. The kids on the floats call out to the kids on the street by name, everyone waves and smiles and politeness abounds. They honor the war heroes and veterans. The kids hang out waiting for the parade to start and then run out to cash in on the candy thrown by the floats.
We’ll try for some fireworks pictures later, but no promises, I may just enjoy them. Because it gets dark so late here, they won’t go off until 10PM.

Tamy

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EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it!

EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it!

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History of a barn and the hope of a greenhouse

Many have asked so I’m now doing pictures and a bit of the history as I know it that surrounds our barn. We are ‘in town’ technically, but we have one of the last standing barns, It’s in great shape as it doesn’t leak and the floor and inside walls were made of half logs. It was built in 1850 according to the real estate information. The only thing the previous owner left behind of any value was an abstract Title that spelled out the history of the property, a story for another time.
The last owner had used it for storage and had it packed so full you couldn’t see all 4 walls at the same time. When they moved they took most of their things, but did leave behind a 60 yard dumpster full of junk (you know things like 60 year old vacuums, broken high chairs, plastic one gallon jugs, broken coat racks, etc… I could go on for pages.
We were not told that it is ‘sliding’ off its foundation by the previous owners, but the previous previous owner has told us it is. He said he shored up in the early 90’s before selling. Now we’re told the next guy put skirting (we were told it was for drainage) around the shoring to disguise it. This summer we’ll take off the skirting and see where we stand. Hubby is thinking about turning it into a workshop. Once we cleared away the debris we found a pretty neat barn. The building itself is about 28 x 30 and has a large attic area. There is a wood burning stove and old brick chimney. The sliding carriage doors (I couldn’t get a picture of these today – too many mud puddles) no longer slide open as that side is braced from the ground up, but look neat anyway. The graffiti is leftover from the local high school students. In the 80’s our barn was used to construct the homecoming float in each year and became a hangout for the kids. Someone replaced one of the windows with a vinyl slider that looks really out of place. Right now hubby uses it for mainly storage.
And this picture is especially for Barbara. This is the south west corner where you can begin to imagine the greenhouse made from our old sash windows. This spring we will be planting lilacs of various colors along the outside of the chain link fence to create a hedge to hide it and add a touch of privacy. You also have to imagine the yard is green. If you look close, there are still a few small patches of snow here and there. In that corner will be the greenhouse. The door will open towards the yard. I may even set it on an angle for a touch of charm. Now imagine on either side a 3 tiered flower bed made from railroad ties and full of LOTS of color.

History of a barn and the hope of a greenhouse

Many have asked so I’m now doing pictures and a bit of the history as I know it that surrounds our barn. We are ‘in town’ technically, but we have one of the last standing barns, It’s in great shape as it doesn’t leak and the floor and inside walls were made of half logs. It was built in 1850 according to the real estate information. The only thing the previous owner left behind of any value was an abstract Title that spelled out the history of the property, a story for another time.
The last owner had used it for storage and had it packed so full you couldn’t see all 4 walls at the same time. When they moved they took most of their things, but did leave behind a 60 yard dumpster full of junk (you know things like 60 year old vacuums, broken high chairs, plastic one gallon jugs, broken coat racks, etc… I could go on for pages.
We were not told that it is ‘sliding’ off its foundation by the previous owners, but the previous previous owner has told us it is. He said he shored up in the early 90’s before selling. Now we’re told the next guy put skirting (we were told it was for drainage) around the shoring to disguise it. This summer we’ll take off the skirting and see where we stand. Hubby is thinking about turning it into a workshop. Once we cleared away the debris we found a pretty neat barn. The building itself is about 28 x 30 and has a large attic area. There is a wood burning stove and old brick chimney. The sliding carriage doors (I couldn’t get a picture of these today – too many mud puddles) no longer slide open as that side is braced from the ground up, but look neat anyway. The graffiti is leftover from the local high school students. In the 80’s our barn was used to construct the homecoming float in each year and became a hangout for the kids. Someone replaced one of the windows with a vinyl slider that looks really out of place. Right now hubby uses it for mainly storage.
And this picture is especially for Barbara. This is the south west corner where you can begin to imagine the greenhouse made from our old sash windows. This spring we will be planting lilacs of various colors along the outside of the chain link fence to create a hedge to hide it and add a touch of privacy. You also have to imagine the yard is green. If you look close, there are still a few small patches of snow here and there. In that corner will be the greenhouse. The door will open towards the yard. I may even set it on an angle for a touch of charm. Now imagine on either side a 3 tiered flower bed made from railroad ties and full of LOTS of color.

Winter Snow time

I posted the Fall color pictures, so I thought I’d post Winter too and then Spring and Summer to depict an entire year here in the North Woods.

A snowboarder catches a gust on Teal Lake while a herd of deer check out the offerings on top of the paint river recently frozen over.


During the summer, Whiskey could stand on her hind legs and snatch a fresh apple from the lower branches of the the obviously endless apple tree (it’s February in the U.P. and I still have apples!!!!!!). Now, she just stands there and waits for them to fall or digs with her snout in the 3 feet (that’s a 4 foot fence behind her) deep snow for the ones that have recently fallen. Gunner just wants someone to play ball with him.

WINTER SNOW TIIME

I posted the Fall color pictures, so I thought I’d post Winter too and then Spring and Summer to depict an entire year here in the North Woods.

A snowboarder catches a gust on Teal Lake while a herd of deer check out the offerings on top of the paint river recently frozen over.


During the summer, Whiskey could stand on her hind legs and snatch a fresh apple from the lower branches of the the obviously endless apple tree (it’s February in the U.P. and I still have apples!!!!!!). Now, she just stands there and waits for them to fall or digs with her snout in the 3 feet (that’s a 4 foot fence behind her) deep snow for the ones that have recently fallen. Gunner just wants someone to play ball with him.

Wild Turkey

Just a few months ago you’d see all the “mom” turkeys with a stream of baby turkeys trotting along behind her. Now I think it’s time for them to run for the woods. They’re starting to look like Thanksgiving dinner. There are hundreds and hundreds of wild turkeys in this north woods area. There is also an abundance of deer according to the DNR due to the recent mild winters.

FALL COLOR



I always dreamed of living somewhere that had 4 seasons. Now I can. This is the first time I can actually say I’ve lived through all 4 and there was a significant change each season. I have to say that Fall is one of the most beautiful. All of these pictures were taken within 5 miles of the house or in our backyard.

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House Paint Colors


Now we know our house will never look exactly like this house I cut out of a magazine and the colors are hard to really decipher, but these are the colors (Canoe, Quiet Shore and Cherry Bark) we want to use. We’ve decided to add siding to help add more insulation and that will make it easier to get the look we’re after. We’ve decided to sell the 150+ year old barn to help pay for the siding. It’s a cool barn, but we just don’t need it.