All tagged Michigan
“Think back. All that isolation, all that fear. All that mask fashion! All the neighbors, coming out at 7pm to make a grateful racket for the first responders and essential workers. The clear skies, and wildlife sightings in places which had seen none for decades. The empty streets and highways and airports. The Zoom classes…”
“Imagine my surprise, to discover that I live smack-dab on the North Country Trail. This happy realization occurred when I joined some friends who were chipping away at the NCT in 10-mile segments through Kent County in 2019. Although I had intended to join them multiple times that year, I only made it once, on a steamy-hot summer day in August.”
“I make my way back to the house, and carefully close and lock the back door on the way through. Finally, it is time to go. I walk through the house one last time. Nothing moves, aside from the fish outside in the pond. The stereo is off. No clock is ticking. The silence is a good sort of quiet. I’m ready. The day awaits.”
“As my mind slowly rises from the depths of sleep, I awaken in a state of pure, leisurely relaxation. The birds outside my windows are singing, but otherwise, I am surrounded by stillness of the sort that fuels my soul. More than a quarter-century of rising to the rhythm, the feel, the air, the sounds of this place has made of it an exceptional spot to call home.”
“We come today to the north shore of Lake Huron, near the eastern tip of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Waves lap in a relaxed fashion onto the cobblestone beach just a few feet away.”
“Over the years, I have driven ambulances and fire trucks, and hauled lots of fully-packed horse trailers. I can go forward or backward, no problem… Lately, I have realized that driving has been sort of a life coach. That is, the many lessons of the road can and do often inform my approach to various situations that life throws at me. Driving on ice is one of the best teachers.”
“Weary of the stay-at-home routine of the past almost two years, my traveling shoes recently begged for a little adventure. The clamor for something to do got loud enough that I finally yielded and packed them and a weekender bag. I decided to check out the northern Michigan area near the town of Petoskey. A good book on tape made the 190-mile drive feel brief.”
“Every morning, I trudge out the side door of the garage and make my way across to the rain gauge posted at the edge of the nearby field. My rain gauge is more than yard art. It is a tool, because the precipitation it measures goes beyond mere curiosity. I have a job to do: to measure and report to a national database what amount of rain or snowfall has arrived to nourish my little patch of land in the past 24 hours.”
“All year, day by day, I’ve torn a page from the 365-day calendar that was a Christmas gift from my brother. The topic? Moths… Before this, I would have said a moth is a moth is a moth. But I feel changed by 2021's daily glimpse into that world, if only because I am driven to wonder, “who came up with all these crazy names?!”
“A man I knew years ago named David Rankin once wrote, “ I refuse to wish away the winter.” I am reminded of his poem whenever someone complains about the weather. How can we really justify wishing away what we have right here, right now, before us? The easy things are a comfort, true, and deserve appreciation. The harder stuff? It always has its own gifts and lessons.”
“I journeyed out of my cocoon this week, all the way across town to the Grand Rapids (MI) Frederick Meijer Gardens, where the annual “Butterflies Are Blooming” event was in full sway. Touted as the “largest temporary tropical butterfly exhibition in the nation,” it is, indeed, a rite of spring no one should miss.”
“As summer receded, and the sun on the deck for time with friends backed away from the cocktail hour, and warm layers were increasingly warranted, it occurred to me that we—my circle of friends, all of whom are very COVID-careful—would need a safe gathering place on into the grey tunnel of winter. What better thing, I thought, than a fire circle?”
“During the past year of focusing on writing a book, I had a hiatus from wandering (ok, except for Egypt in December...). It helped me realize just how much I love being at home.”
“We come today to the north shore of Lake Huron, near the eastern tip of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Waves lap in a relaxed fashion onto the cobblestone beach just a few feet away.”
“I understand the wisdom of wearing multiple layers in the mountains, where the full range of weather can crop up any time. But in my sweet, safe, predictable lower-peninsula Michigan? In August? It just doesn’t somehow seem right, or fair, to feel cold.”
“That sun! I could sense that the dull deadness of winter is passing away. For the first time in months, it offered up a tease of warmth.”
