The Flower of the Day is the Balsam Ragwort. It's a pretty flower that is with us on the island through much of the early summer, and while it does seem a bit silly to show a summer flower at this time of the year, with the cold and snow that is currently with us, it's a nice way to recall past days that were warmer and more colorful.

We have been a bit torn up lately. A dishwasher leak damaged some of the flooring, so insurance decreed that the floor from the front door to the large back kitchen door would be removed and replaced. It was four days of noise and inconvience, but we survived and we now have a beautiful new floor.

The last thing to mention is that even though we are still early in December, some of Santa's helpers were on a scouting mission in our neighbor and may be in yours. Watch for them, be good, and make sure they know where you live.

All Hallows' Eve, October 31, 2010

The Flower of the Day is the Canada Hawkweed. It appears in August and stays until late September. I don't know if it is a legal or illegal immigrant, but then we don't worry about Canadians all that much.

Important at this time of the year are fall leaves and fall colors. I never get my fill of them. I hope you enjoy the pictures that are included.

Also important at this time of the year as we move from summer to winter is Halloween. Halloween has an interesting history. It originally was a Celtic feast and its original name may have been Samain. The Celts were a very superstitious people and they saw the time of seasonal change as being very dangerous times of the year. And none was seen as being quite as dangerous as the passage from fall to winter, because for the Celtic people, this was the time of the year when all of the forces of evil and death were released from the underworld to celebrate the final death of nature, and the coming of the dead and the gloomy season of winter. The Church in its wisdom tried to divert the people from their association with demons by establishing All Souls' and All Saints' Days, but it was not very successful, because there is still a lot of Samaintide with us today. And this evening the ghouls and the walking dead, the spooks and the demons, the ghosts, the haunts, the hobgoblins, the evil spirits and the "little people" who drove the ancient Celts to a last frenzy of fear before the dark days of winter set in were seen on our streets and at our front doors. Fortunately for us they were quite benign. They only demanded treats

Thursday, October 21, 2010

The Flower of the Day is the Cardinal-flower. It's not an easy flower to find on Drummond, but when found, its rich red color makes it one of the showiest of wildflowers. Also, of interest, is that Indians made cough medicine and a love charm from it. The love charm plus two birch bark canoes was said to work wonders.

Our drive home was uneventful -- the way we like it. We spent one night on the road. The Fall colors were waning in northern Michigan when we left, but the color picked up south of Cadillac and was especially good just north of the Indiana border. And then the maple tree in our front yard welcomed us home with its Fall apparel.

A good summer and now we are ready to settle down and enjoy winter in Missouri with all that encompasses. And if any at Lexington are reading this, that includes you -- see you Sunday.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

The Flower of the Day is the Large-flowered Trillium. It is not only beautiful to see, but it provides a breathtaking scene in the dark hardwood forest -- white flowers like a carpet as far as one can see. So different than anything we've seen before, and they bloom in mid-May, so they will be a treat for us to look forward to when we return.

But we are now in the process of leaving, not returning. Greg and Lori helped us this past weekend. Flower containers were emptied, deck furniture moved to the back ready for storage in the shed. A haircut interrupted the work as did dominoes and cards. We have done some packing, but we still have clothes, food and a few more things to pack, and a cabin to clean.

We now plan to leave this Friday, if we can get everything done. We are anxious to be on our way, and again back home with those we love and care for -- family and friends.

And one last item -- the picture that was taken on an early morning last week. Just more of the amazing beauty that God has blessed us with.

Friday, October 8, 2010

The Flower of the Day is a medley of summer flowers -- St. John's Wort, Chicory, Queen Anne's Lace, Ox-eye Daisy, Common Mullein, and Spotted Knapweed. They remind us of this past summer and the beauty that was by the side of the road, but Autumn comes early in this northern place which means that we enjoy the leaves now, and will enjoy them again when we are back in Missouri. Other changes -- frost and an early morning mist, and boat traffic that will be shut down for about 2 1/2 months beginning in January -- ice and winter conditions.Hopefully, the economy will call them back to work in mid-March. The boat pictured is from The Netherlands.

There will be one more Michigan "blog" next week and then we will be back in Missouri. Greg and Lori came today to the heavy work that allows us to make our transition south. We look forward to them being here, not just for their good work, but also because we enjoy their company. Dinner at the Northwood was, as usual, excellent -- all you can eat Whitefish, choice of potato and salad -- $12.99. Best deal in town. Peace.

Friday, Sept. 3, 2010

The Flower of the Day is the Canada Hawkweed. It showed up this summer around the middle of June and was with us for much of the summer, but is now long gone as are most of the wildflowers. The color has shifted to the trees which are quite pretty. The picture of the small Aspens was taken yesterday on Maxton Plains. The Sandhill Crane, like the wildflowers, are gone. They might be over Missouri right now on their way to South Texas. Our friends Art and Carol have been with us this week and on Monday they will be heading home to Texas. We won't be too far behind the Sandhills and Art and Carol, but not for Texas.

The only other thing to "show and tell" is St. Stephen's Church in Detour where we spend our Sunday's. It's our weekly anchor. We hope that all is well with all of you.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

As promised on the last blog, the Flower of the Day is the Goatbeard gone to seed. It looks much like a Dandelion, but is about 3 times larger. The white flowers are, of course, Ox-eyed Daisies.

This is the season of change. The sun is moving south and is beginning to provide us with some spectacular and beautiful sunsets. And now the trees are changing to their Fall colors. We drove to Cedarville yesterday and returned to Detour via the South Caribou Lake Road. That's where the tree picture was taken. The leaves should be at their peak in color in about two weeks. Hopefully, more pictures will follow.

Art and Carol Ehlmann are here now and will be with us through the weekend. We don't have a heavy agenda -- mostly taking it easy and enjoying each other. We played Mexican Train the past two nights and Sandra won both nights. Rummikub will be our next game.

The last picture is part of a mushroom fairy circle. This is the second fairy circle that we have seen up here. They are quite interesting and we may go out at midnight and see if any dancing is going on -- and join them.

That's it. The best to all and we're looking forward to seeing many of you before long.

Tuesday, Sept 21, 2010

The Flower of the Day is Goatsbeard. A very interesting flower. On the next blog I'll show you what it looks like when it goes to seed. Stayed tuned.

Today is a blowey, blustery day. The flag is about to beat itself to death. The weather report calls for rain or storms and they're out there, but so far we've been missed.

This blog is for family and friends and it has occurred to us that while our family and some friends are aware of where we go when we disappear in May, others are not. So, today, we've included several pictures of the cabin -- kind of our show and tell for the day.

The cabin is not large. Most of the pictures are self-explanatory. Sandra, with her obvious excitement over her NEW Dirt Devil, is standing in the main room. The kitchen is part of the main room. We have a small bedroom (not shown) also off the main room, an alcove (also not shown) with bed, and several beds in the loft (we couldn't include pictures of everything). The picture looking down onto the main room was obviously taken from the loft.

And while we are beginning to think about heading home, we are still busy here. Tomorrow evening we are hosting a Home Communion for our church family. Then friends come in for about a week. I have another Sunday to preach, but after that it is mostly closing down and doing those things that must be done before we leave. It's always difficult to leave, but knowing that we will once again be with friends and family and with a most wonderful church family, draws us on. We'll see you before long.

Friday, Sept. 3, 2010

The Flower of the Day is the last Dandelion of the year nestled in beach grass.

We had a good day. I spent some time in the woods looking for small firs for walking sticks and your mother (Sandra to some of you) had a nice walk. We put out a wash, went to town for groceries, and had tea on the deck.

Later, in the evening, we were on the beach burning the "things" that were pulled up when you were here this summer. I'm sorry you missed your mother's (Sandra's) dance. It was spectacular. It was a wonderful fire and a special time with a scotch to share, and the town of Detour watching us from across the water.