Family reunion weekend at Drummond Island. Most of the pictures are pretty explanatory. I'll try to do more later. Enjoy.

We are back on the island after a wonderful three day trip to the south shore of Lake Superior. We stayed the first two nights at Copper Harbor at the northern tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula, an old copper mining area. The dock scene was a block from where we stayed (the red cabin), and the “brown” beach was several miles west of Copper Harbor. We drove the Brockway Mountain Road to the summit where low and behold, in addition to wonderful views, there was a gift shop. Sandra said that she was as surprised as I was, but I doubt that. The road to the top and the summit facilities were built by the WPA in the early 1930’s.

Our second night at Copper Harbor we celebrated our anniversary with dinner at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge that was also built by the WPA in the early 30’s. The WPA and the CCC gave a lot of people work and helped to keep families together during a very tough time.

Our third night out we stayed at the Lighthouse Bed and Breakfast at Big Bay, MI, which is just a few miles north of Marquette, MI. It was an interesting and enjoyable stay, and “yes, boys”, that is your mother at the top of the Lighthouse. That is also your mother having her morning coffee before we left for home.

A good trip. We were ready to be off  the island, but we were also ready to be back. Peace and love to all who check this out, and hope that life is good to you.

We had a good rain about a week ago, then several warm days and the wildflowers have exploded. Some are quite exciting such as the Wild Iris, the Showy Lady’s Slipper, and the Prairie Smoke.

Yesterday, Sandra and I drove to Maxton Plains on the north side of the island about 15-20 miles from our place. Maxton Plains is an alvar region, maybe one of the world’s largest, and is protected by The Nature Conversancy. FYI: an alvar is created when an advancing glacier scrapes away overburden and exposes limestone bedrock, leaving an area covered with little or no soil and with its own unique plant habitat. The glacier left the Maxton Plains area about 10,000 years ago and left behind this wonderful place for Sandra and I and others to enjoy. That’s the end of the lecture but for more, you can Google Maxton Plains. I think you’ll find it interesting.

Our main purpose for going to Maxton Plains was to see if the Prarie Smoke had come out – it had, and was well worth the drive. I understand that the Prarie Smoke is an endangered species, but it certainly doesn’t seem to be endangered on Maxton Plains.

Peace to all.

We have settled into life on the island. The weather has been good -- some rain -- flowers on the deck and in Sandra's garden are beginning to show their "stuff", but so far, not enough rain and burn restrictions are still in force. Except for some aches and pains we are not only holding our own, but enjoying friends and Sunday church, and trying to stay aware of all the wonderful things there are to see on our beach and along our road, as well as other places on the island.

At this point I don't plan on doing a Flower of the Day, but I do have three pictures of the Common Dandelion that I think you will find interesting. The digital camera is wonderful and has opened up a whole new world in picture taking for novices like me -- the dandelion pictures are a result.

I do have what may turn out to be a new blog feature for this summer. At present it is being called, for lack of imagination, A Snapshot from the Past. In today's offering I'm not sure who is the most nervous -- the curious visitor or me.

We're in the cabin and are still in the process of settling in, but feel so good about being here. The drive was easy. We stayed in New Buffalo, MI, Thursday night and visited Barb Miner in Holland, MI on Saturday before driving to Gaylord for Saturday night. We crossed over to the Upper Peninsula on the Mackinaw Bridge Saturday morning, caught the 11:40 ferry at Detour, watched as the lake boat, American Century, came by, and were at the cabin by noon. The cabin survived the winter, but we are replacing the water heater which has finally decided to quit after some 25 years of service. Our friends (from left to right) Pete, Sandy, Jurgen and Candice very graciously unloaded the car for us, and Saturday evening Jurgen and Candice had us for chili and wine and several welcoming scotches. We went to church Sunday and reunited with friends and now feel even more that we are where we belong -- at least this time of the year. For those winter months we have not only our Warrensburg group of longtime and loving friends, but also the wonderful friends and fellow worshipers at Christ Church in Lexington. And, of course, along with all this we have our five boys and their wives and families. So, we are much blessed.

After church Sunday we drove north bout 15 miles and saw the Trillium. Along the way we experienced a new clear cut timber area. The Trillium are a beautiful example of what nature can do when left alone. The clear cut is the work of man and the picture pretty much says it all.

This week we will continue to move in and buy flowers for the deck and hanging baskets. Greg and Lori will be with us Memorial Day Weekend to help with the flowers, clean gutters, and I'm sure find other things to do for us.

We miss all of you and love you.