Pictured Rocks, Munising MI

This is the first batch of vacation photos that I shot last week.  Charlie and I went to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for a week long trip.  The trees were turning spectacular colors and our weather was wonderful the whole week (except for a little fog Friday morning).  

I shot hundreds of photos and am still sorting through them -- but here is the first batch.  We took a 3 hour boat tour of the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.  The water was so bright and colorful -- just gorgeous!  The rock is part of a large basin of sandstone and the brilliant colors come from the "seepage" of water and minerals.  More photos will be posted later.

Detroit Zoo and a Week of Vacation

I just had a week off of work and enjoyed quite a bit of that time with my family.  Charlie had to work so I took my mom to Detroit for a couple of nights.  We spent one day at IKEA (I'm in love!) and the other we went to the Detroit Zoo.  It was incredibly hot, and we were disappointed that most of the animals were not visible because they were trying to keep cool.  We did enjoy the creatures we could see though and had a good, exhausting time.

They had a butterfly garden (not as big as the one they sometimes have at Frederick Meijer Botanical Gardens)

They had a nice bird exhibit -- there were some birds there I had never heard of.

Some tired, hot animals.

They had peacocks, but we had more fun looking at the pea-hens and chicks that ran around freely.

We were really looking forward to the arctic circle exhibit.  There is a tunnel under water and the polar bear swims around so you can get a close-up view.  Well, the seals were having fun swimming, but the polar bear would have nothing to do with it.  

We were very exhausted after walking all over the place.  Probably because we spent 3 1/2 hours walking around IKEA the day before.  Did I mention that I love that place?
After the two days in Detroit, we headed home to my place and relaxed.  We went to the coffee shop and a few stores in Frankenmuth before Mom headed home.  Then, the next day I headed to her place.  I spent an afternoon with my grandma, making our favorite veggie soup (to freeze for easy lunches).  I helped her get her Super-8 projector up and running -- and was able to watch a vacation movie from 1966.  We have many more to check out in the future.
Mom and I also made a quick drive out to Spring Lake, MI to visit Lake Michigan.  It doesn't feel like summer to me if I don't visit the big lake at least once.  I didn't get my feet wet, but we walked the fisherman's pier and enjoyed the lake air.
This weekend, Charlie and I have just been chilling out and watching the olympics.  Tomorrow I head back to work.  It is always rough after a good vacation, but it'll only take me a day to get back into the swing of things.

April Showers

It has been a beautiful dreary morning at our little house nestled in the pines.  Here is a photo tour of our yard this morning:

Spring is here!

The last few weeks we've had absolutely amazing weather!  Spring came early -- last week we had temps in the mid 80s.  It was the perfect ending to a terrifically mild winter!

The chickens were very restless and needed to get out of the coop.  I put up a movable fence to give them access to grass, bugs, and dirt.  It isn't going to keep any raccoons out, but I lock up the coop at dark to prevent any catastrophes.  Netting over the top should keep hawks out -- I hope.  

Their first day out, all of the ladies dug into the dirt and rolled and flapped around in it.  Nothing like a good dirt bath to ring in the warm weather.  

The girls are all doing very well.  Olivia was sick for a couple of weeks -- she seemed lethargic and wobbly.  She didn't eat much either so I thought she was going to die.  Happily she survived.  :)
I also thought a few plants I purchased last year had died, but they also survived.  Below is a cold hardy kiwi that I thought had died last summer.  Tah dah!  It's back!

The rhubarb and asparagus are growing well and I will harvest some of it this year for the first time.

Now that all the trees are flowering, the weather is going back to normal.  It is dropping below the freezing point at night which is going to cause a problem for our fruit crops.  I'm trying to protect my pear tree by covering it with a garbage bag tonight.
The best thing about this weather is that I get out of work much earlier now.  This is the first summer in 6 years that I will be able to work in the garden in the afternoon and evening.  How exciting is that?!?

Tetons, Yellowstone, and Little Bighorn -- the Last Batch of Vacation Photos

This is the last batch of vacation photos that I am going to post.  Enjoy...

Just east of the Grand Tetons

View of a Glacier

A view just north of the southern entrance of Yellowstone National Park

Old Faithful

The effects of fire

Wyoming was a beautiful state -- this was shot as we were leaving and entering Montana

Wide open spaces, awesome wildlife!

We took a back road -- desolate and beautiful

Buzzards - catching some rays

Finally, we visited Little Bighorn.  So full of history you can almost hear an echo of the battle.

Native American encampment area at Little Bighorn.

You can click on any of the photos to get a larger view of the details.  I know a lot of people compress their images or add watermarks to their images to prevent theft.  I don't compress mine very much.  Perhaps I should, but I tend to trust most people not to steal my photography.  If you want to use one for something, just ask me.

Anyway, we've been back from vacation for a couple of weeks now.  I'm getting used to my new position at my company.  It is VERY fast paced and the day just flies by.  Things are still new to me and I can't wait to feel comfortable with my daily tasks.  

It is almost 9:30 PM and I am thinking about going to bed.  4:30 AM comes quickly and I need to be well-rested.  I have some nice Autumn photos to post this week and I want to show you how I am putting up the harvest.