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.

My Favorite Things -- Hot Air Balloons

Mali, 1995

I shot this image near Kolokani, Mali (West Africa) during my stay there back in the mid 90's.  I like this shot for several reasons:  It clearly shows the type of terrain in that area of Mali, the man is carrying something on his head (usually something the women did) and carrying a chicken (possibly heading to market), and the man is smiling at me -- happy to have his photo taken.
I would love to go back to visit someday.  I have friends there who would happily house me if I were able to go.  For the past few months, Mali has been in turmoil with an armed Tuareg rebellion in the north and a coup in the capital city of Bamako.  Sharia law has been enforced in the northern cities that the rebels have captured.  Please send prayers/healing vibes for the country and for safety for it's people.

Tulip

My posts seem to be getting few and far between lately.  I realized that I often have photos I'd love to show off, but not much to say.  So, you might be seeing more posts in the future -- but fewer words.  :)  Hope everyone is having a splendid Spring so far!

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:

Northern Michigan Snow Storm

My husband and I braved a late winter snow storm last night and today in order to head North for his birthday.  Our hotel room "with a view" that we booked was warm and cozy but the view was pure white.  This morning, we had a great view of the people trying to dig their cars out of the hotel parking lot.  Charlie had a blast driving around in this stuff.  I had a good time snapping photos from my car window.  It was gorgeous, sticky snow that caused a lot of broken trees and power outages.  

Going Dutch

I got these tulips the other day and had to photograph them before they faded.  They are live tulips (not cut flowers) and they were on clearance at the grocery store.  I knew they only had about two days left to look pretty, but it didn't bother me -- I have other plans for them.  I am going to plant the bulbs this Spring and enjoy them next year when they grow again.  These flowers were less expensive than buying the bulbs alone.
My Dutch (frugal) heritage is showing -- not only was it a great buy, but the flowers are from the Netherlands as well.  I am 3/4 Dutch and come from an area that is packed full of Dutch people.  Ever heard of Holland, Michigan?  Holland is just down the road from Grand Rapids.  They have a tulip-time festival every Spring.  So many gorgeous flowers!
Anyway, I definitely crave Spring right now.  We've been pretty lucky with a mild winter, but I'm ready to get my hands dirty in the garden again.  I'm dreaming up my plans for this year's garden right now -- what I want to grow, what did and didn't work last year, etc.  What do you plan to grow this year?  Leave a comment if you are a gardener as I'd love to know your plans.

Snowy weather

Such unusual weather this year.  Michigan has been unseasonably warm and free of snow -- until this week.  Well, I guess we had one snowy day in December... but that is about it.  Finally in mid-January we got a nice load of the fluffy stuff and some cold temperatures.  I saw a forecast of 40 degrees and rain showers for tomorrow so I guess it will be going away again.  

Don't get me wrong -- I don't like cold winters and this warmer weather suits me just fine.  I'm the type that likes snow in December (gotta have a white Christmas) then by January 1st I want it gone.  So, I guess I've been fortunate so far.  It makes one wonder if this odd weather is part of a natural cycle or if Al Gore was right... 

Anyway, after feeding the chickens and breaking the ice out of their waterer, I snapped a few photos off the other day.  You can click on the photos to make them larger if you want (especially the first one -- you can see individual snow flakes!).

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.