My neighbor Todd and I went to the Saline Community Fair today. Todd’s wife Anne had planned to go, too, but was under the weather and stayed home. That meant she missed the Big Event: the draft horse pull. Today’s horse pull offered six teams of two Belgian horses the opportunity to pull a sled… Continue reading Horse Pull
Category: Michigan Stories
Northern Lights
Astronomers, meteorologists, and such are telling us to watch for northern lights tonight. We’re ready, and, yes, it is possible to see them this far south. When we were kids, my parents would get us up at night to see them. We loved looking up at the sky. Part of the appeal was the novelty… Continue reading Northern Lights
Planes, Ups, and Elephants
Standing on the church’s front lawn last Sunday, my husband and I were enjoying the ice cream social and chatting with Phil, when there came a sound in the sky. “Here comes a B-17,” Phil said. “How did you know?” I asked, as the aircraft hove into view. “You couldn’t see it yet.” “By the… Continue reading Planes, Ups, and Elephants
Mall and TV
My friend Janice and I went to the mall this week. It’s been years since we’ve done that, because of CoVid. It felt like an adventure. On the drive there, we discussed election irregularities. Janice is a poll worker for elections, and we don’t know how irregularities could occur. Elections are very structured events, and… Continue reading Mall and TV
Douglas Lake, II
My husband and I just spent a few more days on Douglas Lake. A highlight of the reprise was a walk in Otsego County’s Louis M. Groen Nature Preserve, in Johannesburg, Michigan. The park is new and still in process; the bequest will eventually total 800 acres. The first thing you notice at Groen is… Continue reading Douglas Lake, II
Douglas Lake
We were fortunate to spend a few days with a daughter and her husband at a cabin Up North this week. The cabin sits in the woods on Douglas Lake—the small one in Otsego County, not the large one in Charlevoix County—and belongs to the family of one of our daughter’s lifelong friends. It… Continue reading Douglas Lake
Favorite Sounds
Friends and relations have been sharing their favorite sounds recently. Usually they pause a moment to think what those sounds might be. Becka didn’t, though. “Lately,” she says, “one of my favorite sounds is my granddaughter’s little giggle.” Happy grandfather John agrees. Said granddaughter is closing in on her first birthday, and I’ve seen the… Continue reading Favorite Sounds
Shop and Fetch
Yesterday, for the first time since the pandemic closed everything, I worked a volunteer shift at the Ann Arbor Thrift Shop. I’m excited to be there again. We’ve been in business since 1932 and provided millions of dollars, both in gifts in kind and in real green money, to individuals and organizations that need it. … Continue reading Shop and Fetch
Random Reading
One of my profs in grad school espoused what he called random reading. “On the way to the library,” he said, “memorize a license plate number. If the first number is odd, turn left when you enter the library; if it’s even, turn right.” Succeeding numbers determined floor, aisle, shelf, and book. However many numbers… Continue reading Random Reading
Baby Business
Wildlife nest-and-baby season is well upon us near the end of a Michigan June. My friend Sue saw wren babies hatch, fledge, and leave. She said they were remarkably cute. So are the baby mallards we’re seeing now. They’re at the stage where they have pretty gold markings incised into their brown fluff, each duckling… Continue reading Baby Business