We’ve had our first stick-to-the ground snow. Often, the first real snow of the year is strikingly beautiful, sitting decoratively on branches and the last of the autumn flowers. This snow, not so much. There was enough to need shoveling, and that’s about it. Children, however, think of any amount of snow as raw material… Continue reading Building
Category: Michigan Stories
Getting Ready
There was a skin of ice on Thurston Pond this morning, as thin and wrinkly as plastic wrap. This first ice of the year is transparent and reflects the trees and sky and clouds the way the pond did before it froze. It will melt later in the day, as the temperature goes up,… Continue reading Getting Ready
Rosebuds
Claire Kitchin Dahl, dressed as Rosie the Riveter, gave a whale of a presentation yesterday at the downtown Ann Arbor District Library this Wednesday. Her topic was the Rosies, all of them, the real women who went to work to support the war effort during World War II, making airplanes, munitions, and other supplies, and… Continue reading Rosebuds
All Hallows
The neighborhood’s most startling Halloween tableau this year occasioned me genuine alarm. Walking the dog, one foggy morning this week, I saw ahead of us a car where it didn’t belong: partly in the street and partly angled up over the curb on the lawn extension. I hurried to see if anyone needed help. When… Continue reading All Hallows
Proud Bones
Last month, Tanya and I went to a talk on barns, at which the presenter mentioned that a barn would be taken down on the twenty-fourth of October. He told us the barn in question was at Parker and Spies (pronounced speez) Roads. And this Monday, the date in question, my husband agreed to go… Continue reading Proud Bones
Light
Georgetown Boulevard in the fall is a contender for most gorgeous street in town, like Awixa in the spring. I was riding up Georgetown with my friend Cindy this week, and she was so much in the thrall of the maples that line the street that she missed our turn. That was on a rainy… Continue reading Light
Autumn Glow
As we were walking toward the parking lot after dinner at Zukey Lake, I spotted a bald eagle on the wing. It was easy to see, in an otherwise empty blue sky, and flying toward us, distinctive white head to the fore. There were other people near us, making their way to or from the… Continue reading Autumn Glow
Mosaics
Reading about an artist who makes mosaics led me to seeing the scenery here differently. The trees are starting to look like mosaics. In some cases, the artist has, so far, added only a few brightly colored pieces to the existing greens of the leaves. In others, the artist has indulged a fantasy, using liberal… Continue reading Mosaics
Barns
Tanya and I spent hours last night sitting in a dark, cold barn. It was great. We went to hear a talk about the Salem Area Historical Society’s preservation of a barn. The event was advertised as taking place in a school. The school was next door. The meeting was in the barn in question. … Continue reading Barns
Send-Offs and Welcomes
Yesterday afternoon, Anne and I went to the University of Michigan’s music school for a recital by incoming voice students. Twenty students sang, from those working on doctorates all the way to freshmen. The pacing of the concert was excellent, with exiting performers scarcely off the stage before the next performers entered. One accompanist… Continue reading Send-Offs and Welcomes