The temperature reached eighty degrees today and, judging by the purchases at the Thrift Shop, this was the day people finally snapped: they would not wear their winter clothes one more day. They pulled their summer clothes out of storage, put some on, and set off for the Thrift Shop to look for more. They… Continue reading Summer Light
Winter to Spring
Last weekend, Anne invited Tanya and me to sit in the front yard of her house and sip wine. This surprised me some as the temperature only reached about fifty degrees that day and the wind was blowing. One doesn’t turn down such invitations, though, so I pulled on my winter jacket and gloves and… Continue reading Winter to Spring
Redtail and Cygnets
A glance out the kitchen window, Tuesday morning, revealed high drama underway in our back yard. There on the lawn was a hawk the approximate size of the mastodons whose bones are on display at our natural history museum. Not only was the bird large, but it seemed to have at least four wings, all… Continue reading Redtail and Cygnets
Blossoms, Birds, and Quarters
You never know what lies ahead in the spring. Around the neighborhood, people with broken magnolias have chosen not to remove branches that are still in any way attached to the trees. Massive limbs resting on the ground are in full glorious bloom—bloody, but unbowed, to use Henley’s words. Who knows what the owners will… Continue reading Blossoms, Birds, and Quarters
Eighty-Three Degrees
Eighty-three degrees. We are not yet halfway through April, and the temperature this afternoon is eighty-three degrees. Dave Rexroth, chief meteorologist for Channel 7 Action News, says we may get snow next week, but today we have eighty-three degrees. The weather is prompting odd behaviors. This morning, for instance, I saw a man putting… Continue reading Eighty-Three Degrees
Buds and Allelujas
Lawn extensions around town remain strewn with branches brought down by this winter’s destructive combination of ice, snow, and wind. The branches come from all kinds of trees, including ornamentals. Weeks ago, Anne handed me some downed pieces of her juneberry and, after some time in a vase of water, they bloomed. It was a… Continue reading Buds and Allelujas
Whatever the Problem
The piles of broken branches at the curb in front of people’s houses aren’t getting any smaller. In fact, in many cases, they’re growing. Recent high winds that brought branches already weakened by March’s ice storms and heavy snow the rest of the way down. I’ve been hauling white pine and maple out to our… Continue reading Whatever the Problem
A Warm Place
This week’s post isn’t about Michigan. It’s about Michiganders traveling. To a warm spot. In winter. My husband and Daughter Number 1 and I met up with Daughter Number 3 in Charlotte, North Carolina, where D#3 lives. The next morning, the four of us were packing the car before leaving for South Carolina, where D#3… Continue reading A Warm Place
Dogs, Robots, and Forcing Blooms
Our local Humane Society can always use donations of towels and other flat linens. So, when I find abandoned towels out in the wilds—which happens more often than you might think—I wash them and drop them off at our truly stellar organization. Not only is the Humane Society of Huron Valley a no-kill shelter, it… Continue reading Dogs, Robots, and Forcing Blooms
All Over Town
We had an ice storm in February and ice after that and ice after that. The ice broke branches all over town. What dealt the biggest blow, however, wasn’t all that ice. It was last week’s snowstorm. Flakes started falling early Friday afternoon, a few at first, then thick and fast. Wind howled and… Continue reading All Over Town