The Ann Arbor Observer comes out once a month and is beloved by Ann Arborites. It arrives for free on our doorsteps, and I daresay most of us start poring over it immediately. It tells us what’s changed around town since the last time it appeared, carries interesting feature stories—this month’s is about Ann… Continue reading Observer Events
September
When August turns to September, the weather in Michigan does a sort of pivot. The days get cooler. I’ve left footprints in frost heavy enough to hold them at the beginning of September, although that was some years back and four hours north. We’d been swimming there earlier that week. The nights get cooler, too,… Continue reading September
Pond and Pull
While the dog and I were walking around Thurston Pond a couple days ago, we came across a blond squirrel. It seemed to be a healthy, regulation fox squirrel, except for the color of its fur. Given how visible that color made it, even in the dappled light of the woods, the blondness may well… Continue reading Pond and Pull
Horse Pull
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
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