Northern Michigan Experience

Snowshoeing Aspen Park

2011-02-09T17:40:00.000-08:00

“I see my path, but I don't know where it leads. Not knowing where I'm going is what inspires me to travel it.”

-Rosalia de Castro

Autumn in Gaylord

2010-10-04T16:44:00.000-07:00

Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all. ~Stanley Horowitz

Bridge at the Grayling Fish Hatchery

2010-08-19T18:52:00.000-07:00

I never wanted to set the world on fire. So I never had to burn any bridges behind me.

-Dinah Shore

Everything is just ducky

2010-07-11T18:27:00.000-07:00

Water Lily

2010-06-30T05:03:00.000-07:00

When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other.

~Chinese Proverb

Seeking Squirrel

2010-06-12T18:27:00.000-07:00

“As long as one keeps searching, the answers come”

- Joan Baez quotes (American Singer and Song Writer, b.1941)

A Butterfly's Life

2010-06-08T14:01:00.000-07:00

"Just living is not enough," said the butterfly, "one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower."

~Hans Christian Anderson

My favorite bird

2010-05-25T17:13:00.000-07:00

The windows of my soul I throw
Wide open to the sun.
~John Greenleaf Whittier, My Psalm

Morning in Gaylord

2010-04-09T10:05:00.000-07:00

Through the blackest night, morning gently tiptoes, feeling its way to dawn.
~Robert Brault

Spring

2010-03-31T10:26:00.000-07:00

No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.
~Hal Borland

Lovely Chickadee

2010-02-05T06:55:00.000-08:00

Breath is Spirit. The act of breathing is Living.

~Author Unknown

Winter Morning

2010-01-07T11:52:00.000-08:00

I'll tell you how the sun rose a ribbon at a time. ~Emily Dickinson

End of Autumn

2009-11-13T03:44:00.000-08:00

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift. That's why we call it the present.

~Babatunde Olatunji

Traverse City 2008

Ausable River

2009-11-02T12:58:00.000-08:00

You drown not by falling into a river, but by staying submerged in it.
-Paulo Coelho

Fall Color Check

2009-10-20T03:00:00.000-07:00

“The real man smiles in trouble, gathers strength from distress, and grows brave by reflection”

-Thomas Paine

Innocence

2009-10-09T18:10:00.000-07:00

“Being part of the natural world reminds me that innocence isn't ever lost completely; we just need to maintain our goodness to regain it.”

-Jewel

Wet Autumn Leaves

2009-10-06T05:09:00.000-07:00

falling leaves
hide the path
so quietly

~John Bailey, "Autumn," a haiku year, 2001

Elk Viewing In Gaylord, MI

2009-09-24T06:34:00.000-07:00

In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.

- John Muir

Autumn in Northern Michigan

2009-09-15T15:44:00.000-07:00

Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn.

~Elizabeth Lawrence

My Loon

2009-09-11T17:45:00.000-07:00

There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm.

~Willa Cather

Here is my Loon chick - all grown up and getting ready to migrate. The night he was born, there was a huge storm on the lake and his sibling didn't make it. The lake was full of predators such a Pike, Eagles and snapping turtles. But with his parents help, he was able to dodge danger . There were jet skiers and boats that sometimes came too close - but still he was able to avoid them and dive under the water just in time.

And now as I let out a sigh of relief, I realize that he made it! He will live and have a family of his own someday. Life is good.

Anticipation

2009-09-02T18:58:00.000-07:00

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns. ~George Eliot

I couldn't resist posting one of my Autumn photos from last year. This was taken in the early morning and I loved the contrast of the light fog against the brilliant colored trees. I am ready once again for Nature's best show of the year!

Lush Green Trees

2009-08-28T17:42:00.001-07:00

For in the true nature of things,
if we rightly consider,
every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver.
~Martin Luther

My Grosbeak friend

2009-08-14T05:31:00.000-07:00

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
and never stops at all.
-
Emily Dickenson

Untamed Shoreline

2009-08-06T18:44:00.000-07:00

Let us permit nature to have her way.
She understands her business better than we do. ~Michel de Montaigne

The squirrel I feed in my yard

2009-08-02T14:59:00.000-07:00

Don't be yourself - be someone a little nicer.

~Mignon McLaughlin, The Second Neurotic's Notebook, 1966

Moon at Dusk

2009-07-23T12:47:00.000-07:00

“Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.”

- Buddha Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta, the founder of Buddhism, 563-483 B.C.)

*This photo was taken by my husband as we were enjoying the northern Michigan moon from the deck of our cabin.

Kayak Adventure

2009-07-19T18:48:00.000-07:00

“We should come home from adventures, and perils, and discoveries every day with new experience and character”

-Henry David Thoreau

Turtle

2009-07-09T06:03:00.000-07:00

“Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out.”

- James Bryant Conant

I found this little guy as I was kayaking on Little Bradford Lake. He had some buddies with him but as soon as I came closer with my boat, the rest of them slid back into the water.

Quiet Lake

2009-07-05T19:04:00.000-07:00

Only in quiet waters do thing mirror themselves undistorted. Only in a quiet mind is adequate perception of the world.

~Hans Margolius

Ausable River

2009-06-29T17:59:00.000-07:00

Rivers are roads which move, and which carry us whither we desire to go.

~Blaise Pascal

Raft

2009-06-27T18:13:00.000-07:00

This is a Common Loon nesting on a floating raft made by local Loon Rangers in Gaylord, Michigan. This raft keeps the babies safe from predators which is especially important as Michigan's Loon population is declining.

It is important to note that you should never get too close to a nesting Loon. They are very sensitive and will abandon the nest if disturbed. Best to use your zoom lens from a far distance. They typically have two loon chicks which learn to swim within a day. I hope to get photos of the babies soon!

Grosbeak Glory

2009-06-17T16:05:00.000-07:00

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.

~Dr. Seuss

The Road Less Traveled

2009-06-10T06:33:00.000-07:00

ROAD LESS TRAVELED

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth

Then took the other as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet, knowing how way leads onto way
I doubted if I should ever come back

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence
Two roads diverged in a wood
And I took the one less traveled by
And that has made all the difference

Robert Frost

SPECIAL NOTE - I will be out of town the rest of this week and will catch up with all of you on Monday. Thank you for stopping by!

For Pam

2009-06-08T17:20:00.000-07:00

Can we conceive what humanity would be if it did not know the flowers?

~Maurice Maeterlinck

Today's flower is for Pam at Baskets & Prims! I was so happy to meet her in person at the Gaylord Art Fair this past weekend. She was so sweet and gave me this beautiful handwoven basket with handpainted Loons. Thank you again Pam!

True North

2009-06-04T13:33:00.000-07:00

"The True North begins when the Loon greets you."

- Greg Martinez

*This Saturday, I will have a craft booth featuring items from my nature store at the Gaylord Arts & Crafts Bazaar. It runs from 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m and is located on the corner of First and Court Street. If you're in the downtown area, please stop by and say hi!

A companion in Nature...

2009-06-02T05:42:00.000-07:00

To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring - it was peace.
~Milan Kundera

My goal in life is to be as good of a person my dog already thinks I am.
~Author Unknown

It took me a couple years, but I convinced the hubby to get a Bernese Mountain Dog. Our puppy comes home in 4 weeks and I am excited beyond belief! I am looking forward to bringing this beautiful girl with us on a canoe, on our walks and for swims in the lake. She will make a wonderful addition!

Last of my Tulips...

2009-05-30T20:19:00.000-07:00

I will be the gladdest thing
Under the sun!
I will touch a hundred flowers
And not pick one.

Afternoon on a Hill~Edna St. Vincent Millay, ""

View from the log cabin

2009-05-29T04:55:00.000-07:00

Weekends don't count unless you spend them doing something completely pointless.

~Bill Watterson

Singing Goldfinch

2009-05-27T05:56:00.000-07:00

A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.

~Maya Angelou

Look what I found!

2009-05-24T14:14:00.001-07:00

I was so excited to have found my beloved Loon pair this morning, that I posted this photo on all 3 of my blogs! I kayaked all over Big Bradford lake to find these two - listening carefully for their haunting call across the water. And to make things even better, I heard a Loon on my own lake (Little Bradford Lake) this morning. So tomorrow I will load up the kayak and go looking for him. It goes without saying, the Common Loon is my favorite bird!

Barred Owl

2009-05-22T09:41:00.000-07:00

“A wise old owl sat on an oak; The more he saw the less he spoke; The less he spoke the more he heard; Why aren't we like that wise old bird?”

-Author Unknown

This is a Barred-Owl that I was able to meet in person at the Kirtland Warbler Festival recently. As he was injured and cannot be released back into the wild, he is used for education by a wildlife rehabilitation organization.

Everyone have a safe Memorial weekend! Remember those who sacrificed who us and continue to do so!

Sweet Female Grosbeak

2009-05-20T12:12:00.000-07:00

Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart.

~Kahlil Gibran

Great Horned Owl

2009-05-17T18:47:00.001-07:00

An animal's eyes have the power to speak a great language.

~Martin Buber

*Rescued Great Horned Owl - now part of ARK's wildlife education program.

Lake

2009-05-14T17:46:00.000-07:00

A lake is the landscape's most beautiful and expressive feature. It is earth's eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature.

~Henry David Thoreau

Red-winged Blackbird

2009-05-12T13:00:00.001-07:00

This is a female Red-winged blackbird. She is vastly different from the striking male with his black feathers and red bars on his wings. But still, as I watched the plain female, I decided she had her own quiet beauty.

A tulip surprise

2009-05-11T12:47:00.000-07:00

"The bee is more honored than other animals, not because she labors, but because she labors for others.”

-Saint John Chrysostom

Can you see the little bee?

Gerbera Daisies

2009-05-09T02:00:00.000-07:00

'Tis my faith that every flower
Enjoys the air it breathes!

~William Wordsworth, "Lines Written in Early Spring," Lyrical Ballads, 1798

An early Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there!

In the moment

2009-05-05T17:51:00.000-07:00

With the past, I have nothing to do; nor with the future. I live now.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Kayaking...

2009-05-03T15:52:00.000-07:00

I went kayaking on Little Bradford Lake this morning. Nothing like paddling through calm water and enjoying the crisp air as you listen to the birds...

Tulip Time

2009-04-30T15:14:00.000-07:00

If you've never been thrilled to the very edges of your soul by a flower in spring bloom, maybe your soul has never been in bloom.

~Audra Foveo

It's that time of year again for the Tulip Time Festival in Holland, Michigan. This festival was named "Best Smalltown Festival" by Readers Digest. Events include fireworks, a parade, many musical groups, arts and craft fair and of course tulips! It runs May 2 - May 9. Click here for a brochure of events.

Flowing Creek

2009-04-28T19:06:00.000-07:00

“Water, air, and cleanness are the chief articles in my pharmacy.”

- Napoleon Bonaparte (French General, Politician and Emperor (1804-14). 1769-1821)

Michigan's State Bird

2009-04-26T15:43:00.000-07:00

A Robin Redbreast in a cage
Puts all Heaven in a Rage.

~William Blake, Auguries of Innocence

Red Squirrel

2009-04-23T05:25:00.000-07:00

Lots of people talk to animals.... Not very many listen, though.... That's the problem.

~Benjamin Hoff, The Tao of Pooh

Tomahawk Creek Flooding

2009-04-20T04:54:00.000-07:00

Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence.

-Henry David Thoreau

The hubby and I took a field trip out to the Tomahawk Creek Flooding area which is part of the Mackinaw State Forest in northern Michigan. This is known for its wildlife viewing opportunities. We were hopeful we would see Loons or Osprey but maybe the next trip out here. We heard several Black-capped Chickadees and observed Canadian Geese (they must've followed me from my cabin!) and a female doe.

Cattails - Nature's Gift

2009-04-17T07:28:00.000-07:00

“It is good to realize that if love and peace can prevail on earth, and if we can teach our children to honour nature's gifts, the joys and beauties of the outdoors will be here forever.”

- Jimmy Carter (American 39th US President (1977-81). Nobel Prize for Peace in 2002.

Waiting for my Loons

2009-04-14T08:22:00.000-07:00

Lakehood - a poem by Loons Forever

a lake

needs a loon

to laugh with the moon

to be a lake

I'm headed to our log cabin tomorrow morning. I am very excited to see if my Loons have returned yet. If the lake ice is fully broken up, then I may be in luck!

Taking a walk...

2009-04-12T20:12:00.000-07:00

If a man walks in the woods for love of them half of each day, he is in danger of being regarded as a loafer. But if he spends his days as a speculator, shearing off those woods and making the earth bald before her time, he is deemed an industrious and enterprising citizen.

~Henry David Thoreau

Hurry Grosbeaks!

2009-04-07T13:18:00.000-07:00

“If I keep a green bough in my heart, the singing bird will come.”

- Chinese Proverb

A sure sign of spring in northern Michigan is the return of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak. They are one of my favorite bird visitors with their cheerful songs and large clown beaks. The female is more of a drab brown but still has such a sweet face.

Ice Break Up

2009-04-05T17:07:00.000-07:00

“Friendship that flows from the heart cannot be frozen by adversity, as the water that flows from the spring cannot congeal in winter.”

Little Bradford Lake - the ice is finally starting to break up. My kayaking days can't be far behind now...

Stephan Bridge Canoe Landing

2009-04-01T17:49:00.000-07:00

We cannot command Nature except by obeying her.

~Francis Bacon

Bird weather

2009-03-29T18:44:00.000-07:00

My favorite weather is bird-chirping weather. ~Loire Hartwould

*The Common Redpolls and the Pine Siskins still have not migrated onward which means Michigan has more snow in store for her. Though they are feeder hogs, I did enjoy their company this morning and was able to get a few of them to eat out of my hand. If you would like to see those photos, please click here.

Continuing my walk on the Ausable...

2009-03-27T05:04:00.000-07:00

Generally speaking, a howling wilderness does not howl: it is the imagination of the traveler that does the howling.

- Henry David Thoreau

Perception on the Ausable River

2009-03-24T17:23:00.000-07:00

Only in quiet waters do thing mirror themselves undistorted. Only in a quiet mind is adequate perception of the world.

~Hans Margolius

Moving River

2009-03-23T07:18:00.000-07:00

“Love is like a river, never ending as it flows, but gets greater with time!”

-Author Unknown

Logs on the Ausable River

2009-03-19T18:34:00.000-07:00

“The logs of wood which move down the river together Are driven apart by every wave. Such inevitable parting Should not be the cause of misery.”

- Nagarjuna

Rocks

2009-03-18T18:30:00.000-07:00

"The brook would lose its song if we removed the rocks”

- Author Unknown

Morning has broken

2009-03-15T23:00:00.000-07:00

Morning has broken,

Like the first morning....

Blackbird has spoken,

...like the first bird.

Praise for the singing, praise for the morning

Praise for them springing fresh from the world.

Sung by Cat Stevens. Lyrics by Eleanor Farjean.

I wanted to share one of my glorious mornings I had this weekend with you.

Wildness

2009-03-15T19:03:00.000-07:00

What would the world be, once bereft
Of wet and wildness? Let them be left,
O let them be left, wildness and wet,
Long live the weeds and the wildness yet.

~Gerard Manley Hopkins, Inversnaid

*This photo was shot in Gaylord, MI and I believe it is a part of Kolke Creek.

Ausable River

2009-03-11T19:31:00.000-07:00

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.

~Lao Tzu

More Pigeon River

2009-03-09T18:44:00.000-07:00

“Love is the river of life in the world.” - Henry Ward Beecher

Thank you to Nature Lovin Super Mama for identifying this as the Pigeon River. For more information and great photos on the Pigeon River, I highly suggest you visit her blog by clicking here.

Broken Barn

2009-03-08T20:15:00.000-07:00

“Memory is the greatest of artists, and effaces from your mind what is unnecessary.”
- Maurice Baring

One of my favorite birds

2009-03-06T18:32:00.000-08:00

“If I keep a green bough in my heart, the singing bird will come.”
- Chinese Proverb

This weekend I am speaking about birding and blogging at the Michigan Audubon's annual conference in Lansing. I will catch up with all of you on Sunday. Thank you for visiting!

Moo

2009-03-04T19:21:00.000-08:00

Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are good is like expecting the bull not to charge because you are a vegetarian.

~Dennis Wholey

Sweeter Side

2009-03-03T13:40:00.000-08:00

This Gray Squirrel was so ferocious this past weekend - chewing big holes on my new wooden bird feeder. When I went outside to shoo him away, he crawled up into the tree and immediately looked so sweet and vulnerable. Hmmm....well I guess I'll be getting a baffle for the new feeder, but I'll leave some peanuts on the ground nearby. I'm a softie.

Out into the wilderness

2009-03-02T04:38:00.000-08:00

“In wilderness is the preservation of the world.”

- Henry David Thoreau

Return of the Loons

2009-02-26T17:24:00.000-08:00

“I would start worrying if the loon is having trouble, because the loon is eating the same fish that people are eating. It's a good early warning signal.” - Dave Evers

The one thing I am looking forward to most this spring is the return of my loons. I don't think there is a more beautiful sound than the wild call of the loon across the lake on a misty morning. I will be looking out for them this summer. Last year I picked up numerous discarded fishing lines that could've strangled them and their loon chicks. I had to paddle my kayak over to these people on a boat that were getting to close to the loons and frightening them and their babies. (In case you aren't aware - if a Loon comes up out of the water with its wings or gives its tremolo call - you are too close.) I am hoping more people appreciate the loons and their fragile state. They are an excellent indicator of the health of our lakes and their beauty is to be enjoyed.

Road to the Pigeon River Forest

2009-02-25T04:41:00.000-08:00

“He who chooses the beginning of the road chooses the place it leads to. It is the means that determines the end.”

-- Harry Emerson Fosdick (American clergyman 1878-1969)

Information on the Pigeon River Forest as quoted by it's Association:

The Pigeon River Country Association began in 1971 when a group of local citizens, sportsmen, and environmental activists banded together to save the last great tract of undeveloped land in Michigan's lower peninsula. This land, which Ernest Hemingway called the "pine barrens east of Vanderbilt" and what Michigan pioneer conservationist P.S. Lovejoy liked to call "The Big Wild", is home to the largest herd of wild elk east of the Mississippi and forms a major part of the watershed of three of Michigan's premier trout streams, the Sturgeon, the Pigeon River, and the Cheboygan Black. Left a shambles by early logging and the fires that followed, by the rapid expansion of the oil and gas industry and facing the threat of other forms of overdevelopment of the northern lower peninsula, the efforts of this grass-roots association, working in concert with other concerned organizations, were to result in the official establishment, in 1974, of the Pigeon River Country Forest as a special management unit of over 100 square miles in four counties administered by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources according to a special Plan of Management overseen by a special state-appointed advisory council. The association's efforts, backed by law-suites and court decisions, also led to the precedent-setting Hydrocarbon Development Plan that has served as a model for responsible oil and gas drilling and production practices that are now being implemented throughout the rest the state of Michigan.

Giveaway from the Log Cabin!

2009-02-24T03:08:00.000-08:00

Psst! I'm hosting a giveaway on my log cabin blog. If you would like to enter, please click here.

Rocks on the Ausable River

2009-02-22T11:23:00.000-08:00

“If thou live according to nature, thou wilt never be poor; if according to the opinions of the world, thou wilt never be rich.”

-Seneca quotes (Roman philosopher, mid-1st century AD)

Pigeon River

2009-02-20T05:42:00.000-08:00

"He who postpones the hour of living is like the rustic who waits for the river to run out before he crosses."

- Horace Quotes - Ancient Rome

Frosty Branch

2009-02-17T19:26:00.000-08:00

The frost performs its secret ministry, Unhelped by any wind.

- Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Bridge over the Ausable River

2009-02-15T18:19:00.000-08:00

We build too many walls and not enough bridges.

Isaac Newton

The wonder of trees

2009-02-12T02:34:00.000-08:00

The wonder is that we can see these trees and not wonder more.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Waiting for Spring

2009-02-09T07:46:00.000-08:00

From Online Edits

I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore....

I hear it in the deep heart's core.

- William Butler Yeats

Bird house

2009-02-05T15:42:00.000-08:00

"People live like birds in the woods: When the time comes, each must take flight."

- Chinese Proverb

Ice Fishing

2009-02-02T08:06:00.000-08:00

Ice Fishing

“I would say it's the best thing to come to this lake or any other lake since the boat. How much easier can ice fishing get?”

- Al Trucinski

Sleigh Ride

2009-01-28T10:15:00.000-08:00

There's a wonderful place I'm going to tell you about. And if you like sleigh rides,viewing elk and going to a log cabin in the middle of woods to have a hot meal - then you will like this place!

Last winter, we went to Thunder Bay Resort located in Hillman, Michigan. It was like stepping back into frontier times! We hopped onto a sleigh and were given blankets. From there we were whisked through the woods by these beautiful horses above. We stopped to view their fenced elk herd and snapped some photos. Then we were off on our sleigh ride again through all these beautiful trees.

Next stop was the log cabin, hidden in woods where a blazing fire and a gourmet meal awaited us. We had a 5 course meal which included a crown roast of pork cooked on an antique wood burning stove. It was so delicious and the hosts were wonderful. I loved hearing their stories and information on the elk herd. I felt like I had stepped into a Currier & Ives painting and wanted to do this again. I would highly recommend this experience and I hope you get to do it one winter night.

A small hidden creek

2009-01-25T17:39:00.000-08:00

"Creeks and ponds are great, as long as they have water in them."
- Thomas Murphy

This is a small creek I discovered on our land. We are on a small lake so this creek was a nice surprise. I can't wait to see what spring brings. Can you see the 2 Mourning Doves hidden in the branches?

My Computer Crashed!

2009-01-23T06:57:00.000-08:00

My computer crashed this week and I am desperately trying to find a service that can at least recover my photos. The Geek Squad at Best Buy did not come through. Looks like I will be getting a new computer. I hope to be back in action next week (hubby is kind enough to let me use his work computer when he is able) and I'll be back to catch up with all of your blogs. Wish me luck!

Wild Ducks

2009-01-21T17:14:00.000-08:00

Wild ducks and tomorrow both come without calling.

- Russian Proverb

Winter Dusk

2009-01-20T07:36:00.000-08:00

“People live for the dream in their hearts. And I have yet to know anyone who has not some secret dream, some hope, however dim, some storied wall to look at in the dusk, some painted window leading to the soul.”

-Zane Grey

Horses in winter

2009-01-18T14:06:00.000-08:00

"He that can travel well afoot, keeps a good horse."

-Benjamin Franklin

Ready to launch

2009-01-15T10:16:00.000-08:00

The White-breasted Nuthatch is a comical bird in my opinion. With the way he creeps down the tree headfirst and his nasal "what, what" call to let you know he's arrived. In the winter you will often find them "hanging out" with the Black-capped Chickadees at the feeders.

Snowy Nose

2009-01-14T14:04:00.000-08:00

This little guy was raiding my bird feeders all morning. I let him. He looked so cold and I knew he was hungry. This isn't a sharp photo but I liked the snow on his face. Hoping for warmer days ahead for my black squirrel!

Farm in Gaylord

2009-01-11T10:46:00.000-08:00

“Only he can understand what a farm is, what a country is, who shall have sacrificed part of himself to his farm or country, fought to save it, struggled to make it beautiful. Only then will the love of farm or country fill his heart.”

- Antoine de Saint-Exupery quotes (French Pilot, Writer and Author of 'The Little Prince', 1900-1944)

Juvenile Bald Eagle in Flight

2009-01-08T14:27:00.000-08:00

“Eagles: When they walk, they stumble. They are not what one would call graceful. They were not designed to walk. They fly. And when they fly, oh, how they fly, so free, so graceful. They see from the sky what we never see.”

- Author unknown

Elk

2009-01-05T17:27:00.000-08:00

"All good things are wild, and free."

-Henry David Thoreau

Downy Woodpecker

2009-01-03T19:10:00.001-08:00

I like to post my northern Michigan birds here for those who don't make it to my birding blog. The Downy Woodpecker is a year round visitor to Michigan and enjoys suet very much. They are the smallest and most common American woodpecker. I always find them to be such pleasant company with their beautiful colors and their sharp "pik" sound.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T13:58:00.000-08:00

"January is here, with eyes that keenly glow,
A frost-mailed warrior
striding a shadowy steed of snow."

- Edgar Fawcett

Homesick

2008-12-30T19:23:00.000-08:00

"I come home to my solitary woodland walk as the homesick go home.
I thus dispose of the superfluous and see things as they are,
grand and beautiful."

- Henry David Thoreau