hiking the pictured rocks national lakeshore trail
upper peninsula, michigan, usa
autumn equinox – northern hemisphere
—
‘autumn was ripening and the forest grew crisp.
so deep my soul ventured, I retuned with her scent.’
-angie welland-crosby
‘paradise is a state of mind.’
-dolly parton
lake superior – way U.P. in michigan
summer 2025
up north
on glen lake
the light
at the end of the day.
—
‘happiness is not always loud and bright and crowded.’
-e.l. konigsburg
—
autumn 2o24, glen lake, empire, michgian, usa
townies and visitors
listen to the powerful sounds of u’neek
at the end of summer sol festival
in the charming small town of pentwater
where we were visiting friends
realizing just how small it was
when we kept crossing paths with people
who we’d seen or met in other places
doing other jobs or in different circumstances.
chad was the fill-in musician between sets and bands
also the bartender at the ‘yacht club’
also the second place trivia night champion in town.
next we saw the guy who was the host
at the cafe across the street where we had lunch
now a paying customer at the festival pub.
then we ran into the artist who was also a caretaker for his parents and his dog
who we encountered on the beach an hour before
now sharing stories with my friend and dog-bonding.
—
if i lived there and had multiple roles, i would like to work one day a week at the magical toy store as a storyteller, work one afternoon a week selling ice cream at the beach, be known as the pretty good crossword puzzle champion in town, and sit on a bench in the park watching the town go by and writing my homespun recipe column for the local paper, like how to make my baked potatoes.
—
‘one of the important things about being a small-town reporter is knowing what not to put in the paper.’
-terry pratchett
on the first day of fall with friends
lake michigan
—
‘not every lake dreams to be an ocean.’
-memet murat ildan
“the sky broke like an egg into full sunset and the water caught fire.”
-pamela hansford johnson
—
summer on glen lake, empire/glen arbor, michigan, usa
night slowly arrives
warmly wraps around the lake
color fades away.
—
“of all the paths you take in life make some lead to the lake.”
– unknown
—
on glen lake, empire, michigan, usa – summer 2024
as michiganders
we grew up with detroit’s famous vernors ginger ale
not only was is good to drink and make floats and shakes out of it
but we used it as at least 80% of our medicine
if you felt
nauseous, had a virus, flu, unexplained itching, headache, were sore, tired, dizzy
or suffered from an unlimited litany of ailments
you were put to bed
and given cold vernors to sip on
but when the hot vernors showed up
on your bedroom tray
you knew your prognosis was much worse
and your days possibly numbered.
—
“there is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great,
and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something better tomorrow.”
-orison swett marden
early morning ann arbor
outside of washtenaw dairy
on a home game day
calm before the storm
go blue.
—
“you don’t show up on game day and expect to be great.
greatness happens in practice.
you have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.”
-michael jordan
—
photo credit: washtenaw dairy
I didn't have my glasses on.... 