Mountains in Miniature

Mossy mountains in our peat bog that have been sculpted over time from the decaying root systems of wind blown trees. 2011 is coming in with a grand thaw and pouring rain. The snow is gone and temps are in the 40's.

Blowing in the wind

Fly, little seeds,

fly on the wings of the wind.

Find a soft wet place

to land and grow...

This is part of my efforts to get more plant diversity on our property. Hopefully these cattail seeds from a roadside ditch will get settled in our wetland and sprout and grow into a cattail patch. The property I grew up on has a marshy area and I remember a time when it did not have cattails. One spring when I was eight or nine, I remember coming back from visiting a beaver pond and scattering cattail fluff that I had picked at the beaver pond over our marsh. A few years latter we had a nice start to a cattail patch.

I am hoping for the same here.

Cattail is a prized basket making plant and I am looking forward to one day being able to harvest cattails from my own land. (I started weaving a cattail basket a few days ago. Maybe in a few days I will have photos of it to share.)

Merry Christmas!

"While gentle silence enveloped all things,

and night in its swift course was now half gone, 

the all-powerful Word leapt from heaven,

from the royal throne, into the midst of the land,

...and touched heaven while standing on the earth.”

O Little Tree, O Little Tree

O little tree, O little tree,

May we make of thee

Our Christmas tree?

We'll brighten thee

with candle light, a golden chain,

and a star tonight.

O little tree, O little tree,

May we make of thee

Our Christmas tree?

We cut our tree at a local tree farm yesterday. It took us two hours to pick a tree because we had to look at at least one thousand trees before we made our pick. I decorated as I have for the past few years with all edible decorations--apples, oranges, candy canes, and cream cheese cookies.

I told my husband to help himself to cookies from the tree when ever he feels like it. Last year we kept it up longer than usual and they got very hard--can't let that happen this year!  (I did make some extra cookie dough and put it in the freezer so if the decorations disappear, I can easily replace them.)

Maybe I will make some popcorn balls later this week and put them on the tree as well...

       

Junco Feathers

Miss Calico

This pretty little calico seems to have made up her mind that our front porch is her home. We think she was probably abused in her former home since she is very tense around people. She was extremely skittish at first, but is slowly starting to relax. In fact she spent about a week up in the rafters of the barn, sneaking down only to grab some food from the cat's dish before we even saw her. We heard her every day and thought she was a raccoon. It wasn't until Terry took a flash light and a can of pepper spray to try to get her out of there that we realized she was a cat. Needless to say, the pepper spray wasn't used. It was another week before she began tentatively showing up for a few minutes on the front porch. A few days and several treats later she let us pick her up and pet her.

She remains tense and wary and doesn't seem to know how to purr. She also won't eat ham. Shadows seems happy to have a friend. Nemo is very much a loner and doesn't tolerate his playfulness at all and promptly leaves whenever Shadows comes near. Miss Calico is obviously annoyed at his playfulness, but doesn't mind hissing and bating him to get him to stop bothering her. That doesn't seem to bother him.  And she doesn't mind snuggling with him on his old wool coat to keep warm. Now we just need to prevent the future problem of having having half a dozen little kittens being born next spring.

Ghosts of Michigan Past

Two wooden towers stand grey and empty along a once busy highway. Prior to the the building of massive interstate freeways, this highway was the main route from Detroit, Michigan to Chicago, Illinois. In the days of stagecoach travel, the stretch of road where these towers stand was one of the stagecoach stopping places. Along this stretch of road there are multiple tourist attractions that are now mostly empty and boarded up. These two observation towers were once a highlight of the route, attracting thousands of people who would stop for a rest, and a bite to eat, and refuel at the gas station that was once at the foot of the towers. They would climb the stairs to the viewing platforms and and look out over rolling hills and shimmering lakes.

The towers have been closed and boarded up for over ten years now and are starting to show signs of disrepair. Driving down this stretch of US 12, always makes me a little sad. Many of the now abandoned tourist attractions appear to have been cheesy and cheap, but this one I want to see repaired and reopened. It would have to be a labor of love for whoever decides to do it. I wonder if it would be possible to make it into a bed and breakfast or even a family home.  Whenever I drive by, I think of the possibilities.

"The original Irish Hills Tower was built in 1924 by the Michigan Observation Company (MOC). The proposed site for the tower was atop of Brighton Hill. However, at the peak was the property line, and the western portion was owned by Edward Kelley. Mr. Kelley did not want to see the area commercialized. He bitterly opposed the building of the tower that would come right up to the edge of his property line. But the Michigan Observations Company went ahead with the construction of the tower, making it 50 feet high. Mr. Kelley, out of spite, built a tower of his own right next to the MOC tower, only he went 10 feet higher. The original tower then added 14 feet to its tower. Mr. Kelley, not to be outdone, went four feet higher, thus making both towers an even 64 feet high. It might not have stopped there, but the MOC told Mr. Kelley that if he added any more to his tower it would tear down its tower and put up a much higher tower of steel. This Mr. Kelley didn’t want, so an end was put to the raising of two towers.

 The two towers were in keen competition (for the tourist trade) until 1944 when Mr. Frank Lamping bought the original Irish Hills tower from the MOC, and in 1955 bought the other tower from a Kelley heir. The existing tops were built and put in place in 1972, joining the towers at the top for the first time. In 1987, an 18-hole miniature golf course was constructed around the base. The rocks used throughout the course came from a local farmer’s field. The top of the towers is 1400 feet above sea level, and makes the towers the highest point in southeastern Michigan. On a clear day one can see for seven miles. Ten lakes can be seen. Each year thousands of people from all over the world would climb to the top to enjoy the scenic view which is so reminiscent of the Killarney Lakes region of Ireland. Even inoperable, the towers will always remain a landmark of the Irish Hills."

'Twas in the Moon of Winter-time...

'Twas in the moon of winter-time,

When all the birds had fled, That mighty Gitchi-Manitou

Sent angel-choirs instead;

Before their light the stars grew dim,

And wond'ring hunters heard the hymn:

Jesus your King is born,

Jesus is born,

In excelsius gloria

Within a lodge of broken bark

The tender babe was found,

A ragged robe of rabbit skin

Enwrapped his beauty round:

But as the hunter braves drew nigh,

The angel-song rang loud and high,

Jesus your King is born,

Jesus is born,

In excelsius gloria.

The earliest moon of wintertime

Is not so round and fair

As was the ring of glory on

The helpless Infant there.

The chiefs from far before him knelt

With gifts of fox and beaver-pelt.

Jesus your King is born,

Jesus is born,

In excelsius gloria

O children of the forest free,

 O sons of Manitou,

The Holy Child of earth and heaven,

Is born today for you.

Come kneel before the radiant Boy

Who brings you beauty, peace and joy.

Jesus your King is born,

 Jesus is born,

 In excelsius gloria.

The "Huron Carol" (or "'Twas in the Moon of Wintertime") was written in 1643 by Jean de Brebouf, a Jesuit missionary at Sainte-Marie among the Hurons in Canada. It was written in the language of the Huron people. To hear the melody of this lovely carol, click here.) (My first and middle name--Kateri Tekawitha--is Native American. So when I found a Native American Nativity I had to add it to my collection. My last name is very much Irish, though.)

Snow!

The world was white with snow when we woke up this morning. Another 5 to 6 inches is predicted tonight as well as bitter temperatures. I think it is time to start decorating for Christmas.

Shadows is going crazy in the snow. I've never seen an animal (or a human for that matter!) be so excited about snow. He spent at least an hour this morning racing around in it, rolling in it, catching snow in his paws and throwing it up into the air. I was going to build my little snowman on the fence post--and you can see the start of it. But Shadows keep knocking it off before it was done and went chasing the snowballs down the hill. After three attempts I gave up and and went off to build one in the woods by the tree house. I decided it is an Amish snowman, because I couldn't get the face to stick--nor could I get the bright red barberry buttons I wanted to put on to stick. I guess I am out of practice building snow people! (For the snow lady that inspired my attempt, click here.)

Twilight Zone

We got our first snow last night,about an inch. The sun came out late in the day and melted most of it. I didn't get any pictures of the snow--it was another hectic work day--leaving before the sun rose and getting home long after it had set. But I did stop at the end of the day when I got done with my last patient visit to take some deep breaths and admire the silhouettes of these trees against the last remnants of twilight. It was a bright starry evening and I was miles out in the country with no lights around.

Frosty Morning

We haven't seen the sun for what seems like weeks around here, so when I saw there was pink in the eastern sky I ran out and waited for the sun to rise. And rise it did, in frosty splendor.

After the sun rose:

Before the sun rose:

(We are anticipating the first real snow tonight. We have had a few snow flurries with a light dusting of snow, but nothing yet has stuck. I'm looking forward to the first snow, Terry on the other hand isn't looking forward to plowing our long driveway.)

Sandhill Cranes in a Corn Field

This was a fuzzy photo, but after playing around with the contrast and exposure I decided to post it, as it is one of the better close ups I have gotten of sandhill cranes on the ground. We aren't seeing them so often these days. Most have headed south to Florida for the winter. They will be back in March to find nesting places.

Reflection in Still Water

This is one of the last photos I took with my new camera a few weeks ago. The camera turned out to be very frustrating to use--about 90% of the photos turned out blurry no matter what I did or what setting it was on. This was very frustrating, especially since one the reasons I had bought it was the many reviews by customers saying that it was a very easy camera to use and the pictures turned out great with little effort. I mentioned my problem to a friend who is a professional photographer and he said the problem may be with just this particular camera. He suggested that I try to send it back and have it replaced. So I put the camera back in the box and waited to hear back from the company. I finally heard from them today and we are sending it back for a replacement. So hopefully in a few weeks I will have the same model camera, but one the works the way it is supposed to.

Faces in the Cold

Two carved pumpkins

sit on the edge of the compost pile.

Crumpled and cold,

with gaping grins

and empty eyes,

they slowly sink

back into the the soil.

Old Oak Tree

A once mighty oak tree stands

naked and bare,

along a strip of golden prairie grass.

Trunk stripped of bark,

charred by flames,

now a home for woodpeckers

and wood boring insects.

But it still has a haunting beauty,

drawing those who pass by

to stop for a moment.

They stand amid the trampled grasses

under the dark branches

and gaze at the stark profile against the sky.

Mist and Magic of Machu Picchu

Nestled in the mountain tops of the Peruvian Andes, the ruins of Machu Picchu are a wonder of Inca engineering. Terry and I had the privilege of visiting Machu Picchu in April 2009 when we where in Peru for his son's wedding. I took these photos on April 2nd.  It is a place that takes your breath away with its beauty and majesty. Not only are the ruins themselves amazing, the story of how they were built is even more incredible. Last year PBS ran a documentary on the engineering that went into building the city. It is about 50 minutes long, but well worth watching. You can access the video here.

Cowslip and Crane Fly

The past few days have been cold and gray with just enough of a snow dusting to make things looks bleak. Been looking through old photos and and put this one on my desktop to brighten up the week. Photo was taken on May 5th, 2009.