Still River

A glimpse of one of Michigan's quite little rivers--the Red Cedar River. 

Music Sculpture

A few years ago one of Michigan's small towns decided to have a chainsaw sculpture carving contest to turn the dead ash trees in the little park in the center of town into art.  A few weeks ago I shared photos of the sculpture that won second place. This detailed sculpture won first place and is appropriately located by the park's band shell. 

Sculpted Eagle

Over the past several years the Emerald Ash Borer has killed hundreds of thousands of ash trees across Michigan. Most of these dead trees are being cut down and used for firewood. However, one little town in Michigan decided to feature its dead trees as sculptures in the little park in the center of town. 

Here is one of those sculptures-a magestic eagle that took 2nd place in the sculpture carving contest. 

Linked to Macro Monday.

Lake Michigan Sunset

The sun sets over Lake Michigan...photos taken from a paddle boat on September 29th. 

Star of Saugatuck Paddle Boat. 

For photos of the full moon rising over the lake taken on the same boat ride, click here. 

Linked to Skywatch Friday. 

Harvest Moon

The Harvest Moon rises over Lake Michigan. Photos taken September 29th, from a paddle boat on Lake Michigan. 

Linked to Skywatch Friday. 

Desert in Black and White

Photos from the dessert garden at Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids Michigan. 

Five Meerkats--sculpture by Tom Hillis

Barrel Catus

Carrion Flower--pretty flower--but stinks to high heaven!

Wolf sculpture 

For some color photos of the same plants and sculptures, click here. 

Saugatuck Dunes State Park Beach--Lake Michigan

Today I am sharing a few more photos from our mini vacation to the western side of Michigan last weekend. Our first stop was Saugatuck Dunes State Park, which has 2.5 miles of secluded sandy beach with freshwater sand dunes that some of which are over 200 feet high. The beach is about a mile hike through a hardwood forest that is filled with several miles of hiking trails. 

The beach was quite, pristine, and felt a bit barren to me. It was my first time visiting sand dunes in the summer. (I've hiked them in the winter when covered in ice and snow, and that is a totally different experience--you expect barren in the winter.)

I mentioned afterwards to my husband when reviewing my photos of the dunes that sand dunes don't seem to be very photogenic, his reply was the sand usually isn't.

After all a sand dune is a giant pile of sand with some grass and maybe a few trees on the top. 

In any case, the sky and beach was beautiful, and you couldn't have asked for more lovely weather for the last two days of September. 

The only problem with short weekend trips is that when you leave, you feel you just have to come back again, because you know there is so much more to explore--there are trails on the other side of these dunes that we didn't get a chance to hike... 

For more photos of another beach along Lake Michigan that we visited last weekend, click here.

Pier Cove Beach--Lake Michigan

This weekend we took a trip to Saugatuck, Michigan on the west side of the state with some friends. Lake Michigan was too cold for swimming, but it was plenty warm enough to enjoy some nice strolls along the beach, and we were lucky enough to get to watch both the sunset and the harvest moon rise over Lake Michgan on Saturday evening. On the way home we stopped in Grand Rapids at the Meijer's Gardens. Lots of photos coming to both Dandelion Haven's facebook page and the blog!

One of our stops was to a pretty little beach along Lake Michigan in Saugatuck.

The beach was littered with hundreds of thousands of zebra mussel shells. While zebra mussels may make for a pretty photo, they are very harmful to the native species that live in the lake.

Seagull down.

Zebra Mussel shells.

Lake Michigan and Pier Cove Beach.  

Linked to Macro Monday.

Nature Vs Church

This crumbling country church against a cloud filled blue sky caught my eye today as I was driving between patients' homes.

Linked to Skywatch Friday.

For more frequent updates on my garden and projects on our 13 acres come on over and like Dandelion Haven's facebook page.

Corn Crib Gazebo

I stopped today to buy some bluebird houses at a little roadside stand, but this is what I really wanted--to get a closer look at the corn crib gazebo that was behind the farmhouse:

(Note to self--find a free unwanted wire corn crib and bring it home!)

Linked to skywatch friday.

Wire Corn Cribs

There is something about this set of wire corn cribs--silhouetted against the ever changing sky at the top of a hill on a neatly kept up little farm--that sings to my soul.

The day I finally stopped to take a picture, the sky was clear blue, but I also love seeing them against cloud filled skies as well.

Linked to Skywatch Friday.

March Spider Web

I do believe this is a first in my life--we woke up on the eve of Spring to a dewy sunrise and a field full of spiderwebs.

 It has been 80 degrees every day for the past week, with more warm weather in the forecast. The grass is green, trees are budding out, flowers are bursting into bloom, and I finally had a day off today to spend in the garden. Quite a contrast to last spring which was one of the coldest on record.

Green Pastures

I wouldn't mind being buried in a place like this. It also makes for a nice place to stop in the middle of the work day and eat lunch and do some of my never ending charting. (Never ending charting is the reason I haven't been by too many of your blogs recently, but I hope to catch up some time next week--I have two whole days off in the middle of next week! As always, I love your comments.)

Grain Elevators in Evening Light

The almost full moon rises over the skyscrapers of Michigan farm country...

(For a different view of these same grain elevators, taken earlier in the day, hop on over to Dandelion Haven's face book page.)

Linked to Skywatch Friday.

Celebrating the Ordinary

It is Skywatch Friday, and we are celebrating ordinary skies again here at Dandelion Haven. I snapped this photo on my way home from work today--I love a lone tree in the middle of a farmer's field. Even on a gray day, there is something serene and comforting about a lone tree.

"...a barn is a whole universe..."

"Inside a barn is a whole universe, with its own time zone and climate and ecosystem, a shadowy world of swirling dust illuminated in tiger stripes by light shining through the cracks in the boards."

--Carolyn Jourden (Heart in the Right Place)

Graveyard Sun and Shadows

The little cemetery quarter of a mile down the road from us.

Linked to Skywatch Friday.

Curwood Castle

This is the writing studio of James Oliver Curwood., a Michigan author and an early film writer. It is now a museum and is located on the banks of the Shiawassee River, in Owosso, MI. It is things like this that keep me sane on the job. Stumbling unexpectedly upon a lovely little castle on the banks of a  peaceful river in the middle of a hectic day, reminds me of one of the many reasons I am a homecare nurse.You don't stumble upon Michigan's little known treasures when you are shut up in a hospital all day or all night!

(I am going to be taking a blogging break for a bit. I plan to be back at the end of the month. I will look forward to catching up with all of you then.)

Sand Hill Cranes in a Wheat Field

In this part of Michigan, fall would not be fall without sand hill cranes feeding in the newly sprouted wheat fields...

(This may not be the greatest photo in the world, but sand hill cranes are one of my favorite things about living in this part of the country. I always love seeing them as I am driving through the country side visiting my patients. It is not unusual to see flocks of 100 or more in the corn, wheat, and soy fields this time of year.)

Trio of Cranes

With October comes the flying of the sand hill cranes. The cranes roost at night in wetlands and in the morning leave family by family to gorge themselves in the newly harvested corn and soybean fields or (to the farmer's dismay) in the newly planted wheat fields. They are storing energy to make their long migration flight from Michigan to Florida where they will spend the winter.

Sand hill cranes usually only hatch out one little crane-ling each spring. The little crane stays with his parents all summer and fall and flies with them to Florida. Over the winter he finds a mate there and leaves his parents. When we see a trio of cranes in the sky most of the time we are seeing a parent with their young crane.

Linked to Skywatch Friday.