Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Love is A'Twitter Up North


With the arrival of Spring, signs of avian romance are plentiful in our daily travels. The swans and Canadian geese are coupling up, the songbirds are starting to arrive and sing their songs, and the turkeys are ganging together to watch the males display and strut their stuff.

After sharing my earlier shock at seeing two turkeys in our current citified back yard, I've since watched turkeys by the roadside at the airport (with city all around), as well as gaggles of turkeys in the fields and woods.

Dan and I were excited to notice an osprey nest at the top of a phone pole last week, where mom is studiously sitting on the nest and dad is busy bringing home the yummies for the little ones. We also saw a young bald eagle sitting atop an old barn.


On the same drive just east of Torch Lake, there was a large green farmer's field (perhaps winter wheat?) dotted with white spots that turned out to be seagulls sitting in the greenery. There had to be at least a hundred or more, and upon closer examination they were also coupled up. That made me wonder- where do seagulls have their babies? When I googled this question, I got the answer that they make nests in rocky cliffs. We don't have rocky cliffs up here, and I think for some mysterious reason this large field has become a seagull mating spot. If I get this confirmed, I'll let you know....

Friday, April 17, 2009

Shades of Blue....





This week has been lovely- lots of sun, warmer temps, and we even have crocus blooming! We're a bit behind the rest of the world, but Spring is finally here. (And yes, there is still some snow laying around!)

We are now the happy owners of our new home in Bellaire, and busy getting the home ready for our next move. We'll be there full-time late May. Right now we're working on some paint, carpet, getting small things over, wallpaper removal, etc.

While driving back and forth, I've really enjoyed looking at the water. We've got Clam Lake, Torch Lake, Bellaire Lake, Intermediate Lake, and the Grand Traverse Bay. What's amazing to me is the color of the water up here. It's not the 'blah blue' I'm used to seeing in Ohio and Indiana.... it's shades of aquamarine, and peacock blue, and caribbean blue, and azure, and turquoise. It's definitely different- and beautiful......

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Turkeys and Arts 'n Crafts


Last Sunday I was getting a cup of coffee in the morning and looked out the window to see two wild turkeys casually walking through our back yard.
Now.... this won't be quite as surprising in our new home, since we have woods all around us and we're a bit more remote. But in this home we're in the city limits, in a residential neighborhood, with traffic, kids, dogs, etc.

I guess this is all part of 'Up North' living!
We still have snow on the ground, but in patches and piles. We are on the verge of doing a yard cleanup of the house we're renting.... I bought a rake Monday, was ready to go at it Tuesday until I woke to an inch or more of snow, and then..... I hurt my back. It was nasty- I could barely move, had major pain, and was at a complete loss as to what I had done.
This morning, I went to see Dustine Murphy, my chiropractor (and coincidentally, my daughter Rachel's friend since high school- small world!!). The reason for my back snafu?- arts 'n crafts. Yep, you got it. Arts 'n crafts.
It seems that spending several hours sitting in a chair, hunched over cutting and pasting, while designing and adding to the creative world, can totally lay you out. Who knew? Forget the dangers of skiing down a hill, or lifting weights, or gardening. Arts 'n crafts can be a silent killer...... :) Hmmmm.... I see the title for a talk show news segment....

Friday, April 3, 2009

Today


Today is a purple-and-brown day (purple turtleneck and sweater, brown velour pants- warm and cozy)

Today is a let-your-hair-do-whatever-the-hell-it-wants and part-your-hair-on-the-wrong-side day.

Today is a watch-the-snow-fall-and-listen-to-classical-music day.

Today is a stare-at/avoid-the-collage-you're-making-because-you-might-'ruin it' day.

Today is be-a-voyeur-and-peep-at-all-the-creative-artists-online day.

Today sits pregnant, waiting for something to begin....