On our way to Onaway

After the long ride to Cheybogan, I treated myself to a seafood salad and a Cheybogan Blood Orange Ale facing the river which empties about a half mile to the left into Lake Huron As I was by myself, the waiter kept 'forgetting' about me. Let the pity party begin!

this sign was in the bathroom

home for 2 nights

Early the next day (I missed the rain by 40 minutes by leaving early) we went by Aloha St. Park on Mullet Lake, one of the biggest lakes in Michigan

One of the giant heads of Onaway. I had to ask locals where it was as the ride organizers hadn't a clue

I like George's hair. His head is about 20 feet tall. I have seen his successor Gerald Ford's head in at least 3 places. Alas not here again

They did have a sculpture garden downtown

The world's largest steering wheel. The Moran metal works used to make bicycle rims and car steering wheels but no more. Not sure what they make now

Back in Cheybogan, I went to their art park which has some permanent sculptures such as this and temporary art such as the works of 2nd graders

My ride the next day: Cheybogan to Mackinaw City down to Petoskey, almost all of it gravel trails so yeah, it was hard as was the 54 mile loop to Onaway and back

I almost didn't get to do the ride. I was driving our 11 year old car up there that works fine in general but some computer that controls the air conditioner is out. $1500 is a lot to put into an old car so I drove with the windows open because it was 96 degrees when I left. I had it on cruise control going 80 (speed limit is 75 up there) at mile 120 or so. Suddenly I lost power and had to limp over 3 lanes to the shoulder where I was able to go 20 mph for 3 miles until I could exit and go to a gas station which  had no mechanic given that it was a Sunday. I turned everything off. The engine would not rev even if I pushed the accelerator. WTF? I assumed bad transmission..no fluid? I turned the car off and called Steve though what could he do (he knows absolutely nothing about cars) but to at least have him on standby if I needed a ride. But then I decided to urn the car back on and the orange wrench went away and alarms were no longer clanging. I got back to the freeway and the car seemed just fine though I was nervous this would repeat itself any minute. As near as we could figure out, the electronic module that controls the air conditioner must have something to do with the cruise control. More research needs to be done.

For you non-Michigan readers, our map is  our right hand palm up I live in the thumb pad in the palm, this near disaster happened right in the crease where the thumb meets the palm. I was heading towards the top of the first finger. On the ride we made it to the top of the fourth finger. 

I got there earlier than we were supposed to check in so off to dinner on the water before setting up camp. I did find the man I rode with last year a bit and we hung out quite a bit together. I like him a lot. He had his own mechanical failure story on the way there that nearly prevented him coming on the ride too. He had already set his tent up way away from my site.

I should have practiced setting up my tent. True I had it last year for the first time but I had help setting it up. A nice man whose name I forgot but I know his life story saw me struggling and decided to help though the tent still  wasn't right. I don't think I did it right until the last time. No instructions were provided. You were to go online but mainly they were just bragging how easy the set up was and not big on details plus it was hard to watch a video in the field.

I was hesitant to do this ride because I would be myself though that had some advantages in that I could leave and stop when I wanted. Plenty of people offered friendships so I was not alone much.

Although it was much cooler up there, it was still hot and in the beginning of the week, my poison ivy made sleep very hard despite all the steroids I had. Rain was predicted for the morning but it was still dry when I left camp. No rain on me that day. I was on the NEST trail which heads sout east to Alpena. Onaway would be half way. It is chockful of pea gravel that in some places was annoyingly and dangerously thick. I kept heading for the bald areas. My speed is only 2/3s what it would be on pavement and a lot more effort. Lots of falls by others. A man broke his hip and a woman, her wrist. I did get off to the main  highway to look for presidential giant heads. Wish I had stayed on the road longer. In the past, they would have a road option to encourage more riders but without warning, it was switched back to a trail only leaving a posse of disgruntled road bikers. A new ride director had been hired at the last minute who was not good at organizing. Lots of annoying hiccups all week. Bad food, bad maps, no info about the towns...on and on.

The sculptures were interesting. Back to Cheybogan. I always worry about forgetting things. Last year, some of my medications, which was much more serious than my eye make up I forgot this time. Fortunately it can be obtained. I went downtown in my car to find a store, which I never did, had to go to a Walmart on the edge of town for the missing make-up. But I did visit the downtown coffee shop I had been to numerous times before for an iced latte and met my new friend who has the same name as the friend who I am usually with, so good. I had a good friend for the rest of the week. Yay.

ten years of blogging

lots of zinnias

leopard lilies which really is an iris

tiger lilies and liatris just starting to bloom

hostas

josh and the girls

cleome  pretty but smelly

Ten years ago I enrolled in Wayne State's Summer Abroad program in Italy. Our workplace had closed down but they gave us a sizeable 'retraining' allowance which could be used at an 'accredited "institution.  I didn't think I would go back to work, though Steve did for a while. I decided to learn Italian in situ. I was hesitant to sign up. Six weeks without knowing anyone might make me go crazy. I once nearly had a psychotic break at a meeting in which I had felt totally isolated. This was before cell phones. But I was glad I went up in a very small hill town in the Apennines in Abruzzo staying in a monastery. I started the blog to keep contact with those at home. Sue in Italia.  I found out I had cancer shortly after I returned so thus. Sue in Cancerland which turned into Sue's escape from Cancerland..

I feel a bit hesitant to spend a whole week starting tomorrow alone though Naomi will be with me 2 days in the middle. Also many of the same people return year after year including one nice man I spent a lot of time with in bars. He also rides at my speed. But I can call people and I've brought books.

This is my third round of poison ivy and its way worst than the other 2 rounds. Fortunately I have drugs now which make it feel a bit better. I can almost ignore it during the day but nights are tough. I hope the worst is over. My contact was with a dry vine. Can't believe the reaction it set off two days later. Worse, I see lots of poison ivy that I missed. 

We are now in a drought though currently a few drops are finally falling. Its supposed to rain a lot downstate while I'm gone. I might get some rain Monday morning, the first day of riding. I have more than a thousand miles under my belt this year. I should be ready.

I am always stressed before leaving. Do I have everything? Most things are packed. I won't leave until noon. Also I was stressed out trying to use a companion certificate before it expires for Steve. Utah here we come this fall.

saving a mole

we took a walk in the arb the other day going to the river which was full of rafts and kayaks. The girls love the water but the sharp rocks were hard on Allie's feet. Then we went out to dinner

Hannah

yesterday morning my cabana cushion was covered with these muddy footprints. I guess the raccoon likes to relax there too

Maya as a mermaid holding her new kitten Nala

An artist down the street once a year opens up her extensive gardens and invites other artists there too. I bought this from a sculptor whose studio is in the other direction. I've bought stuff from his wife in the past, mainly tiles. I had fun filling my new planter with end of season annuals though he markets it as a strawberry pot

my spaghetti squash have developed corkscrew tendrils to fasten to my deer cage. I've been harvesting zucchini, crookneck squash and patty pans

I have huge balls of pink hydrangeas

phlox with evasive catnip though I did package up some for Nala

The same artist who made my  Fu Manchu strawberry pot made this life sized blue giraffe for ArtPrize a few years back which now is in his parking lot down the street from me. When I took this photo, I had no idea that I used to stay at the artist's farm. Small world

I threw a cheap box of wildflower seeds in a pot to see what would grow. Tickweed, bachelor's buttons, alyssum, poppies, baby's breath amongst a few other pretties I don't know the name of

I found this interesting skull at the art in the garden

This morning I heard frantic splashing in my pond. A mole was trying to get out. He was able to rest on my lily pads before trying yet again. Now I am not a fan of moles as they can quickly turn a yard into a maze of tunnels though on the positive side, they eat the grubs that turn into Japanese beetles, which I hate more. I did save him though with a shovel. I don't see any tunnels yet. I have fished out several of his brethren's dead bodies.

From hot and humid last week to hot and dry this week. The former is hard on people; the latter on plants so I've been watering much more, free except for the electricity for the pumps. We had one blessedly cool day so I could run for almost 90 minutes before the heat came back. Biking is much more tolerable in the heat so I've been doing that a lot. Next week is my big ride. Naomi will come up one or two of the nights as we are staying in cool lake cities. We will be criss-crossing the tip of the Mitten going from Lake Huron to Lake Michigan and back going about 60 miles a day.

Every year, the neighbor on the same lake as our little community is named opens her yard which is extensive with numerous gardens. She specializes in bird paintings. I did get one of hers of a house finch at a thrift store though I paid full price for one of a red bellied woodpecker. About 5 other artists show up with their wares too along with folk singers and a nice spread of food. I bought the above pictured strawberry pot which I had fun filling yesterday with various annuals. Maybe I will switch them out with sedums for when I bring it back into the house for winter.

We spent an afternoon with Josh's family with a walk in the Arb. Unfortunately the heat had started coming back. 

We no longer have our rodent guest Chewy as Shanna's kids missed him so much and wanted him home the minute they returned. He was certainly energic, running from one side of the house to the other in his ball. Instead we are probably on the hook for a cat guest as Don'tae gave Maya a kitten for her birthday, which carries a lot of expense for someone who can't afford it. Already the kitty ha been here and will spend some time next week when Naomi visits me.

Just as my poison ivy was finally clearing up, I expose myself to more. A huge vine was weaving its way to the lawn where Steve is liable to hit it with a weed whacker (very bad if you get that juice on you). I double gloved so I could remove the top pair of contaminated gloves with the ones below. However the long vine hit my bare arm while I was trying to fold it into a bag. The vine had not been injured so maybe I didn't get any oil on me. That was two days ago. Usually blisters form two days after exposure. I have one newish blister but it could have been from the last exposrure.

The Arb has lots of poison ivy so I tried to keep Allie on of it though I think kids need several exposures before they react. I know I was exposed quite a bit before I started reacting after Josh was born. If Steve knew what he was doing (he keeps forgetting what it looks like), I would have him on poison ivy duty.

Under the Lindens

Maya got her horse ride for her 8th birthday

two trips around the corral  She was very nervous and wanted to bail but was quite excited afterwards

three kids in a tub. I tried to convince the boys they didn't need swimshirts indoors and the glasses would get steamed up but they had fun while their parents went out for a rare night

the sun was just rising as I got to Whitmore Lake last Sunday, an hour away to do my 32 mile loop

Chewy, the aerobic hamster we have for the week

I am trying to remember the good mood I was in earlier in the week. Now on the 4th of July, I am hot, bored and somewhat depressed. Shanna and Josh's families are out on vacations, the latter bringing the mother-in-law with them to Lake Michigan. Maybe later this summer we'll have a vacation with you.

So yet another heat wave replete with tropical humidity. I left on a run before dawn but still could not escape the heat. And the warmer and more humid, the woods are full of biting deer flies so I am constantly slapping them. I decided to do part of the run at least on the big trunkline near our house that doesn't get traffic until 6:15 or so reducing my deerfly exposure to a half. Biking is more tolerable in the heat, which I don't really feel but I come back just dripping in sweat. I don't think we had hardly any days last year near 90 much less having 2 weeks of them.

Maya was very excited about her horse ride, which was supposed to be a pony ride but they had only horses in saddle. Eight year olds are allowed to take trail rides but she isn't ready for that yet. She is very immature and not eager to try new things but she does like horses. Her birthday was the other day but she spent it up north with her dad. So much has changed since she was born 8 years ago. She is very sweet and pretty but I do hope she can catch up to her age mates at some point.

We had our Mom's group outside the other night on one of those hot days. But in the shade and with the setting sun, it was tolerable. Since I've been getting up so early, I 've been going to sleep before dark thus missing the fireflies and the stars which were out in full force along with bats and hummingbirds. Although in spring, my rhubarb plants were in full glory, they start to die back in summer. I did one last harvest to make a pie for the group. It did taste like cherries. The lindens now are in full flower so the moist, warm air was redolent with its orange blossom aroma. I notice them on my rides through neighborhoods. In  the wetlands, I can smell sweet grass which smells even better.

Shanna's kids came to spend the night and play in the jacuzzi Saturday. As they get older, they are much easier to deal with. I was left with their hamster while they vacation in Canada.

I did spend part of Monday with my son who finally took me out for Mother's Day and in part to sort of make up for not letting me go to the beach house he is renting because his mother-in law and sister-in-law get first dibs. A nice lunch followed by bubble tea and then some shopping at the sports store. I need a new lighting system as I misplaced one of my flashers and left the other on so now it is too weak to be useful. I did ride with a headlamp the other morning.

Another night, I watched more A Handmaid's Tale with a friend. It is very well done but I am finding it more and more painful to watch. I read the book years ago when it first was written but now it is hitting too close to home with the fake Christianity ruling all while hideous things are done to people and the earth is so polluted (we don't need those business crushing regulations) that only a few can reproduce.  I listen to podcasts at night but hate to listen to the national news to learn what new edict that immature tyrant has cooked up. And he can do no wrong by so many people, which is even scarier than the fact he is president.

I thought since I had so many orioles in the spring that at least some of them would decide to nest nearby. After 4 orioleless days, finally one stopped by again yesterday.

This is me

Annoying: they are burning off all the vegetation on an empty lot. Stunk up the neighborhood for two days

some of my lilies

backless dress

my new glasses: not as colorful as I remember them being

ceramic mermaid for my hallway

woven paper art

I have to stop buying up fancy dresses in which I have no place to wear them. I did get a sensible sun dress which I will wear much more often. And as you can probably tell, I can't weigh one more pound and fit into that dress. I haven't lost all my winter weight yet though I am close. 5 more pounds and I will not go any lower.

Saskatoon berries. At a nearby apple orchard there was a sign for U-pick Saskatoon berries

???????

A new one for me. I looked them up. A relative of an apple, they are small as a blueberry and taste somewhat like them. They are a variety of service berry, which I had two trees full of until the various wildlife cleaned me out. As they are charging $5/pint to pick them, it would take 2 pints for a pie. I think I will stick to rhubarb for tomorrow's pie for the moms.

As we are entering a heat wave again, back to biking versus running. I was up at 5:30 to beat the workday traffic.

Later today: horse back riding for Maya's birthday. Hopefully she won't freak out.

Bubble wrapped kids

Google 'enhanced' my Ohiopyle bridge photo  

and that of the silver tree on the Mall

Hannah enjoying playground equipment  Later we took her to see baby farm animals. She was not a fan

Allie

a pensive Maya

big smile. She turns 8 Sunday. Her hair has never been cut. If you were to pull a strand down, it would go to the middle of her back

Several times Josh has told me that  though he was glad the way we raised him, he will never let his girls roam the neighborhood like we allowed him to.  A mixed compliment if I ever heard one: yeah you guys were great but we aren't going to do what you did.He admits all his buddies' parents let them wander too otherwise he would have no one to play with unless we arranged 'playdates' in advance.

He is not alone apparently according to a recent Wall Street Journal article. Kids these days get much less freedom than their parents who in turn got less freedom than their parents ie. my generation. Are there more child molesters out there? More speeding, drunk driving cars? More gangs? Is it too hard to learn to look both ways before crossing a street? The downside to all this over protectedness is that there is now a increase in anxiety disorders with the constant reminders on how dangerous it is out there. And there are laws in some states saying you can not send a sub twelve year old to a park by himself. Age that a kid can walk to school by themselves? Ten according  the College of Pediatrics. Age that I walked myself to school? Five.

When I was four, I wandered around all day by myself. I assume my mom was busy with my baby brother. It was a small town and I was told never to cross this one particularly busy street, which I did as things were more interesting on the other side. Only once did someone ask how old I was and why wasn't I in school.. They said I was way too young and too far from home so I was walked back. My mom just shrugged.

No I didn't let my kids do this when they were so young but after they were 7 or so, they were free to explore our neighborhood as long as they came back at a set time.

I have decided to do the bike ride by myself to stop from feeling sorry for myself. I will know people there as lots of them return year after year. And I do make friends fairly easily. And I am in good shape so I am doing it though I don't think there is a town up north I haven't been to  We are doing the top of the mitten: Charlevoix, Petoskey, Mackinaw City, Cheybogan and Onaway. Lots of lakes including Lake Huron and Michigan.

We took Hannah and Allie to an animal farm full of baby animals. Allie likes them but Hannah screamed in terror.

the solstice

These will be my new 'fun' glasses. Not the thriftiest of choices. I had already picked out some reasonable frames at Costco but bowed to pressure from a very good saleslady. You look like a fun person, don't you want to have fun glasses too. This photo doesn't show all the bright colors, mainly orange, in the frame Once I have them in hand, I will have another photo with them and my new op art backless dress that I splurged on later that day

Tessa and her pet hamster who I will be watching soon

Steve thinks my crow flag will scare the birds away. I do have a cat flag too but that is suspended over the kids' area in the basement

Downhill from here; the days will get shorter and shorter. I've been out the door before 6 am to try to beat the heat though today, the high was only 70.

I still have made no plans for the summer. And one very tentative plan fell through putting me into pity party mode briefly. Still deciding about the bike ride. I have a week to ponder.

Extra fun: I have poison ivy yet again but a very mild case. I did chop some down wearing gloves and removing and disposing of the gloves carefully. Maybe I just looked at it too long.

Steve was supposed to be on jury duty last week, federal court no less, which meant going to Detroit. He filled out all the paperwork but then forgot to call on the day requested. He remembered more than a week later. Fortunately he was not needed or as the paper warns, there would be a warrant for his arrest.We have been getting these delightful calls lately as has most of the country saying that we are on a list of lawbreakers and unless we call this number, the local law enforcement will arrest us in 24 hours. Well in his case, that would be true.

I have been seeing friends to keep myself entertained and tackling the garden, which still needs more weeding.. My squash are half sized now and I have green tomatoes. Lettuce and swiss chard have been harvested but are still growing.