Back at the ranch

My front garden Not sure what the white spiky things are or that blue cloud to the left is either. Aside from the blue love-in-the-mist, I have white and pink too. And more giant pink hydrangeas.

last fall I found some orange cosmos on school property. Waited until the heads dried up and collected the seed. Now have lots of orange cosmos. Meanwhile I have only 2 zinnias from all the seed I saved

Despite me leaving extra nectar, Steve did not fill the hummingbird feeders. Fortunately for them, the hostas are in bloom so they didn't starve. Still trying to lure them back to the feeders

pink and white snapdragons that seeded themselves

Allie and my son went boating

Miss Maya's acrobatics

I returned home to all sorts of chaos: empty bird feeders, rampant weeds, flowers needing dead heading. And the other house remains unsold despite a few promising leads. This is the first year I ever had a vegetable garden. I grossly underestimated how big my little 25 cents a piece plants would get so everything is very close together. The Brussels sprouts plants are especially huge covering up my kale which I have harvested. Even the remaining Swiss chard can be harvested (smaller plants from the roots are growing. The bunnies ate the tops before I caged everything up).

 

My orange cosmos is now in bloom. I have never been able to find plants to buy but saw some growing in the school garden last fall. As they don't dead head anything, I took my scissors and did the job for them saving the heads. I put some of the seeds in little planters and threw the rest of the seed in the vegetable garden. The vegetable garden seed turned into big plants but the light was being blocked by these sunflowers that are now as tall as me so I did a lot of replanting yesterday. The tiger lilies are now blooming despite the heavy pruning they got by the mouths of the deer. Mystery to me flowers are now in bloom too along with the hollyhock that almost died due to transplant shock.. So lots of time weeding, removing dead wood from our hard winter, fertilizing,etc.

 

It was hard to get back into the exercise routine with Sunday being so hot and humid. The next day was much drier and cooler so I ran and then got back into that saddle again. Today I got a flat tire about a mile from home though a bicyclist offered to change it for me or call someone. But I am happy I didn't get the flat on my big ride. I assume its due in part to how fast the rear tire is wearing out so a trip to the bike store is in the cards this afternoon, fortunately near a friend that I will visit.

 

I've been having some fun: a lunch with Josh and Allie Sunday and a visit from Maya and Naomi today. Last night I went out to dinner with 3 ex-colleagues. It was fun catching up.

Gray fox versus red fox

Our gray fox. It was just a foot from my friend though I was nervous about stopping given his boldness. One of our bar friends took this

Harbor Springs on Little Traverse Bay

Big white pines

classic cars with Minnesota Tim We never did figure out what the orange one was

Clear water of Lake Mullet

Cheybogan River

Cherry trees

We saw the gray fox within the first hour of our ride crossing our path. We first saw its long black tail. I first thought it was a large cat but it was too big. A very long tailed coyote? A cross between a raccoon and a coyote? But when we drove up to it , it was clear it was a fox but we have never seen one with its coloration. It was injured. I was nervous that it didn't bolt away from us. Later riders said it was running in circles so someone called the DNR. I see a fox maybe once a year but they are always red and look smaller. Googled image of it and it is clearly a gray fox though some gray foxes are reddish and some red foxes are grayish. Red fox have white tips on their tails versus black.

 

Pre-Europeans, all there were was gray fox. It was thought that the red fox was brought over for hunting purposes. Now in some parts, it seems that there are much more red fox but it could be due to their habits, they are easier to spot. Red fox keep to fields and really aren't all that afraid of humans. During one Moms group, one slowly walked across my friend's yard despite the noise we were making. Gray fox keep to the woods along with coyotes. They are able to share the same space despite the fourfold weight difference because gray fox can climb trees and coyotes can't. The gray fox is also known as the cat fox.

 

Other animals spotted: lots of deer but maybe less per mile than I see on my trips back home. We did see triplet fawns so that was rare and cool.Turkeys, a bluebird, flickers, no loons though I heard them again. Heard all kinds of birds that I couldn't identify or see. We went through the Kirkland Warbler Sanctuary, the only place in the world that they are found but again, no warblers.

 

The day we rode the 70.3 miles from Traverse City (elev 510) to Hartwick State Pines (elev 1350) I dreaded. Knowing that it was important to get some sleep that night, I stayed awake. I just could not sleep. Since most of the route was east, I thought be would have the prevailing west winds on our back. No such luck. Winds were SSE, tough on the southern leg where we had to pedal going down hill. And it was not scenic. There was a town at 10 miles and one at 62 miles. The 10 mile town specifically asked us not to stop at its restaurant. The worst point for me was at 30 miles. I was already hot, tired, and weak and discouraged because we had 40 miles more to go. How could I make it. Fortunately they had SAG wagons every 10 miles to give us snacks and water. I craved salt and ended up eating these  cheesy crackers stuffed with yellow salty paste. I felt better and rallied. The last 10 miles, we had the wind on our back which was helpful. Also shade for a change. For a 4 to 5 mile stretch, I kept smelling manure. When was this going to stop? Maybe I stepped in something? Later I was told that there were several pig farms over the hills. Then we came upon miles of natural gas wells and their noisy pumps. They smell worse that the pig manure. They want to put these in Washtenaw county against the wishes of the locals. Fortunately the test wells have come up empty.

 

We camped amidst the pines. Very pretty and they had an excellent caterer set up dinner. Good as no one had lunch. Also they was a keg of Fat Tire beer which helped. Two groups of musicians played. Finally was able to sleep.

 

Still adjusting to coming home...lots of work to do here.

 

 

 

 

You bet your sweet grass

Our tent for the week with my friend's bike in front. Here we are camped in Hartwick Pines State Park, home of a virgin stand of giant white pines which once covered Northern Michigan. The trees we are camped among aren't virgins. Still my tent is full of needles

The cold presumably wrecked the cherry crop yet I saw trees full of tart and sweet cherries. Cherry stands all over and we were fed dried cherries frequently

Indian River statue featuring the local Ojibway, sturgeon and eagle

Frequent sign: the North is a clash of rednecked locals and rich vacationing downstaters.

Mullet Lake yesterday in Aloha

Bridge on the trail coming back to Cheybogan

lunch place in Indian River chock full of teapots

Before we drove home, we went for a swim in Burt Lake. Cool and clear water, not all cloudy like the downstate lakes. We sat for a while with our newly purchased Blood Orange Ales

 

I am home after what turned out to be a 304.2 mile ride. For once, I did not make any wrong turns. The ride presented lots of challenges and gave me lots of time to reflect. Some of the time was spent feeling sorry for myself especially when I was tired. I knew in the past, this ride would have been easy for 30 something Sue with my triathlete body. I never walked up hills before not even with my high geared road bike though I had to about 15 years ago with some 3 mile high monster outside of Marquette in the UP. Not even in the mountains in Eastern San Diego County. But now walking Sue is common with older and sometimes fatter riders whizzing right by me. And I trained for this: 750 miles though there are no hills around here making me use the lower chain ring. But with the excess weight and the Red Devil induced decreased heart capacity, things are no longer so easy. And damn it, I am old.

 

But I did it and I am alive, something I didn't think possible 6 years ago. There were moments of pure joy: descending 35 mph through the cherry orchards and postcard pretty lakes. We'd go for miles through very fragrant lands with no visible flowers. I was told that all the sweet grass was responsible for the aroma. The Ojibway consider the grass sacred, collect it, dry it and braid it. Dried, it smells even better, I'm told. And even better when it is burned. The moist cool air of the North is perfect for its growth. In the towns, the lindens are still in bloom filling the air with their orange blossom aroma. Flowers that the downstate heat would have killed such as the pansies were in everyone's flower beds. Very pretty and lush flowers all around.

 

And the camaraderie of my fellow riders: the shared joys and trials. Some of the riders have been doing this for years. We made our own little group of friends: Minnesota Tim and nice guy Rich along with a tandem riding couple from Grand Rapids we hung out at dinner with last year. We never got the full story of Minnesota Tim (and he wasn't the only Minnesota Tim either). He often camped besides us. I think he had a crush on my friend. He spoke with the sing song cadence of a Yooper, a left over from the many Scandinavians that populated the UP, Minnesota and points west though he was not of Scandinavian heritage. He wore a freshly ironed button down, long sleeved Oxford shirt while riding, something no one does and carried a Pall Mall tobacco tin full of tools. He was fascinated with the areas we went, especially the cherry trees. He was a Viet Nam vet making him older than us (or at least me; the guys born a year before me were the last to be drafted, my ex-boyfriend must have been the last one with  a 200 from the last lottery based on ones birthdate). On the last night, we explored Indian River together admiring the classic cars (post these some other time) sitting along the inland waterway watching the parade of boats  navigate between Mullet and Burt Lakes. He declined our offer to have a beer at the Inn Between (in between the two big lakes) saying he does not do that. Ex-alcoholic? Some weird religious  restriction? We didn't ask. We found new friends sitting next to the Indian River with me nursing yet another Cheybogan Blood Orange Ale. At the end of the ride yesterday, Minnesota Tim was there waiting for us wanting our photo and especially wanting a hug from my friend. Maybe we will see him next year.

 

My would be hook up was there again too looking right past me when we shared the same space. I think his wife was around this time.

 

We wore blue wrist bands to identify us. While we were in Harbor Springs, my friend's ex-sister I law picked us up to go up to  Cross Village, a small town (less than 50 ) full of Polish immigrants and Ojibway. The SIL is Polish once married to an Ojibway with kids from both sides. Extra bonus, the town was north of the rain in Harbor Springs, which was sunny by the time we returned. We went into an art gallery where the owned asked if we had just been patients at a hospital (saw our bands). Another beer in the lush gardens of the Legs Inn overlooking a bluff on Lake Michigan. Stunning beauty. Opted for a local Black Bear Porter rather than an insipid Polish beer. Food there is excellent.

 

Downstate, it is hot, humid and unpleasant. Lazy Sue says you've done enough in the past week. Inner Nag says get outside and run before the temps get worse. And the camping equipment is all dewy, dirty and pine needle encrusted. Have to deal with that and numerous other tasks neglected since I was gone.

 

More later.

 

elk rapids and traverse city

Grand Traverse Bay: East Arm at Bryant Beach a  few blocks from where we camped in Traverse City

Clear Torch Lake

My friend looking for Petosky stones

I love Torch Lake

Smoke tree..much more common up north than downstate

Elk Rapids

Cute shops of Elk Rapids.

Traverse City in the evening

Our route from Bellaire to Traverse City: Not as steep hills as the day before and lots of lakes

Northern beauties

The back gardens of the Legs Inn in Cross Village. Lots of carvings and flowers. The bluff in back overlooks Lake Michigan

Cardboard deer heads in a Art Gallery

Little Traverse Bay

Giant allium

Ernest and me: Not sure of the weird title Snow as there is only one old man. The cat is on Ernest's shoulder. Hemmingway used to summer in these parts. One of his earlier stories was Cat in the Rain

pretty pathways in Harbor Springs



Our second day route from Harbor Springs to Bellaire. First 16 miles were on a paved path hugging Little Traverse Bay but then we had 4 ginormous hills to deal with going to Boyne City, East Jordan (where we had a nice lunch) and Central Lake. Fairly flat after Central Lake

Snow bunting or zebra finch

109 miles and 2 days later, I am still alive As this app is not user friendly, it will be edited when I return.   The first day as we  were rolling up to our site, a mostly white finch sized bird with orange streaks was in front of us.  I took a real crude photo before it flew away.   Was it a snow bunting which should be in the arctic this time of year?  What it looks like is an albino zebra finch which must be an escaped pet as they are from Australia. The next morning on the trail, I thought I saw a huge cat but it turned out to be an injured gray fox. This horoscope  (photo!!...damn that autocorrect)was from our drinking buddy. It was just a few feet from my friend but since it didn't scurry away, I was afraid it was rabid and we shouldn't stop. the Dnr was called as it was behaving bizarrely. Downstate we only have red fox and I see one maybe once every two years so a new animal for me.  we are lucky to have escaped the storms forecasted though today we rode through drizzle. flowers are bigger and ore vibrantly colored. Photos later.  Very pretty scenery but some scary hills today. I had to walk up some and was scared how steep the downhills were.  we are staying in Bellaire. Home of a great brewpub where I had too much to drink but had fun. tomorrow won't be the 62 miles of today and we'll go around the prettiest lake in Michigan, Torch Lake

Still haven't figured what this bird is

Art Park in central Cheybogan



nice dinner next to the water on the river that leads to Lake Huron. Blood Orange Honey ales, a local speciality

eye of the salmon

clay maps

Solar water lilies

Map of our first day. Only the last day will be shorter and easier.

 

I gave up on real water lilies as they are too expensive and need more light. Bonus: these glow in the dark

More stuff: cute candlesticks

Tess and her 2 year old guest share blueberries

As this was signed on back and allegedly bought at an Art Fair, I was very excited to think I got an original water color. Closer examination reveals that it is just a print

By this time tomorrow, we'll be almost to the starting point of our ride: Cheybogan. I am busy packing. Through Map My Ride, one can see the elevation gains. The scariest will be Thursday when we start in Traverse City at 558 feet, reach 1278 feet in 30 miles and at mile 70, we are at 1325. Also we go a good 45 miles without going through any towns. I guess we will be provided a lot of Kind bars.

Yesterday was busy getting ready. I had my nails done and visited Shanna. To make things easier for myself, I did not make a fancy dessert, just bought Indian goodies near the nail place. Unfortunately they were out of cardamom ice cream but saffron pistachio was good along with their milky nut sweets.

Out in the country for a fun MOMs group..good food, martinis,conversations, etc.

I will post photos when I can from the ride. Here's hoping for no rain.