Kayak Day

Todd surprised me and brought home 2 borrowed kayaks !! It was not perfect weather, but we could not resist !! Such fun. Vince and I went for 6 miles down the Menominee River, then the girls and Vince went to a local lake and tooled around a bit. We saw lots of birds: bald eagles, kingfishers, mergansers. At one point a HUGE fish leaped out of the water trying to catch a bug and scared us, but again, the camera was too slow. Maybe next trip !! Thanks to the Marenger family and their shop for loaning the kayaks. Love them !!

Menominee River Hike

The family went for a hike on Sabbath to the Wisconsin side of the Menominee River, near Pemenee Falls. Beautiful forest hike about 3 miles long. Large trees, maiden hair ferns and the river was gorgeous! Gabby saw a fox because she was at the front of the group. After that they were all fighting to be in the front :-) Camera was not fast enough to catch it for proof though. Maybe next hike !!

Stay out of the yard

So Vince comes running in the house and says "Don't go in the front yard !!!" Long story short...... A five foot pine snake had found his way into the mulch in our front yard, like 10 feet from the front door. Thankful for a brave husband with a glove on to grab this guy by the neck (after I stopped him with a broom). Needless to say, I had the creepy crawlies for days ! I safely deposited Mr. Snake 3 miles North of us on the river road. Can't bear to kill anything so big and beautiful. I just don't want him in my yard !!!

Sprinkler Saves the Day

85 degrees and high humidity. Mom and Dad's 40 in the woods. Saturday afternoon. The girls are playing pat-a-cake "IN" the spray. The boys (Vince and Todd) were too "cool" to play in the water and I, of course, was the photographer so I couldn't get in there. But it was great watching the kids have fun !!!!

5 Mile Hike

Fumee Lake Natural Area is like a little piece of heaven on earth. A huge parcel of land set aside for non-motorized activities. We hiked around the larger of the two lakes, 5 miles in all. The Berger family accompanied us today and we all had such an enjoyable time. God is so good to give such beauty. We saw fish, frogs, toads, chipmunks, squirrels, geese, woodpeckers, scarlet tanagers, MANY different wildflowers, beaver evidence and, oh yes, don't forget the HUGE pine snake. Time spent from beginning to end was 3 and a half hours. A perfect day for it, and we even stopped at Dairy Queen as an extra special treat afterwards. We had to replace all the calories we had just lost !!

A Day in the Wild

The property in Faithorn that my parents own is so enjoyable to visit. Included are a pond, hills, fields, forests, wildlife, and lots of peace and quiet. The dog loves to swim and play fetch. The kids love to run in the fields and hike on the trails. The adults love to 'get away from it all'. Mother Nature is very, very giving 24/7. She always puts on a show for us, any time of the year. God's creatures are sometimes just along the edge of the trail, as we found with this fawn. Such a sweet and innocent surprise!!

Memory Lane

When the eldest child returns from a year of school away from home, the questions abound !! The younger ones immensely enjoyed going through Vince's yearbook with him, page by page, picture by picture. Asking question after question about people, places, and events. Oh the giggling and gasping and chattering, for hours on end. They all look up to Vince and think he is the greatest. He has much to share with them all, and they are all ears !!!!

Doggie Paddle

We have been trying to encourage Tootsie our Chocolate Lab puppy to swim for a few weeks. Every time we go to the river, she loves to play in it, but she just won't go fetch a stick if it means having to swim for it. Don't know the reason for this......low self esteem?? :-) Anyway, Gabby picked her up Saturday during our visit to the river, and lowered her down into the water, and let go, and Voila ! she swam back to the shore. This was repeated about 5 times much to our delight and Tootsie's excitement. You can see Marny cheering her on, and Gabby setting her free, and of course Tootsie doing her best. We were so excited to see her do what we know she will enjoy so much all summer. The water was cold but Gabby sacrificed her comfort to give this gift to Tootsie and the rest of us. Thank you Gabby, you helped make a wonderful memory !!!!