Sunday drive.......

Another beautiful Sunday. Tristen was bored so we went to Michaels craft store. I bought some things to occupy his time. Some paints and craft paper and this and that. When we got home he got busy.
Before that we went for a walk down by Kids Creek, there is a small trail down by the stores, they have made it nice and the creek has fish in it. A great place to take kids if you are a fisherman. Anyway.......we go there often. It was nice to see a couple of young ducks. Must be from this years brood. They were quite friendly and obviously hoping we had a snack but we didnt.



We continued on and admired the seed pods and Autumn colours. Check my Garden blog to see some pictures. Tristen enjoyed the romp and showed me how he could climb a tree. I told him stories about me when I was a kid and getting stuck in a tree. He thought that was great


When we were done with our walk I had Tristen go ask Granddad if we could go to Gallaghers and get some donuts. I really didnt want any but love to go there and I know Tristen does so........Granddad said yes.

He enjoyed the corn maze and likes the toy barn. He always heads right to that.

I love the chickens


Arn't they handsome?
Tristen was still not ready to go home so we stopped at the trails by the old State Hospital

There was a man sitting by the stream with a guitar and was singing. SO naturally Tristen went and talked to him.
He enjoyed running in the woods, and we climbed up to some old buildings that he wanted to see. The woods were busy that day because they had a run for breast cancer going on. Not exactly what I expected on a Sunday afternoon but hey...........hope they did well.
For us it was a nice day of walking and it got the job done getting him some exercize

So when we got home he was straight to his craft stuff to get out the scissors and got to painting and cutting. Had a good old time. Look at those scissors flashing.

You would think he would have had no problem sleeping but oh no, could not get him asleep for quite some time. Still a lovely day. Wont be too many more like this this year.

Sunday in October..............

Sunday was a beautiful day. Sunny and cold, but the sun still has some heat in it. I called Laura to see if she wanted to go for a ride. Tristen was at his Aunt Laura's and I knew Robert was away so..........she said OK and we took off around noonish. No plans really except to get out of town and see what we could see. We decided upon driving towards Empire and go from there. Maybe the drive up dunes. We stopped at Gallaghers Farm Market to get donuts and coffee. Then off we went.

The colours have nowhere near peaked. Maybe another week may show us a bit more. If its nice next week maybe we will check it out again.

We did go up the Drive up Dunes (Pierce Stocking Drive) but no chance of seeing wildlife it was very busy. Lots of tourists. It is colour season after all. I will like it when we will get our place back to ourselves again. Selfish me. We like the quiet. It was cold so didn't expect so many people out, but the sun made it pretty and thats what drew them out.


We didn't stay but went on to Port Oneida. There we went down to the beach. Behind this pretty farm are steps to the beach, we go that way because not too many know about it yet. We did have that to ourselves and Laura froze until the sun warmed us up. It was nice then when the sun was out.


We love to find pretty stones. We collect certain ones. Here are a few we left behind


We can't drag them all home.It reminds me of my Dad and him filling his pockets, Mum nagging him "Harry you are not taking those back with us on the plane" I hear her voice echo on the breeze.

Some water fowl sped on by, getting into formation, going south? Maybe. I think they were a type of Merganser but not sure of that. Hard to tell with the light as it was.

After we left this beach we headed for Leland and went to Vans Beach again to look for Leland Blue's

The water was cold now and it was windy but we faced it and got our feet wet. Ice water, red toes but a good foot bath, nice smooth skin today. Was not all bad. We did find some nice stones to take home. One lady seemed to have it right. She was wearing wellingtons while we were bare foot. She stopped as she passed us one time and said her boots were full to the top with water so I guess we did OK.

Saw these Ladybugs looking for a warm place.

We finally left and went towards Northport. We were looking for food and I planned on stopping at Fischer's Happy Hour. They have the best Reubens. On the way we saw this Yak farm. An English lady had told me about it so next time maybe we will stop in and hope they are more friendly than the last one. The babies are soooooo cute and feisty. This little guy has attitude




We moved on tummies grumbling, Reina conked out but woke to see the Yaks.

After we ate we went on to Northport. We stopped to harrass these guys. They we unphased at our muffler (needs fixing) and our camera's We sat awhile and enjoyed watching them browse.


They looked really worried, not......they should, it's bow hunting season.

We had been complaining of not seeing any wildlife all day when we saw those guys. There were four of them. The best treat was yet to come. I was saying to Laura how if we were rich maybe we would not get so much pleasure from the simple things like rocks on a beach or seeing a deer in the wild. Then something ran in front of the car. Looked like a cat but..........I said to Laura "that is NOT a cat"........No its not she said and we turned around. this is what we saw.

What a beauty, a Bobcat and her baby. We were entranced. I have never seen one in the wild. We usually see them stuffed at Welcome centers or museums of wildlife. This was real. SHe sat and posed for us. Those lovely Amber eyes.

She layed on a log over a small stream as the baby played around her. She dozed knowing we were watching and unafraid. We were in love. I had the window open as she gazed at us. Not at all concerned.

So we went home as thrilled as could be and now all we need to see is a Bear and an Elk, and well, I will take anything, I love them all.

A trip to the Pig Patch..............

Today Edna and I went down state, the Hillman area I think, to the Pig Patch. One of our favourite places to shop for quilting materials. I picked up a couple of sale items that will back a couple of quilts later. I took samples of some that I am going to be working on that needed something extra. Well the something extra came to 185 dollars. I said I was not going to do this any more. I just cant help it I guess. Well anyway..............First off we went to see Barb to drop off some quilts I had already finished. She will quilt them on her long arm machine. She now has two of them. She has been doing this almost since we left the bank. Anyway, she has 5 of mine to do now. I need to get a few more done as Christmas gifts.

I love the Pig Patch because she not only has good stuff but the shop is in the farm house. Its beautiful. Did I say she has nice stuff? I bought a pattern for a purse that I don't have and I know Laura will like the pattern. I found fabric to put with material for a lap quilt for her and one to go with what I have for one for Jason. Well I did get a few extra pieces too but whose counting.
After that we stopped at the big farm market we like, it also has baked goods.

sorry thats blurry. Thats Edna checking out. I did some damage in the bakery department and got a few fresh veggies that looked good too.
Next we stopped at the Amish store. Their flowers were still blooming. They sell bulk foods and have good prices so I got some crystalized ginger (Yummy) and some nuts and raisin mixes for Tristens snacks among other things. I did find some Apple Cider Vinegar capsules. Gonna try those so I wont choke on the vinegar when I try to take it. Its good for ya.


We drove down a lot of country roads. Nice and quiet. The colours are not yet at peak.

Saw these lovely Pampas Grasses along a county road

So we wound our way homewards. I saw this lovely barn on the way

I got a picture of the ferry that goes to wisconsinon the way home.

We stopped for lunch at Mancinos and I had a Reuben sandwiche that was awesome. Barb showed us some pot scrubbers she made, kitchen thingies made from scrubby yarn.


I thought I would make a few if I get time.

Beautiful October Day....................

I can't believe that we were on the beach on a sunny and warm day in October. We had lots to do at home this weekend but it was too nice of a day to waste doing chores. As we were watching Reina today it seemed like a good idea to go out for a drive. So off we went. First we stopped at Gallaghers Farm Market. Tristen wanted to go play, we had intended stopping anyway. I was going to get some vegetables and fruit but decided I didn't want to wait in line this time. So I went back to find the kids and look at the animals.

The crops looked lush and beautiful. The kids had gone off to play so I went to visit the pigs. I have come to love pigs. Two were fighting, both wanted the food at the same time. The black one was frisky and was bucking and hopping with joy. I feel so sad for them. Such intelligent animals.

There were quite a few kids there and the parents didn't seem to care that they were chasing the chickens. Poor things. I yelled at a couple of them despite their parents.


So off we went out towards Maple City and one more stop at the park to let the yahoos out

Then off to the beach. It was wonderful, just a few people around. It was hard to believe it was so warm for an October day.

I walked the beach while the kids played in the sand.

I found a few Petoskey stones and some other pretty ones. Didn't look too hard, just enjoyed the peaceful walk. We had to make an emergency stop for Tristen. Who did not need to go while we were at the park where there were bathrooms but five minuets later..........off into the woods lucky we have toilet paper at all times


After the beach we headed for home but when we went by the Yak farm (I had taken pictures on the way past) there was a tour bus there so we stopped and went in the store

The man there would not let the kids near the fences so they could not see the Yaks any closer. I had stopped on the way by to take pictures. One little baby was so cute and did a couple of mock charges at me.



The man said it is a working farm and they dont encourage people getting too close. I understand that, he said there is a bull in the field. Still we didn't know that when we stopped and one of the cows came up to the fence and was very sweet. She had her name on her ear tag.
Well it was after 4pm by then so we made a stop at the Hayloft on the way home. Here they are showing off the little Yaks I bought at the store.

The people were not as friendly as those at the Alpaca farm, not at all welcoming but they had a bus load so maybe that was shredding their nerves. None the less I bought some little toy Yaks for us. The wool is so soft.
All in all a rather nice day. Even if Tristen was loud and obnoxious. Sigh!!