Saturday drive.................

What to do on a hot sunny day. Too hot to take a hike, too many mosquito's and too tired. So Laura and I first went to an Estate sale, no AC and very crowded. We went yesterday and I will talk about that in my Pretty things blog.
So we had lunch here and then we headed out to Suttons Bay. Gerry actually stopped at a garage sale on the way. He usually flys on by. I managed to find a couple of things. Of course I did.
Anyway, the road to Suttons Bay goes out along the Bay, that is Grand Traverse Bay. On the map we would have been going up on the left side to the north. You can see Power Island across the arm of West Bay as well as the Peninsula (between the Bays)

Its so pretty along there. We got to a place called Black Star Farms. It is a horse boarding facility as well as a Winery and Cheese outlet. Their own brands. You can follow the link above. Well apart from all that they have a farm petting zoo so I thought the kids would enjoy that.


We had a bit of a meltdown (Tristen) so just a little sulking in the car. We stopped at the park in Suttons Bay and let the kids loose while Laura and I had a look around. Its all different. The last few years there has to have been lots of tourist dollars rolling in because old places have been replaced by new ones. Sort of changes the feel of the old place. The places we used to enjoy were owned by families who no doubt have retired. Its the end of an era.

We left there and went to
Leland. Laura wanted to see Fishtown and we had promiced ice cream. It,s a pretty drive. Leland has a fish weir,It lets the river down to the level of the Lake (Michigan) Along that little stretch of water Fishtown grew up. It used to be where the fishing boats came in. Now that still happens but the shacks and huts have become shops. There is still a fish market and a boat service to the islands.

Enjoying ice cream


Fishtown



The Weir by the BlueBird restaraunt

Country Roads..........Laura rescued a baby Snipe out of the road. We went right over him but didnt hit him. Went back and moved him on his way. By now the kids were hungry so on the way home we stopped at the Hayloft. They have good Margarita's and Burito's



So that was our Saturday. A nice day out but noisy as kids always seem to be. Ends with a headache and a cup of coffee. Yawn.
I will share this with Inspire me Monday at Create with Joy

Teaching compassion.........................

The other day I was watering plants in the front garden. I noticed something on the grass on Buds front lawn, could not make out what it was. It was moving. Forgot about it for a few moments and saw it again and got curious. It could have been a baby squirrel or just about anything. As I got closer I saw it was a Starling. He didn't try to fly. Starlings have wicked beaks so I asked Dan to come with gloves and a box.
We went around accompanied by Tristen. The bird was not doing much but panting. So we got him into the box with no problem.

It was a hot day, so I wanted to get the bird out of the sun. I put a dish of water (sugar water) and some food in the box.

He opened his beak and I tried to give him water (he may have been a she) and got a couple of drops in his beak. I kept him in the shade and kept checking him. Tristen felt bad for him. He went off to play. The next time I looked the bird was dead. I felt so sorry. Now what to do. I could not throw him in the trash. He was not trash. He was a person. He was to get a buriel. So Tristen by then was getting ready for bed. I called my husband and said we have a job to do.

Tristen kept saying "poor guy" ..........he was sad. Please don't take notice of his PJs, no idea what he was thinking there.
He wanted to help bury him.

I want Tristen to know that every life is worth something, that every life is deserving of respect (maybe not mosquito's). We do not kill things around here if it leaves us alone. Not spiders not wasps and not bees. We do not kill things because they are ugly or frighten us. We try to do what is right first..............

Granddad finished up.

Then a little prayer was said to send him on his way. They asked the Lord to take care of him and we left him in what has become our pet graveyard. I have no idea what was wrong with him but there was no helping him.
Sharing with A Dedicated House
Also with Inspire me Monday

On the deck......................

We are in need of a new back door. That leads to other issues. In order to do that we had to extend the deck. Actually we are going to put the door into another room. Right now the room is not anything in particular but has a lot of stuff in it including the printer. Well, we decided to make that room the entrance and put the new door in there and close off the old one. This means we needed to make the deck different in order to get in through that area.
This is how it happened. Tristen just had to help Granddad he was so excited. Granddad not so much. Tristen with a sledgehammer are you crazy?

First the old part of the deck had to be torn down and then the wood cut for the new part.
Tristen got to hold the end. He kept running off with stuff to do his own projects. He got a popsickle but would not put it down to work, heaven forbid.


Then to start putting it together........

Tristen holding the lattice to be nailed in place.

After it was done we put a couple of chairs up there to relax for a bit

The windows behind the chair will be the new door. That will be the next step. We will be putting in a double glass door and some outlets. With an outlet there I can put up Christmas lights yeahhhhh.
The pooodles are enjoying it


The poodles enjoyed relaxing. There was still a lot to do but that was enough for that day. Since then the gate got put on in a much more convenient place and I at least got to tidy up the deck. Here are the girls waiting for Daddy to come home


Bijou is enjoying the new place.

So is Bodi and Bella

I set up a nice spot for me to sit and have coffee and draw or paint or read. Later we will have outlets so I can then bring my computer out.

Now to just get rid of those pesky mosquitoes.

Keeping Tristen occupied..............

Tristen is a busy little boy. He is so full of energy. It's been so hard being cooped up all winter and such a long winter it was.
So first chance we have had we were off into the woods. He can run to his hearts content. He did laps I think, running back and forth. Laura and I were tired out by the end of our first walk.
We tried a new trail that we had not been on before. Not sure what to expect because it was close to the big stores like Walmart and Home Depot. We went to the trail head and parked. The map said there was a one mile loop so we chose that one.


We started out, he at a sprint, we were less ambitious. Its been a long winter and we are stiff. Tristen ran and ran



The utter joy of freedom

This was an amazingly diverse trail. It ran through woods and meadows, water meadows and swamps. While in the woodlands we found a dead bumble bee. Tristen was able to see it close up and we have it a funeral of sorts. We rested him on a Dandelion Tristen got to feel the bark on the trees, to see the difference in texture. Maybe later to be able to recognize them.


Cedar Swamps are full of interesting things. They had boardwalks for us to walk on to get through the mud and mire. In there the roots of the trees made Fairy houses. I had shown him an acorn cap (A fairy hat) and some leaf skeletons (Fairy wings) its a magical place if you allow it to be.



He was intriged by the water creatures who could walk on water. He wished he could do that. We found a toad, he was hard to see in the leaves, the same colour. He was not happy to be captured and petted by a little boy but he went on his way in safety

We moved on to meadow land. By now rather confused. The trail markers were very confusing, they didn't seem to go where we thought they should. In any case we were not where we needed to be. This strip of land is between two roads and is on a hill that ends on Cass st. We found ourselves at the old Sabin School grounds, no longer in use. So we had ended up in the wrong place. We went back to the last trail marker,and tried another direction. At least I do have a good sense of direction and knew where we needed to be, it was a question of HOW.
Meanwhile we found some mushrooms.

The Morel mushroom is much sought after this time of year. We looked for some the other day with no luck. This day we found them without looking. Enough for Gerry to enjoy a nice snack.

I sent Laura and Tristen up the hill to recon. There were apartments up there. Not the ones we expected though. SO now what.

OK forget the dang trail markers follow me. Good grief.

Some of the wild flowers


I wish I could dig up a few of these lovelies. This is a Jack in the Pulpit

Anyway we found our way back just fine but we took longer than expected. Next time we must take a watch haha

I loved the shapes of the tree roots in the Cedar swamps.

There are so many things in the woods that are fascinating and as Tristen gets older I am sure we will try to have him become a little more interested in the names of these things, learn as Hiawatha the names of all the birds and beasts and how they live. This is after all Hiawatha country.

LInking up with Little Red House Mosaic Monday