This Land is My Land.............

I am going to join up with Friendship Friday with this post.

I was born and raised in England. In Bedfordshire to be exact, that being about 30 miles north from London. I will always be English, I can never change my nationality. That does not mean I don't like it here in Michigan because I do. I live in a beautiful area on the Great Lakes, Lake Michigan. We have it all. Sand and beaches, shops, arts and crafts, winter sports.........we have vineyards and cherry orchards. We have casino's that put on great shows and an art institute that has great entertainment and concerts.
Ken Scott a brilliant local photographer captures Fishtown perfectly

We have woods and forests, rivers and streams, dunes and meadows.

There are great hiking and skiing trails and there is never "nothing to do"

Waterfalls and beaches, lighthouses and shops.


I simply love Michigan.

Michigan is now my home and I am happy here. My heart though, my very soul....will always rest in England. Land of my birth, my heritage, my history, my ancestors. I can never ever give that up. I may never live there again, I made my choices many years ago before I really knew the consequences.
London, always beautiful for me.

Durdle Door


Ancient Beech woods


I could post so many beautiful pictures, but if you visit my blogs you will get to see them. I am always talking about England and share stories of the past.
Meanwhile I will be out and about in Michigan and taking pictures of my own.

The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.........

Most Michiganders remember that November when we were told that the ship was missing. The Gales of November...........it always brings it back. The haunting song by Gordon Lightfoot brings shivers along my spine. I am not a water person, but I love the Great Lakes. We live near Lake Michigan but often go to the Upper Peninsula. Paradise is one of our favourite places and we always go to Whitefish Point to walk the long beaches there. Its a wild place when the winds blow and Lake Superior is a wild lake. To be honest, when the waves are lashing at the beach and the wind is howling, I love it but it also scares me. When you go to the point the waters meet from both sides into a churning maelstrom and crashing waves. They look angry and as though they will snatch you off the beach. It was in those waters that the Edmond Fitzgerald was broken in half and taken down. The power of those waves, its incredible. People who do not know these waters may not know just how many shipwrecks are in the Great Lakes. We have hundreds of lighthouses around these waters. There is one that we visit often right there at Whitefish Bay. There is a shipwreck museum there and holds some of the artifacts there. There is a bird watching area and several gift shops. I believe that the Coast Guard is an unappreciated service. My sons were US Marines and when you hear the different services bantering about who is the best of the best.......they seem to look at the Coast Guard as a by the way sort of thing (just my impression) but in my book they are one of the best. They are there on the Great Lakes as well as in the seas surrounding our country and their job is as difficult as any. They are awesome in their search and rescue role and are true hero's to me. When something like this happens I would think any mariner is grateful they are there.

Beautiful Danielle becomes Mrs Cook.......

My granddaughter Danielle became Mrs Joshua Cook July 30 2011. She was a beautiful bride. The wedding was wonderful, simple and sweet. They chose Presque Isle in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The wedding was held inside the pavillion but the reception was out on the deck. It was a small intimate wedding with no fuss and for that reason I think it was the loveliest wedding I have been to. To make it even better we had the place to ourselves because the police closed the park because of a couple of moose who were hanging around.
Here is one of our guests



Danielle was a lovely bride and we are all so proud of her. She is to become a registered nurse and they will make their home in Ishpeming. They are fortunate to live in such a lovely area.



The location was wonderfully scenic. This was the backdrop to her photos.



Further along the beach





On the other side of the island that is really a peninsula, there are lovely views like this one.





Mr and Mrs Joshua Cook