Now...

...this is Winter! 15 inches...then temps at 6 below...40 hours without power. Of course next week it will probably all be melted and we will have mucky roads.

Yep it's Northern Michigan!!!

Still time...

...to come on up and enjoy the Winter fun! After all, look what an extra day in February gave us!!!

Not often seen

A flying squirrel! This is the first time he hasn't flown away when Ron collects the bird feeders. Love the eyes don't you?

Don't know what to say really...

We got our first lasting snow the other night so I sent Ron out and asked him to take some pictures so I could post a holiday message on the blog.

This is what I got:




A picture of the tree down the road that has grown around a cement pole




Luna catching a whiff of something




The neighbor's broken flamingo





And an old rotten tree.

Now you know why I don't let him decorate!

Oh well...we both still want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Healthy and Happy New Year.
(We'll do better next time...I promise!)

A few things

Trying to get buttoned up for winter around here but I did want to share some photos with you.
One of our neighbors has had a young elk hanging around all summer in their backyard. We don't think she is entirely "normal" and lets people get pretty close. Here I am feeding her an apple. Very cool.
Ron was driving by the local lake yesterday and saw this bald eagle. Sorry it's not the best shot. It's not that we never see one but it is always a treat when we do.
Finally, this is some frost that will be followed by snow soon enough!

Kinda interesting

We have a small creek that you pass over when you enter our association. It must be spring fed because it we have only seen it freeze over once when it was 20 below and the level always stays the same. That is until last week when it began to rise. Beavers have built a dam downstream and the water is up about 2 feet. Of course this has all the neighbors worried about the possibility of a road washout and even more exciting the chance to "blow something up!". So yesterday Ron and I launched our canoe into this newly navigable river and paddled down to see the new construction. Obviously it's not the Grand Coolie Dam but beavers are pretty clever creatures. They have actually made quite a nice little pool and the water is so clear you can see lots of fish. We don't think there is much risk of them going a whole lot deeper but we were overruled and the demolition will begin this morning. Thought you might like to see some pictures of the soon to be defunct Little Pigeon River Dam...and Ron and Luna of course!!

AWWWW!

Notice!

The Easter Egg Hunt has been cancelled.

In related news...the crocuses woke up this morning and said "What the heck!?!"

Happy Spring everyone!

Posted without comment...

To all our friends and family...

...Shooters and Non-Shooters alike....
We wish you a very Merry Christmas
and a Healthy and Happy New Year!
See you in the Spring!!

Here we go

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

On Fire!!

This is my favorite time of year around here and this weekend is AWESOME! Temps just right, the sky the deepest blue you have ever seen and the leaves at their peak of gloriousness. Don't ruin my Mojo by reminding me that soon I will be bundling up with the backpack blower strapped on trying to rediscover my grass. Not mention what inevitably will be coming. Give me my day!!

Just hanging around

Now that summer is unofficially over...and believe me the heater has been turned off up here...we are already contemplating doing prep for the winter. Heard from the Farmer's Almanac it is going to be cold and snowy. Never know what to believe but we sure got away easy last year. Trying not to rush the thinking but the trees are already turning and the hummingbirds seemed to have departed. Is the earth spinning faster? Time is passing by so quickly. Is it just me?!?

BTW...in case you can't tell the picture is of a bat that was under the kitchen window on the east side of the house one day last week. He must have stayed out too late and decided to crash with us.

Trip around the garden

So far, so good on the fence keeping out the deer. It's wonderful to actually see things bloom. It's not that we don't love the wildlife around here but I don't think it's unreasonable to ask for just a little piece of their woods for our own. So I thought I would post some pictures of all the glory before the "rent" is due!!

Happy Summer!

Just thought I should post these pictures before the deer decide that it's the Golden Corral all you can eat buffet!!

Signs of Life

A pair of Chickadees decided to take advantage of one of the birdhouses in the garden to start a little family. It's been fun watching them work so hard to keep the babies fed. Of course they would pick the year when the neighborhood is under construction. We decided to try to foil the deer by putting a up a fence. Yay...no more "Gitmo Garden" with all the wire cages!! Made for some disruptions in the feeding schedule but the little ones don't seem to have suffered much. Isn't Spring fun!?!

This is just wrong...

...on so many levels. May 8th and we get SNOW!?! We even hosted a pistol match which meant shooting with parkas and gloves (hey it is PRACTICAL Pistol after all!). Actually also had a match the weekend before and we were sweating to death. Go figure.

Kind of sad

Here's the last bit of snow in the backyard...looks lonely doesn't it? I'm sure by the end of the day it will have joined it's brothers and sisters in the home of Winter 09-10. It was a very mild season..temps were above normal and snow amounts were way low. I think my "southern" friends had a rougher time than we did.
Of course this may not be the last visit we have of our flake friends...some snow showers are predicted this weekend but it will just be a poignant farewell...until next time!

To friends and family...

...that follow our lives here on the Wolverine View, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a healthy and Happy New Year.
2010...Can you believe it?!? It will be 5 years since we moved to this northern paradise. We have made lots of new friends but treasure those that we have known for longer. We feel lucky and blessed to have you all in our lives. Stay well and stay in touch!

Slow in coming

November was unusually warm so there really was no snow to mention. We were wondering if we were going to get off easy this winter. Apparently not. So far we have had over 16 inches and it is still coming down. Looking good for another White Christmas. Luna is okay with that!