On May 15, 2022, while heading down the Black River in Cheboygan County to start our fishing season, a flock of birds came flying toward our boat that I’d never seen before. They were large, and besides being a type of wading bird I had no idea what species. A flock of some type of …
Phone rings and the voice on the other end says: “Hello, this is Me. Is this You?” “Yes, it’s Me.” “Well, it’s Me calling, and Me doesn’t call Me. So who am Me speaking with?” Uh. Rats. “You?” “That’s what Me thought. How are things?” “What kind of things? Little things or big things?” “Anythings,” he said. “Those are different. So …
The eastern phoebe is a type of flycatcher that Mark and I have had the pleasure of seeing at our cabin in northern Michigan. Doorframes and other human-made structures are preferred spots for eastern phoebes, and our front door frame seems to meet their needs. The photo below shows an eastern phoebe nest up close, …
On Memorial Day weekend 2022 family came together from Germany, California and Ann Arbor to see Opa Opa (Mark) and Oma Amy (me) in the Lansing area. We did simple things, like walk on a nature trail, play at a playground, and eat ice cream. As I enjoyed myself and photographed, I was taken by …
This is for my granddaughter, Sofia. We went to the Binder Park Zoo in 2021, during which I started working on this song. When I finished the song, I knew I just needed a photo of the two of us, which was taken by her mom, Rebecca Oemke, at the Potter Park Zoo (in Lansing) …
Mark and I hadn’t planned on being in Houston, Texas, in April 2021, but for various reasons, we needed to be. And once there, while we did plan to escape the concrete area around our motel to visit a Japanese garden, I had no idea that instead of photographing birds with feathers, we’d witness two …
It’s our third day on the St. John’s River in Florida, and at 42 degrees and windy, it’s darn chilly for mid-November. The sun is going down quickly and cold dampness is settling in. We’d had little success all morning, and famed fishing guide, Bob Stonewater, said we needed to move to a completely different …
4/1/2018 Sunday, Easter Sunday and April Fool’s Day We sleep in until 8 and finally force ourselves to go to McDonald’s where there is a new kiosk customers can use to place their orders. There is nobody behind the counter and the only visible worker is standing next to the new kiosk. As she takes …
3/31/2018 Saturday We get up to the alarm and wander to the hotel office where breakfast awaits us: a pot of coffee; a stack of wrapped, generic granola bars; a tiny wrapped pastry; a Little Debbie stuffed, soft cookie; bananas and apples. So excited. We grab a little of this and that and head …
3/30/2018 Friday According to Mapquest, it’s possible to get from Orange City to Crystal River in about two hours. Thus far, though, it’d taken much longer to get anywhere in Florida, and the more I’d been in a hurry, the more frustrating the traffic. To outsmart the traffic gods, I announce I’m in no hurry …