We made plans to hike the Empire Bluffs trail with our friends yesterday. We most recently walked the path back in super-snowy February, but Jim and Jess (and Jackson too) hadn’t been since the fall, and yesterday’s temperate weather seemed perfect for the short trek. Continue reading
Slightly encumbered by a short-lived cold, and inspired the slowly melting snow (not to worry: Mama Nature makes April fools out of us with fresh powder!) and bright blue skies, we decided to trek up the north coast to The Bridge on Friday afternoon. Starting out after lunch, we stopped by the Alden Marina on Torch Lake – one of our favorite places by any standard, but definitely more often visited when piles of snow prohibit other favorite stop-bys. Nary a breath of air disturbed the lake’s mirror surface.
It seems to be a late spring for everyone, and while looking at the giant piles of snow in the front yard that the snowmobilers like to ramp, I was feeling doubly sorry for myself thinking we might never see our snowpack melt. Then I looked at some photos from this time two years ago – a little less snow on the ground, but there nonetheless. No crocuses, those first harbingers of spring, until mid-April. Sigh. Continue reading
Yesterday was a gorgeous day. The sun stained the lingering morning clouds pink before rising brightly, and the air was clear. Tony and I took off at 8:30 for our last rides down the slopes at Shanty Creek for the season. The snow was slow, but the resort was uncrowded, so we didn’t mind. We played in all our favorite places, and then tested the (frozen) waters of some steeper runs that we had avoided on account of they were either too bumpy or icy. The fresh powder gave me the confidence to suggest we tackle Kingdom Come – a quick 450-foot drop down the face of Shanty’s biggest and steepest hill. Continue reading
Just not here. Somewhere though, it is spring – full of birdsong and pleasantly crisp air. Here in northern Michigan, we will have to content ourselves with a bit more winter. Since the sun is spending increasing amounts of her time with us, it no longer feels so dreary, and so even though it was only in the twenties today, this weekend somehow managed to feel like spring. Continue reading
