A Visit to Stone Gate Farm

I’ll be brief: my neighbors rock. They share conversations, lend us tools, help on patio renovations, plow the drive, and now they’ve even let me come over to photograph their red barns in the snow…and all I do is share baked goods as a thank you. They must think their neighbors do not rock. More treats must be in order.

The other night on Facebook, I unceremoniously invited myself over to their place. To Gary: “I meant to send you an email earlier about pics…as in, can I come over and take snowy photos of your barn?” His reply: “Any time Heather, no invitation is ever needed…!” See? They are awesome. I suited up at noon and walked over for lunch…which you might think would give road crews enough time to clear the road. Nope. Snow pants and boots were in order.

I traipsed down their driveway for a few shots, slogged out through the snow for some more, and then crossed into the pines on the edge of the property for a couple more. Satisfied, I waved to Jill (had I known she was home, I would’ve happily chatted), and returned home for a bite.

The day was so spectacular though, that I soon found myself back in my snow gear for the four miles around the block – this time having waited long enough for the plow. The surface wasn’t too bad, but I was regularly pelted by tufts of snow blowing out of the trees. As I crested the last rise, Gary pulled up beside me in his truck. When he asked if I had stopped by, I replied that I had, but that I’d be back since the light was better.

I stayed home for the rest of the day, finishing up the work I had left to go walking. After dinner we took a quick drive, but I wasn’t camera-compelled until sunset. Sunset! We had one! We’re seeing these more often now – perhaps spring is on the way…though it didn’t look much like it as I trudged through deep snow for the pictures. It was worth it

Careful What You Wish For

Spring conditions made a brief (and unwanted) visit to northern Michigan over the weekend. Temperatures warmed above freezing (fine), melting some of the snowpack (okay), and dumped quite a bit of rain (gross). Thus, our roads are littered with cavernous potholes and thick, bumpy, slippery ice. Yesterday evening, on our way into TC for a grocery refill, Tony and I ran into our neighbors Gary and Jill (don’t worry; they’re fine). They were out walking in the foggy mess, and Jill mentioned that we had four inches of snow on the way. I was amused because last time I had checked, estimates were only one inch, but so goes snow prediction. I glibly quipped – publicly on Facebook no less – that I would welcome some snow to improve road conditions. Well, be careful what you wish for!

Old Mission Outings

More than two weeks ago, Jess and I took a photography field trip up the Old Mission Peninsula. It was a dramatic kind of day. The temperature was in the single digits, and the wind chill was well south of zero. Parts of the sky were clear with bright sun spilling through, and other parts were heavily clouded with snow pouring down. Since it was so cold out, our field trip consisted of multiple brief stops where we’d hop out of the car, frame a few shots, then run back to the car to warm up.

I intended to share the photos sooner, but with one thing and then five, it didn’t happen. And then I accumulated more. Chances are, since the weekend is ahead of me, that I will be accumulating even more photos, so while Tony and I are out skiing this morning, I’m going to share. This way we can all move on with our lives In addition to this morning’s outing, we’re going to check out a chocolate festival in Boyne City and then maybe go for a hike tomorrow. What plans do you have?

Happy Weekend!

Those Winter Blues

In northern Michigan, we don’t often have clear views of the sun in the winter. We have days when the sun makes breathtaking appearances in between lake effect bursts, and days when the sun coyly peaks out through foggy cloud drapes but never quite showing herself. And we seem to have countless days of gray skies, which are thankfully mitigated by a reflective carpet of snow on the ground.

Torch Lake gets eaten by lake effect snow:

Lovely Laurium Manor Inn

This is our second northern Michigan winter – technically it’s our third, but last winter hardly counts – so we’ve seen a fair amount of snow piled up. And with our travel affinity, we’ve driven in quite a bit as well. After our Friday evening festivities at Kathy’s, we hit the road to Laurium, in an area of Michigan that sees over two hundred inches of snow annually – about five feet more than we see. Despite a slow start this season, things had really accumulated by the time we arrived, and even we were surprised.