A New Year

I don't have any words. So instead, I will just post this beautiful picture. One of my last shots before Lake Huron started to freeze. It will be a while before we see freighters on our beautiful lake. 

Winter on Lake Huron

I had a quick visit to check on our slice of heaven and work Perchville. What a glorious time. 

Be back soon.  

 

The best of summer

I love July in Michigan.  I love July in Michigan on the water even better.  It has been an absolutely glorious summer on the lake.  A summer full of good friends, great food, and amazing pictures.

Sunrise. Seriously this is the most amazing sunrise I have ever seen EOTE.  So glad I got up at the crack of dawn.


Clouds.


Our neighbor. He is a good looking neighbor.


And our favorite time here. We love the Au Sable Race, the racers start in Grayling at 9:00 pm, paddle through the night, and arrive in Oscoda at about 10:30 am.  They don't stop, they portage their own canoes, and they are rockstars.  50,000 spectators will watch this race at various points along with way. This year, after 120 miles, the finish came down to a nose. We couldn't believe it.  It was the most exciting finish I have seen in my six years here.



Congratulations all around.


The wind has been rocking and rolling here.  A little carnage but we love it here.


Cheers to summer!

standing at the edge of summer

Spring was a busy time for us.  While I didn't anticipate the changes in our life, I can't imagine doing anything differently.  We opened EOTE late and have been north only a few times. The few visits we squeezed in were magnificent.

There is a perception that we don't have sunsets on the sunrise side.  That's completely wrong. 

We have a hand-held radio and nerdy as we are, we like to hail our passing freighter friends.  Paul, in the beautiful gloaming of the evening, is hailing the Dorothy Ann as she heads south.  

Our Handsome Boy never misses a chance for a good nap. 

While it looks delightfully warm, it wasn't.  It was soooo cold, we were wearing coats, hats, and gloves.  

I love this old tree half buried in the sand. 

So we will enjoy the cold, lugubrious day with a fire, books, and of course, the obligatory nap!  

Cheers EOTE! 

winter

It's cold and dark.  And cold.  But surprisingly, there is very little snow.  Given the past few years, I can take a pass on the snow.

We took a drive north to visit our little slice of heaven.  We were surprised to see very little snow and no ice. We could pull in the driveway without having it plowed.

It's still beautiful. So beautiful.



It will be a couple of weeks before we head north again.  It's lovely to see EOTE in good shape.  We are counting the weeks.

Cheers!

2016

There are times when I still remember Y2K and think that technology is so new and exciting.  And now?  It's 16 years later.  Sigh.  How is that even possible?

Nikon has some new cameras out; I am eyeing them enviously but I also am weighing the options of mirrorless cameras. Not sure if I upgrade or wait. So many options and so many wonderful pictures yet to be taken.

December was a blur.  I had a flurry of work and then the annual Christmas break during which both of our employers completely shut down.  We had the absolutely perfect blend of family and friends, breakfast, lunch, and dinners out and in; wonderful time up late and sleeping late and up early and to bed early. Just the right mix of books, sports, and movies.  I couldn't have asked for a more wonderful and relaxing break.

We got no accumulating snow until well after Christmas.  Until 12/24, it looked like this:



With all the driving we did, we were perfectly happy to take it!

After Christmas, the sleet and ice came. Because of the weather, we never made it north to our happy place, and we have pushed that out a bit. Soon enough. We will need a mid-winter check to make sure our little slice of heaven is still there.

Until then, we have this:


and this:



and need we be reminded of the glorious sound of pounding surf, this:


Cheers to you and this new year!

cooking and the beach

When we aren't at the beach EOTE, we are cooking. A whole lot of cooking.


Now, normally I would post this on the Foodies blog but because it involves pictures AND food, I am posting it here.  My friend Sarah had a chance to visit EOTE and made tacos one night. She made them with salmon and they were insanely good.  I made them last night, this time with shrimp.

THEY ARE INSANELY GOOD.

Ingredients:  

1 pound salmon, skinned and cut into cubes  (I used shrimp) 

1 rounded T cumin

1 rounded t chili powder

2 T+ olive oil for sautéing

1 medium yellow onion, chopped  (I used white onion) 

1-2 limes, quartered

1- 8 ounce can chopped tomatoes, drained

1 can chopped green chilies, drained

1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1-1/2 T chicken soup base

Toppings:

Avocado

Chopped lettuce

Sour cream

Directions: 

Toss cubed salmon in cumin and chili powder. Set aside for at least an hour.  (I seasoned for 4 hours) 

Chop onions, cilantro, and chilies (I had chopped chilis) 

Heat oil over medium heat and cook onion until it softens.

Turn heat up to medium high. Add salmon to skillet. Lightly sear salmon cubes for about 2-3 minutes, turning gently (don't break the salmon into pieces!). (The shrimp took longer) 

Return heat setting to medium. Add canned tomatoes and chilies, cilantro, green onions, and soup base. Gently incorporate and heat through. 

Serve:

Squeeze quartered limes over the salmon mixture. Serve with fresh warm flour tortillas, sour cream, sliced avocado, and chopped romaine lettuce.

Cooks notes:
I seasoned the shrimp all afternoon.  I like a little kick so I used more cumin and chili powder. 
I didn't completely drain the tomatoes and chilis. I like a little sauce in my tacos.  
I skipped the chopped lettuce. Why take up room with lettuce when you can have more shrimp? 
I added a can of chopped black olives.  I could also see adding corn.  

You could easily make this with chicken, any kind of fish, and even steak.  So delicious.  

Summer time

There is something about the beach.  I don't know if it's the air, the water, the sun, the walks on the beach, or just the fact that we have no watch; the beach is a perfect place for naps.



The day started serenely.



Then the ESE wind picked up.  The sound of pounding surf has been constant and there is nothing more beautiful to my ears.

In between books, walks, and naps, the freighter Buffalo passed by.

While the majority of the day was sunny, we have some clouds.  The fire pit is ready for our after-dinner gloaming.  Samson is crashed on the tile. We are loving the start of what promises to be a magnificent summer.

Cheers from EOTE.

Bring on June

Well, I wrote too soon.  What seems like minutes after I posted the May update, Samson's ear filled up again.

Again.

So surgery number 5 happened on Tuesday.  It's been a rough week.

We were scheduled to be EOTE this weekend and thought what the heck, since Samson could recover  anywhere.  So we packed up on Friday and drove north.

We are so glad we did.

The sunrise was spectacular.





And our very favorite neighbor paid us a visit!





So shortly, we will pack it in and head south.  It's been a short weekend but restful.  We love it here.

Cheers from EOTE.

Goodbye 2014 Hello 2015

We had quite a year.  For Christmas, we bought ourselves a garage.  We joked that we would put a red bow on the door, take a picture, and put it under the tree.  Thus began all kinds of conversation beginning with, "you know you're old when ..." Answers included buying tires for our birthdays, new appliances for our anniversary, and, well, the garage for Christmas.
 

We celebrated with lights. We didn't have it in us to put up the tree and all the decorations; it was a little more somber this year. But the lights were beautiful.


As with every year, EOTE was amazing.  Our neighbor up north lost a tree.


We had some rocking waves. The water levels are concerning ... they are very, very high.


Stunning sunrises.




Here is where the magic happens.


We had snowless Christmas. Then the skies opened up and the temperatures dropped. It's really, really cold round these parts.  Samson is resting.


2015 is shaping up to be a pretty darn good year. Cheers!

November

brrrrrrr.

We took a long weekend and drove north.  We had hoped to have friends join us but life on their farm kept them home.  We missed them.  But enjoyed a long, cold weekend #EOTE. And celebrated our new garage.  Seriously.  To those of you who have built up and built out; built on or from scratch, I completely and totally understand the giddiness that goes with a cement slab, four walls, and a roof.

Yes, I am this excited about a garage.  Because this is sort of more than just a garage; this is a small step in making this our forever home when we are ready to scale back.  Or as Paul says, "drop the pack."

What I love about the fall in northern Michigan is just how vibrant the colors turn in the cold weather.

Friday was raucous.



this is our lot line market.  It used to be half way to the water line. Now it IS the water line.


Morning of November 1.  yeah, that's snow.





The moonrise was too early to get anything but a slice of it.  With the moon up, I can't shoot the Milky Way.  Another time.



It is beautiful here.



Don't forget to vote on Tuesday!  Cheers from #EOTE!

Samson's busy day

Well, here we are. North again, watching the last remnants of summer turn to fall.

This is what winter starts to look like.





Out of the water. Temporary storage on the beach. Snow fences.  Sigh.

There was a chipmunk torturing Samson most of Friday.







It didn't end well for the chipmunk.  I will leave it at that.



After the hunt, he was ready for a swim.



It's beautiful here. Like the summer we didn't quite have.





One more night here.  Dinner, a fire in the fire ring, beautiful stars, and full hearts.  Cheers from EOTE.

weekend

We came north for a quick weekend. After our Labor Day extravaganza, we didn't have enough room to haul everything back. And with the delayed garage project, our beach room was packed with stuff to go downstate. So we let the Handsome One enjoy a weekend at the happy place we took off Friday afternoon.

What I enjoy most about northern Michigan is just how different days can look; in literally a few hours, it looks like a completely different time and place.

Friday, the waves were rocking. The surf was high, so high that it came up to our neighbor's fire ring.




Saturday started wet but moved into a wonderful, sunny afternoon.  I took a walk on the beach and found this branch driven into the sand.


We had flyovers.


And a wonderful sunset. I still can't figure out the misconception that we don't get sunsets on the sunrise side.


This morning was calm, cool (okay downright cold), and still.  Lots of fog.


and some sun.


and now, we head home.  Happy Sunday!

vacation

I love this place.  I love our neighbors. I love the beach. It makes retirement look all kinds of appealing.

Here we are, practicing for retirement.




Samson will still need a job. Chasing Chuck-it is a good one.







Bella has retired.  She is a smart cookie.







A couple noteworthy sunrises.





We had days and nights and more days and more nights of fabulous food, good friends, and great laughs.  I love this place.  Cheers from EOTE.