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.

pictures

I found a photographer's website and one of the links he had was a link to his favorite pictures.  I thought that was such a cool idea.  I don't normally think of my pictures that way; rather I think about pictures as a moment in time, capturing a story or event.

A really good picture tells a story.

Which led me down a rabbit hole of looking at all 8,000+ pictures on Flickr trying to figure out which pictures I like best - one that tells a good story in the moment. So picked a few of my favorites. I don't do a lot of post-processing.  I don't really care for pictures that are over processed. Personal preference.

---------------

I love this picture.   I love the way the light streams down.  An early morning sunrise isn't always yellow.


I love this for the pink and grey.  Such unusual colors.


Most people think of the moon like this:


When the moon rises over Lake Huron more often than not, it looks like this. All squished and lopsided. I love this because it's real.

[I am absolutely obsessed with the moon] 

I was trying to take some pictures for friends.  Just the two of them with their gorgeous dogs.  We kept getting photo bombed.  It's what happens at a dog park.

I still laugh at these. Eventually we got it. 

And our neighbors up north create such a sense of love and belonging.  To the world. 

I took a trip with a dear friend.  We ended up both buying a plastic cow.  When I see it, I relive our hilarious adventures all over again.  The aperture is wide open, a little hazy, and a tad out of focus. Like life sometimes is. 

He looked at me when I took this (before his ear problems).  I see so much grace and beauty and gratitude in these eyes.  It's a little humbling.  

This was so much fun. To look. To post. To share.  On to another week, one step closer to summer. 

my year in pictures

Farewell 2013.

A wonderful season 

friends 

a silly dog

great races

good food 

looking up 

and closing up 

and now forward to 2014!  Happy New Year.  

how quickly things change

it was Saturday and I spent the day relaxing.  first day of Christmas break.  did some laundry.  did some grocery shopping.  started to read.  had a wonderful dinner.  watched the winter weather start.

planned Sunday - Christmas cards, the last of the decorations, football, a great fire in the fireplace, a pot of lentil soup.

then the ice came.







and the power went.  and stayed gone.  so we redeployed to warmer environs with electricity.

Mr. Handsome adapted perfectly.





while I realize that Consumer's Power is working to restore power to so many of us, their communication has been horrific.  last night, they reported our power restored at 7:50 pm; then they couldn't find my address on their site; now, they have no estimated restoration time.

Bleh.  but we are grateful to be together and warm, safe, and connected.  hopefully we will be home soon.

different colors of light

We drove north and east, then north again for a long weekend.  I had a bunch of work reading to do so I took a day to do it.   It's amazing what I can get done with a simple change of scenery.  I feel quite accomplished.

The bookends of the days East of the Equator are nothing short of marvelous.   When we ventured forth and bought on the east side of the state, several people questioned our sanity - especially the notion of missing sunsets.

We are notoriously early risers, due in part to small (or large, depending on your perspective) furry creatures who are sorely lacking a snooze feature.  Every morning, I enjoy the sunrise and seldom miss it.   Okay, maybe in the summer when it feels like the sun is rising at 4 am, I might miss one or two;  I don't ever miss it in the fall.   The cool temps bring abundant colors to more than just the trees.

sunrise




with fog:


and clouds:


and we get some pretty darn lovely color for sunsets, despite what people think.





We were driving through town yesterday and spotted the neatest license plate - wish I had thought of it.


Best kept secret in Michigan.

quiet

If you haven't read Susan Cain's book Quiet, you should.  To the extroverted reader, my blog will make much more sense after reading her stuff.  And given that up to half of us are introverts, you should, if you don't, know what that means. 

trust me. it's gooooood stuff. 

I had the entire weekend alone.  Paul is with friends and Samson is at the happy place.  I got up here Friday afternoon and it has been quiet. Like in no noise.  No talking.  No music.  No TV.   Just me, my camera, the pounding surf, periodic planes, a rising moon, a steady SSE breeze, and a stray police siren. 

heaven +1

Crazy gorgeous.


A little shade.


My BFF Bella comes and makes herself right at home under my umbrella.  She doesn't talk.  She is always welcome.


and then heads back over to Mom.  I love this dog.


Our neighbor to the south is teaching himself to kiteboard.  He has a beautiful sail.




We are a creative lot up and down the beach - lots of umbrellas, chairs, coolers, and swimming gear.


No better place for a nap.


Overhead was REALLY busy.   This plane came through really low.


and this the almost full but waning Blue Moon, Full Sturgeon Moon, Full Red Moon, Green Corn Moon and Grain Moon.  by any name, it's simply beautiful. 



Another perfect weekend, East of the Equator. 

vacation

I have a little time off over the next few weeks and it's one of my favorite times of the year. 

I wish I could share more - I can't share the sound of the pounding surf, the delightful  ESE breezes off the lake, the hum of passing freighters' diesel engines, or the warm conversations held up and down the beach, on the deck, or around the fire ring. 

I can only share pictures on the blog.  It's not enough but it's all I have. 

New friends.


Beautiful clouds


Wonderful friends and neighbors




and one happy, happy dog.


It doesn't get much better than this.  Cheers.

what do you do?

i get this question periodically from people who don't know me particularly well, and ask the question when they find that i have a cottage, and make the trek to it each and every weekend.  usually with dog in tow.

what do you DO up there, they ask? well, nothing which is the whole point of coming here but for some who need to do and not be, that seems like an anomaly.   you know, a deviation from the norm.

exactly.

i stare at this:


then i walk to that and stare at this:


and this:


drink this:


and this:


and watch him stick his snout in sand and think nothing of it.


if you hadn't noticed, the one thing i do DO is pick up a camera.  and that's plenty when surrounded by magnificent beauty.

lovin' every minute of it.  every single minute.  Cheers from EOTE.

Prime Rib dinner

Last night,  Paul made us a wonderful meal.  The full recipe is over on the foodies blog.  But I needed to take a few pictures for posterity.

In case you are wondering, it's a recipe adapted from How to Cook Meat.  It's a great book.



We skipped the pudding part.



We made my friend Karen's potatoes.







Of course, we had to have something elegant in the glass.



With au jus, it was simply magnificent.



As we head into the New Year, we have much for which to be thankful.  Last night, it was a wonderful meal with great friends.  Cheers to the weekend.

12.12.12

I can't let this day go without a blogpost.  I won't see 12.12.12 again. 

Let's celebrate with a wonderful picture.

From 2012-11-24

No cooking pictures until the dishwasher gets fixed.  Happy hump day!

Landscape

I spend so much time writing and posting about Oscoda, Lake Huron, and the cottage, that I overlook the beautiful city I live in nine months out of the year.

This morning, we took a long, wonderful walk around the neighborhood.  I didn't feel like taking the big camera (big mistake, I missed the swans), instead, just grabbing the little Nikon P5100.  This camera is so old and for whatever reason, it still takes fantastic pictures.

Samson was here.

From Sunday walk

Gorgeous swans.  I just missed a shot where all four of them had come together.  Next time, take the real camera.  Really.

From Sunday walk

From Sunday walk

Beautiful.

From Sunday walk

When I am missing the great Lake Huron, this little Reed's Lake gig is not a bad substitute, just around the block.

Black and White

I posted the picture below and my friend, Tamara, suggested that I look at it in B and W. Pretty cool.

From 2012-10-29

So I took a couple other of my fun photos and converted them to B and W too.

From 2012-10-29

From 2012-10-29

Good stuff on the menu for tonight! Cheers to the weekend.

Monday

The weekend came and went.  We are spending our time in the final stages of TBTB.  The new couch comes on Tuesday.

Until we return, I think often of our other home and the beauty surrounding it.

From Fall in the O

From Fall in the O

Happy Monday.

Farm, food, and fun

I am ready to sell my house and go farm.  We had a glorious time this weekend visiting our friends Paul and Marj at the world headquarters of Mirror Lake Organics.

We had a blast, despite a minor run-in with a yak. We had all kinds of good food and drink.

From Farm Fun 2012

From Farm Fun 2012

We had a glorious tour of the farm.

From Farm Fun 2012

From Farm Fun 2012

Hamlet the pig (really how cute is that name?)

From Farm Fun 2012

The sheep

From Farm Fun 2012

and yaks

From Farm Fun 2012

and llama

From Farm Fun 2012

after a wonder meal, we enjoyed a bonfire in the ring of fire

From Farm Fun 2012

and enjoyed the company of Iorek, the BWD (big white dog).

From Farm Fun 2012

now, we just need to learn to drive.

From Farm Fun 2012

Ready to make a return visit. Soon! Cheers to the weekend.