Blue Goose ~ Days 53 - 65

July 23, 2014 to August 4, 2014

Days of Summer Vacation at Big Star and Lake Michigan...and Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo:

 - an amazing loon family on Big Star Lake, totally unperturbed by the all-sports lake commotion, consisting of parents and two half grown babies who looked exactly like slightly bedraggled brown rug rats, all swimming and diving amongst the jet skis, pontoons, skiers, fishing boats, paddle boarders and kayakers...
- helping RW make his final decisions and eating dinner with him several nights with a final bittersweet leave-taking of Townsend
- Blu Moon
- reading
- DHC working on puzzle at BS
- hearing about Emily's experience on a WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) in the Netherlands
- getting to know Damien and Azaria
- discovering the gem of Bowman Lake (finally!)
- watching Red-headed Woodpeckers, Red-bellied Woodpeckers and a dozen other species busy at the feeders
- Tino
- the labyrinth, which is a work in progress and will always contain Maria's spirit
- DHC's daylilies - my favorite garden flower

- Opal's Cottage
- everyone being pleasantly surprised by the rentals on Lake Michigan
- freshly ground delicious coffee every morning

- an impressive 12-foot inflatable paddle-board that got constant and heavy use on Lake Michigan
- hiking to the lighthouse in Ludington with 16 of us and eating pizza at Chuckwagon afterwards
- no TV
- marginal to nonexistent cell phone service
- trips to Manistee for groceries and playgrounds and river walk and movie
- fireworks and sparklers
- the girls from France
- the boy and girl from Oregon
- the adorable baby and charming 3-year-old from California
- Cards Against Humanity
- grown kids from the Bay area, Bend and Eugene in Oregon, from France, Indiana and Michigan
- communal dinners
- beaches
- books
- badminton
- a wonderful Charley Harper puzzle
- a birthday party for the pre-teens
- sunshine every day
- storm clouds bringing high winds and wicked skies but no rain
- the screen house
- 62 steps to the beach
- lazy mornings - beach afternoons - social evenings
- make-up session
- Clue and Candyland
- tie-dyeing
- yoga
- running
- no ambient light at night allowing a star-filled sky
- walking the trails behind the cottages
- 1000 photo ops and a couple of group pictures
- owl pellet dissection
- and, early on the day of departure, dressing for a wedding, altering dresses, curling hair, constantly checking the time, and finally moving out....

Winding down at Bill and Stephanie's beautiful new home, spending most of the time on their porches....Thanks so much Stephanie for this. (Bill was in New Mexico getting Jake settled in. He will be teaching in Crownpoint there.)

Binder Zoo in Battle Creek with kids and grandkids, including wee Duncan with whom I fell head-over-heels in love....kids feeding giraffes, riding the carousel, petting goats and a gigantic tortoise, monkeys, tropical birds, prairie dogs, peacocks, a sleeping cheetah, ostriches...eating at Logan's in Kzoo....take-out on the porch the next night, getting to feed Duncan and looking into his lovely blueberry eyes as he smiled his goofy baby smile at me...watching Joey and Tesla move through their day....all good...