Author Archives: makielb

Tom, Steve, me and Tom. I met these guys some 56 years ago when we started at Cass Tech in Detroit. Yesterday we had the official celebration of Steve and Rochelle’s 50th wedding anniversary, which I attended in 1973. Wow, 50 and counting! What an achievement. The entire family – Jodi, Steve, Rochelle, Tom, BenContinue reading “Party time”

On our walk this morning it became obvious that lawns are dangerous places. On the left is a spider web, with a tunnel when the spider is. I’m sure that a lot of tired little critters end up in the web as breakfast, lunch and dinner. we saw hundreds of this is almost every lawnContinue reading “Gardens and lawns”

Well now – If this is correct than I have lived a spectacular life. As I am writing this Susan is both fixing dinner and simmering tomato sauce for canning. It will be another successful winter. But as well as Italian food, you need art. I love this painting by Salvatore Dalí. He painted thisContinue reading “Living a successful life”

Yesterday we went to Soo Junction in Luce County, Michigan to have the Toonerville Trolly experience. It was a beautiful, cool day – perfect for something like this. The train, which for some reason I seem to not have a photo of, took us 5.5 miles through bogs, fens, boreal and upland forests to theContinue reading “Toonerville Trolly”

The waxing Moon continues to show more of her face. As I sit and watch birds fly by it is becoming obvious that we had better start preparing for some cooler weather. While this small maple seems inadequate to start judging fall colors, it is a sign that the maples are already turning red. ManyContinue reading “Winter is coming!”

What a great idea! Another great idea that nobody told me about. This is for my friend Mike. The best thing about hummingbirds, after their attractiveness is that they are territorial, making them easier to locate. Having traveled a lot I know better than exceding my carrion limit. I think that Bo is watching CheerleaderContinue reading “Some September humor”

Sitting in the Raptor Roost, my home at the cabin in the tree tops as the sun is rising. It’s cool (58F) and clear. Not a lot of birds as the wind is from the E/SE, coming in off of Whitefish Bay hitting me in the back of my porch rocker. It’s a quiet morning,Continue reading “Watching birds at Whitefish Point”

Migration is well underway in the north. The most abundant migrant so far is Pine Siskin. The past few days I have see several thousand every morning. There are also a lot of Red-breasted Nuthatches that are feeding on the seeds of white pine cones. With such a large cone crop I wonder how manyContinue reading “A busy day at Whitefish Point”

Going for a walk as the sun was setting meant that we would get back to the cabin in the dark. That meant that we could enjoy the waxing Moon. But the point of going out as the sun was setting was to see what the UV-flashlight would detect in the shrubs. We were notContinue reading “September evening at Whitefish Point”

We were visiting friends in Petosky and spend the afternoon at a nearby preserve where we wanted to see what we could find on the last day of summer, 2023. Our walk through the woods, as we headed to the shore of Lake Michigan was dominated by fungi. This is a polypore that might beContinue reading “The last day of summer, 2023”