Author Archives: makielb

I’m sitting in our warm living room in Ann Arbor listening to the wind and watching snow blow past our house. Sitting here listening to the news gives my mind time to wander. The rambling journey leads me to remember some of the birds that we saw earlier in 2022. Perhaps the first “good” birdContinue reading “The snow and cold makes me remember birds from earlier this year”

Now that it’s winter Mother Nature is letting us what she has in store for us in December. When I got up this morning the temperature was 13F, it’s been dropping rapidly. I think that we are planning on staying inside today. The big question is where have I been for the past 7-10 days?Continue reading “Some humor for the first cold day of winter and my stamp store”

It’s that time of year – the Christmas Bird Count season (CBC). This year we will be doing two. The Ann Arbor CBC on 17 December and the Whitefish Point CBC on 27 December. This should be a lot of fun, especially since we have not done a CBC since before 2019. We’re expecting aContinue reading “Christmas bird counts 2022”

We went out to ship a package to Alexis and the kids and while Susan was doing that I walk around Westgate shopping center running other errands. We put up our Christmas tree. The ceramic tree with the bird lights in the center of the photo is what we got one winter when we wentContinue reading “Wrapping up the week, shopping, dinner and the pandemic”

Compared to the past six years influenza is already causing more people to be sick and that was as of 12 days ago. Hospitalizations due to influenza are disturbingly high considering it is only early December. Hopefully it won’t reach the peak that was seen in 2017. Both of us got our flu shots inContinue reading “Flu season is here, and it’s a nasty one”

The Moon with Jupiter above it on the left, a better photo of the Moon at the same time on December 1. Walking through our neighborhood looking at the holiday decorations. Watch out for student drivers. A bunch of deer at a small tree. A snowman on the left. Llamakkah on the right, unless youContinue reading “Odd and ends from the past week”

Yep, it’s here. But it’s not very cold yet. The Christmas music has started and we are seeing trees that are up and decorated. And it is hockey season. Seeing the state of many gardens it’s obviously the less stressful choice. We’ve seen the last of the insects for the year (most likely) and soContinue reading “A little early December humor”

Steve, Chellie, Susan and I went downtown for dinner at Amadeus then walking around downtown listening to music, watch dancing, and see the huge hoard of people. Literati on and Amadeus. Lights everywhere, and lots of people. I can’t remember the last time I saw so many people in one place. We avoided going intoContinue reading “Midnight Madness in Ann Arbor”

The photos of window art that I am posting today I took exactly 3 years ago today. Ah, the Jolly Pumpkin, eat drink and be merry. This computer is definitely not overheating. Grab a quick drink while your dog waits. A cozy cabin in the north woods. Wait a minute – another drink? These optometristsContinue reading “Another day of shopping and eating”

Since some people were interested in the window paintings that many businesses have done. These snowmen and women were from ten years ago. As are all of the window art that I am posting today. This was at one of the downtown Mexican restaurants. Cherry Republic on the left, and a close up of oneContinue reading “It’s December in Michigan, time to get out shopping”