Author Archives: makielb

Crossing the Mackinac Bridge yesterday we finally saw some ice. It’s still disturbing to see open water in January. Approaching St. Ignace in the Upper Peninsula. Then it was time to head further north to fins some birds. Checked the roads at Rudyard where we found two Snowy Owls, not counting the two on theContinue reading “Back in the snowy north”

We’d better start looking more closely at images from Mars as it is apparently a vacation resort. But here in the Northern Hemisphere on Earth it’s still winter. If you have fewer birds at your bird feeders check for notes with a forwarding address. If you’re our ice fishing be careful! And don’t forget toContinue reading “Gray cool morning humor”

We walked from home to downtown Ann Arbor today. It was sunny and close to 20F. I stopped along the way to photograph iconic Ann Arbor buildings. I haven’t been to the Blind Pig since the 1980s. Grizzly Peak and Café Zola both places that we have enjoyed over the years. Old Town, West EndContinue reading “A sunny walk in downtown Ann Arbor”

Since this morning was relatively warm and sunny we decided to walk to Village Kitchen for breakfast, then to Aldi to shop for a few things. I love this mural at Village Kitchen. The view of downtown Ann Arbor shows what it looked like some 25 years ago. So many of the shops that wereContinue reading “A nice day to walk to breakfast”

Barton Dam and the only open water along this stretch of the Huron River. The temperature when we started this walk was close to 0F. The tree here were covered with hoar-frost, as the mist was rising from the river below the dam. We decided to adhere to the “No swimming” sign. While it wasContinue reading “A cold morning along the Huron at Barton Pond”

We spent the afternoon yesterday at the border-to-border trail in Dexter. This was an interesting pillow that we saw at a shop in Dexter. A strange find was this hops vine. I was somewhat surprised when I found this, as I immediately recognized it and wondered why it was growing here. The bird of theContinue reading “Dexter border-to-border trail”

Woodpecker revenge! Dinosaur hunters? They’re really just big lizards. Reminds me of A sound of thunder by Ray Bradbury, which is an excellent short-story. I always wondered how to stop getting those. Well, for me at least I stopped having migraines when I started my neuro meds. Even though I haven’t taken any since 2021,Continue reading “A cold and funny morning”

Yesterday we walked to Juicy Kitchen which is a 15-20 minutes walk from home. This is perhaps only the third time we’ve gone there since the pandemic began. It is a wonderful place to eat. Even though it was barely 30F, we sat outside enjoying our lunch. This morning we headed downtown to meet outContinue reading “January dining in Ann Arbor”

I guess that it snowed in Ann Arbor. After being in the north for over a week it was a nice surprise to get home and find snow, especially since our young neighbor Jackson had shoveled everything. Now, back to the north. One of the highlights of our cabin at Whitefish Point is definitely theContinue reading “Catching up for the week, again”

Believe what you will, but climate change is real. Just because there’s a lot of snow someplace doesn’t support disbelief in climate change. Here’s something you forgot – reality! Does this apply to Santos? Oh those pesky viruses and bacteria. If we only had cures, or preventative measures. This reminds me of the twin volcanoesContinue reading “Some snowy humor to start the week”