Remembering Garnet

You might recall that I wrote about my Satin Angora doe Garnet and her struggles with an abscess due to a tooth root issue last June 2011.  Garnet departed this world on July 30th 2012.  Her abscess returned with a vengeance this past May and I wasn't able to manage it despite resuming the penicillin G treatments, as this time as it had spread to her lower jaw on the left side and exited her lower incisors. An additional abscess also appeared under her eye on the right cheek. Her eyes told me it was time to let her go although she keep a cheerful and tolerant disposition right up to the end. When I started the treatment last year I said I would continue as long as I was doing it for her quality of life and not just for myself.  I sure miss her. The photo above shows three generations of beautiful show animals.  L-R:  GC Lilac Haven 's Garnet (daughter), GC, Lilac Haven's Blackberry (grand-daughter), CG Somerhill Phazana (mother).

Ground Level

Neat perspective from down here don't you think? Pip seems to like it better when I am down at her level when I am conversing with her.  She's still eating from our hand whenever it is offered. Haven't seen her for a day or so but other than that she's been very active out and about in the yard.  Usually in the morning she comes out to the rabbitry door to be fed.  Funny bunny.

Leather Flower

Leather flower-Clematis viorna is a vine that is grows to around 20 feet long and is mostly a southern species although native to Ohio.  This is the seed head that has been drying in our garage since it was picked on June 29th. Hoping to get some of these to grown in the yard next summer.

Puppy Update

The boys have been to the vet and have been given a clean bill of health for the most part.  Lightening had a minor skin infection and he is currently taking antibiotics and has some cream for the affected areas of his skin.  He's much more peppy. Both boys got neutered.  They both have very nice personalities and they both have already been trained to sit and stay. The seem extremely intelligent and are very affectionate as well. Daisy is overwhelmed by them and they are just a bit too rambunctious for her liking although she seems to know they are here to stay and has approached them at the fence in an attempt to be sociable a couple times. Andrew helped our neighbor reinforce her back gate and install some wire at the base of the fence today as both T & L wiggled their way under the fence and escaped for a brief period this afternoon.  Luckily another neighbor caught them in the act and brought them back home.

 

Traditional Favorites

Rounding out the week we slept in on Friday as we needed to recover from our all day and into the night adventure on Thursday  We lamented that we couldn't remember the last time we had been out past 10 pm. Of course Elisha is a night owl and a college student so it was nothing new for her.  Together with the 6 miles of hiking the previous day and all the diving and exploring from the day before that we were pretty well exhausted. The weather was chilly and windy anyway and we took comfort in the fact that at least we weren't going to be heading for home on a perfect weather day.  Other highlights of the week included:  Having the 30 year old boat motor that my dad gave us a couple weeks before we left run like a top. Andrew worked on it for three days and rebuilt some of it.  The motor was essentially brand new with only 2 hours run time but the worst thing in the world for a boat motor is for it to sit.  Of course we enjoyed a beautiful sunset each evening and a beautiful sunrise every morning. We played on the docks and that is where we photographed the bittern (previous post) and some sandhill cranes in flight and all of the pretty clouds and lighting from the coming and going of the day. We ate delicious food including tamale casserole and foiled dinners made in the Lodge pot and an annual visit to the Tee Pee for an ice cream treat. 

 Yay! The Mercury is up and running!!

 Sunrise

 Sunset paddle

 Another sunset

 And one more sunset

The docks at sunrise

 Daisy is a salty old sea dog! She is right at home on the dock, in boat and in the water!

 Yummy fried green tomatos

Chillin' at the Tee Pee. I had a brownie marshmallow sundae.

Mother Nature

One of the worst forest fires in Michigan history occurred in late May of 2012.  A lighting strike sparked a fire that burned in just short of 22,000 acres in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in Luce County near the Two Hearted River. Seasonal rains finally extinguished it after a week long fire fight by crews and volunteers from all over Michigan.  On Andrew's birthday, August 16th,  we woke up and it was raining on Drummond Island.  Andrew decided it would be a perfect day (our family tradition is that the birthday honoree gets to choose the activity of their choice on their birthday and everyone else has to do it without complaint) to make the 3 hour drive to view the burn area. Being a that he is Forest Ecologist and Certified Burn Manager he has an interest fire ecology and wanted to see first hand the extent of the damage and observe was now growing in the understory. We were all hoping to see an abundance of fireweed which often proliferates in burned forested areas but wasn't the case in the area we visited although ferns did abound.  We arrived at the D.I. ferry dock at 12 pm and as luck would have it we had to wait two times for the ferry to cross to Detour and back (once with a hazardous load). Luckily there were three freighters in the river to entertain us while we waited: The Cuhyoga on it's way down to Mackinac, the Robert Pierson, loading dolomite right at the dock next to the ferry and the Paul R. Tregurtha anchored off Sims Point.  On August 14th the Tregurtha, under the direction of a substitute pilot, missed the turn in the downbound passageway between Neebish Island and the mainland and ended up stuck on a sandbar for two days.  This is a 1,000 foot + freighter, one of the largest on the lakes and downbound traffic was halted for 2 days. But I digress.  We took off from Detour at 2 pm and got to the mouth of the Two Hearted River at 5 pm.  It took us an hour to drive the dirt road off the main highway to the river mouth as we stopped to take photos of the burn area along the way.  It rained the entire trip. At times like a monsoon.  Then like magic the rain stopped as soon as we reached our destination and we were able to play on the beach for 3 hours until another storm gathered up and threatened us.  We ate BLT's and made a night of it. The lighting and clouds were spectacular; I could wander on that beach for a month.  The photos in no way illustrated the raw beauty of this area. I am awestruck every time we visit. We returned to Drummond Island at midnight on the last ferry until 1:40 am.  eek.

Robert Pierson loading dolomite

 This area used to be covered with trees. The fire burned so hot it left holes in the ground where stumps would have been.

 Other trees are burned but still standing.

Wood is being salvaged when possible

Dead standing trees.

Fireweed- we saw two clusters on the route to the river mouth. Note the burned trees in the background.

The beach

 New Smoky ad campaign

 This photo and the three that follow it make a panaromic view of the gathering storm.

Andrew capturing the storm over Lake Superior

Marblehead

A 6 mile round trip hike to the marble cliffs on the east side of Drummond Island was our adventure last Wednesday. The wooded trail of moderate difficulty, took us at a leisurely pace to the cliffs overlooking the False Detour channel and Cockburn Island in Lake Huron. The area itself is considered to be a rare environment consisting of a dry cliff with ferns and other rare plants that can tolerate those conditions abounding. The sky was bright blue and you could see across the lake for miles. Allow 5 hours time for this outing and if you go take at least 64 ounces of water per hiker, wear hiking boots (as the trail can be very muddy with some deep puddles of water depending on the season), a hat for open areas and take some snacks as you will get hungry. The trail is just beautiful and at points leads to open meadows where, at this time of year, butterflies and dragonflies abound.