The Edmund FitzgeraldIn our quiet little Whitney Bay just south of Lake Superior in Lake Huron – It looks like an Ocean storm.Wind out of the north at 20 mph. 9:00 and above freezing!!! This year in Chippawa County (The county of Drummond) storms came early – It is one of those times when everywhere you go the topic is the “WEATHER” – at the local Bear Track breakfast, at the hardware store, at the Northwood lunch bar, at the ferryboat dock, at Island Service and Towing, at the Fort Drummond Marina,….. – This year God decided that we needed very little summer and thus shifted everything by about a month – so the storms of November are starting in October. The green tomatoes are still waiting for summer – I ripened, off the vine, 4 beautiful tomatoes – that was it – the deer got at least 50 green ones – hope they did not get a sore tummy .More signs of summers end – My friend Carlye and I drain the water system in my upper building – – my mini-farm buildings/garage/corral area….Hope I beat the snow – planted “Fall” Grass – see their tinny heads – the deer found them – I saw 6 munching on the tender shoots last night!I left the last flowers in the garden for the deer – after I stored the fence for the winter – took them about 10 minutes to find the new Restaurant.Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings in the rooms of her ice-water mansion. Old Michigan steams like a young man’s dreams; the islands and bays are for sportsmen. And farther below Lake Ontario takes in what Lake Erie can send her, And the iron boats go as the mariners all know with the Gales of November remembered. – Gordon Lightfoot
I looked out at the gap between Lake Huron and the boating channel to the Soo Locks and Lake Superior and got this photo of a 1000 footer headed up. – probable 75 miles from where the “Fritz” went down off White Fish Point near the east end of Lake Superior with 29 souls aboard. Look up Gordon Lightfoot’s song for the whole story set to song as a memorial. (Fritz was just under 728 feet and went down Nov 10, 1975). I saw the freighter in the Gap while tieing up the burlap around the shrubs – the wind died down a little, (Only gusting to 35 MPH) but the temp still did not reach 40. I have on a down snow mobil coat and multi-layers under it
I see Bambi eyes, yes – but what I really saw and wondered about was the antlers in velvet – How does he know to clean up those antlers – His first ones you know? do they itch, hurt, — why rub it off? I think it looks nice — That was what I saw when I took this scene with my camera. I said I must try to see him scrape the velvet off. I take my camera and go hunting.I failed on my hunting mission – but I did get to see the results – Wow – It looks bloody and raw – wonder if it hurts? Why rub it off?This is my perfect storm – I see it my way – from my vantage point inside it is beautiful!!!
By the foundation of my barn I see a beautiful mushroom – I was told in this stage of growth it is safe to eat — SAY I, I DO NOT PICK AND EAT WILD MUSHROOM _ OR MOST OTHER WILD PLANTS! But I did see it a a thing to watch and see what happened over the next 24 hours – I could have thought about the shades of brown and cream – and how to create them on the canvas with my brush – but rather I returned 24 hours later with camera in hand to see what happened when it was not safe to eat!Twenty four hours later – WOW – Look at the black ooze on the side of the door frame – Just twenty four hours to get really old – It took me at least 70 years to get really old!In my garden I see a guy like this often – I watch and marvel at his smooth movement – searching tongue – darting eyes – and yes his tight skin – I just know it is time to get a new suit – That is what I see in this scene – Tomorrow I must hunt for his old suit – do not think I can donate it – it will not be wearable by others. But I go hunting – That is what I see when me and mister snake encounter each other – Not sure what he sees – or what you see.My hunt has been rewarded – right by my back door – See, my earlier view of the garden snake gave me a goal – find the old suit – and I did – the hunt was fun!I saw it my way! You saw it your way! Hope it was fun and a wonder of nature for both of us.
I see a squirrelI see a deer with two heads.I see a sunset – On the left, I changed the camera setting to get the feel I already saw in my mindIn my mind i had a real animal to look at every time I looked over the garden fence. On the left is the animal I saw every morning, day, evening and night – My friend and I drank a toast of coffee to him every morning – because he never ran away, never needed to be fed – was always there – well until the rain came and stripped the thistle of it’s down – the animal is gone – see the photo on the right.On the left the camera saw clouds – On the right my mind saw a beautiful goose-like bird flying up from lower right to left
Count the legs – How many does your mind want the elephant to have? – One advantage a person with a crazy mind like mine has – I will never get called to be a witness to anything.
I looked out the window and what did I see? Deer, the bay water, the dock, bell — well, yes saw all of theta – but that is not the story I wanted to tell you. I wanted to tell you of “V” for victory, lets eat breakfast at these minnow traps, bunch up, head for the other shore.A v of Mergansers heading my way – why in a V? In flight I know about the advantage of riding the wind created by those in front. But in the water? – Look it up and tell me what you find. ThanksMy friend baits the minnows to get them to swim into her traps – but the mergansers opened their mouths under water and created a new trap – That is why “V” for victory – Mergansers win – I decided to sneak down to the water and record this on digits – just so I could show you all what happens to the best laid plans of human fishermen – No “V” – Fisherwomen looses.But say the mergansers to each other – bunch up – here comes that crazy human with the black box – We do not know what it is but it may shoots us or eat us????Head for the other shore – they did and I went back to the house, walked along side my garden, and finished my own breakfast! –Took this garden photo as I walked. I will send to you a digital rose – why? Because you took the time to view my blog – Thanks.More are on the way. But I must go now and work on the garden I am preparing for the Deer. Well just preparing the soil for next springs plantings.
This is the end of my story – and a beautiful one it is – But to appreciate it we must go back a ways – to the beginning!Before we go back a ways, lets look at one more “Beautiful End”Backward toward the beginning. We want to find out how our flowers came to grow so beautiful. According to the Farmer’s Almanac Manure creates nutrient-rich, moisture-retaining soil for your plants. “The most common sources of manure are cows, horses, sheep, pigs, goats, and poultry. Now we know – it was the horse poop that made them grow. Let us continue on back. Not just any poop – but poop from Iceland.- well from an Icelandic horse. My Perla is the Icelandic breed of horse. – Her Dad was born in Iceland – Perla was born in Canadia – Now she is a Drummondite! This photo was taken of horses roaming free in Iceland. Perla is the color of the one on your left, has the face of the one on your right, and a big mane like each of them. When Perla’s father lived in Iceland, I was told, that he was protected by the Hidden People – I believe it.Oh, say you “What are Hidden People?” — Huldufólk (Icelandic hidden people meaning “pertaining to secrecy” and fólk “people”, “folk” are elves in Icelandic folklore. Building projects in Iceland are sometimes altered to prevent damaging the rocks where they are believed to live. According to these Icelandic folk beliefs, one should never throw stones because of the possibility of hitting the huldufólk. Icelandic gardens often feature tiny wooden álfhól (elf houses) for elves/hidden people to live in. Some Icelanders have also built tiny churches to convert elves to Christianity. President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson has explained the existence of huldufólk tales by saying: “Icelanders are few in number, so in the old times we doubled our population with tales of elves and fairies.”
According to a 1975 survey by psychologist Erlendur Haraldsson, Icelanders’ level of belief in hidden people and fairies can be broken down into the following percentages: • Impossible, 10% • Unlikely, 18% • Possible, 33% • Probable, 15% • Certain, 7% • No opinion, 17% [58] This is Engraving of a man jumping after a female elf into a precipice. An illustration to the Icelandic legend of Hildur, the Queen of the Elves.An álfhól (elf houses)
Now that we see the beginning where Hidden People protected Perla’s Father – and we see he moved to Canada and met a wonderful wife – that is another story – any way they produced the foal that produced the poop that produced the beautiful flowers – well, worked for God who produced them! Let us move forward. – How did the poop get to the garden?First Perla’s poop is gathered – every dayThis is Allen my friend. He and his wife Tess own the farm where Perla lives – they are real natural horse people and have taught me so much. He has 7 such piles of horse poop compost .. as you see in the background – well only 6 now because…….See Grandpa standing in 5 yards of poop loaded into the truck helping to scrape the last tractor load from the loader bucket– before I had breakfast – and temp around 40 degrees in mid-September!Here is Carlyle, another other good friend – he stopped by a 6:15am for coffee and to tell me he had time to drive his truck to the horse farm and get me a load of “Black Gold” as Tess calls it. – Carlyle left me no option – “Get out of those PJ’s and lets go now!”Here is the end of the middle of the story – truck is now empty – Carlyle is very happy to have helped me – I am very happy to have such friends as Carlyle and Allen and their families.Here is the real end of the story – my current project is to use the poop compost and work it into soil to grow “Forbs” for the deer – look it up – then you will know what a “Forb” is – So, instead of keeping the deer out of my garden – Next year, — I want to create a garden just for them – then they will not have to steal from bird feeders, jump my garden fences, or eat only dry brown grass. Hum—Wonder if they will try to keep me out of their garden” – Check back next year.Keep on riding – always keep friends, and keep fun projects in front of you. Always wonder about the cultures that shaped your projects or other things you do – like baseball, tennis, vollyball etc. – who invented the idea of playing with a round object anyway?
This is beautiful fall photo: When you have your tomatoes out on the picnic table – to ripen –you know the season is changing from summer to fall – really it is approaching winter when this happens!Beautiful fall photo : When you see the herd all eating a serving of hay, yet the grass is still green, you know the season is changing from summer to fall. According to Pennsylvania Agriculture Extension: As pasture matures: Leaf % decreases Stem % increases Protein and energy decrease Fiber and lignin increase Pasture intake decreases So we feed hay – in my friend’s case – 4 times per day. Yesterday it was my job to assure the noon feeding – that is when I snapped this shot.Beautiful fall photo: I know it is almost impossible to explain the joy I can get from walking a 10 acre field picking up al the poop that hay produces – but yesterday was a perfect fall day. I took my camera and toured the property snapping shots – mushrooms, weeds, birds, and of course horses and horse poop. – I will show you some of my shots throughout the next week. Oh, how often does a horse poop? Manure is passed an average of ten to 12 times per day, possibly more often with horses allowed adequate movement 24/7. – this is According to a Horse News magazine. We count on 15 x 7 that is over 100 piles each day!Beautiful fall photo: – When the geese and sandhill cranes start to gather you know summer is changing to fall. A goose down lost in the pasture with the morning dew! Is that pretty or what?Beautiful fall photo: The fall night sky I think is different – or do I just remember my childhood fall chores – moving chickens (we always did it on a cool fall night because that is when you could catch the range chickens) from pasture to the winter chicken house – or sitting on a hay wagon husking corn because we did not get it all done by the time the early fall darkness set in, or………many other fall night time chores.Beautiful fall photo: No, not me, dumby – – The fall wild flowers in the background are beautify;- Fall is when it is summer in the sun and winter in the shade!!! So, it is beautiful to have the opportunity to sit in the sun and enjoy the season and the change — and that I did for this self photo! On the Island, I get to see three full seasons in only 6 months. On Drummond Spring is May and June (40-60degrees) – Summer is July and August (60-75 degrees) and Fall is Sept and October (40-60 degrees) Of course each year is different – this year cool temps are early. Oh forgot to tell you winter is 6 months long. 20 below is quite common. Too much for me – I like them all – but not 6 months of winter anymore – That is why I run off to Florida for most of the winter – and I thank my friends for keeping my horse, Perla, and for staying my friend even though I run off – and I thank God for the health and opportunity to afford such a life.Beautiful fall photo: fall without color would not be fall – so here is the traditional fall photo!Still have a rose or two on it’s way to glory – and I did not tell those in bud form that summer is over!
Practice makes perfect – – Me and Perla are getting better – I say “Get up on the table and stay there until I say get off” — And that she does. The problem, Perla says in her own way “I will get off when I am damb well ready!” I have waited for what seemed like an hour – then she gets off!In my pasture – we are getting ready for the trail ride. You know I used to go hunting with friends and more then once we traveled miles to the good hunting spot and then realized we left our guns back at camp — and my mind was young then!!! Today we forgot our bridles at the other barn, but it was because our minds are old!! We train well — bridles are not required – halters will do — and they did! What do you think of that?While trying to decide what to do with no bridles I decided to be a photographer and capture me and Perla as a shadow. Our ex-president said “There’s nothing better for the inside of a man than the outside of a horse.” by Ronald Reagan — That was a little deep, but Daniel Boone made straight talk.” All you need for happiness is a good gun, a good horse, and a good wife.” I am in great shape!But we rode through the woods, passed our whitney Bay, on to lake Huron – Here we are!With my super tele-photo lens, I know we are are there, because, I see a bright red freighter off in the distance heading for the Soo Locks and on to Lake Superior.I learn much on every trail ride – Am I the Donkey or is Perla the donkey? – today we came to a little run-off in the trail – no more then 6″” across and no more then 3″ deep — Perla had just wadded through a puddle that was a foot deep and 15 feet across – no problem — but the run-off caused her to go bonkers – ballistic is more like it … jumped like a rodeo bronco – I held on and then all was well on the other side????????? She is a real donkey say I. Bye for now.
My garden is still very much alive – Roses, cucumbers, tomatoes, beans, herbs, onions – various flowers. As you walk down the fairway of life you must smell the roses, for you only get to play one round. Ben HoganWOW, I am so excited that the thorny plants in my garden have have roses!!!
See, I Spend all day thinking of nothing to do because Retirement is having nothing to do all day and all day to do it in. If you do not like slide show – see mosaic below.
Linda wrote: The pic I sent you of the field of sunflowers also appeared in the local paper (not my pic–reporters) with this interesting info. The long-term goal is to grow enough flowers to produce enough biodiesel fuel to power the farm tractors and heat their home. Seeds are harvested with a combine. An oil press extrudes the oil from the seeds, “transesterification” which involves combing the oil from the sunflowers with ethanol or methanol and lye under controlled conditions. The meal by-product after processing is high-protein feed for the farm’s beef cattle, pigs and chickens. Neat!Eileen wrote: here is one. Taken with Nikon P510 F/5.9 ISO 400 August 9, 2014 on the TGO Nature Trail Eileen
I know Pat wrote a note about this phot – But , alas, I lost it – Pat could you comment on it (Via this blog) so others may know of this building – Thanks Jim
![We can not appreciate the beautiful endings without a little understanding a beautiful Island (I mean Iceland in this case - but it is fitting that I am writing you from a beautiful island in Michigan) Here is just a little flavor of Iceland culture: Huldufólk (Icelandic hidden people[1] from huldu- "pertaining to secrecy" and fólk "people", "folk") are elves in Icelandic folklore.[2][3] Building projects in Iceland are sometimes altered to prevent damaging the rocks where they are believed to live.[4][5][6][7][8] According to these Icelandic folk beliefs, one should never throw stones because of the possibility of hitting the huldufólk.[9] Icelandic gardens often feature tiny wooden álfhól (elf houses) for elves/hidden people to live in.[10] Some Icelanders have also built tiny churches to convert elves to Christianity.[11] President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson has explained the existence of huldufólk tales by saying: "Icelanders are few in number, so in the old times we doubled our population with tales of elves and fairies."[12] According to a 1975 survey by psychologist Erlendur Haraldsson, Icelanders’ level of belief in hidden people and fairies can be broken down into the following percentages: •Impossible, 10% •Unlikely, 18% •Possible, 33% •Probable, 15% • Certain, 7% • No opinion, 17% [58] Engraving of a man jumping after a female elf into a precipice. An illustration to the Icelandic legend of Hildur, the Queen of the Elves.](http://jimsdaily.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/begin-blue.jpg)
![According to a 1975 survey by psychologist Erlendur Haraldsson, Icelanders’ level of belief in hidden people and fairies can be broken down into the following percentages: •Impossible, 10% •Unlikely, 18% •Possible, 33% •Probable, 15% • Certain, 7% • No opinion, 17% [58] This is Engraving of a man jumping after a female elf into a precipice. An illustration to the Icelandic legend of Hildur, the Queen of the Elves.](http://jimsdaily.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/begin-hildur.jpg)
