Team Up Thursday: Old

Do you know how hard it was to get an interesting picture of the oil painting from my grandmother? I loved that she left this fisherman painting to Gary because she didn't have the chance to know him all that well or long. The photographs just didn't do the worn edges and crackling paint justice, though I liked the bit of rusty nail sneaking through here.

I wasn't necessarily surprised to see Theresa's Jade in her photo. Their old pal has been the subject of many conversations in the last while. Having had an elderly dog with similar afflictions, I understand completely why Jade shows up in her photo of the week.

Next week's theme has almost too many options-- "selective focus".

Team Up Thursday: Big

I love a blogging challenge. I especially love a blogging challenge that stretches me creatively and asks my mind to think in different ways. I've picked up several of these challenges from various blogger friends over my blogging career (see here, here, and here). So stick, some change, some fade away. Each made me think differently about blogging, writing, and teaching.

As I've been stalking reading Amanda's blog, I've loved the perspective of her Team Up Thursday posts. Of course, like all good ideas, she borrowed it from Megan at Mental Inventory. Occasionally I've taken on the theme in my own way, quietly and in secret. :) In the rejuvenation that summer brings, it suddenly occurred to me that I could do my own team up. Of course I thought instantly of Theresa. She's one of those blogger (and real life) friends that challenges me to think my best.

So, here's what we do. Two blogger/photographers take the same simple theme and present it in their own ways. Then we'll present them side by side.

Can I say that I was SO excited to get Theresa's picture today? Seriously, I couldn't wait to see what she came up with. And, of course, I loved it. Such a different perspective than I was thinking for the theme of BIG.

I really wanted to capture dusk shadows of the twins, stretched to the peak. But, my kids don't stay up that late. And they were whiny to boot yesterday. I loved that I took so many different pictures trying for something that still struck me as BIG through the viewfinder.

I ended up with the spider because I liked the idea that something so small could still be so big.

My brain's already spinning with next week's theme: OLD.

A Trip to the Farm

A few years back, my mom and dad, in a search for hormone free meats, discovered a great little farm tucked on the border of Ottawa and Muskegon county. The first time we visited Creswick Farms, we needed winter coats to go into the freezer. They've moved to a more store like atmosphere that still has a country farm feel.

During the store's open hours Friday morning, we headed to the farm with Ben and Mia. They hypothesized that we might see lions or elephants at the farm, proving that this was a much needed trip.

It's almost a crime that we don't get out to this little gem of a farm more often. While I love that the chickens roam around, listening to Sammy Hagar on the radio (One shot! Hey! Mas tequila!), the most amazing thing is the other farm animals. Honestly, it's sch a contrast from the other farms you pass in the area with a hundred cows at feed troughs. At Creswick, you spy the animals roaming around in the woods. My new schools year's resolution is to try to get there at least once or twice a month.

Copper Country

There aren't many places that feel like home to me. You know, the kind of place where you immediately feel welcome. Where you know every nook and cranny, and the history of the people and places surrounding you. The result of constant moving as a child was that there was no place where everyone knew me, and I knew them. Of all the places I've called home, one place holds this kind of allure for me. I don't know the people or their histories anymore. The buildings look slightly changed, purposed. Yet it's the only place where I'm likely to run into someone in the general store who might have changed my diaper long ago.

The town is SO tiny that it's not an easy task to get lost. It's just a smattering of houses and businesses along a stretch of Lake Superior. It's about as far north as you can go in Michigan; we even saw a few rebel trees with their leaves changing already. The big news in town is where the bear was last sighted or where the berries are growing wildly. Having moved away from Copper Harbor at the age of two, and spent one summer there when I was ten, much has changed in the small village. Still, much is the same.


We had such a wonderful time exploring and running around the Harbor. From throwing rocks in Lake Superior to finding crayfish and frogs in Lake Manganese we really enjoyed all of the natural spaces and places in the Keweenaw. We honestly can't wait to return again some time soon.

PS- You can click on the collage to make it larger.

Par for the Course

Our kids wake up early. And, they've trained us like wise. There aren't many places it's acceptable to go at 8:00 am on a Saturday morning but Evergreen works just fine for us. I'm sure you're wondering how in the world we're able to go golfing with two preschoolers.

Have we given birth to two new Tigers, discovering hidden talent in our dynamic duo? Uh, no. But, Gary likes to golf and the kids like to run around the course. As long as we go early enough, nobody is likely to complain about the ruckus our little ones bring to the civilized game.


It's really quite nice. It's quiet, warm and usually sunny when we go. We're out just long enough for Gary to play 9 holes and let the kids run around. They've got their own clubs, which of course they fight over. Sometimes they ride in the cart with us, sometimes they run in front of it. We always search for bull frogs on the 5th hole, and sometimes we even find them. Maybe some day I'll even grab a club.