Rain!

"Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby."    - Langston Hughes

Finally today it rained.  It's funny how you can come from a place where it hardly ever rained and you think, if it would only rain.  Then we move here and for a little while it rained every day or every other day and I would think - please can we go at least two or three days with no rain.  Then it doesn't rain for a couple of weeks and then I start to think, come on already, I miss the rain!  Fickle we humans are, fickle!

So today, it rained!  It actually started last night.  I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of thunder.  It is always greeted with mixed reactions.  I love the sound of a good thunderstorm and I always think I am going to lay here and listen to it all night.  But mostly it lulls me to sleep and I wake up feeling disappointed that I missed it.

But everything outside is happy that it rained.  The garden is happy, the little singing birds are happy, the kids are happy because it cooled things off, and I am happy because I got to watch the rain for a little while.  We are camping this weekend and guess what the forecast is for this weekend.  Yep, rain!  So now my fickle little self is hoping it rains but not too much because rain and camping are not a good mix, generally speaking.

Other than the rain, not much happening around here.  This weekend was sort of blah, with people not feeling well, and it was hot.  Yes I have given up saying it is just warm - it was really hot this weekend.  It must have been hot because my little teenager actually went fishing with her Dad.  Something she said she would never do.

And she actually caught fish so she was very happy.  But firmly announced that she would NOT be helping to clean or fillet the fish, so there!  Then she marched into the house without further argument.  Cameron was just happy that she finally went fishing with him so he had no complaints.

Tonight I get to go pick up my bike.  It finally arrived.  So happy to finally have a bike I can ride.  One that is mine and I don't have to adjust the seat so it fits me.  One with a nice seat and not one of those crazy ones that Cameron keeps telling me my "rear" will get used to.  No thanks, give me a big ol' seat that is filled with gel and I am a happy girl.  My "rear" is not getting used to anything that I think may have originally been designed as a torture device!

Photo of the Week - Week 18

Week 18 of 52

Location:  Pretty Lake, Mecosta, Mi

Subject:  Catchin' Pike

This weeks photo brings you my proud little man showing off his catch of the week.  He caught a pretty big Pike while fishing with his Dad Friday.  We didn't weigh it but it was around 20 inches.  He was pretty proud of himself and as you can tell by the look on his little brother's face, he was pretty proud of him as well.  We didn't even eat it either.  There were two younger boys fishing off the dock and not doing too well so after we photographed his success he took it over and gave it to them.

And as an added bonus I am throwing in a photo of my hydrangeas that are finally blooming.  The bloomed out white.  I have to do some research to see why it came out a different color this time around.  Last year they were a really pretty greenish blue.  UPDATE:  So apparently turning white means it has used all the nutrients in the soil that give it color.  "Greenist" way to fix it is to add your used coffee grounds to the soil.  So we shall try this in the next couple of weeks and see what happens.

Next week I may post some more flowers of wildflowers.  They are going crazy right now but my camera is stuck in place for pole barn raising photos.  It is coming along nicely.  Will post some progress pictures during the week for you all.

Fishing the Chippewa

My boys love their fishing.  And now we live in fishing country and they have yet to go fishing.  They had big plans to go ice fishing this winter but somehow we never managed to find the time.  So this week we decided to be spontaneous and head out to scope out some fishing spots.  So we headed to the big ol' town of Barryton, well Village if you want to get all technical, and fish the Chippewa River.


















First stop, the South Branch of the Chippewa River.  There is a cute little park on the east end of town.  So first the boys fished off the river banks.  A. wandered with bare feet and I hunted the cutest yellow flowers that dotted the banks of the river.







South Branch Chippewa River, Village of Barryton

This seems to be a good spot, but we are not fishing in earnest, just scouting, so we pack up the fishin' gear and head to the next spot.

North Branch Chippewa River, Village of Barryton, Hoover Road Bridge

This is our next stop a few miles up the M66.  This is the Hoover Road Bridge.  This is just down the road from the farm where my Dad grew up.  Also where I spent the first seven years of my life.



This photo was taken about 9:15PM.  It is crazy how long it stays daylight up here.  Yes, the kiddos should have been in bed long before this.  But who can keep track of what time it is when it doesn't get dark till waaaay past bed time!  And random adventures are fun, school is almost finished, and it has been a stressful few weeks.  So there!