View From a Hill Over White Lake Yesterday Afternoon

Marina Through Adobe Filter

Last Night's Fire

On a wind-blown day, late in the afternoon, when sand grains were marching ferociously across the Lake Michigan beach, I came upon this small pile of stacked and charred driftwood.

It was too small to have supported a wild and crazy party, too small for up-to-no-good hoodlums, certainly not boy scouts practicing their campfire skills.

No, this was a fire of romance, burning when the breeze was soft; water lapping gently on the mocha colored sand, but who built it?  Did they come to the beach to share a bottle of wine and watch the moon set over the big lake?  Perhaps just to sit and listen to the gentle night.  Did they come to re-live an old memory?  Young lovers?  Old lovers? 

They didn't stay long enough for the fire to have burned itself out; left no evidence of themselves.  Small.  Quick.  Hurried.  The curious remains, the meaning of the night, the flicker of small flames - lost to all but the drifting sand and the memory of those who came to share precious secrets on the beach.

Reel Deal Bass Tournament on White Lake

 Registration for The Reel Deal Bass Tournament began at 5:30 A.M. Sunday, May 27 at the Montague Municipal Boat Launch on White  Lake.

Fishermen returned to the launch site at 3:00 P.M. for official weigh-in.  Many of the participants returned with a daily limit of  5 Bass with the largest fish weighing in at more than 3 pounds.  Most fish caught in the tournament were returned to the lake alive immediately after they were weighed and recorded.

I didn't stay until the final contestants weighed-in so there may have been even larger fish registered.

To learn more about the Reel Deal Tournaments visit:  http://www.rdtournaments.com/

Lake Michigan - May 23, 2012

Lake Michigan so calm people were casually paddle boarding well out from the channel at White Lake.

Brief, Powerful Storm

Blue sky was evident all around this ominous storm cloud that included much lightening and thunder.  A sudden, cold, fierce, wind brought a rain squall that quickly dissipated into a night long sprinkle.

The white condos stood out in stark contrast to the frightening clouds.

Footprints in the Sand

Lake Michigan was its typical self this morning.  Cold, dreary, desolate.  The damp air fueled by a frigid breeze off the lake penetrated to the bones.  Not even the Seagulls showed their beaks.  Footprints were the only evidence of a recent visitor.

On a warm summer day this beach will be jam-packed with single moms, single dads and grandparents who have found the next best thing to TV for an afternoon of entertaining their wild, screaming children.  Not that I don't like wild, screaming children - we bring our grandkids here too.  But on a May morning when viciously brutal glacial winds are raging in from off-shore you might think people come here only to commit suicide or otherwise sadistically torment themselves.

Yes - I could have stayed in the Rio Grande Valley another couple weeks.

May 4, 2012

Fishing from the Whitehall side of White Lake early spring, 2012.  They had lots of bites, but landed only one small Rock Bass.  Still, a bad day fishing is better than a good day at work.

Up on Pear Street

This was an idea that took more effort than it was worth, I think.  My thought was to show a contrast between the homes on Pear Street, where I live in the winter, to the multi-million dollar, beachfront condos on South Padre Island.

The motor homes in the park, along with the park models and mobile homes are now mostly closed for the summer.  Meanwhile, down on the beach, the condos seem to be closed most of the year.  Oh, to have so much money that I could own an expensive home to be used only a couple weeks a year.  I think I would find other ways to spend it.   Probably whiskey and wild women.  Well, at least I would know what to do with the whiskey.

I'm still not altogether sure about the illustration idea.  Perhaps I should have just eaten the pear - yeah, it was very tasty.

The New Pioneers

Joyce, Bill and their little dog too.

This photo is about three weeks old - so much for my "new photo every day" plan. 

Bill and Joyce had been preparing for their departure  from Sleepy Valley for about two weeks.  On the morning of this shot they were almost ready to leave south Texas.

They are part-time RVers who maintain a home in northwest Arkansas, but in the winter they travel south to places where temperatures are warmer.

This image reminds me of Grant Wood's painting "American Gothic," which has been described as a depiction of  "steadfast American pioneer spirit."

To me the photo depicts a newer, less austere, pioneer - retirees with their home on wheels ready to move wherever the spirit takes them.

Next winter they tentatively plan to take their motor home to Arizona or southern California.