Leelanau Whippersnapper

Today I finally had a day off and while I spent most of it running errands with mom and dad, I was able to get out in the late afternoon for one last ride around Leelanau before things start to turn shitty up here for the winter.  I’ve uploaded a bunch of new pictures to The Color Of Fall album on leelanauphotography.com so be sure to check them out.  I had an interesting experience out walking around.  I came upon a ruin that I had never previously seen before.  Not far off the road there was an old wooden home that was hidden quite well.  I walked right by it the first time.  On the way back, I noticed a roof line and decided to check it out.  Clearly it was unsafe so I didn’t venture inside, the walls were falling in, the floor was gone in many spots, there was graffiti on the walls and lots of broken glass.  It would be interesting to know the history of the structure.  It was obviously a home…but who did it belong to?

I was on public land under the control of the National Park Service so they’ve apparently decided to just let this home turn into dirt.  Pretty neat really.  I like ruins like this because it’s a glimpse into the past that you normally just don’t get to see up close.  There are some great web sites out there about local ruins, one (which I can’t remember the name of right now) even goes into great detail about the Asylum in Traverse City when it was abandoned.

Tonight I’m going to relax and watch a movie.  I recently acquired the first 5 Harry Potter films and I’m up to number 3 The Prisoner of Azkaban.  Jirar never liked these sorts of films or at least he wouldn’t watch them with me so I’m revisiting them now several years after they have been out and I’m really enjoying them.  I never read the books (although I am tempted to) but I would liken these films to the Star Wars Films that I grew up with as a kid.  What I like about Harry Potter is that the story line is simple enough for a child but complex enough at the same time to capture an adults interest and keep it.  I’ve always liked this sort of genre…the wizards and magic, and spells etc.  The trouble with that genre is that it tends to be made up of really awful B movies with horrible actors and pathetic plots.  Anyhow, if you’ve not seen these films, you really should rent them.

I took the picture below today and it’s in the leelanauphotography.com album.  Look at the reflection of the clouds in the stream.  Quite amazing that I’m able to capture that sort of thing with my camera.

I thought that I might not write again until Monday however I didn’t mention this in my last post and wanted to do so before I forgot about it.  Today was Sarah’s baby shower and I got to hang out with the ladies for a while this afternoon.  Quite pleasant really, no drama, lots of fussing, and I didn’t have to do anything but sit back, watch, and take pictures all afternoon.  Not bad really.  Sarah looked like she really enjoyed herself (why wouldn’t she…she and Brian have made out like bandits with lots of loot for baby Christopher).  I’m getting very excited for them, Brian and Sarah will both make great parents, it will be fun to watch their family grow.

I was going to rant tonight about my experience almost getting a ticket at the beach the other day but I’ve decided that those people who might have found this story amusing have already been told.  I didn’t get a ticket but suffice to say I won’t be making many trips to the national lake shore this summer.  Way to loose the support of a local dip shits.  Clearly the feds want nothing to do with me or my dog.  They sure want my money though.  I’ve got mixed feelings about what happened but I’m still not really that happy about it.

Awesome weather here lately…all over the country really.  Sarah and Brian go back to Iowa tomorrow, from what we understand most of the state is now under water.  It should make for an interesting trip home for them.  Saw some really great clouds tonight.  Check out leelanauphotography.com for more but here is a sample.