Leelanau Whippersnapper

The Northwoods Is No Place For A Pink Flamingo

As you can obviously see, I’ve once again changed the theme on my blog.  I’ve decided for now to go simple but I’ve been playing around with more complicated themes and options that eventually I’ll try out on you.  As I’ve said before, I change the themes because I get board with them and I like new things.  I think it’s pretty neat that this sort of platform even exists.

Tonight I am going to have dinner with my former in-laws.  Jirar’s folks are up here in the northwoods and we have planned a dinner at our favorite local dive.  It’s always good to see them and it’s nice that they’ve kept in contact with me.  Tomorrow, I am going to spend the day cleaning out my car (likely doing so out at the lake house so Gavin can play).  I need to unload the Malibu soon so that I can take possession of my new car and finally start driving it.  I have to get rid of my current car though first.  Any of you readers looking for a used car under $2000?  If so, let me know and I’ll consider your offers.

Not much else going on lately.  Fall is upon us and the weather has been shitty.  I guess I should expect it but this is my favorite season, I just wish it would not rain for a few days and be in the upper 60′s (rather than the low 40′s).  I’m going to also get out tomorrow and take more pictures.  Hopefully I’ll have a new gallery uploaded soon on my web site but for now, here is a nice picture you can use as your background on your computer!

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Fall is in the air in Northern Michigan.  Trees are very slowly starting to turn and the smell of leaves burning lingers.  I love this time of year, especially here in the northwoods.  It’s so different from the city in so many ways and it makes me glad that ended up here.  Those pleasant thoughts are of course shattered each time I walk into work and have to deal with idiots.  At least I can look forward to my days off.  I’m getting ready this week to head even further north with the folks to Pictured Rocks up on Lake Superior.  The weather does not look like it’s going to cooperate fully with our trip however it should not be a total wash out.  The only day I’m really concerned with is Thursday.  That is the day we intend to head out on the water to do the tour of the Pictured Rocks lakeshore.  I’ve done this boat cruise once before.  Throughout most of the summers during my jr. high and high school days, my folks took my sister and me up to the UP for a few days.  The last time I did this cruise I think I was perhaps 15 or 16, I know I had just begun driving and my folks let me drive most of the trip for practice.  Back then, I never thought much to take pictures.  This time however I’ve got the gear and the motivation to hopefully capture some great photos of a spectacular shoreline.  I’ll post them here as well as on leelanauphotography.com once we return.  We are also going to go to Taquanamin Falls state park.  I’ve also been here but that was much early, maybe 11 or 12 years old.  I remember rowing in a little boat across a river to get to some of the falls.  I doubt we will do that again but I’m excited to see this park again.  In all, it should be a good trip.  Gavin the Wonder Dog is coming with us so that should make it pretty interesting as well.  He’s not been on a road trip in quite some time so I’m curious to see how well he travels.

Not much other news right now.  This was a really busy weekend at work and I’m glad it’s over even though I don’t really have a day off here until I leave for the UP.  I have to work a half day tomorrow afternoon and then all day on Wednesday.  Somewhere in there I need to find time to pack and get ready to head out early on Thursday morning.

This afternoon, I’ve made a huge batch of chili and so now I’m off to enjoy a bowl of chili and maybe a movie on TV.  I’m just not much of a movie buff anymore, there are so few that I enjoy.  Anyhow, hope everyone is staying warm and enjoying the day.

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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.

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If you watch Family Guy on TV, you’ll understand what a Leafer is.  It’s a little like a fudgie… pretty much a non-local who invades the area only during certain times of the year.  My God there are a lot of people up here this weekend.

This is THE weekend to be in Northern Michigan.  According to the news about 60-80% peak color right now and it’s going to be in the 70′s all weekend.  Amazing that I happened to have this weekend off from work.  I’ve uploaded a new album to leelanauphotography.com, LOTS of color tour pictures.  I spent today out with Gavin hiking the Bay View Trail again.  I did the longer hike this time, about 6 miles.  I remembered to take the backpack today with water.  Good thing I did too, it was freaking hot when we weren’t in the woods.  I got some great pictures this year with my new camera.  This is the first fall that I’ve had this camera and the thing has more than paid for itself.  Now I just have to narrow down the choices of pictures to order for my new frames.

Gavin is exhausted again (which is good) and he’s snoring loudly on my bed right now.  I’ve still got the cats as of this writing, as much as I hate saying it, their days are numbered at this point.  I’ve made the decision to remove them from my house and have asked around at work if anyone wanted to adopt them…no takers yet.  I would much rather find them a home than give them to the humane society.  I know what will happen to them there, especially considering the recent news paper articles about the huge number of cats and dogs that have been left at local shelters due mainly to people not being able to afford to take  care of them any more.  I feel bad but again, while I treat them like family, they are pets not people.  They are specifically bread to do what I want them to do and if they are unable to do it, they can’t live here.

We have another state that has now legalized gay marriage.  Connecticut now joins Massachusetts and California as places I could go to get married legally if I actually were in a relationship.  The anti-gay right wingers are foaming at the mouth over the ‘activist judges’, what they fail to see is that on EVERY court that has decided this, most of the majority opinion in each court were appointed by REPUBLICAN leaders.  They are of course labeled as activist judges becuase the right doesn’t agree with the outcome.  This is an area of politics that pisses me off.  People don’t even realize what hypocrites they are being half the time.  EVERYONE has a political agenda.  Some (the right) are just sore losers.  These rulings really bring out the worse in people.  It just blows me away to see the hate and fear that oozes from the eyeballs of these zealots.

On a happier note, I’ll leave you with another wallpaper size picture.  Be sure to check out leelanauphotography.com for the rest of the set.

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