20 Miles for World Vision- Oh Wait, Make that 21

  Today was my big hike to raise money for clean water. I was planning on hiking 20 miles. But there was a tree down across the road a mile from the trail. Stacy and I could not budge it. So... I got to walk 21 miles.

I met Stacy for the first time today, but I'm sure it won't be the last. She hiked about 3 miles with me, after helping me put my car at the end location.

I tried to keep people posted about my progress on Facebook, but service out in the forest is spotty, so the uploads were usually a bit after the actual event. Anyway. Some modicum of proof I was out there hiking.

With rain and warm temperatures, we've moved into a new set of wildflowers. This is starflower- now blooming everywhere.

I'm pretty sure this is oyster mushroom, but not sure enough to eat one.

About 9 miles (10 actually) in, I crossed the Pere Marquette River. There's a latrine at the parking there, which was nice. Also a picnic table, but I was determined to go farther in order to make it past halfway before lunch.

Made it to the little unnamed creek. Perhaps I've never been there at this exact time of year. There is northern maiden hair fern.

And oak fern.

The bench at Bowman Lake was my next goal. Wanted my afternoon snack in a pretty location. At that point, I had 6.3 miles to go. I was really wishing it was more like under 5. But I rested a few minutes and had a good drink. Got going again, and I was fine.

Swamp buttercup in a little wetland. I knew if I made it to a small bridge there wasn't far to go. Last rest there, only 2 more miles. When I hit the Melendy and Danaher logging RR berm I knew it was only another 0.6 miles. First lupine of the year!

Made it to 76th St Trailhead at 5:35. Serious hiking day tired, but nothing hurt more than expected. I had stashed a bottle of pop in a cooler with ice in the car. Yes! And sandals to drive home in. Yes!

It was hotter and more humid than I like, but it sure could have been worse. The day stayed partly cloudy, and it mostly hung around 83 degrees in the afternoon. Not pleasant, but I'm adjusting fast, and it was tolerable. Now I'm showered and fed and happy. Bed soon, I think.

Thanks to all who supported me. I raised $1375. In the top 100 fundraisers!

Centerline Road, west of the trail to the North Country Trail, and NCT south from Centerline to 76th St. Lake County, MI. 21 miles

North Country Trail miles for 2021 is at 309.

See More Blazing More Botany

Half an Accomplishment

  I did half of what I hoped to accomplish today, but it was the difficult half. Sue came with her truck and trailer. Can you see what's loaded (picture is confusing with my fiberglass trailer behind it).

Here's the answer- say goodbye to the old lawnmower. It's truly dead and it needed to leave. It didn't owe us anything. We bought it new in 1990.

As we were pulling out of the driveway, something made a very strange noise. Sue hopped out to see what it was, and this is what she found.

It's VERY new. My guess is it was born this morning. The noise or vibration of the truck must have scared it. It bleated repeatedly, then walked a little ways and then settled back down in the long grass. I'm sure mama will find it.

Got my fill of Sophie and Anabelle kisses, and they got to sniff lots of new places.

The other half was supposed to be buying a new lawnmower. So, we went to the store with the trailer... and they are sold out. So I got a raincheck and came home, with no mower.

A HUGE THANK YOU to Sue for helping me move that old mower!

Now here's the amazing part of this story. I've been looking, with no success, for a used lawn tractor for nearly a year. I found nothing that was quite right, and wasn't sure if I did buy one, if the sellers were trustworthy. But, it just doesn't seem too sensible to spend the money on a new one. I can't imagine we are going to be taking care of this house and lawn for another 20 years.

Got home again and immediately, a friend posted on Facebook that they were selling their lawn tractor. I was #2 in line to possibly want it... Just got the word that it's mine!

Some of you will just say "coincidence." I say that this is God taking care of me yet again. PTL!!!

In other news: I did a load of laundry, and am getting ready for my 20-mile walk for World Vision tomorrow. Cut my toenails (no small task- they are so damaged it's a major chore, but Om got me some really good clippers for my birthday and these do allow me to actually cut them instead of just ripping pieces off- thanks Om!), packed up all my stuff- making sure I have things like enough water, enough food, cough drops (for dry throat), and all the other little stuff that just lives in my pack. However, I wanted to make sure I really have everything. If I don't have something for a 5-mile hike, it hardly matters. However, it's much more annoying to be without something for the time it takes to walk 20 miles.

So, tomorrow night, I should be quite tired but happy. See you then! As of right now, people have contributed $1275 toward clean water. I'm pretty much in awe - this is so much more than I could ever have given on my own. You can still give yet tonight or Saturday (tomorrow). See World Vision 6K

See Kisses from Sophie See Wildlife Sanctuary

Seasonal Adjustment

  I thought I was going to get some stuff done today. Nope. The humidity was brutal, and my enzymes have not yet adjusted to summer mode. Can you say headache and hard to breathe... Well, I read a book. And puttered at a few things. And, you know what? Some days that is OK.

Speaking of seasonal... those sedums I bought last year? They were supposed to be hardy. Yeah. The purple one is. It looks pretty good.

The yellow one is completely gone. I looked it up by name on the internet and found a lot of people complaining about it being advertised as hardy, but not surviving winter. Sigh.

O well, I am back in the world of giving up on the flower beds anyway. I have other projects on my mind this year. Lack of focus. That's me.

See How About those Sedums?

A Rediscovered Treasure

  While I was looking for something else yesterday, I found some fabric things that had been stored away that actually aren't ruined. One of the bags had some bedding I'd made for the youth bed Steve slept in for several years.

Let me tell you a funny story about that...

When he was under two years old, we would be awakened in the morning by this toddler trying to climb into bed with us. This was pretty strange, since he'd been put to sleep in a crib in a different room, and the side of the crib was still up. One morning, I got up really early to spy on this little escape artist. He was simply climbing up the corner of the crib (not an easy task with no cross bars between the uprights), balancing on the top rails and then dropping to the floor.

Yikes! OK, we had a frame for a small youth bed. It was only a foot off the floor, not four feet. Much safer!

I made one set of sheets for it from some kid-patterned fabric. Also made a flannel blanket from an old one we had. I decorated the patches with machine embroidery. We really didn't have any money.

But what I want to show you is something my Mom, Catherine Leary, had made for Steve. She embroidered the edging on a crib sheet and pillowcase set for him when we got him (at six months of age). Bunnies! The sheet is on the right, and I angled the pillowcase on the left.

Why was this not worn out, you ask? Well, there's another funny story. Except it was more frustrating than funny when it was happening. For a long time- quite a few months- when Steve was maybe 9 to 12 or 13 months old, he refused to keep anything on his body or in the crib with him. He'd be put to bed with a triple diaper, pajamas, crib bumpers, sheets, blankets, etc. In the morning, there would be a completely bare-naked baby in a puddle on the plastic mattress cover and EVERYTHING else would be on the floor. So, the sheets didn't get much wear.

The youth bed was the same width, just longer, so I added some fabric to the end of the crib sheet, and opened out the pillowcase and added a larger backing. Here you can see the handiwork closer.

This is rather remarkable, because Mom didn't often do handiwork. She did some needlepoint, but mostly she felt inferior because her mother, Granny, did SO MANY kinds, and of such high quality. I know I didn't appreciate how much love Mom probably put into this project for the only grandchild she got to enjoy in babyhood.

In other news: I edited in the morning, went to the Post Office, and worked on a pet project in the afternoon.

See Little Squirt See Sunbonnet Sue

Views of Hamlin Lake

  Cathy and I walked 4.5 hilly miles today. We've been walking these trails through the winter, but it was great to see some of these views in the warmer months. This just gives you an idea of the terrain. Sand hills in Ludington State Park.

At one point, on top of a hump, there is a great wide view of Hamlin Lake. We west Michiganders love our blue water!

Then we dropped down to the location where I've taken several pictures- same view in the link below- but it's not winter any more. The brown area in the distance in both pictures is a bare dune on the north side of the lake.

We continued the return leg of our loop, staying on the trail closest to the lake. There are no open views here, but there are glimpses of the backwaters ("lost" arms of water) along this stretch.

Along the road we found a big patch of forget-me-not. I love them, but sadly, they are alien. There is a native one, but it's smaller. It's very hard to get the blue color to show up in photos, but this isn't too bad.

We didn't make any great times, we were stopping often to enjoy the views and discuss trail junctions- we're trying to figure out which of the trails we've already hiked. These ones are not really official park trails and there are no signs. Interestingly enough, we have not yet re-found the section we were on the first day we explored these trails.

In other news: I edited all morning, looked for some stuff with little success (little is defined as- I did not find what I was looking for, but I did find a couple other things that it was nice to locate), hiked, and then got a few groceries.

Ludington State Park, Michigan, unmarked trails between Piney Ridge Road and Hamlin Lake. 4.5 mile loop

See Starting to Figure Out these Loops