The View? at the Beach

 The visibility was still bad this morning, but I made it out and to the doctor safely. Afterwards I drove through the beach to get a nice picture to share with you. Ha! The lighthouse is out there somewhere.

The doctor says my eye is looking good and that I'm actually recovering quite normally. She said I have to expect the weakness and headache for at least another week. Hoo boy.

The rash was horrible last night. One more doctor appt tomorrow, and hopefully if the rash is still bad I can get some prednisone for that. Prednisone kicks rashes for me really well, but it's a prescription med.

I am highly encouraged that even though this isn't over that I'm progressing normally. Today took quite a bit of stamina with getting out and doctor and store afterwards. I also did the dishes because the fruit flies were taking over the kitchen.

Here's to a night with less itching.

See Same Old

Another Walk Around Ludington

 The day stared with engaging my brain much earlier than I like with a radio interview on WMOM with Bill Kerans who is the Director of the Scottville Senior Center. The interview went well, and you can see/hear it if you would like at Interview on WMOM

After that, it was still somewhat cool out, so I took another walk around Ludington, hitting some different streets from last time. You know I'm most interested in flower gardens. The porch and the one with the bench are like real-life examples of the displays at the Philadelphia Flower Show.

and

This one has great textures and colors and shapes. A little past prime, but hey, it's more than halfway through September.

Then I came home and finished straightening up before Omer got home, finished editing the How to Hike Book (will upload the revised text tomorrow), and I've made it to tired. Trying to spend a little time on the current pet project.

Yup, the boy is home.

Miles walked in 2024: 448

See True Blue Gumby II

An Evening Walk

 It was bell choir day, and I changed things up and ate before practice and walked afterwards. This was a great idea because the days are still really hot. The evening light is always special. I liked this view of the church from the School Forest across the road.

One loop around the forest isn't very long, so I did a few more streets after that. What are these bright flowers around the tree?

They are fall crocus, which isn't really a crocus at all. It's Colchicum autumnale, but the flowers look very similar, thus the name.

I even found another color of them a couple of blocks away.

This very cool rock was at the base of the St. Simon's Bell Tower.

But the shadows were getting long, and the light was hiding.

I walked 1.5 miles in the school forest, and then another 1.5 on streets

Total miles walked in 2024: 442

See Walking Tour de Ludington

Walking Tour du Ludington

 As promised, I went to the Mason County Garden Club fall plant sale. I bought several plants that I'll show you over time.

Then, I walked a big loop mostly around the north side of the city. I wanted to get in more miles today without driving farther away, and I managed 5.3 of them. Here's some of what I saw. I was particularly interested in gardens that still look good in September.

This is a formal setting, completely hidden by a hedge when walking one direction, but from the other way it's like a secret nook. I like it, even though it's completely green. Everything just works well.

These dark hydrangeas are stunning. They are set off nicely by the hosta, although I see that the deer have been keeping some of those trimmed. (I'm told the deer in town are out of control.)

This kind, panicled hydrangea (the flower clusters are conical) have become quite popular, and the blooms seem to last well.

The beach was deserted today. It was windy and chilly. The red light- for no swimming- was lit.

The marina isn't deserted, but it's certainly not full.

I thought this was a really nice-looking garden with various textures and colors- both of flowers and foliage. I used to have some of that Red Baron grass, but mine was never happy. I would think the ferns in the back would prefer more shade, but they seem OK, except they are drying out now- not surprising for September. Most allium (the purple in the front) bloom in the spring, but this is nice. It may be 'Ozawa,' a fall bloomer. The bushes with pink in the middle are probably a spirea. I'm surprised they still have flowers, but I'm sure there are lots of varieties.

Here's a more typical commercial planting of annuals in front of the bank. Canna lily, impatiens, dusty miller, marigolds, and petunias. Nothing "interesting," but it's been kept nicely, and it still looks great.

This is the 37th year of the Ludington Petunia Parade. 30,000 petunias are planted each year along most of Ludington Ave, and along the Marina. Soon the plants will be pulled to keep the soil in good shape for the next year. There is some specific biological reason for this that was printed in the paper after a lot of complaints about the locals not getting to enjoy them very long after the tourists leave, but I don't remember what it is. Right now, they are still looking lovely. This is at the water treatment plant, and it just shows the colors nicely with a sign. Most are down at curb level.

But. It is September. Hints of what's to come.

I gave myself a break today and mostly goofed off after I got home. Shower, eat, etc. Played with garden records, and didn't do much that was required. A day off (on purpose) is good once in a while.

Miles hiked in 2024: 406.4

See Mini Tour du Ludington

A Ludington Day

 It was miserably hot today. I had to do some work in the morning, but then we headed for Ludington. It's usually 10 degrees cooler in Ludington in the summer and that was true today. We went for lunch at House of Flavors and split a Great Lakes Cranberry Wrap. Yum.

Then we drove around and looked at a few historic buildings and places. The beach was next. Pure Ludington, although things are winding down for the season since many schools have already started.

The goal was to walk out to the Lighthouse, which we did.

Nothing but blue lake and sky behind us!

Then we went back to House of Flavors for ice cream. I mean, we do know what HOF is for!

After that it was home again to do a few tasks around the house, but it was so hot we ended up watching a few funny videos.

The goal of the evening was to watch the Badger come in. That's a favorite Ludington pass-time, but I haven't done it anytime recently. I'm glad we went. Here she comes. See her?

I'm pretty sure you can find her now. She's being escorted by a Sheriff's boat. Also the Ludington Harbor Patrol was on duty. There have been some problems lately with small boats not staying out of the way, so they may have upped the escort presence.

Just a reminder. This is the only remaining coal-fired passenger ship in the U.S., and it's a registered Historic Landmark. The Badger and its sister ship the Spartan (also docked at Ludington but not seaworthy) are the two largest such ships ever built.

It has to turn around to dock because vehicles and any cargo are loaded off the back. You may remember that part of the docking system broke last summer and they lost about a third of the sailing season. But that's all fixed, with a new "apron" and counterweights. Watching it do that maneuver is quite interesting. Here is it almost backed into place in front of the Spartan.

It was still hot, so we drove around to the other side of Pere Marquette Lake for the view of the ferries from that side and also to visit the memorial to Pere Marquette. This is one of the most likely places for his death, although there are a lot of theories pointing to other locations.

Home again, salads for dinner- it was just too hot to eat, some visiting. Today was as full as it was going to get.

Miles hiked so far in 2024: 372.8.

Ludington breakwater to the lighthouse and back 1.0 mile

See Working Our Way Home

How Old Can We Go?

One of the things I did yesterday was to go exploring in the Lakeview Cemetery in Ludington. I'm looking for something I'll use in Vacation from Dead Mule Swamp, but I was also curious about the oldest grave. How does one define that? Should it be the earliest burial date or the earliest birth date? I decided I wanted to know if there was anyone buried there who was born in the 1700s. It's possible, since the area's first white settler came in 1846.

I found several who were born in the 1820s. Here's one from 1819. G. Ewald.

J.L. Blading was born in 1820.

This one is very interesting because it's really a monument shaped like a book on a pedestal of a tree stump with ivy growing around it.

One real problem is that the oldest stones are often very hard to read. I'd need to take a lot more time, and do rubbings of possible dates.

This one was nearby, and I can read that somebody Miles died in 1881, but I can't quite read his age which would give me the birth year. It's certainly not 80 something. Mostly I'm showing you this because the picture on the stone is interesting with the two hands. This symbol can mean a number of different things, but since the two hands are on the same level, it possibly signifies some sort of farewell to earthly life or an embracing of eternal life. If the cuffs are different it may represent a husband and wife. In this case the carving is too worn to tell. I also couldn't find anything about one hand being open and the other clasped. But, it's interesting.

I did find something that I believe will work for the book (none of the above.) I also found a complete list of records for that cemetery on line. I'm working my way through it, but this is a very large cemetery. I'm almost through the Cs, and the oldest birth I've found so far is 1803, with several in the 18-oughts. So a 1700s one is possible.

I worked on the pantry, I did client work, I set up my Christmas gift from Steve (more on that another day),and I used the info I found yesterday to write, bringing the total words in Vacation from DMS is now at 20,027.

First Snow and History

Today was the first snow of the year, although it's not amounting to much. Compare my backyard to yesterday! I like the blue dusk, and it looks twice as wintery.

I spent the afternoon in Ludington doing some errands and then research for Vacation from Dead Mule Swamp. This is the Daniel Goodenough house, built in 1888. Goodenough first operated a grocery store, and then became a manufacturer. Here, the house wears a decoration of fluffy flakes. This is part of the East Ludington Avenue Historic District which is stuffed with huge mansions built by the lumber barons.

One of the oldest commercial buildings still standing was built in 1887. This is in "Fourth Ward," the section that was the original center of the city- nearer to the harbor of Pere Marquette Lake. It is currenty a business called Love Wines, a small batch winery that uses mostly local grapes.

Most unusally, I woke up this morning with a blazing headache. I still got my editing done, but it took longer than usual. I felt pretty much all better by about 1:00. Bell choir practice in the late afternoon.

See My Backyard Yesterday

Got My NCT Shirt

The NCTA has not offered a cotton shirt for quite a long time. Polyester and my skin are not friends. So, I've been wearing the same shirts that get older and older. Loren gave me a couple of the last ones they had in cotton which I mended and am still wearing. But I've been hounding the trail shop folks, and they came through with a great design. Every year, the National Park Service gives out bandanas with a different design, and this was one of the most popular of all. It's now on a shirt. And I now have one!

But the shirt costs way more than I usually pay for clothes, and the shipping was high too.

So, someone from Lowell offered to go to the office and get my shirt. She was coming to Ludington this weekend anyway and wanted to meet me. Here's my new friend, Jodie.

She thinks my hike was something, but I'm here to tell you she is here to participate in a mini-triathlon tomorrow. Mini or not, I'm impressed.

We met south of the breakwall where there are way fewer people than in Stearns Park. It was a good quiet place to visit. The day was lovely. You can see that we even wanted light jackets- quite a breeze coming off the lake. I hope that settles down for their competition tomorrow.

Other than that, I mowed some grass and worked on my program. I'll do a second post about Roundup in a few days.

See last Ludington walk

Bernie's Very Bad, Very Good Day, and More

Today was non-stop, but the important things happened. Bernie was here all day. We spent the morning talking about things he should know concerning the trail in Vermont and the Adirondacks.

The reason for the title is that the afternoon was very good in that Bernie got some much needed dental work done. The bad part is that he has to deal with the pain of that and antibiotics on the trail, etc. Because you know he's not going to take any more time off. Hopefully, the pain of the dental work will be much less than the pain he's already been dealing with on the trail. He called every dentist in the county, and did find one that would see him.

While he was doing that, I took a little walk in Ludington. There is a little urban loop that goes along the marina and the channel. Here's the marina.

The Badger, the carferry, is sadly sitting in port. The rest of the sailing season is cancelled. The "apron," which is part of the dock, not the boat, collapsed and the removal and rebuilding is going to take months. Without that part, vehicles can not be loaded onto the ferry. You can see a crane already working behind her.

Kayakers were taking advantage of the protection of the breakwall to enjoy some time on Lake Michigan.

This is a relatively new addition to the Mason County Sculpture Trail. This is an actual propeller from the Badger that was damaged in ice. The date is not given, but it was many years ago when the ferries sailed year-round. You can see the big chunk missing from one of the blades.

When Bernie was released, we went shopping so he could get medication and supplies. We arrived home in time for a downpour! It only lasted for about a half hour. Southwest salad and corn bread for dinner.

One of the strangest and most humorous events from Loretta's arrival is that we have twin cars. Supposedly hers is 2012 and mine is 2013, but we can only find a couple of minor differences. The body and lights are exactly the same. They are the same color. Usually there are at least changes in the taillights from year to year. But unless one of us has a faulty title, they are not the same year. We both have NCT stickers. It's really weird. We've each gone out and momentarily thought we were in the wrong car!

So that's a total mish-mash of stuff from today. But that's how the day was. Bernie thinks he's going to be good-to-go to hike a full day tomorrow!

See Long Distance Hikers