Gun Lake Winterfest

The entire day was devoted to travel and the Gun Lake Winterfest vendor event. This is the Gun Lake in Allegan County between Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo.

Here is the tent where there were vendors, exhibitors and the raffle items. Big. There were two propane heaters, and it truly was warmer than outside, but I was about frozen by the end of the day despite snow pants and many layers. Standing still that long in the cold is not great.

I know I showed you my camper doll setup at Christmas, but here's what I do at vendor events where there is enough room. It gets people's attention. Notice the blue blaze on the tree.

I was right next to the table for the Chief Noonday Chapter of the NCTA, which was how I found out about this event in the first place. One of the volunteers was Jo Oostveen. We've known each other a while, but never got a picture together. Jo has hiked all of the NCT in Michigan. That's close to 1200 miles, so a significant accomplishment.

The event was quite well attended. They had a lot of things for kids to do including a set of stalls in a trailer with sheeep, goats and a pony for kids to pet. The sheep is giving me the evil eye, but she was actually very friendly.

The event is a big fundraiser for the township to keep up the park (which is mostly across the road on the lake). This was a kind of fun thing. There was a "sheriff" and "deputies." For a dollar, you could get them to sign out an arrest warrant for someone else who was at that event. Then that person was taken to jail and they had to pay $5 to get out of jail. Then they got a button that said they didn't have to go to jail again.

Jane Norton (on the right) is a past president of the CND Chapter and a great voluteer and hiker. She got sent to jail.

There were a few vendors, but it wasn't really a big sales venue. I didn't think I'd sell much, but I did sell six books. And since it's on the way of my trip, there wasn't much expense.

As soon as I left, you can bet I turned the heat in the car on full blast until I warmed up!

And where am I tonight? Here's your clue. Smirk.

First day successful!

See Leaving the Puzzle Behind

Closer In

Just a few fun pictures of closeups. This is the seed head for Gaillardia, the blanketflower.

And this is Sedum elecombeanum that I like so much, but I missed all the bright yellow blooms this year. However, again, the seed heads aren't shabby if you look closely. See all the little stars and polka dots? This plant looks good all season with thick mats of yellow-green leaves that don't get sprawly.

This one isn't blooming yet. I sort of showed this before but it wasn't as good a picture. This is Sedum 'Thundercloud.' The leaves and the way they grow are so interesting!

I'll end with one of my favorite weeds. It has several huge plants in the driveway garden this year. Since there isn't much else, I'm happy to have it. This one got so big it sprawled all over. Next year, I have a ring I can put around it before it starts to grow all the stalks. But the point of this post is the closeups. Here are a few flowers on the long stalk.

There are a few milkweed leaves behind it. The field beside us is full of milkweed, so I don't feel the need to grow it in a garden. But I let a few live this year to fill in spaces.

The temperature was wonderful today, and I had good energy. I spent extra time on computer tasks, and worked outside quite a bit. I'm trimming where I can't get close enough to things with the mower. That makes everything look better. And I spent another 15 minutes on the autumn olive.

See Short Rock Garden Report

Orange Details, Wet Ending

 
Today has been all about writing, but after finishing Chapter 6 in The ABZ Affair, I just had to get some exercise, so I went out for a different 3-mile walk. the sky was spitting a little bit, but real rain wasn't supposed to start till later.

The color of the day is orange (although I snuck in one picture from yesterday).

Orange lichen:



Here's the one from yesterday. I suspect the orange tree tips are some kind of willow, but not positive.



These are a willow, perhaps the same kind. I did increase the contrast a bit, but they are really orange and you know I like my colors bright, even garish.



But, it was raining steadily although softly by the time I got home, and I was quite wet, although refreshed. For those of you who like softer tones, try raindrops on white birch branches.



Supposed to rain for several days now.

In other news: I'm really pulling out all the stops on writing The ABZ Affair. I have so much to do with illustrations and formatting for all three books, I'd like to get the texts really finished and polished before the end of February. Today I finished chapter 5 (had to do a LOT of research on 1953 prices), and wrote 6 (researched earlier) and 7. They may need some content editing, but at least there is something solid to work with. No work at the paper for me again tomorrow (no Tuesday work this year- not good for the wallet), but I'm hoping I can write three more chapters. We'll see.

	See Brown Details, Brilliant Ending
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Brown Details, Brilliant Ending

 
Went for my regular road loop walk today and set out to find some interesting details. See if these fill the bill.

First up is teasel. It's an intriguing plant in any season, and up close does not disappoint.



The prickly stems are quite unique as well.



Queen Anne's Lace is another common plant that retains a lot of interest year round.



I thought that was it, but the day provided another brilliant sunset, and I'm sure not going to turn down one of those.



In other news: I wrote Chapter 4 in The ABZ Affair, and hope to finish Chapter 5 before bed. I finished beta reading a book for a friend, and did a little (very little) cleaning.

	See Teasel in the Light
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