Morning walks

While in Michigan and off from the boat I’ve had the time to indulge in a favorite past time of mine, walking. Every morning I’m up before everyone else and after a cup of Joe to get the blood circulating I go for a walk. I thought that I might show you a few of the things that I enjoy seeing along the way. One is the dam in downtown rockford and the other is a pond and bridge that Ken built. I missed the picture of the flock of turkeys. (over 20 of them)

Hot weather

Even here in the cool north we have those rare days when it can get a bit oppressive. Yesterday was one of them with temps above 90 and a 90% + humidity rating. I realize that this isn’t too bad when compared to the south but up here it's a bit too much. When you toss in a bike trip on that kind of a day it can soon become a real death march. I volunteered to go on a bike trip to celebrate my friends 55th birthday. Not much of a ride really, only about 42 miles of easy ridding out and back again. The problem arrived when the temperature went over 90 during the middle of the day and the lack of shade on this particular bike trail. The only saving grace that we had is that the trail was built on an old converter railroad bed so, the trail is mostly level with only very slow inclines/declines. Once out of the sun and into the trees, it became a pleasant ride filled with birds and animals and most of all,,,shade!
Visit the “rails to trails” conservancy some time and learn more about this national group dedicated to biking trails through out the USA. www.railstotrails.org

Poison Ivy

One problem that we never had to contend with while living on a boat is this itchy weed. Up here in Michigan it’s high season for poison ivy. Last week, I found this out when I was helping Ken drag cut tree limbs off into the woods. Even though I washed my arms when I was done, a bit of the plant oil must have lingered on my wrists for by the next day I had broken out! Even worse, Anna asked me to rub her back that night and I infected her too! As you can see my wrists are still welted and her back has one big itchy streak that she can’t reach. Next time, I think that I will wear better protective clothing when I go dragging things into the woods.

Our new home???

We have a chance to buy an old “river Queen” house boat. The problem is that it is in poor condition and will need a total rebuild. On the other hand, the boat has real potential and could become a floating cottage on the lake if redone properly. The River Queen’s were manufactured in Michigan and we ran across many of them last year on our trip down the river. For our long term plans this situation just might be the best option that we have come across, a floating home in the south and another floating home in the north. Here’s a few pictures, let me know what you think.