I go for a kayak

Headed out on the white river yesterday in Jayne's excellent kayak.



Kayaking is fun, except when you are trying to take pictures. Then it floats too much, and you have to beach yourself to get that shot you want.



Then, of course, getting free again can be a problem, especially when you have a camera around your neck that you're trying to avoid exposing to any moisture.



Being out on the river is quite relaxing. Especially drifting, while you listen to the birds and the reeds and the water.


Drifting from ILoveVerdi on Vimeo.

In the end I was forced to exit the kayak and drag it back through the 5 inch deep water. Still, quite fun.

Natural habitat

Erin decided that Clapton really needed a kiddie pool to wade in while he was outside. I had to capture the moment in video:


Don't Pee In It from ILoveVerdi on Vimeo.

Edit: This is post #200!

Digging

Well we thought we were going to be setting up a fence, but that will have to wait for another day. Clapton is hardly disappointed though; he got to go for a swim and loves being up in Hesperia!



I did get to take some fun pictures, even though it rained quite a bit. Everything is growing profusely due to that precipitation.



Here's a rare self-portrait. I think I need a shave and a haircut.



Birdbath on the back porch.



Erin and Lou in another heated Nemastil discussion. The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree sometimes...



This is the Pollen Nation.



I think we got these for Jayne on St. Patrick's day.



Curtis and Cassie came by to help dig the electrical line ditch out to the garage. It started pouring though so we came in for lemonade. (thanks Erin!)



I feel like I'm a 6 year-old again. Yay dirt!



Ok I'm going to be selfish here. The last two are just photos I am kind of proud of. One:



And two:



Ok, the rain has stopped, it's time to finish our little ditch. Hopefully nobody will hit any gas or water or cable lines!

Croton

The wife and I and Clapper (that's Clapton's nickname, one of many) stopped at Croton dam on our way up to the in-laws'.



I took the opportunity to dig out my camera, which I haven't done very much for the last two weeks. So excuse me if these are a little wannabe artsy.



It is such a nice day today! Upper 80s, humid, but for some reason I don't care at all and am enjoying the heat.



This is kind of scary. There were a few of these posted around.



I like this photo a lot, I'm not sure why.



One more, of the great old brick building.

Stormy evening skies

This was a big late-spring storm last week.



And this was just before raining, last night at Alexis'.



I love this time of year! It's about to rain again right now, too. We're up in Hesperia for the weekend, helping to put up a fence. Thank god they have high speed wireless now!

Near Fremont, Michigan

I took these in the car on the way to the art fair.



A few abandoned barns and farm houses.



Mostly, a lot of farm land. I can't wait for the corn to come in!

Spring Morning, Hesperia

What a beautiful day Saturday was. In the park.


Come the Fourth of July (like the song) they use this for tractor and horse pulls. Quite a blast when you're sippin' on special lemonade.


This is the neighbor's house down the street. Not sure whose though.


These are the neighbor's trees. The willow is finally blooming.


These are the neighbors' cherry (or is it apple?) trees. Quite spectacular!


Morning on the water.


I can't wait to go kayaking! You can't see in this picture but there are tons of birds out there.

Portraits of an Old Man

We were vising Erin's parents for mother's day this past weekend, and went to the art fair and car show in Fremont. I took three photographs of a man there.

Sandhill Cranes

Erin's mother Jayne is passionate about nature and luckily lives in a place that lets her explore the woods and rivers of Michigan. She took us to see a wetland near Hesperia where Sandhill Cranes were grazing. We headed out just before sunset.



There's something wonderfully quiet about the evenings in rural Michigan. Quiet and pregnant with some kind of secret. I don't know...



Much of the ground is soaking wet, as you'd expect in a marsh at springtime.



Finally we found the field where they were all at. They came flying in two, four, eight at a time, landing next to each other in a line.



I felt like a bird hunter, trying to position the zoom lens with the flying birds somewhere in view.



Not all of the photos came out. I think the light was just too low for the birds to come in sharply in most cases, or else I was jiggling the tripod in my excitement.



This was my favorite, and it was just before (arguably after) there was any usable light left.



If I'd had the courage to leap over a wide, water-filled ditch and then gingerly climb some barbed wire, I might have gotten better detail. I can't imagine what kind of lenses professional nature and sports photographers must use, because even with 12x magnification I was still too far away to get any discernible features of the animals. Still, though, I had a good time, and I'm eager to try to get closer next time.

Her Uptown World

Took a constitutional through the town on Saturday in order to let mother nature do the tiresome job of drying off the dog, and packed with me the trusty G9 in order to document my exploration of the town of my lovely wife's youth!

I believe this is the hardware store owned by the neighbors.



This time of year one of the few colors in the natural world is the yellow in the budding willow trees.



I don't think any businesses occupy this building, and it's on main street too.



This is the favorite local mechanic of my wife's family.



I found these school buses around near the high school athletic field.



I don't know how long this car has been sitting there for sale, but it's at least as long as I've been with Erin (3 years in May!)



It was fun playing with the shutter speed while shooting the spinning fan on the greenhouse next to the hardware store.



I think this is for trash collection or something. Erin said it looked like a face (om nom nom).



There are a few spring flowers popping up. I prefer the wild ones, but those take longer to come in.



Back home again, with the dog finally dry.

Water Rescue Dog?

Newfoundlands were bred for the water, rescuing sailors and fisherman from the icy waves of the Grand Banks and performing other working duties.



Ours however seems to excel in aquatic indifference.



There he goes. I'm getting nervous now; the telephoto lens makes him look closer than he actually is.



Ok, now it's time to ditch the camera and start with the canine recovery tactics.

Birthday Weekend

Saturday I rested in bed until later in the day due to some vodka/brain complications, but by Saturday night I was ready to at least hang out a little bit. Liz and Jason came over and we played Scene It in which I totally kicked ass. However since Jason had Corona, by law he is allowed to take a triumphant pose.



From there we then went to Yesterdog.



Yesterdog is a hot dog joint where the local emo and goth kids hang out, the drunk kids show up with greater frequency as the night proceeds, and where you don't worry so much about food cleanliness because the place has character.



The traditional Yesterdog comes sloppy.



They also have a veggie dog with kraut for those of us who abstain from the meat.



From there Erin and I headed up north so we could spend Feaster morning with her family at the cozy Hesperia villa.



The drum set is assembled in the corner of the guest bedroom now.



I don't have a caption for this photo but I thought it was nice.



The drive home was a nightmare: I had what had all the trappings of a migraine, and after suffering in the bright sunshine and bumpy ride, slept quite a while that evening and almost into Monday afternoon. I even missed my birthday dinner with my parents and sister, which we rescheduled for this weekend.

Some More Hesperia Photos

Hesperia was one of the Hesperides in Greek mythology, a nymph who tended Hera's garden. In this garden were the golden apples of immortality that Hercules was charged with retrieving in his eleventh trial. So that's your history lesson for the day.



Hesperia, MI, has less mythological significance and much more rustic charm. The local bar, for instance, is one of our favorite places for Saturday karaoke!



It's a very "American" town, especially come the Fourth of July. They run horse pulls in the field in front of Erin's house, and fry elephant ears at the arts and crafts fair down the street. Everybody drinks.



Jayne has a flair for the rustic, and I think it makes the house one of the most comfortable-feeling places I've been. Clapton thinks so too.



A great-uncle on Erin's dad's side was a talented and prolific Art-Deco sculptor during the first half of the 20th century. The family put on a show of his work at an art gallery in Cleveland pretty recently. This is a miniature version of one of his larger works, hanging on the wall near the piano.



The guest bedroom is full of plants, and is kind of like a well-groomed jungle in the spring and summer time. I liked these wall-pots and the way they were positioned. Actually let me see if I can fiddle with the white balance real quick. Ok, that's a little better, thanks picasa!



Here's some more purified rustic:



Not enough? You're in luck:



A typical day up north (now that they had broadband with wifi installed; I don't know how they lived successfully without it) might start with some internets. Also, warm clothes are a must, since the house isn't a hermetically sealed climate controlled McMansion built 3 years ago.



For Clapton, the day fluctuates wildly between bounding over the resonating floor-boards chasing after Olive, and this:



Olive's day is spent mostly watching for squirrels. Just be careful you don't say that word around her, though: the injustice of a bushy-tailed bird seed thief not getting chased back into the filthy, lousy tree that it came from is unbearably infuriating.



As day progresses into evening, we move on to beer. Everyone hates the cherry stout from Bells, except for me. I love it. Jason surmises that it must be cherry juice mixed with pee, in a bottle. This disturbs me. Perhaps I'm just a sucker for the Bell's brand? Could they really put pee in a bottle and sell it to me? Would I enjoy it? Have I already?



I was experimenting with long exposure night photography, and conspiracy theories. I WANT TO BELIEVE.



Erin sometimes falls asleep on the couch watching TV. Since we don't have cable at home, this is a nice treat. Of course, it's also after she's had a few beers and run around for a while.



Here's another exterior of the house. It's absolutely gorgeous! We headed back home Sunday.

Up North in Winter Time

My wife grew up in Hesperia, MI, and we visit her parents up here often. The town is small- they live right in the heart of it, but still have a long, sloping tract of land on the White River.



Erin's dad Lou loves to play the piano. Currently he's playing along with Eric Clapton's Unplugged album.



He's also a talented drummer. He got a new set recently so we're going to inherit the old ones. I just need some drum mics and then my album might have a rhythm track.



We drank a bit last night (ok more than a bit, but not an exceptional amount), and went to bed after watching George Carlin live on stage.



That was yesterday. Today I woke up bright and early because Clapton gets frisky in the mornings and licks any exposed body parts vigorously until we roll out of bed and take him out. Of course, he's asleep by 10 AM.



But that's later. It's still early. I mean, in the narrative. What narrative, you ask? Go to hell. Like I said, it was early, and the light was looking really good outside so I put on my gloves and the wide angle adapter and headed outside to the (warning: understatement coming) brisk morning air.



Don't let all that sunlight fool you: it was cold. The river was frozen about a quarter of an inch.



The air is dry, so everything close to the surface of the water gathers a beautiful frost.



This is a picture of an interesting tree. I like the lighting and the swoopy grain.



This water pump actually works. We tried to hook Lou's home-brew water pump up to it last summer, but the pressure was inadequate. The blocks next to it are the foundation for an old barn that collapsed while Lou was tearing it down some years ago.



Erin's mom Jayne loves to check out the local wildlife, and has at least a half dozen bird feeders and another half dozen bird houses around the yard. This one is carved from a gourd, and hangs on an oak tree next to the house.



By this time, my fingers were freezing off (despite the fact that I've learned to use the G9 quite quickly even with gloves). I have a few more pictures but I'll post them later. Now we're having coronas and trying to keep Clapton from humping anything in sight.