Black Lake Fever / Bear Tests the Waters 8/2/15

Posted on August 2, 2015 by bree1972

“Have you told them about Black Lake Fever?” asked Todd, a neighbor and friend of Terry and Sue’s. It was the afternoon after we arrived, and we were sitting around a table on the deck.

“Black Lake Fever? What’s that?” I asked, a bit concerned.

“Oh, it’s a little bug that goes around up here in the summer time,” answered Todd. “Nothing serious, but most everyone gets it.”

Two days later we had all gathered back around the deck table. I should explain at this point that nearly every afternoon around 5 o’clock Terry rings a bell hanging just outside their back door. That’s the signal for everyone within the sound of the bell – if they’re so inclined – to assemble on the Conlon porch for Happy Hour. A gathering could be as few as two or (so far) as many as 10.

“Geez,” I said shortly after sitting down. “I don’t know what’s wrong with us. I fell asleep three times this afternoon while reading a really good book. And Ted was snoring on the sofa this morning at 10:30!”

“BLACK LAKE FEVER!” they all shouted at once. “You’ve got it!”

The symptoms of this malady can appear suddenly – or they can creep up on you . . .

The symptoms began to come upon me on our second night here. I walked out to the dock just after sunset and just sat for a few minutes and took in the setting . . . the reflection of a pink cloud in mirror-still water

Mine began on our second night here. I walked out to the dock just after sunset, sat for a few moments and took in the setting – the reflection of a pink cloud in mirror-still water . . .

Walking back from the dock, I looked up the shoreline

. . . and boats lining the shoreline both north and south (many of these cabins – like Terry and Sue’s – have been in the same family for generations).

Throw in a hammock tied between two pine trees at the edge of the water . . .

. . . and you’re a perfect candidate to develop Black Lake Fever. Seriously, if I got any more relaxed I might never stand again.

They tell us the only cure is to leave the lake. If that’s the case, I think I’ll just continue to suffer through it for a while longer.

BEAR TESTS THE WATERS

Hey! Bear here. After a 1400-mile car ride (and you KNOW how much I love those car rides), I didn’t care if I succumbed to Black Lake Fever or anything else I could catch to put me out of my misery. Good grief! That ride used to be a lot easier when I was younger.

Anyway, we finally made it, and Maddie and I were told this cute little cabin was Home Sweet Home for three weeks. We really, really like it!

The BEST part though is Ms. Sue and Mr. Terry have two dogs JUST LIKE ME!

This is the beautiful, sweet and calm Brinkley, who is eleven years old. People say she looks sad, but all us Goldens know how to give

This is the beautiful, sweet, and calm Brinkley, who is nine years old. I have a serious crush on her, even though she is an “older woman”.

And this is the gorgeous, charming, and always in high gear Ruby. Ruby is two years old. I have a serious crush on her, even though Mom says I would be robbing the cradle with Ruby (whatever that means).

And this is the gorgeous, charming, and always in high gear Ruby. Ruby is two years old. I have a serious crush on her also, even though Mom says I would be robbing the cradle with Ruby (whatever that means).

I was really having a hard time connecting with these two beauties because they are – and always have been – WATER DOGS! As for myself – although I’ve lived around water all my life- I’ve just never been one to want to go INTO the water. I mean, if I get wet I have to endure that hair dryer for two hours so I won’t get hot spots. Nope – I’d rather stay on dry land.

But . . . . I could see I was getting some serious “you have got to be kidding me” looks from the girls . . . so I thought I’d give it a try . . .

“Come on, big guy! There’s a tennis ball in here with your name on it!”

“Oh geez! Oh geez! I love tennis balls. I love girl dogs. I just don’t love water! How’d I miss that retriever gene?”

“Ok. See! I’m in the water!”

“Look at me, girls!”

“I got it! I got it! And I only got my legs wet!”

“Come on up on the sand, girls!”

“Sorry, Bear. Call us when you’re ready to go swimming.”

“Hmmmmm – maybe if I show them how deep I can BURY a ball, they’ll be interested.”

“And maybe not. Oh well, there’s always tomorrow. I’m going to grab a bag of my favorite treats and plan a picnic. I bet there’s more than one way to win over these two ladies!”

RANDOM PHOTOS

Every morning Terry sweeps the beach to get rid of weeds the waves have brought in.

How could you be anything but happy sitting on this porch?

Ruby – showing Bear how to shake yourself dry.

Jill came over to spend Thursday at the lake, and Ruby voted her “best ball thrower”!

Jill and Sue on the SeaDoo.

Black Lake Fever. Bear’s got it too!

Even though we’ve been lazy, we’ve also been doing a lot of fun things. Yesterday Sue and I had a girls day and went to lunch in Harbor Springs. After that we rode over to Petoskey for their annual sidewalk sale.

We’ve had a laundry day in Cheboygan, made a few grocery runs, eaten out several times, and met lots of the Conlons’ nice neighbors. Ted and Terry have been kayaking almost every day and were planning to kayak the Black River today – until all-day storms moved in this morning. Talk about a LAZY Sunday!

Ted and I will be on Mackinac Island Tuesday and Wednesday evenings and then back to Black Lake until August 17th. See you back here in a few days!

God bless.

Back to a Happy Normal and . . . the Weeks Ahead! 7/12/15

Posted on July 12, 2015 by bree1972

Don’t you just hate it when your “normal” life gets interrupted by something different? Oh, don’t get me wrong. I’m not talking about disrupting normalcy with a cruise to Bermuda or winning the Publisher’s Clearing House Giveaway. I mean a disruption that throws your whole mind and body into turmoil . . . like a fire extinguisher head being set off (when there’s no fire) and flooding your house!

But – as much as I hate to give it up and say this – even those “bad” interruptions can bring good things. You just have to get over the turmoil, say “thank you, Lord”, and go looking for them.

Our “good things” are these:

The house is back to normal - rooms have been cleared and things put back in their place.

Our house is back to normal – rooms have been cleared and things put back in their proper place.

The downstairs bedroom and closet now have brand new carpet instead of carpet that is nine months old . . .

. . . so does the stairs.

In addition, the downstairs bedroom closet (where they had to cut a hole in the wall to mop up water) now has a great big storage place under the stairwell, with a very nice custom door leading from the closet into the storage area. I can't show you that because the stuff we put back in the closet hides the door.

In addition, the downstairs bedroom closet (where they had to cut a hole in the wall to mop up water) now has a great big storage space under the stairwell, with a very nice custom door leading from the closet into that area (I can’t show you that because the stuff we put back in the closet hides the door).

What’s even more amazing is, with the help of the warranty people, our builder, and the restoration company, all this was accomplished in less than a week! To go from a sit-down-in-the-middle-of-the-floor-crying-over-it mess to normalcy – with benefits – in six days is an amazing feat in my book! So a huge thank you to all involved – especially the warranty folks who set off the sprinkler by accident. Those two guys worked harder than anyone to make sure our house was put back to rights. Mission accomplished!

A WALK ON THE BEACH WITH BEAR AND MADDIE

I don’t normally get up for the early morning walk with Ted, Maddie and Bear. To me, if the sun isn’t up, the good Lord meant for us to keep on sleeping. But the other morning I woke up early – just as Ted was leashing up the dogs – and decided to take the 2 1/2 mile stroll with them (their walk has to be early these days, or they’d all melt before they made it back home).

The benefits of rising early and hitting the beach!

For Bear, the walk on the beach means a time he can be off-leash (yes, the city frowns on this, but who’s around at that time of the day to report us). He LOVES running the beach, even though he’s not once gone into the water more than ankle deep. On this morning, when he was doing his normal “scare-the-crabs-out-of-their-holes-and-chase-them-into-the-ocean routine, the sea offered up a very different gift!

“What the heck? It looks like a tennis ball!”

“It tastes like a tennis ball – except a little salty.”

“But before I get too excited and take it home, I’m going to watch it a while to make sure there are no claws with pinchers attached.”

Maddie has no desire to chase tennis balls or crabs. All she wants to do is dig them up!

Every single hole is sniffed and dug into.

“I know I just saw his beady little eyes!”

“So many crab holes, so little time.”

Walking back home – from the sidewalk.

OTHER BEACHY STUFF

Breakfast this morning at the Funky Pelican. The fishing at the end of the pier is already in full swing, but these days folks bring a sun umbrella along with their fishing gear.

Breakfast - a full of cholesterol seafood omelet for Ted. I chose a very healthy yogurt/granola/fruit dish - with four strips of bacon on the side. Kinda like when I order a big Mac with a diet coke.

Breakfast – a full of cholesterol seafood omelet for Ted, with toast and home fries. I chose a very healthy yogurt/granola/fruit dish – with four strips of bacon on the side. Kinda like when I order a big Mac with a diet coke.

Each neighbor in Sunset Inlet gets a little different angle on our little group of houses. Jennifer shot this across the canal at sunset. Our house is

Each neighbor in Sunset Inlet has a little different angle on our group of houses. Jennifer shot this across the canal at sunset one day this week. Our house is to the right of the 3-story.

One of those awesome photographs that you might get once in a lifetime. Neighbor Missy captured this ominous shelf cloud coming in a few days ago. Looks like a UFO, doesn’t it! Amazingly, we didn’t even get a sprinkle of rain out of all this drama!

THE ISLAND! THE ISLAND!

A great shot of kayakers and a freighter from Clark Bloswick.

Also from Clark: Sunrise from the east side of the island . . .

. . . and sunset from near Devil’s Kitchen.

I’m jealous of Jill all the time now because she gets to live on the island all summer. But this week I’m doubly jealous because she got to go over to Round Island and spend the day. You can only do that once a year, you know. Jealous, jealous, jealous . . . but so excited and happy that she got to go!

Also from Jill – a view of the harbor from the back of the Peace Garden . . .

. . . and an up-close look at the new Peace Garden sculpture, “Be Still”. Love this!

An awesome photo by Valerie Porter of the “new” Fort Holmes!

From blog reader Becky Jacobs.

Becky and her husband recently got the thrill of a lifetime when they won a Facebook contest sponsored by the St. Ignace Chamber of Commerce. The prize was a trip to the top of the Mackinac Bridge!

A GOOD CAUSE

Ted and I met Max Jones and his family a couple of summers ago. At that time Max was 13 and had already been in business for himself for two years as the owner/operator of Max’s Errand Service on Mackinac Island.

Max is planning to ride across the State of Iowa to raise money for the Mackinac Island Fire Department.

From an interview of Max by Jason St. Onge at the Mackinac Island Fire Department:

Max, the son of John and Karrie, spends his winters in Kalamazoo but summers on the Island. Max stopped by the Market Street Firehouse to talk about his plan with the MIFD.

Max said, “You guys do a lot for the community and I just want to assist in any way I can. I think I can raise some money to help with equipment.”

Max will spend the next couple weeks securing pledges and training for the ride. He will be asking for pledges from businesses and citizens and promises to collect “Only if I finish the nearly 500 mile trek.”

Max runs a bicycle errand/delivery service on the Island that he started several years ago.

Max will set out on his journey on July 18. Thank you Max, and good luck!!

Personal Note:

To donate to Max’s ride across Iowa, which is July 18-25, you can email Max directly at mjj5366@yahoo.com, subject “Max’s MIFD Ride”, to pledge. Max will email you back with all the details. You can also donate at the micf.org (Mackinac Island Community Foundation) website. Once there, just click “donate”, then put as the fund name, “Max’s Ride for the MIFD”. The money won’t be collected until Max finishes the ride. All donations will be through the Mackinac Island Community Foundation for a tax deduction.

This is a great cause, and we applaud Max for wanting to give back to the Mackinac community.

Max – on one of his many daily delivery rides up and down the hills of Mackinac Island.

THE WEEKS AHEAD

Ted and I will be heading to Islamorada in the Florida Keys on Thursday to spend three nights with Julie, Matt and the grandkids. We get back on Sunday, and the following Saturday we head north to Michigan for nine weeks. There is no way I can even begin to tell you how excited I am to be heading to cooler weather!

For the first three weeks we’ll be with friends Sue and Terry Conlon at Black Lake near Cheboygan, then on August 18 we arrive on Mackinac for six weeks in a condo downtown in the Mission District.

A really fun surprise . . . I’ve been asked to stay two nights at the Grand Hotel (this will be while we’re at Black Lake) and to write about the Woods Restaurant (owned by the Grand). Ted and I have never actually stayed at the Grand, and we are so excited to have this opportunity!

So, we’ll be on and off the island even during the three weeks we’re at Black Lake.

I’ll be blogging the entire time, but I’ve decided to not have any kind of schedule for the rest of the summer. From now until the end of September, posts might pop up at any time. It may be a story or just a photograph, but – starting now – expect something more than twice a week – just on no certain day. And I’ll post the same blog to both Bree’s Mackinac Island Blog (http://bree1972.wordpress.com) and To Be Clay (https://bree2015.wordpress.com).

We’re going to miss Sunset Inlet. We’re leaving just as we’re all beginning to get to know each other, but we’ll be back at the end of September to rejoin the gang and enjoy Florida when I love it most . . . . fall, winter, and spring!

Please say a safe travel prayer for us. Bear and Maddie will be staying with our pet sitter for our Islamorada trip, but they’ll be with us – of course – when we head for Michigan!

Love you all!

God bless.

More Springtime Stuff! 4/26/15

Posted on April 26, 2015 by bree1972

Hi Everyone!

Matthew and Jordan spent Friday night with us and had a great time playing in the

Matthew and Jordan spent Friday night with us while their parents were out of town, and they had a great time playing in the “sand box”, then watching an old late-50’s movie about surfing – Gidget (I remember watching this movie about 12 times as a pre-teen and having a really BIG crush on its male star, James Darren – aka Moon Doggie). Matthew thought it was hilarious because of the old surfboards and the really horrible “so fake” close-up shots of the surfing. I admit it was pretty bad compared to today’s standards on special effects, but it’s still a sweet story, and Jordan loved it! I guess it’s a girl thing.

Bear – taking in the cool breeze last night at twilight . . .

. . . while Maddie hunts lizards (the reptiles have taken over from south Georgia squirrels in her “let me at ’em” list of things to banish from the face of the earth.

We’re visited almost every day now by at least 2-3 manatees in our inlet. So fun to watch them swim in, feed, then swim back out to the intracoastal.

From Molly McGreevy: “The staph infection from my surgical drain following the initial surgery is gone now, but one of the antibiotics and the Motrin they were giving me to reduce my fever hurt my kidneys. My kidney function the day I came to the hospital was excellent. A couple days ago, not so good. It’s improving ever so slightly with time since the Motrin has been discontinued, but I have to stay in the hospital until my kidney function returns to normal. Other meds are causing GI issues and nausea, and I’ll probably have to have my PIC line replaced. Thanks again to all my friends and family and all the “strangers” along the way that have helped me or are helping. Sitting on my couch watching a movie with my husband and petting my dog sounds like Heaven right now. To breathe fresh air – don’t take it for granted. I miss my home. God bless.”

Please continue to keep Molly in your prayers. She’s been in the hospital for over a week now (although just today she was moved to one closer to Mackinac). She can’t start her chemo until all these issues have been resolved.

My good Mackinac Island friend, Orietta Barquero, posted the next photos on-line yesterday. These are so bittersweet to me, mainly because this is what the island looked like when Ted and I would arrive on Mother’s Day weekend for the last few years. We get so used to seeing the island either lush and green, with flowers in every possible color spilling out of hanging baskets and flowerbeds, or pure white with snow so bright it dazzles our eyes. But in May . . . in May the island is like a ticking clock. We know the green lies just below the brown of the grass, and the flowers are just beginning to bud and open. In another month it will be Lilac season, but right now there are miracles happening below all that brown. I LOVED being there to watch it happen. Oh heck, I just loved being there.

Have a great week! God bless.

Mackinac Memories 4/12/15

Posted on April 12, 2015 by bree1972

I was fretting this morning about there really being nothing to write about today, and when that happens my mind automatically turns to Mackinac. In the six summers Ted and I lived on the island for the season, I can count on one hand the number of times when I honestly couldn’t come up with a subject. As I’ve said many times before, all I needed to do was pick up my camera and walk out the door – there was always a story down the hill, or up the hill, or in town, or looking out over the Straits.

When the Baileys were here last Monday evening we were sitting in a little Italian restaurant downtown in Flagler Beach, waiting for our dinner and talking about the island in general. Jeri-Lynn, who has spent many more seasons on the island than Ted and I (with husband Brian and their children, they go when the Chippewa and Lilac Tree Hotels open), leaned in close and asked, “What was it that first drew you to the island?”

I thought a moment and said, “Before I fell in love with the people of Mackinac, I fell in love with the woods.” Jeri-Lynn said it was exactly the same for her. We went on to chat about the magical and almost spiritual aura that many people soak up on Mackinac, and we talked as well about how others feel none of the magic whatsoever. I shared with Jeri-Lynn that walking in Mackinac’s woods calms me as no other place I’ve ever visited, and there is almost a holiness I find there. Jeri-Lynn shared that when she walks those woods she feels as though she’s joined by the people over the centuries before her who walked the same paths. I was struck by our different impressions of the same place – the solitude of my walks, the fellowship of hers.

For those who love that little spot of land rising serenely from Lake Huron, it makes no difference what emotion Mackinac stirs within us. We each take from her what we need and what she willingly offers – peace, joy, fellowship, a sense of escapism blended perfectly with the contentment of belonging.

Below is a blog – the first ever written by Bear – posted the first summer I began Bree’s Mackinac Island Blog. It’s great fun for me to skim back through the archives and re-read what’s been written over the years. This posted May 26, 2009, and it was on one of those rare occasions when I felt as though I had nothing to write about. It still makes me smile.

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Hi! My name is Bear. I’m a golden retriever. That’s me in the picture above with my bratty little sister Maddie and my mom Bree (well, actually her name is Brenda, but she told me once she never liked that name and had always wanted to be called Bree). I don’t care – I just call her mom. Maddie and I are not really related, although there was this 145 year old lady one time who looked at us and asked, “Are they brother and sister?” Pleeeasseeee! Do you see who mom is holding tightly in her arms in that picture? Do you see that the brat has on a collar AND a halter AND a leash?? Do you see me just sitting there looking gorgeous without even a COLLAR on my beautiful neck? Sister?? Geeezzz!

Mom had been fretting all day yesterday about the weather and about how she couldn’t come up with a story idea for her blog (whatever that is). She said the weather was really nasty – 46 degrees at 2:00 p.m., cloudy, threatening rain, not a good day to go out and take pictures. (I personally consider that a perfect day. It’s chilly and there is a good chance I could get seriously wet. What else could a golden retriever ask for?) Anyway, she and dad (that’s Ted) were having a little “discussion” about him forgetting something in town again and that “somebody” had to make another trip down the hill. So I said, “Come on, mom – let’s you and me go to town together.” I know what you are thinking – dogs can’t talk. But I swear, two seconds later she looked at me and said, “I think I’ll take Bear to town with me.” Need I say more?

So she started getting on all these clothes – undershirt, sweatshirt, fleece coat, blue jeans, socks, wool cap, gloves . . . . . . . good grief! It’s not Antarctica! It’s just Mackinac Island in May. Tomorrow it will be sunny and 70! So, she’s finally ready, and we start to leave. Maddie goes running down the stairs like she’s going too, but mom says, “No, sweetie, it’s just me and the big boy going this time.” You should have seen her pout. Mom put on my collar (a Georgia Bull Dawg collar, I might mention), attached my leash (leash law downtown) and away we went. I promise I did NOT look back and stick my tongue out at the brat.

Yeahhhhhh! We got to the bottom of the first rise, and it started RAINING!!! What fun is that!! I could stick my tongue out and catch WATER!! I don’t know why mom was so cranky. I did happen to notice that all the tourists who ride around in those buggies pulled by those insanely big horses were all wrapped up like mummies.

When we got to that gigantic white building where about a gazillion people stay every night , we spotted Anna who works for The Grand Hotel . She is always there somewhere outside The Grand, and she always has the most beautiful smile on her face and is so friendly. Me and mom and dad just love Anna. She is from Grand Rapids, Michigan, and dad always says to Anna, “That’s where I was born!” He must have said that to her about a million times now. I think that’s what happens when people start getting a “little older.”

By the time we talked to Anna a few minutes, the rain had stopped. That’s how it is on Mackinac Island – one minute it’s raining, the next minute it’s sunny. I LOVE it! Our next stop was the bank. Mom stuck her head inside and asked if it was ok to bring me in. The nice ladies in the cages said, “Sure!” This really sweet girl wanted to pet me (I’m soooo used to that), and mom asked her if she would hold my leash while she did her banking, and she said she would love to. I got a LOT of good petting and ear scratching from her!

We stopped in to say “hey” to Bill and Jim at Mackinac Realty (they sold us our great condo), but only Jim was there. He offered to dogsit me while mom went in the post office, but mom said no, she’d just tie me up outside. Huh?

Mom explained to me that dogs were not allowed in post offices anywhere, including Mackinac Island, unless they are seeing eye dogs. I told her that I see with my eyes, but she acted like she didn’t hear me and tied me up anyway.

We started back home, then ducked into the shelter under the awning at the Great Turtle Kite and Toy Store to warm up a minute. The cute girl in that store invited us in (I can get mom in ANYWHERE). I was really bummed out when I discovered that this was a KID toy store, not a DOG toy store, but I had fun looking anyway.

When we got home, mom said, “I still have no idea what I will write about tomorrow.” So I put my head in her lap, and said, “Don’t worry, mom, I’ll write it for you.” And so I did.

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What’s changed since this story? Bear was a two-year-old when he began his writing career – he’s eight now. Anna-of-the-smiling-face is now an island taxi-driver, and the toy store has moved from Cadotte into the Lilac Tree Hotel’s mall, next to the Island Bookstore. The bank still gives out doggie treats, and Bear still has to be tied up outside the post office.

I silently chuckle as I read back over the words I’ve written today. I know those of you who read this blog know what I’m trying to express. You know why – in my mind – I’m already heading north. And in June my body gets to follow.

God bless.