When I headed home today, I decided to stop by a couple of lighthouses on Lake Michigan that were not too far out of the way. The first was the lighthouse at South Haven. It was snowing while I was there, so the photos did not come out as well as the ones from St. Joseph.

The next lighthouse was in Holland, home of the Tulip Festival. No tulips in sight today. The snow stopped by the time I reached Holland, but it was still overcast. 

It took longer to get the photos than I had planned. My GPS tried to take me there, but I could only follow the directions so far. It turns out the lighthouse is in a gated community. It is accessible by foot two days a week. (Not today) I had to drive around Lake Macatawa to get to Holland State Park on the other side of the inlet. At least it gave me more than one perspective.

Thanks for stopping by.
Rob

Most of the snow has melted in the lower half of the lower peninsula. What is left is either in heavy shade or the remnants of big piles from the parking lots. Lake Michigan is beginning to thaw, but when that much water freezes, it takes a long time to thaw. I decided to drive out to see how it looks in late March. The first photos are from the beach at Van Buren State Park.

When I left Van Buren State Park, I drove south toward Benton Harbor. Along the way, I stopped at a Roadside Park in Hager Township.

The last stop was the St. Joseph North Pier Lighthouse. I would like to have seen the lighthouses a few weeks ago before the thaw, but I am not sure I could have made it out to see them. There are two lighthouses. I made it to the first one with no problem. As I was walking between the two lighthouses, the piles of snow encroached more and more on the walkway. Even though there was a person at the outer lighthouse I decided to turn around. I did not want to take a chance on going for a swim in the St. Joseph River with all my camera equipment. :-)

Thanks for stopping by.
Rob

Saturday, we went on a cemetery tour at Hillside Cemetery in Delta Township led by two retired archaeologists. They talked about the different types of headstones and the art on those headstones.

We started in the oldest part of the cemetery. The graves went back to the 1860's. Before the Victorian era, cemeteries were not an inviting place. The Victorians began the tradition of garden cemeteries that were landscaped and park-like. It was a place you wanted to go to visit the dearly departed. Also during this time, the headstones became more elaborate and adorned with symbolism of the time.
The first headstone I saw is below. The back has a weeping willow carved into it. The willow was a symbol of sadness or mourning. The front of the stone shows hands clasping. When I have seen these in the past, I thought it was people shaking hands. If you look closely, you can see from the clothing depicted one hand is female and one is male. It appears the male hand is clasping the female hand while the female hand appears limp. This indicates the live husband clasping his dead wife's hand for the final time as she bids farewell to earthly existence.

The photo on the left below shows another example, but in this one, the female hand appears to be clasping the limp male hand. The photo on the right has another hand motif. In this case, the hand is pointing up, toward heaven. The scroll above it says "At Rest." 

I find it sad to see the graves of children in a cemetery. The idea of a parent losing a child is heartbreaking. During the late 19th century, it was not unusual for young children to die. The children's headstones often have a symbol of youth. The stones below are adorned with lambs as a symbol of innocence.

The three stones in the photo below on the left have flowers in various states of bloom. None are fully opened symbolizing the young lives that did not fully mature. 
The photo on the right shows two headstones. The left headstone is another child with a dove motif. The dove is a symbol of peace. The stone on the right is someone who served in the 7th Michigan Cavalry during the Civil War. This headstone was provided by the U.S. government. He probably died after the war, since he was buried at home.

The photos in the gallery below are taller monuments. We were not able to stick around for the full talk, so I can't tell you the meaning of these.

The rest of the photos are headstones I found interesting.

Thanks for stopping by.
Rob

Saturday was a beautiful autumn day in Williamston, Michigan. We were outside enjoying the scenery. Peak color is still at least a week away, but we enjoyed what we saw.

Thanks for stopping by.
Rob

These photos are late getting on the blog, but better late than never I suppose. The annual Saline Celtic Festival took place Saturday July 12. I was there with the Irish Dance Company of Lansing. (Sarah is a dancer, not me.) Between shows, I walked around the festival and took in some of the Celtic culture. It was a fun day! There are some links at the bottom of the page to related websites.

Links
Saline Celtic Festival
Runa
Fiddler's Restrung
Irish Dance Company of Lansing

Thanks for stopping by!
Rob

If you walk through McCormick Park in Williamston, you will find an amazing display of wildflowers planted along the Red Cedar River. They are really beautiful this time of year. 

Thanks for stopping by,
Rob

June 21 is the summer solstice, also known as midsummer. It is the longest day of the year. This year on the Solstice, we were had the opportunity to attend a celebration at the Sanilac Petroglyph or Ezhibiigaadek Asin (written on stone). It was a day of cultural teaching hosted by the Saginaw-Chippewa Indian Tribe. We felt honored to have the privilege of attending. 

The photos did not turn out as well as I had hoped. The petroglyphs were not accessible, so I could not light them the way I would have liked. I had to use a flash and try to fix the photos in Lightroom. The first photo is the only one that turned out well enough to tell what it is. It is a person with a bow.

The next photos are from the ceremonial cleansing. The women pour some cedar water over the stone (Asin). There was also some traditional songs.

On the way out, I could not resist taking a few taking a few photos of the flowers and other flora.

The last few photos were taken about a mile from the Petroglyph site. The vista wit the farm buildings and windmills was really beautiful.

Miigwetch (Ojibwe for Thank you)

Rob

In October last year, we went on a wine tour in Southwest Michigan We decided to take the tour again in the spring. We visited some of the same vineyards and added a couple of new places. It looked a lot different Saturday than it did six months ago. This was a hard winter for the vineyards as well. There were still some nice signs of spring.

Here are links to the wineries we visited.

Tabor Hill Restaurant and Winery - Great wines and a wine education as well

The Round Barn Winery - Not only wines, but fantastic spirits and a terrific place for lunch (try the roasted eggplant sandwich)

12 Corners Vineyards - Lovely wines and some terrific dark chocolate almond bark with sea salt

The Chocolate Garden - No wines, but rich decadent truffles

Contessa Wine Cellars - Beautiful views and vineyards

Thanks for stopping by.
Rob

It's hard to believe it is March 25 and it is still this cold. We had snow this morning, and the low temperature tonight is supposed be 5 degrees Fahrenheit. We are beyond the six more weeks of winter the groundhog predicted. We are somewhere around week eight. 

The good news is the temperatures have been warm enough to melt most of the snow. Of course, the snow melt caused the rivers to rise. From the ice on the bottom of the trees, it looks like the Red Cedar has crested. That left some cool looking ice formations for me to photograph. 

Thanks for stopping by.

Rob

We have had a lot of snow and brutally cold weather this winter. Most people are probably tired of the cold and the snow. I know I am. However, I decided to take the dog for a walk today and look for the beauty in the snow. Here are a few photos.

Thanks for stopping by.

Rob