Reflections

When I need to be alone, I often hike a trail that follows a wooded ridge above Lake Michigan. Usually I go with some purpose in mind.

Glenn Wolff and I got lost on the Crystal River. That isn’t easy to do. The Crystal, in Leelanau County, is one of Michigan’s prettiest rivers but it flows only six miles from Big Glen Lake to Lake Michigan.

Rising Great Lakes waters are causing havoc once again.

Morels usually start popping in early April around here, but the big white ones don’t show up until about the first of May.

A friend was telling me about a rustic lakefront cabin that two generations of his family have rented every summer since 1950. That struck me as a fine tradition, so I asked what he liked best about it. Without hesitation, he said, “Making memories, of course.”

In the morning, we woke to a new world. The storm had filled the driveway with waist-high drifts, and the road beyond was unplowed and impassable. Schools were closed, of course. It appeared that nobody was going to work, either.

Twice I’ve been approached by people I didn’t know… who confessed shyly and with kind intentions that they had uprooted their families and moved to northern Michigan because I had written so glowingly about the place in my books.

As the days grow shorter, our urge to get out and explore grows.

When we were about 10 and 8 years old, my brother and I built a trail through the woods.

Birding, mushroom hunting offer memorable experiences.