Well, we're home. I'm housecleaning and catching up on details so the vacation is definitely over.

The official final live count as of departure was 17 deer (1 with a rather large rack, 1 with a small fuzzy rack, and 1 that was almost road kill under my wheel), 1 porcupine, a baby chipmunk and 4 turkey. Rumor has it Madonna and family were sited in Empire.

The celestial count was 6 shooting/falling stars & 1 rainbow. Also the possibility that we saw a bit of Aurora Borealis.

Petoskey stone count? Dunno...gotta dump the buckets to get that count. One of these days I'll crank up the ol tumbler again. Gotta use the 3 pounds of grit I bought at the rock shop. Maybe when I get home from the next vacation I gotta plan, 2 weeks from now.

It was an awesome week at Glen Lake, as usual. Nothing new to report, which is how we like it.

Lake Michigan - Where I come from, the water is brown. Light brown or pale green on a good day. Up here near Glen Arbor, the lake is pristine. The worst day gives you a little algae. The best of days look like this. Clear as clear can be. At a distance it's various hues of blue and green. Gorgeous water, the way it was in the beginning. Photos can not do it justice.

Life changes as time goes by. Used to be that when we were up here we couldn't be reached. As of last year we didn't even get cell phone reception. This year we are able to get not only cell phone reception but also we've latched onto somebody's wi-fi signal. We've all been able to remain current on e-mail and our blogs.

The official live count as of today is 15 deer (1 with a rather large rack and 1 that was almost road kill under my wheel), 1 porcupine, a baby chipmunk and 4 turkey. Rumor has it there was a Madonna with family siting this afternoon in Empire.

The celestial count as of today is 6 shooting/falling stars & 1 rainbow.

Petoskey stone count? Dunno...gotta dump the buckets to get that count.

And the counts continue for another 1.5 days. I'm in no hurry to leave, as usual. I continue to ponder what it would take to become a professional beach bum. Hmmmm.....

Petoskey Stone - sometimes these little treasures just kinda 'wink' at ya when you walk by. Gotta love em.

The official live count as of today is 13 deer, 1 porcupine, a baby chipmunk and 3 turkey.

The celestial count as of today is 6 shooting/falling stars & 1 rainbow.

Petoskey stone count? Dunno...gotta dump the buckets to get that count.

View towards South Manitou Island from Glen Haven Beach.

Tis a lovely Monday. Thundershowers in the AM followed by warm sunshine and beautiful rock hunting conditions, excluding the annoyance of biting flies. 2 full buckets of assorted Lake Michigan stones, oodles of which are the elusive Petoskey. And I've still got 4.5 days to go. I need more buckets......

The official live count as of today is 13 deer, 1 porcupine and a baby chipmunk. I'm not allowed to count the 2 dead porcupine. Say's who!?!

Long time no talk to....

Did you know there is a cactus that grows in Michigan? I was amazed to find this growing at the Saugatuck Dunes State Park. This is what it looked like last weekend. Today, it is shrivled, with flowers faded and gone.

Prickly Pear