A Lilac a Day, Day Seventeen

You can't avoid seeing lilacs on Mackinac Island this time of year. They are literally everywhere!

A Lilac a Day, Day Sixteen

It's hard to be grouchy walking past a lilac bush in full bloom! 

A Lilac a Day, Day Fifteen

My neighbor's lilac trees are so heavy with flowers, the branches can't hold the blossoms up!

A Lilac a Day, Day Fourteen

We've reached the point where, sometimes when you're out and about, the smell of lilac just hits you as you're riding down the street.

A Lilac a Day, Day Thirteen

This year quite a few of the Island's businesses upped their lilac game. There is some super cute lilac merch for sale this season.

A Lilac a Day, Day Twelve

These white laced lilacs grow around the State Park sign on Doud's Corner (the corner of Fort and Main.) They don't have a strong scent, but they sure are pretty.

A Lilac A Day., Day Eleven

These lilacs on the East Bluff looked just beautiful as I walked home last night.

A Lilac a Day, Day Ten

This year I've noticed just how much better the lilac trees in full sun look than the more shaded trees. The full sun trees definitely have more blossoms.

A Lilac a Day, Day Nine

 Each day the Island seems a little busier...

I'm Going to Sleep Well Tonight

Between walking to and from work, and spending the day cleaning a four story home on the island, I climbed sixty-six floors today and walked a little over 10 miles. I don't expect any issues falling asleep tonight! 

A Lilac a Day, Day Eight

I'm always surprised at how the colors of the lilac flowers change as the buds open.

A Lilac a Day, Day Seven

The Island just keeps getting prettier... 

A Lilac a Day, Day Six

I know the rules of professional photography tell you not to shoot right into the sun, but I love this picture.

Happy

I know Fort Holmes doesn't look very happy, but he's actually thrilled that today is the last day of school on Mackinac Island. For me, summer begins today at 3:00 pm, and I'm ready - so ready. Please understand, I'm not bad mouthing my students or their parents; teaching is just emotionally tiring, especially during the last month. I'm ready for summer break so I can recharge my batteries.

Not a Lilac, but Still Gorgeous

One of the loveliest thing about spring on Mackinac is the trillium. They grow wild all through the State Park and, if you're lucky, they just might pop up in your garden. (I somehow managed to get three!)

A Lilac a Day, Day Five

We are finally having some spring-like weather in Northern Michigan. I think the lilacs like it.

A Lilac a Day, Day Four

This clump of lilacs grows between the school and Cadotte Avenue.

 

A Lilac a Day, Day Three

Every day they get a little bigger, and then, "Pop," they start to open.  

A Lilac a Day, Day Two

I was worried the lilacs were going to be really late this year, but they're not too far behind last year. Maybe they just feel late because it's been such a cold spring. 

A Lilac a Day, Day One

The lilacs may be a wee bit behind last year, but they're starting to wake up...

I Told You

Remember I told you spring comes late to northern Michigan? I wasn't kidding. This is what most of the trees and shrubs on the island look like. They're all just starting to leaf out.

Finally

The tulips in my garden have finally opened; they opened on May 25th. Spring in the UP is generally late, but this year it was exceptionally late. This winter just held on, and on, and on. 

Our spring hits so late, out plant date is Memorial Day. Usually, I can get away with planting things a couple of weeks early, but not this year.  This year, we had multiple frosts the week right before Memorial Day. 

Spring!

We are finally getting flowers blooming on Mackinac! Planted in the ground flowers, not ones that were started in a greenhouse and transplanted. Mine don't get quite as much sun as the tulips at Grand Hotel, so mine aren't quite this far along. Flowers always put me in a good mood so I'm glad I get to see these every morning on my walk to school...

Good Morning

Not much beats a freighter tooting "Good Morning," just as you arrive at work. I love where I live!

Waiting for Spring

Today is May 13th, and Mackinac Island still has snow. It's not everywhere - mostly in shaded spots in the woods, but it's still there. 

It really hasn't felt like spring much up here; it's been cold! I have yet to wear capris, let alone shorts. And none of my flowers have bloomed yet. You read that right - I don't even have tulips yet!

Teacher Appreciation

This past week was Teacher Appreciation Week. Each day we were treated to something special - including these beautiful flowers, courtesy of  Grand Hotel.

On Friday, one of my sixth graders brought me this hilarious set of pens. I have no idea where they found them, but I love them!

Teaching can be a thankless job, but the Mackinac Island community pulled out all the stops this year. We all felt very appreciated!

Happy Worm Day

 Happy Worm Day 2026!

This year's Worm Day is the latest since I've been keeping track, but it's a day to celebrate none the less.

 The first day we find huge numbers of worms on the pavement after a rain means spring is here!

Not Funny

Mackinac Island awoke to snow this morning.  Not funny Mother Nature, not funny.

Wet

Mackinac has had a wet spring. Not wet as in lots of rain, but wet as in the heavy snow pack has melted. Now the ground is saturated with all that water and it's finding its way into places people don't want it- like basements. One spot on the island is so badly flooded, that these pumps have been running, round the clock, for several days now. 

Busy!

March and April were busy months for me. I signed on to be the lead costumer for the Mackinac Island Community Theater's production of Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. It was a ton of work but it was all worth it when the sets, the costumes, the performers, and the music came together on opening night. It really was a treat to be part of this show!

Classic Mackinac

The other day when I said we got "a few" groceries, I may not have clearly explained how many groceries we actually picked up. We hadn't left the Island in months, so our cupboards were bare - quite bare. Everything on that cart is ours. (You can't see it in the pictures, the everything on that cart is labeled with our name.)

As is typical on Mackinac Island, we asked the dray to haul our groceries to the house. (We live about a mile from the dock, up hill.) Using the dray service is fairly cheap and everything is usually up to the house in a couple of hours. That was the case the other day. Except...

When we started to unpack we discovered one bag, the denim blue cooler in the top right of the picture, wasn't ours. It looked identical to ours, but didn't have our name on it. Someone had inadvertently taken our cooler and left theirs on the cart with all of our stuff. Since the entire cart was ours, the dray driver  assumed the cooler was ours too, and delivered it. It looked just like ours so, at first, we didn't even realize there had been a mistake. Once we discovered it, we weren't super worried. Our cooler had our name on it, so we knew we'd get it back. We also knew the owners of the other cooler would be concerned; their bag was full of high-end cuts of meat.

After an hour or so when we still hadn't heard anything, I posted a photo of the cooler in the Mackinac Island Residents Facebook group. I hoped someone would see it, realize their mistake, and call me. Nope.

After another hour, I decided to call one of the police officers, just to let them know the pricy meat was safe and that we would happily return it to whoever it belonged to. Luckily, he decided to pop down to the dock were he met a very worried man returning our cooler which he accidently took because it looked like his. (He didn't notice our name until he was ready to unpack it.) Small towns being what they are, about 15 minutes later the police came up to the house, swapped the coolers and everyone got busy happily putting away their items. 

Later that night I did get a message from a parent who had seen my Facebook post and given my phone number to the owner of the unlabeled cooler. The Police Chief just beat them to the punch and got everything moving in the right direction before they cold get ahold of me. 

Hopefully the new island family learned a few valuable lessons about island life from their experience:

1. Label everything with your name and phone number. It makes getting things back easier in the rare occasion of a mistake.
2. Check to make sure what you take from the dock is yours. Refer to #1.
3. Whether or not you appreciate Facebook, the Mackinac Island Residents page can be a very useful tool.
4. Mackinac Island people are honorable. Things might get "misplaced" for a while, but things are almost never "stolen."

Boats!

The boats started running yesterday - hooray!

Allen and I were lamenting not being able to get to the mainland to see Project Hail Mary in the theater and then, surprise - the boats started up again. We were thrilled! We both read the book and had been really looking forward to the movie. Living on Mackinac Island makes seeing movies a bit of a challenge. We often have to wait for them to stream, but this was one of those movies we knew would be better on the big screen.

I was super worried they would change many of the parts of the book I loved, but thankfully the film remained pretty darn true to the book. There were changes of course, but not so many or so large as to ruin it. (I'm sadly remembering the film version of Ready Player One here.) It would have been better as an eight-part miniseries, but overall I enjoyed it. And, because we had boats, we were able to pop over for the night, see my mom, pick up some much needed groceries, and catch the movie. 

If you are a sci-fi fan, a science nerd, or a science teacher I highly recommend the book!

Happy Easter

Easter tends to be pretty quiet at my house - TV, baking, that kind of thing. This year I made these cute little cookies for us to munch on. Let me tell you - I am in love with rolled buttercream. It looks like fondant, tastes like buttercream frosting, and it's easy. The only caveat is you need to have something to mold it with (think cookie molds or embossed rolling pins.) My family does not appreciate the flavor and texture of royal icing, so discovering this has been wonderful. Plus I have a gazillion cookie molds, so I was good to go.

We celebrated today with some cure bunnies for Easter and suns for spring; 'cuz everyone on Mackinac Island is ready for sunny weather!

Spring Break 2026

It hit 50 degrees (about 10 C) on Mackinac this weekend. It was so nice outside, Allen and I spent some time on the front porch enjoying the sunshine. We often don't travel over spring break - it's city 'budget season' and the weather is often iffy for flying. So, I'll be content with a wee bit of sun...

Still Piled High

At first glance, this picture might not look very interesting. But, if you give it a second look you may notice that when I took the picture, I was standing on top of the snow - snow that was at the same level as the chair seat on top of my mom's porch.  You're looking at about six feet (almost 2 meters) of snow; and that's after a week of warm-ish weather in which we've lost some. That's how much snow that storm left on Mackinac!

Arch Rock, 1909

This 1909 postcard says, "As usual we saw some old friends of J.  -Nellie" Apparently J's friends weren't much to write home about. 

I'm having fun looking at all these old cards. They contain a lot more information than I originally thought. Today I learned the Pasadena was an expensive apartment building on Nineteenth Street in Toledo, Ohio. It's since been torn down, but in its day it was quite modern - having both elevators and steam heat.

Snowmageddon '26

Did we get snow in March 2026's snowstorm? Why yes, yes we did. Mackinac Island got a shit-ton of snow. Those are my classroom windows on Monday morning. (School was cancelled, but two teachers live right behind the building and went in to take pictures.)

We easily surpassed two feet (over 60 cm) of snow in this weekend's blizzard, and the wind caused huge drifts.  Luckily Mackinac didn't get any of the ice build up they were expecting, nor did we lose power.

I wasn't able to catch Allen before he started digging out the snowmobiles, but they really need to be on top of the snow to work right. It took us quite a while to get them all dug out and ready to use - not to mention cutting into the bank left behind by the snow plow. Thankfully, the neighbors came over to lend a hand.

Folks also came down to the school to help. Numerous volunteers helped dig us out so we could go back today! This morning I had beautiful sunlight streaming in my windows and clear paths of egress in case of emergency. Definitely a storm for the history books. I can't remember another time we got that much snow in such a short time.

No Garage - No Problem

Most houses on Mackinac Island don't have garages. Many people have storage sheds, or all-weather storage tents like this one to store lawn mowers and things like that. During the summer months, snowmobiles are generally up on palates and tarped in behind or next to houses, but in the winter scenes like this one are very common. Without garages, we all just park our snowmobiles in the yard. It's not like getting snowed on is going to hurt them. 

It's another way you can tell a local snowmobile from  tourist machine - many of ours have cracks in the fabric covered seat cushions from sitting outside winter after winter. We also tend not to ride our snowmobiles all that much. That blue machine above is a 1999, and it's only been driven 2500 miles (about 4,000 km). On a typical day, I ride it one mile (about 1.5 km) to school and a mile home - that's it.

Mrs. Fix-It

My husband sometimes teases me about keeping a sewing machine in my classroom at school. It's been there since 2017 so I can make the bumpers for the high school robotics team, but every now and then it comes in handy for other jobs. 

This week I had a student rip his coat while playing at recess - we're talking a huge, ten-inch long tear right down the front of his jacket. With his permission, I was able to patch it with some ribbon we had leftover from a sewing project we did earlier this year.

To me it was far from perfect, but when my student saw his coat hanging in his locker, he smiled and said, "You can't even see where you fixed it! Thank you!" 

It was a little thing to me - took all of about 20 minutes of my planning time, but it seemed to mean the world to him. Over the years I've learned, sometimes it's those little things we do as teachers that mean the most to our students.

Stranded

Last week we had a just awful weather. It was either foggy, snowy, rainy, or a combination of the three. None of which are good for flying or crossing the ice bridge, so numerous people got stranded; some in St. Ignace wanting to get home, while others were on the island wanting to leave. I was glad both of my kids managed to fly home before the fog hit.

The occasional plane was able to take off, but not often enough to make a dent in the seventy plus people waiting to get back to Mackinac. Some of them had to wait six days - SIX DAYS before the weather improved enough for regular flights to resume. I was stuck on the mainland once, for three days, and I thought that was bad.

Getting stuck is one of the risks you take when you live on Mackinac Island. This time of year, if I leave the island, I always have extra undies, a toothbrush and several days of medication in my backpack - just to be safe. You never know when Mother Nature will decide to hamper your travel plans.

The first picture is of one of the planes bringing people home after that week of not flying. The tiny speck, inside the circle, is one of the planes that shuttle people, mail, and freight to and from Mackinac during the winter.  This year, a round trip flight is $118.00. The first 50 pounds of freight is free, but it's $0.50 per pound after that. You can see why the ice bridge is so appealing - no freight charges and no schedule!

Crayons

"Crayon." It's a term we locals use for the tourists who cross the ice, sometimes just assuming it's safe because they saw a video on YouTube, in droves once word gets out that the Straits have frozen over.  Often their colorful, branded gear matches their snowmobile - hence the name "Crayon." You can usually spot the locals by our mismatched, non-snowmobile specific gear, and our scratched up helmets. Hauling kids or supplies in a sled behind the machine? Definitely a local. Our snowmobiles are like our cars - we use them on a daily basis to get to and from work, to take kids to school, and haul trash out to the dump. Crayons often have special gear they only use for recreational snowmobiling. 

When I say "droves," I mean it. This was the pool table at the Mustang during lunch today. (We had a half day of school so a fellow teacher and I went out for lunch.)  This was Astor St, looking up the street from the Mustang door,

and this was looking down the street in the other direction. 

I do not mean to insult them! I promise I explained the lovely folks in the first picture why I wanted to photograph them. Tourists are great for business, but they do make getting a table as a local a bit challenging.