Happy Worm Day

Happy Worm Day, 2025! 

A little later than usual,

but still a sure sign of spring.

Good Morning

I love walking to school in the wee hours of the morning. No one else is out and about and it's just me and my thoughts. There's just something about being up before the sun; something special about seeing it rise while virtually everyone else is still asleep. It is the perfect way to start the day.

I'm Crying Over Here

OK, I might not be literally crying, but I am sad about Joanns* closing. I sew and craft often, and I'm not really sure where I can shop instead. Other than Hobby Lobby (of which I am not a fan) there are no other options even remotely close to me. I don't mind getting some things via mail order, but fabric quality varies widely and I like to feel it before I buy it. Is anyone familiar with any mail order fabric shops that sell quality fabric? If you know of one, please share!

*It's a Michigan thing. We have a tendency to add an "s" to the end of store names. Kroger becomes Krogers, Meijer becomes Meijers - my mom even calls Costco Costcos, (which does sound odd to me.) It's weird, but for some reason it's what Michiganders do, and it drives my Hoosier-husband crazy.

Ice Storm!

I'm sorry it has taken me so long to share these pictures, but we've been busy cleaning up after the ice storm. (We have to get all of our broken branches and trees put out by the road by April 20. Starting on the 21st, the people hired by the city are coming through with a woodchipper to get rid of all of it.)

Thankfully Mackinac is in pretty good shape!

As you can see, a lot of ice built up during the storm causing numerous trees to fall and knocking out power to much of northern Michigan - including Mackinac Island. All night long it sounded like a warzone. We heard near-constant popping, bullet-like sounds as small branches broke off the trees all around us. Every few minutes there were loud cracking noises as larger trees broke under the weight of the ice and collapsed. It sounded like buildings disintegrating as the trees, encased in ice, snapped and tumbled to the ground. We have a number of large trees growing around our house, so at any moment one of them could have hit us. Neither Allen or I slept very well that night.

By morning, the ice covered everything,

and I mean everything; an inch thick in some places.

Allen and I were very lucky. 

  

A large branch took out the corner of our chicken yard, but the house came through unscathed and the chickens were fine, too.) We lost lots of smaller branches, but nothing bigger around than my thigh.

Many of our neighbors weren't so lucky. 

All in all, Mackinac Island fared pretty well. We did lose power, but only for a few days. (I have friends in Petoskey and Gaylord who were out for over a week.) Our fire, police, and state park staff were out constantly cutting trees to keep the roads open for emergency vehicles, and the boat line even ran a special boat to get the electric linemen and women over to the island. 

The city opened the Mackinac Island Community Hall as a warming center and charging station for anyone who needed it. Allen kept us going at home by breaking out the camp stove so I could have a hot cup of coffee every morning. The house got a little chilly - I think it got down to about 57 (about 14 C,) but we managed. We crawled under my mom's house and shut her water off, just to be safe.

School was cancelled on Monday and Tuesday due to a lack of power at the school, and again on Wednesday due to safety concerns over students traveling on ice-covered roads. In my 32 years of teaching on Mackinac Island, we've never cancelled three days in a row! But we've also not had a storm like this in my years here.

The days after the storm were beautiful, with bright sunny skies. The ice sparkled like crystals in the trees. When the wind blew, it cracked and shattered, and then clinked to the ground like cacophony of  shattering glass. It was an eerily beautiful sound. 

Thank you to everyone who has reached out to see how we're doing. Mackinac is recovering. This summer the lilacs probably won't be as spectacular as in years past, but they are hard to kill. (Allen refers to them as the zombies of the plant world.) In a year or two, they be as beautiful as ever. We're cleaning up, and the island will be open for business as usual this summer.

 

Happy Spring

First day of spring you say?

Thankfully, Mackinac is beautiful

in any season.

Mama Mia!

It's a good thing I'm in pretty decent shape. When I signed on to be in the chorus for the Mackinac Island Community Theater's production of Mama Mia, I didn't know quite what I was getting myself into. There's a lot of dancing.

And singing. 

And singing and choreographed dancing at the same time. Which is harder than it looks.

But we are all having an amazing time and I am loving every minute of it!

Tonight

Tonight was one of those perfect Mackinac nights. After tonight's rehearsals for Mama Mia, a few of us were waiting for our police transport home*. As we waited we were treated to the most beautiful sunset.

The three of us just stood there in awe as the sun dipped below the horizon, and the sky seemed to glow like a burning ember.  It was so still and quiet, we could hear the traffic driving across the Mackinac Bridge. 

*During the winter months, seniors and folks with medical need can get rides in the police car to and from community events.

The Great Lakers

Robotics competitions are a school-wide affair on Mackinac Island. When it is time for The Great Lakers (A.K.A. team 5878) to compete, everything stops so we can cheer for the home team. This year they competed at events at Kettering University and Wayne State, and while they didn't bring home a trophy they were ranked high enough at the Wayne State event to lead an alliance in the finals. 

No Complaints

"Snow" days are virtually unheard of on Mackinac Island, but we do occasionally get "ice" days. After a night of rain, some of the Island's roads were glare ice, so there's no school today. The only thing that would have made this message better would have been getting it before I arrived at school. LOL. 

Being the find-the-silver-lining kind of person that I am, I used the morning to prep and copy things for next week, grade papers, and input grades into my gradebook. And, I was home before the Noon Whistle blew. Now, I get the rest of the day off - lucky me!

Mackinac Moment: Sunset Flight

My husband and I had doctor's appointments last week, and since the boats aren't running we had to fly to the mainland for our appointments. We were treated to a lovely sunset on our 5:45 pm flight to St. Ignace.

Fresh Air Aviation has several planes they use to "ferry" people across the Straits of Mackinac. The one we rode last week can carry seven passengers and their belongings. A round trip ticket is $108 for adults and that entitles the rider to 40 pounds (about 18 kg) of freight. If you have more to bring over, the additional weight costs $0.40 per pound. (That's why I stock up on chicken feed before the boats quit running.)

The flight takes less than five minutes and is a breeze. The only hitch can be the weather since the plane can't navigate in the fog or land on icy runways. This time of year we have to be flexible and be willing to change our plans if the planes aren't flying.

My Boss

A certain someone, who shall remain nameless, doesn't think tonight is a good night for me to be sewing mitten linings. I have been instructed to give her copious amounts of attention instead. Normal mitten might resume tomorrow, if she allows it, but we'll have to wait and see...

"Spring" Thaw

March is not spring on Mackinac Island - it is still very much winter. That said, we do often get a few warm days this time of year. Usually it lasts just long enough to melt the snow, making riding our snowmobiles a challenge. And while most of the adults are annoyed, the kids love the opportunity to play with good packing snow (which is somewhat of a rarity here since it's usually just too cold.) Several of my students were so proud of today's recess creation, that they asked me to take a picture of  it. Meet their new friend - "Fred."

Found

When I was wandering down on the shore the other day, I discovered this little guy guarding the beach. He was tucked behind some bushes and not visible from the street, so I was surprised to find him. Sadly, he's probably just a pile of mush now - it's been in the high thirties since Saturday. 

Wandering

We've had some sun lately, so I went exploring down on the beach near the school. Don't worry, I didn't venture out onto the ice.

While it was quite cold walking along the shore, everywhere I looked I found beauty. Just one of the little bonuses of living on Mackinac.

Here We Go Again

Once again I'm taking part in Mackinac's spring musical, which this year is Mama Mia! I was thinking about trying out for ta speaking part, but after my mom fell and broke her shoulder (more on that soon) and the looming likely hood of a shoulder replacement in March or April, I didn't feel I should go out for a big part. Luckily, I am quite content to sing my heart out in the background.

Out and About

Today was a beautiful sunny day so Allen and I decided to take the dog for a walk. It's not our dog - she belongs to my mom, who is heading to Australia tomorrow. So the dog is ours for the next month.

I'm not sure who enjoyed spending some time outside more - Allen & I or Wrenn. 

Gas Prices

Lots of people wonder about where we get gasoline for our snowmobiles on Mackinac Island. We buy it, just like you do on the mainland;  except we buy it at the hardware store instead of the gas station. We also only have two choices: gasoline or diesel, the latter of which I have personally never purchased on the island. 

I filled up my tank the other day and got 4.5 gallons (about 17 liters) for $32.80. Yep - this winter, gas on Mackinac costs $7.30 per gallon. Gas is definitely cheaper on the mainland;  I was in Petoskey earlier this week and paid $3.09 per gallon to fill up the car. 

More Ponderings

Are there ever things in your life that bother you, but don't seem to bother anyone else? I mean something that reaches out and grabs your attention while other people barely even notice? This happened to me recently and it got me wondering if other people ever have similar experiences. 

My son loved playing with Lego, and me being the hoarder I am, I couldn't bear to part with the giant tub of Lego we have in the basement. (You know - grandchildren.) Not too long ago, we hauled the tub up from the basement for some visiting kids to play with, and I noticed something:

My son had taken all the little people apart! Almost none of the Minifigs (as they are officially called) were complete; their heads, hair, torsos, legs, and arms were scattered throughout the tub. And it drove me crazy. And not a little crazy - it really bothered me knowing all the Minifigs were incomplete. Like, I couldn't fathom putting the Legos away without making sure the people were all in one piece!

So while the visitors were building, I sorted. And I sorted and sorted some more! I made sure to find each and every little piece (and those hands are tiny.) This week I finally had a few extra hours so I started by making piles: heads, hands, torsos, legs, hats and hair; and then I did my best to reconstruct them. They're not all perfect - I'm sure I mixed up quite a few of the pieces, but that little itch gnawing at the back of my head was gone because the Minifigs were whole again!

It didn't bother my kids or my husband in the slightest; they weren't even mildly irritated by the sorry state of the poor little Minifigs - but it drove me bonkers! So I wonder if it bothering me so much that I needed to put them back together is, well, just a tiny bit odd. Or even, quite a bit odd. 

If it is, tell me - I won't be offended, I am asking after all.

Good Morning

I'm thinking it's going to be an inside-recess kind of day.

(77295 is the Mackinac Bridge Authority and 41411 is Arnold Transit - the ferry boat company.)

Late

My Christmas cactus is late this year. It's in the same spot it's always been, but for some reason it's just starting to get buds. I'll have to do some research; perhaps it's time to repot or prune.