Here Fishy Fishy Fishy

If you happen to be in Northern Michigan this summer and have little ones with you, you should stop at the Michigan Fisheries Welcome Center. It is one of our favorite places to spend an afternoon. (And we really do hear people trying to call in fish by saying, "Here fishy fishy fishy.") If you do stop, be sure to bring a pocket full of dimes and a lunch bag. The dimes are for buying fish food from the "candy" machine and the bag is to hold said food preventing your hands from absorbing the wonderful fishy smell and then reminding you of it for the remainder of the day. (Just trust me on that one, OK.) You might want to bring a picnic lunch, too.

Just a short walk from the Welcome Center are several ponds stocked with various species of trout ready to gobble up whatever is food is offered. Sometimes they get a little aggressive with one another. Look at that first picture again. That splash was made by Mr. Bigger Fish racing to get to the food before Mr. Smaller Fish got there. You should have heard the kids giggling and seen the looks on their faces - it was priceless. I love seeing the wonder in their eyes when we do things like this; it's one of my favorite parts about being a parent.

Whenever we drive to see Grandpa in Petoskey (Grandma is still in Egypt) S and K always ask, "Can we feed the fish?" Since we have to drive right by we often do stop. On our most recent visit, Papa had secretly brought what seemed like a never-ending supply of dimes. Which was a good thing because S wanted to throw handfuls of food. K, on the other hand, was content throwing in one nugget at a time. Unlike last summer, she didn't ask to swim with the fish once. I was shocked - she is my little water baby. I think she would live in the water if we let her.

Daily tours are available of the actual hatchery buildings, but we are saving that for when the kids are older. You can't do everything when you're only three and four...

They Were Everywhere!

Being the geeky science person that I am, I really enjoy a good bug. I like watching them, taking pictures of them, catching them, and showing them to to S and K. But not when they are literally everywhere!

There were so many of them flying around while I was trying to get a picture, I had to hold the neck of my jammies tight so they couldn't fly in (after getting one up my sleeve - yuck!) My dad said they were June Bugs and that they are quite common. I've lived in Michigan my entire life and I can't ever remember seeing a swarm of them!

There were trout everywhere too... We stopped at the fish hatchery on the way home from my parent's house on Sunday to feed the fish. As always, the kids loved it... well most of it. About every three minutes K said, "I go swimmin." She just didn't understand why she just couldn't jump right in with the fish.

We made it back to the island just in time to enjoy the rain... Not that I am complaining mind you - my gardens love the rain!

Strolling

One of our favorite places to wander is the Oden State Fish Hatchery, near Petoskey, Michigan. It's usually a fairly quiet place, but on rainy fall days it's often deserted. It used to be the perfect place to stop and give the kids a chance to stretch their legs and feed the fish.

Now that they're older it's still a perfect place to soak up some of Northern Michigan's fall colors. I say "they're," but with one away at college, only one of the kids was with us. Next fall it will just be my husband and me. Which is how it should be, but it tugs a little at my heart strings to think about having an empty nest...

Even in the rain, Northern Michigan in the fall is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. 

We spent an hour wandering together quietly enjoying the smell of wet leaves, the sound of the rain and the beauty of autumn.

Update

Remember all those tulips?

They've exploded into a wash of glorious color.

I love spring... Though I would love it more if I was healthy. I've been to the doctor twice now due to this "crud," and I'm currently nursing two infected ears and an awful cough. But the silver lining is yesterday was my last day of school and I can stay home and take it easy every day from now until September eighth. That is exactly 101 days of summer.

However shall I fill it all? Why spending time with my children, of course. We'll go on a road trip to Indiana, camping, to the fish hatchery, to the Butterfly House, on about a million walks through the woods and to the park, we'll walk picnic lunches down to Papa at work, get baked goodies at Martha's, throw rocks into the lake, pick raspberries, weed the garden, draw on the road with chalk, and spend lots of time at the library. Even if I am still a wee bit sick, I plan to relish every minute - all 145,440 of them...