"Last Nights Gathering....."

Don and I were invited to an annual summer party, hosted by PK, whom we met at a party we attended on Fathers Day. It is held at his summer home, located northwest of Honor, MI. It is a somewhat "unusual" summer home, to say the least. It sits next to a pond, which I "think" is manmade, although I am not sure about that.

PK has a beautiful garden next to the house, which he has to protect from the deer with electric fencing, which thankfully, was turned off for the party so we could wander amongst the flowers. :)

Don on the left, PK on the right, with a young man in the middle, whom I did not meet.

Here is a view of the lake......

I met and chatted with several very nice people, plus got to catch up with a few of our neighbors who were also in attendance. A nice time was had by all. :)

"Another Day of Sightseeing....."

On Sunday, after our leisurely spent morning, we finally headed out to show Penny and Sheila some of Leelanau Peninsula, stopping first, at Leland/Fishtown.

After some time spent in Fishtown and checking out the boats at the marina, we then drove to Glen Arbor where we stopped for a delicious cup of coffee at Leelanau Coffee Roasting Company (http://www.coffeeguys.com). Leaving Glen Arbor, we drove to Empire, then backtracked to Pierce Stocking Drive, which is one of the main scenic drives at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park.

This was taken at the first "scenic overlook", which overlooks Glen Lake.

Although Don is usually the photographer, and I am in quite a few photos, I usually avoid adding any with me in them because it is me writing the blog posts, but once in awhile, I do include one or two with me in them, too. ;)

At our next stop, the "scenic overlook platform" faces north, giving a very wide panoramic view towards the west, north, and east.

Our final "scenic overlook platform" hangs out directly over Lake Michigan, giving us a truly breathtaking view of the lakeshore. Although slightly hazy, we could still see for miles and miles...

Here I am, using the stationary binoculars to check out a couple of sailboats.

A kind woman offered to take a photo of all of us together.

A nice photo (in my opinion) of Sheila and me making our way back towards the parking area.

We "think" this may be a new sign this year as neither Don, nor I, remember seeing it last fall when we were there. During our visit, I found it interesting to watch several people coming back up the sand dune, who had gone down to the Lake and were "slowly" making headway coming back up. The key word here is "slowly". Most, if not all of those who went down, looked to be young and fit. Even so, their climb up was done in many, many increments......most of which were only a few yards (sometimes only mere feet!) at a time before they needed to stop and rest. It truly is an arduous  climb. All, I'm sure, slept very well that night. ;)

"The Honeymooners!"

Good friends, Penny and Sheila, are visiting us from Madison, WI. They are, in fact, spending part of their honeymoon with us, as they were able to get married soon after the Supreme Courts ruling a few weeks ago. They actually got married on the day of their 26th anniversary of being together!

They arrived on Friday and we spent that afternoon/evening basically catching up, but yesterday, we drove into Traverse City for the annual Cherry Festival Parade!

We were lucky enough to be able to sit in the same spot where Don and I have watched the parade the last 2 years.......close to the street and IN THE SHADE!  :)

After the parade (which had 150 entries this year!), we drove out to Light of Day Organic Tea Farm (https://lightofdayorganics.com). We did a little walking around their grounds before going into the shop, and of course, took a "few" photos.  ;)

This morning has been a much more relaxed day for "getting going". We sat out in our screen room with coffee, chatting up a storm (anyone who knows any of us understands how easy it is for that to happen), until I came in and put together a simple breakfast. After breakfast, we all sort of separated and did "our own thing". I did some watering of potted plants outside, Penny went for a long walk through the woods, Don was constructive and assembled my new laptop/iPad table for my Lazy Boy, and Sheila caught "another 40 winks". What happens this afternoon is yet up for grabs.  :)

"The Chicken Whisperer......"

Part of Dons routine in the morning, and also various times during the day, is to go into the chicken run and "bond" with the girls. He is my "Chicken Whisperer"! I went out this morning but had just missed one of them on his shoulder.....but I do have one from a couple of weeks ago. :)

This photo begins this mornings photo session. :) Yesterday, I managed to find a few "left over/picked over" impatiens that I repotted and set along the front side of the coop/run. Hopefully, with some TLC they will thrive.

It will be interesting to see how many of the girls continue this practice of perching on him as they grow and become "larger". :)