Living The Dream

We saw him this morning around 9:15am. He was a full grown shiny black bear under the sunflower bird feeder, or what was left of it. We sat out on the deck and just watched him for about 20 minutes. I was hoping he would get a little closer for a better photo, but then, had he turned and came toward us, I probably would have ran into the house. He was huge!

Living The Dream

The field is knee to thigh high and needs to be cut. We will use the brush hog on it next week and again in the fall around Labor Day. The birds should be done nesting there by next week. The added nitrogen will improve the nutrients in the soil and the mowing will prevent the woods from encroaching. We have decided to mow and fertilize the field rather than to plant food plots for the deer. We already had the open area (about 4 acres) and the deer are frequenting it every evening and morning so it seems to be working. We also have a clover field (about 1 acre) but the deer like both fields equally.

The bear was in last night again. We had set up the trail cam to catch a photo, but for some reason there were no photos on the card. It figures! I have seen this black bear in my yard once this Spring and could not get a photo because I had left my camera at my daughters that week. It looks like he got away again. He loves the sunflower seeds so he will be back! We have a couple turkeys that keep hanging around the house. I haven't seen any young ones though so I am not sure they have a brood. I have found some broken egg shells in the weeds and wondered if the coyotes got them. Those coyotes have got to go.

We cleared a wooded area near the barn today. I want to put a child swing in one of the jack pines there. First we had to cut down some large popplars that were growing between the pines and too close to the barn for comfort. It was so hot that we decided just to pull them into the weeds to be cut up as fire wood later in the year. We still have some clearing to do with the weeds and all, but we should have the swing up for the grand daughter by the end of the week.

It was simply another gorgeous day today. Rained at night, sunshine all day long. It is always cooler in the mornings and evenings. It is the perfect time of day to sit out on the deck. In the morning I like to have my coffee there and in the evening, I like to watch the sunset and feel the warm breeze on my skin. I am usually barefoot and feel like a child again -- happy and free.

Northern Michigan is the retirement dream of many of those who spent their working years in the south of the state; Flint, Detroit or Saginaw areas. It is beautiful up here. Rolling hills, tall pines, oaks and maples cover the earth, lakes and rivers carve their way through the valleys. But we came for more than that. We came for the stars, actually the full constellations that light the sky on a brisk fall night, we came to see the baby fawns romping with their mothers, for a chance glimpse of a black bear, a red fox or a couple of balds eagles conspiring on a tree branch, perched high above a flock of turkeys. Most of all though -- we came for the quiet. We found it here in the north country. Where we are now--Living the Dream! You can find us at the end of a dead end dirt road. The house is located in a field of wild flowers surrounded by 80 acres of tall pines, maples, aspen, spruce and oaks. We came over a year ago and we never want to go back!