All traffic had to exit here. There had been a fatal crash involving a motorcyle. So we had plenty of time to call Aunt Mary and tell her our new ETA and call Glen and plan a possible detour.
All traffic had to exit here. There had been a fatal
crash involving a motorcyle. So we had plenty of time to
call Aunt Mary and tell her our new ETA and call Glen and
plan a possible detour.
There were big smiles (magnified by Alan and hand position
by Roger) when we finally arrived.
We still had daylight left for a picnic by the pond.
Doing the dishes was actually fun.
The kids argued over rights to the empty bottles. Roger
got this one. Fortunately, we had a couple to dispose of.
After dinner, we all piled on the golf cart and took a wild
ride through the woods. Aunt Mary drives a mean golf cart!
And she has 40 acres through which to take guests.
Later, Kitty drove over from Madison, having won a battle against the flu or
something.
We slept in the Guest Suite downstairs.
Kitty made blueberry pancakes for breakfast. We had
home-made maple syrup to go with them. Aunt Mary has tapped
her sugar maples in the early spring, collected the rising
sap, and boiled it down by a factor of 40 to make the syrup.
Kitty spotted a tiny frog (toad?) in the grass and showed
Alan how to breathe carbon dioxide on it to stupefy it for a
moment.
Jenny took the approach of holding on to one.
We spent the morning riding and walking around the
yard and woods.
The far boat is the kayak that my father built long before
he got married. He took it out on Michigan rivers and even
Aunt Mary's pond.
This bridge crosses the creek and leads to the wooded area.
The campsite in the back woods.
The garlic mustard would take over if allowed to, so
any opportunity is taken to remove a bit more of it.
A magnificent shagbark hickory tree.
What a balancing act!
I love the color on this mushroom.
May Apple
Jack-in-the-Pulpit
Bergamot, useful for making tea.
Aunt Mary has a number of Black Walnut trees. Surprising to
me, she says that each one has its own characteristics of
flavor and ease of husking, despite all being the same species.
Black raspberries.
The season is really over, but there were a few to be
gleaned and eaten on the spot.
Chicory blooms by the front walkway.
The steps to Larry's tree fort are still there.
So Roger tried out the bottom one.
Just a few boards are left from the fort.
We opted for another picnic for lunch.
We finished just in time before the rain hit. It was
a pretty good thunderstorm.
So we spent the afternoon indoors, playing dominos with
a special set Aunt Mary had picked up in Florence,
Apples-to-Apples, organizing pictures, napping, playing
on Gameboys...
I made sure to take some pictures of this wonderful house to
share with Glen and anyone else who's interested. This is
the back of the front door, specially carved to represent
ideas and things of significance to the Kimmels.
This is your view of the living room as you enter the front door.
You can see Roger and Alan on the loveseat.
Moving into the living room and looking toward the kitchen.
I love the openness of the floorplan. You can also see
the wood stove that Aunt Mary uses in the winter to supplement
the heater. Apparently 'the boys' chop piles of wood for her
in the fall.
The dining room is adjacent to the kitchen and behind the loveseat.
Standing in the kitchen and looking over Roger and Alan
toward the fireplace.
Uncle Johnny's ashes are on the mantel under the conch shell.
As his friends and relatives travel to exotic locations, they
are scattering his ashes in such places as both the South and the
North Poles, the Tigris River, and Glacier National Park. There
are many more, but those are the ones I remember. Uncle
Johnny had an adventuresome spirit so this is a perfect
memorial and one we think he must be enjoying.
The lodge-style ceiling creates a great ambience. This
hall leads to a large master bedroom and a guest room.
The stairs down to the guest suite are between the books
on the right of this picture. The house also includes
a basement and an office over the garage.
Walkway to the front door.
Garage with outside steps up to the office that Uncle Johnny
used for his roofing business.
Driveway.
And the 7-Mile Fair is still right
across the street, so named because it's on 7-Mile Road.
I remember going to the 7-Mile Fair as a kid. Aunt Mary
bought me a sword as a Christmas present there the year that
I was collecting them.