Mystery Island of Scattered Bones

Lake Granby has several small islands of which we stopped at one to explore.  Walking around on the rocky banks and through the patch of trees, a skeleton head and teeth were found.  Looked like a wolf's head but we did not understand how a wild animal would get on the island except during winter when the lake was frozen.  Why would a wolf cross a frozen lake to an island that had no food source for him?  Other bones were also found among the rocks.  This island is a trap and burial ground due to no escape if caught within it's rocky shores.

Attack of "The Flies" Suspense/Horror at Crisp Point

Crisp Point Lighthouse is located on the deserted shore of Lake Superior, just 37 miles north of Newberry, Michigan.  The Lighthouse is considered one of the most inaccessible and lonely mainland lighthouses in the Upper Peninsula and can be reached by taking a narrow country road through the Lake Superior State Forest.  It is a very long drive of endless woods and it is completely isolated from civilization.  When I got out of my car, flies started swarming around my legs, I started walking toward the lighthouse, the flies keep coming until there were at least a hundred or more, biting and attacking my arms and legs.  I had to run into the lighthouse to fight them off.  They did not like the cool air inside and did not enter the lighthouse but attacked me again as soon as I went back outside.  It was surreal like "The Birds" a 1963 suspense/horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock except this movie would be called "The Flies".  I had to run to the car and jump in and close the windows and kill the ones that came inside with my bare hands.  The inside windows and my hands were covered in "fly blood".  I had hundreds of fly bits on my legs and arms and was lucky to escape.  The pictures of the park look serene and peaceful but the flies are hidden and lurking in the trees and brushes.  Woe to those who visit Crisp Point without powerful "Bug Off"!

"Gitche Gumee...Never Gives up Her Dead"

Whitefish Bay, Lake Superior, Paradise Michigan.  The Chippewa tribe called Lake Superior "Gitche Gumee 'never gives up her dead" due to so many shipwrecks, lack of recovery and the mystery of what happened.

A Mountain Goblin "Riddle in the Dark"

 

What has a root

that never grows?
Headless and cannot be heard,
What once was
can no longer be,
It lies beneath the sun,
the stars and moon,
With hallow legs in stillness hold,
Has arms that reach out to touch
but cannot feel?

Whitefish Point - Graveyard of Shipwrecks

The lighthouse marks the end of an 80 mile stretch of shoreline known as Lake Superior's Shipwreck Coast.  The beach was covered in debris of old wrecked ships. 6,000 shipwrecks and over 30,000 lives lost in the deep turbulent waters of the great lake region.

Forest Trunks huge and gnarled

 
"The forest trunks were huge and gnarled...branches twisted, their leaves were dark and dangling in the wind.  The land slope up and up and there was silence all around.  Continue Tale of "A Hobbit Adventure in America" a Tale in Photography.

Dark Murky Waters and Alligator Eyes

 

The alligator is starring at me but there is a pair of eyes starring at the alligator beneath the water.    The water is reflecting an owl from a nearby wooden post.  Interesting pair of eyes.

Storm Clouds Gathering at Shadow Mountain-A Colorado "Black Sky"

These are raw images of storm clouds gathering over Shadow Mountain and Grand Lake. Shadow Mountain is an appropriate name for the darkness and chilly winds.

Garden of the Gods - "Dungeons Deep And Caverns Old"

"For Over the misty mountains cold
To Dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away, ere break of day,
To find our long-forgotten Gold."
(The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien)

 

Rocky Mountains - A "Hobbit" Adventure

While visiting the Rocky Mountains, I read "The Hobbit" and all the adventures of Bilbo, Thorin and the Dwarves.  The Rockies were full of the same exciting scenery and awesomeness as the places traveled on Thorin's Map. I could write my own tale of bears, elks, eagles, moose, wild fires, roaring winds, rain, lightening and thundering mountains :).  Let the tale begin.......



Southern Ladies love a "Pretty Boy"

A bird's eye view of Pretty Boy

Granny McArthur "Passing the Torch"

Family tradition of gardening pass from Granny McArthur to her daughter, Mary Hillhouse.  I am the generation who has not picked up the torch like I should to continue the flower garden of memories.  It is something I must and will do.

Hillhouse Memories with Flowers

Mother Mary's garden has memories of love ones who gave her seeds and cuttings through the last 40 years to plant in her garden.  A stroll through her garden tells many stories of dear departed friends and family members.  Flowers are a symbol of love.

Southern Lady's Yellow Roses

My favorite flower is yellow roses.  I have always included yellow roses for special occasions in my life.  My wedding, the birth of my son, Mother's Day, birthdays, etc.  Mother Mary's yellow rose bush was in full bloom during Memorial Weekend.

Mother Mary's Flowers

Mary's Flowers is located in Columbus Georgia.  Her yard is full of plants and flowers that people have given her over the years including me. 

Marsh Wild Flowers

Flocks of White Storks Early Spring

When I saw the flock of white birds swimming in Lake Griffin, I wasn't sure what they were.  They turned out to be white storks with black tip wings.  I followed them around the entire lake trying to get a close up range.  They were beautiful when they spread their wide wings and took flight.  The birds were migrating and Lake Griffin was a stopping point for their journey.

Sunset View from My Window

Trees "that look at God all day"

    TREES

THINK that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.

by: Joyce Kilmer (1886-1918)

Lake Griffin Florida

First weekend in March at Lake Griffin on a Ladies Retreat.

Nature's Contrast - Early Spring in Florida while Snow falls in Minnesota

These photos were taken within three days of each other.  A cold wintry day in Minnesota as Azaleas are blooming in North Florida.

Snow, Ice and Frozen Lake time for fishing huts!

Bees in Early Spring

Today feels like the first day of  spring.  Literary thousands of birds have descended on the trees in the neighborhood, the flowers are starting to bloom and the bees are busy.  Yes folks, it is the season for the birds and the bees

Deep in the Woods of Minnesota

Morning Bird Vilano Beach

Vilano Beach Last Morning Sunrise for 2011