Road Trip: Old Port and Detroit

Our next stop after the Portland Headlight was the Portland Old Port.
It was raining of course; it rained the whole time, but we still had a
grand time.

Back at home, we found the squash was enormous!

That's us at Pier Park--ten minutes from home.

And I am leaving today for another road trip up to Northern Michigan.
AND it's raining!

Road Trip and home to Detroit: Portland headlight and Conservatory

The next stop on our Road Trip was Portland, Maine, where we visited
the Portland Headlight (for a memorial service for a dearly departed).

The home photo is the pond at the Belle Isle Conservatory in Detroit.

I am leaving tomorrow for a trip of unknown length. We were going
camping for ten days in the U.P., but Biker Buddy works at GM and they
are threatening to lay him off in July or September, and offered to
let him work through the July shutdown, so since he may soon not have
a job, he decided he'd better work while he can. Meanwhile, though,
Piano Boy must be delivered to summer camp at Blue Lake in the upper
L.P., on the opposite coast, so that will be my job. I may not be
online.

Roadtrip, Day 3 and home to Detroit

We stayed with my daughter in Syracuse, NY and hiked in the rain in
the Quarry behind Syracuse University's Skytop married student
housing, It was rainy and very muddy. It rained for the entire trip,
but we still managed to have a great time. We love quarries and
ruins; it was right up our alley.

It was still raining when we got home. This last shot is of pier park
and a lake-freighter going down the channel in Lake St. Clair. In the
rain. Rain rain rain. It rained again last night but the sky is blue
and the sun is shining now! YAY!

Eager, our rehabilitated squirrel, came to me this morning for the
first time since we returned! YAY! I may post a link here if I have
time.

Road Trip and home

The Second stop on our Road trip was Jordan New York to visit friend Scott.

Silk Creek (Skaneateles)
Silk Creek from above
Scott's weather vane
Scott's barn
Home again--the marble Livingston lighthouse on Belle Isle. Detroit.

Road Trip Niagara and home

Niagara was the first stop on our trip to Maine. The Clematis is at
home when we arrived back last night.

We are leaving again on the 30th.

Cactus Buds at Belle Isle Conservatory

We are leaving today for points east: Upstate New York, Maine, New
Hampshire. We expect to be back on June 26. Leaving again on the
30th. I may or may not be able to get online, but since we'll be
ttraveling, I probably will be unable to post or comment much.

The Belle Isle Conservatory is a large lovely greenhouse on Belle Isle
in Detroit with a large collection of orchids and cactuses.

Old Aquarium

The old Belle Isle Aquarium WAS the oldest still perating aquarium in
the country--but it's no longer operating now. :-(

We are leaving tomorrow for points east, Canada, upstate NY, Maine,
New Hamphsire. We may or may not occasionally be able to post, but
probably little posting or commenting--we will be back again on the
26th and may be leaving on the 30th for another trip.

At Kensington Metropark Yesterday

Kensington Metropark is one of the many Metroparks that surround
Detroit. It is a lovely spot with lakes and water and lots of
animals.

Detroit Metrobeach

Back by popular demand: Detroit Metrobeach--all those things that
look like sensor spots? FISH FLIES! The last one is in winter.
Shows more of the beach.

Metrobeach

On the Nature Trail at Detroit Metrobeach.

Pond at the Belle Isle Conservatory

This pond is located in the grounds of the Belle Isle Conservatory in Detroit.

Lit Fest at the Scarab Club

ML Leibler and his band at the Lit fest--poetry and music!

Homest Scrap Award

My thanks for Jacob and Lois Anne at Villages Daily Photo for this wonderful and meaningful award. This award is bestowed upon a fellow blogger whose blog content or design is, in the giver's opinion, brilliant. It is about bloggers who post from their heart, who oftentimes put their heart on display as they write from the depths of their soul.

I am honored. Thank you.

It is suggested the recipient offer 10 things that describe his or her honesty, but I am going to omit that, being a relatively private person.

It is also suggested that the recipient(s) pass the award on to other deserving bloggers.

That I am pleased to do, and here they are:

Marie at Montpellier Daily
Abraham Lincoln for his honest birds
Helene at HPY BIS
Mick Mather's honest creative art at his artblog
Andrea for her honest creative art at Big Gay Dragon
Nadine In Blue Ink
Berry Bird Lake Loop

Today's post is right below this.

More St; John's Marsh

This unique building was once a lighthouse and has been converted to a restaurant. Or not? I think someone told me, the last time I posted one of these pictures, that what I had been told was wrong. In any case, you can see this building from St. John's marsh. The first picture was taken in January over the marsh and the second is what it looks like now. The other pictures were taken nearby.

Ah, here it is, the CORRECT information (I'd been given some incorrect info and have never stopped to read the historical marker, I am sorry to say):

Colony Tower

Built in 1825 by the Chicago Bridge and Iron Works, this steel-framed water tower was the main water supplier for the "The Colony on the Ste. Claire"; - a secluded residential community established in Clay Township in the early 1920s. The Colony Tower marked the entrance to the Will St. John estate, the home of the real estate developer who founded The Colony subdivision. The 136-foot tower once housed a 60,000-gallon water tank. Constructed with curtain walls and steel plates to resemble a lighthouse, it demonstrates the early twentieth-century penchant for disguising the utilitarian functions of highly visible structures. A light shone from atop the tower, aiding boat and aircraft navigation from 1925 until 1937, when the light was extinguished due to its high operating costs.

You can se more pictures of St. John's Marsh by clicking on the link below (label)