We took a walk last night and passed a house that had nicely carved pumpkins. Black squirrels are nearly impossible to get a photo of (for me), they move nonstop. So, I thought it odd that it was still until I realized it was EATING the pumpkin.
This is a familiar scene. St. John’s Marsh near Algonac, MI. We pass it going back and forth to visit my family. When we arrived it was warm, but nothing like the day we moved out of our house in Charleston, SC where the “feel like” temp was 108℉ and every one of us was soaking wet. The movers (bless them) moving, Fred and I helping + cleaning + getting everything ready for the new owner. We were beyond exhausted (as the previous image showed). We got on the road late in the afternoon and made our way to Michigan. S l o w l y . . .
We bought our house 31 years ago. It’s been our safe haven, our calm from the storm – our place of happiness for that long. We are ready for new adventures – and have sold our beautiful home and made the trek to Michigan! This is the last photo we took in our house. September 1, 2026 3:15PM. We are utterly exhausted from packing, moving, clearing, and cleaning. We scrubbed hard all day to make 23 Stocker the best it could be for the new owner. I hope they love it as much as we did. I have about 30,000 photos of this house – it’ll always be one of our best memories!
Apparently I don’t take photos of myself – as I’m the “photographer” in the family there aren’t many photos of me (thankfully). So I’m borrowing a photo from a few years ago when we celebrated my birthday at The Swag in Waynesville, NC (also known as “Heaven on Earth”)! This will be a different birthday for me, SO MUCH going on (moving), so much to do and the non-stop thinking about it all isn’t making for the best sleep, but we’ll get through it, arrive in a different state a few weeks from now, and then we can celebrate my birthday. That’s a much better timeline for sure!
Let me start by saying, we’re not in Michigan right now, hopefully one day soon! I looked back at some photos of this stunning sunrise over the river and had to share another! I will hop out of bed and fly out the door to get a few photos of a fabulous sunrise. Time doesn’t matter. Sleep? Oh, no! There’s always time for sleep, but how many stunning sunrises or sunsets will you take the time to see? If I’m awake, I’m out the door! Just look at the opening in the very bright sky. #howcoolisthat
Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there. There are dads of all kinds, the ones with children, the ones who wanted children, and the ones who chose to help mentor young kids of others. Whichever dad you may be, sending wishes for a happy Father’s day to you! I’m thankful to have grown up with such a cool dad, he’s the best and it was a treat to visit him recently.
I love, love, love this photo. I took several – and this one stood out to me. I love the reflection of this tree as well as the reflection of the sky in the water. This is St. John’s Marsh – near Clay Township, MI. Read about it, it’s amazing!
We were recently in Michigan on vacation. We stopped by one of my all time favorite place in the world, Nino Salvaggio’s. “Nino’s” as we call it, has the freshest produce, the most stunning flowers, the best meat and prepared food (which I usually avoid in most places) to die for. They have a cafe where you can order (I have a few suggestions!) and sit and enjoy. It’s perfectly lovely. The people who work at Nino’s are so nice. Despite being 40 minutes away, we were regulars most of the days we were in town!
Well, you made it! The weekend is upon us, woohoo. It’s a long weekend for some of you (Memorial Day on Monday) – enjoy it! I took this photo from our hotel room window on our way home from MI. It was bright and early and we were packing up for the final leg home. I pulled back the curtains and WOW. How striking is this?
My husband and I headed to Michigan. It was a great visit, cool temps (LOVE) and stunning skies. I woke at the crack of dawn and could see the orangey pink reflection in the window – I knew it was going to be stunning. I ran outside and snapped a few photos. Wow…
This term is one of my favorites. I think about it often. If you aren’t familiar with this term please read on, it’s interesting and could enrich your life in many ways. It’s usually used in reference to cooking, but is an essential life skill that everyone should learn. Your life could be made far easier if so. Sometimes you just NEED things to be in place to facilitate whatever it is your doing to make it efficient with time not wasted looking for things because they aren’t where they belong. So what does mise en place mean?
Where was I when I took this photo? Is it a close up of a rocky surface mimicking mountains or taken from a distance with actual mountains. HOW can the sunrise be so bright and magnificent? We were out of town a while back, and let me tell you, the views were astounding! Take a guess where we were…
Fall officially began Monday (9/22) and I couldn’t be more hopeful for cooler weather to come our way soon. As I write this the weather forecasters are showing possible storms headed this way soon. We continue to monitor and have a plan for food, water, etc. so we can stay in.
I’m “traveling” through my photos and found an image I love so much. Where I grew up. Life on the river was amazing. We lived for summer and were in the river a majority of the time. The water is chilly, especially when you move to SC and then go back to visit and jump in icy water, whoa! I didn’t remember it being quite that cold, ha ha.
Guess the artist! Do you recognize the work by this popular artist? I took this image at the Detroit Institute of Arts a few years ago. Heavenly place to visit – if you ever get a chance to pop in, I cannot recommend it enough! If you’re wondering where the location of the subject of this painting is, read on for details from DIA.org! Answer below…