This is a tale of taking my friend Melinda, to Washington Island from Illinois for the weekend. What is unusual about this story as it occurred in the dead of winter when the car ferry only ran once a day and only with a reservation you must place in advance of the date of travel.. I was excited to show her how beautiful Lake Michigan was in winter- crossing the frozen lake in a boat equipped to break the ice as we went and then the serene quiet of the island in winter when few weekend travelers can be seen, rather just hearty wintering island residents .It is a tale of mishap and friendship to be sure!
Well we were on our way and charged up for the journey. I had made this winter trip many times before with my girls but it was Melinda's first time in winter. Now when you actually say it out loud..."i am going across lake Michigan in a boat in winter" ...well it sounds crazy and dangerous! And yet this car ferry which has been running for generations knows exactly how to navigate the icy waters with its ice breaker design , small capacity, experienced captains and yet heavy weight to plow through the ice. Sometimes the ice is not fully frozen all the way, as the daily boat crossings maintain an open water channel from cutting its daily path to the island by the once a day trips in January, February, March and April. Actually the worst times are not the coldest days, as the ice just stays frozen and there is predictability of ice depths , but rather it is the days when things warm up a bit in winter, and winter ice sheets on the lake begin to break up and flow into the bays, stacking them up like dominos depending on the winds and steadiness of the temps. This creates a multi layer of ice that then freezes when the temps drop back down at night or in following days when the temps return to normal or below normal. It is then the ice breaker ferries have hard times cutting through the thick uneven ice.
We have been on the ferry multiple times when we had to wait for the large coast guard boat to come from Sturgeon Bay( an hour away) to cut us out of the ice so we could again begin to move along on our journey. Once we were on the ferry for 6 hours when the journey usually took one hour! But there is a small warming cabin on board and of course your car for shelter from the wind as well (but if you can brave the cold of it as they do not let you run your car motor for the heater to work as the fumes are a hazard for the rest of the passengers and crew and of course a bit dangerous if you are on the main deck in your car as accessible to the fumes as well). Anyway there have been many adventures by islanders on this "winter ferry", tales that tell of being rescued by snowmobiles when stuck in the ice or having to wait for hours for the coast guard boat. Most of the islanders come prepared, dressed warmly, with a cooler of food and a deck of cards to pass the time. Once we saw a Snowy Owl perched out on the ice that our ferry captain pointed out to us, as we watited patiently for the caost guard boat to come to cut the ice around us so we could be on our way for the rest of the journey to the island. But most of the time the winter ferry just runs like clockwork -just don't miss your once a day ferry!!
Yup you guessed it!
Well after a long ride up the coast of Wisconsin on our way to the ferry (5 hours) and with an overnight say at a hotel in Sturgeon Bay( as the ferry only ran at 10 am each day in winter- too far to get to from home that morning), and a bit of breakfast on the way the next morning-well we got to the ferry dock... just as the boat was pulling out!
WHAT?? OH NO ,WE MISSED OUR FERRY! WHAT?! RATS!!
I was feeling pretty stupid now as the hostess of this trip- i misjudged our breakfast and travel time to the ferry dock from Sturgeon Bay and we just missed our ferry!! Now what??????
Well i knew my friend had to be home on Sunday (as she was involved in local politics and was on a village board that met on Monday) soooooooooooo being that it was already Saturday and we had planned to just stay one night on the island well... i guess i had to come up with another plan.
Hmmmmmmmmm what to do?? Well there was a lovely coastal state park a short distance away that had cross country ski trails... so off we went. Luckily i had the skis in the car not on the island ,so we were all equipped to have a fun day in the snow any way. We enjoyed a lovely ski along the lake and then headed back to town and another hotel for the night. We had a nice girlfriend supper out and swim time in the hotel pool and then the next morning(Sunday)
home again, home again jiggity jog!!
No winter island this trip this time but still a beautiful Wisconsin winter weekend just the same. Heck- fun is fun!! We just laughed about it on our way home to Illinois!!Ahhhh human error can certainly trip us up... Melinda would just have to come again another time to ride that winter ferry on Lake Michigan to get the full island experience in winter..
Monday, June 22, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Island Flowers Flowers Everywhere!!
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh it is that time of year when i must plant my flowers on Washington Island. I have two porch planters, 3 half barrels in the yard and of course the large septic garden. The last one sounds less than fun by its name, but actually it is a garden we have made around our three septic covers for our new septic system that was installed when we remodeled the house.It is really is pretty and a labor of love ,as we found small stones to surround it and built it up with some wood borders behind the stone so is now a little spot of color in the yard when the flowers bloom.It looks like it has always been there - which is a sign that we did good! In the side yard are beautiful wildflower Trillium's in white and pink. They are a delicate endangered wildflower that is prevalent in Wisconsin and Michigan. They are flowering around our Michigan property as well...beautiful so beautiful!
The remodel is a whole other story- the remodeling we did a few years ago I mean .It was the typical we started with... we need a: second wheelchair accessible bathroom , laundry room , siding , porch and new roof and we ended up with... the unexpected add-ons of :getting a new septic system due to the additional bathrooms ,replacing all the windows and doors (when they did the siding),building up a second story on the 2nd bathroom+laundry room+new dining room( enlarged the room a bit to do all three) to build on a master bath and closet area upstairs. So we ended up with practically a new house but it was for our retirement so a good investment!! The house is over 100 years old so needed some updates. The builder we used for the remodel found a math school book from 1933 in one of the walls we repalced- i call that treasure! Somebody must have not wanted to complete their homework...what do you think?!
Anyway back to my flowers... I made a vow to plant as few annuals as possible as it is such a waste of money and has to redone every year. So i was on my hunt for Perennials this year. I did cheat a bit however as i did buy 2 flats of petunias as they do so well in the damp island climate and splash so much color to into the yard-- you can even see them from Main Road in front of our house so that is fun. And most importantly, they take on a lot of neglect from me( much better than my former geraniums and marigolds) as we are only up for weekends and so they go without watering during the week. They spread out and create their own ground cover and i think that is why they thrive here.We do have an amazing friend Mike however, who helps me out with watering them on weeks we cannot come up due to a wedding or bad weather etc... I always say they grow despite me!!! I do NOT enjoy gardening... just enjoy the color those flowers produce. My dad was a real "green thumb" planter but i call myself "the pirate of planting"- the "black thumb" of the family.I always say "i do kids and animals NOT plants"- you won't find an indoor live plant at my house! I once was given a small potted plant from a neighborhood friend Todd, for my office when i was working, and I did not realize it was real until it died( as it had a cute little stuffed bird on a wire in it)!! Get the picture now!
Well i planted all the areas and now they look so pretty with yellow,orange, red, white, and light and dark purple. I have Mums, Daisy Mums, Petunias, Tickle seed(love that name) and Salvia for the most part ,plus the perennials i planted last year that came up in the septic garden like some bright yellow Tiger Lilies that will bloom later, i hope. So just my porch planters have annuals in them. I did accomplish making the barrels and 3/4 of the septic garden perennials! Yeah for that- less waste and spending next year!!! I will learn enough about perennials next year to hopefully eliminate the petunias as annuals eventually and go with flowering perennials to replace them. But i was a good girl and my job is done.I started at about 3pm and ended at 8pm- yup 5 hours by the time i prepared the soil , planted and mulched them all!! (I will be stiff tomorrow i thought to myself!)It just statred to rain as i put away my garden tools in the garage. Wasn't that polite of God to put off the rain for little ol'me!! Now i just hope they continue to grow despite me!!he he
My brother Gary gave me a tomato planter this year. It is made to hang up outside and you plant the tomato plants into the holes he cut on the sides and then water it from the top which is covered with a removable wood cover with a spout in it. The tomatoes actually grow downwards from the planter so as to avoid any "animal tasters". This should be interesting. I no doubt will forget to water them but will try my hardest to keep up with them. I am planting little yellow plum tomatoes - my favorite!! I used to eat these from my Grandma Florence's garden ,so they bring lots of good childhood memories back of tasty summer treats! Grandma and Teddy( my step grandpa) were "master gardeners" so we will see if mine hold up to theirs?!
Happy Spring to you all.....even if the temps are still in the 60's!!
P.S. I am planting no annuals at home, however, my beautiful perennial bushes of Peonies are blooming at present so i have a pink and white polka dot side yard at present!!They smell just like roses! They grow without any help from me!!Thank goodness...
The remodel is a whole other story- the remodeling we did a few years ago I mean .It was the typical we started with... we need a: second wheelchair accessible bathroom , laundry room , siding , porch and new roof and we ended up with... the unexpected add-ons of :getting a new septic system due to the additional bathrooms ,replacing all the windows and doors (when they did the siding),building up a second story on the 2nd bathroom+laundry room+new dining room( enlarged the room a bit to do all three) to build on a master bath and closet area upstairs. So we ended up with practically a new house but it was for our retirement so a good investment!! The house is over 100 years old so needed some updates. The builder we used for the remodel found a math school book from 1933 in one of the walls we repalced- i call that treasure! Somebody must have not wanted to complete their homework...what do you think?!
Anyway back to my flowers... I made a vow to plant as few annuals as possible as it is such a waste of money and has to redone every year. So i was on my hunt for Perennials this year. I did cheat a bit however as i did buy 2 flats of petunias as they do so well in the damp island climate and splash so much color to into the yard-- you can even see them from Main Road in front of our house so that is fun. And most importantly, they take on a lot of neglect from me( much better than my former geraniums and marigolds) as we are only up for weekends and so they go without watering during the week. They spread out and create their own ground cover and i think that is why they thrive here.We do have an amazing friend Mike however, who helps me out with watering them on weeks we cannot come up due to a wedding or bad weather etc... I always say they grow despite me!!! I do NOT enjoy gardening... just enjoy the color those flowers produce. My dad was a real "green thumb" planter but i call myself "the pirate of planting"- the "black thumb" of the family.I always say "i do kids and animals NOT plants"- you won't find an indoor live plant at my house! I once was given a small potted plant from a neighborhood friend Todd, for my office when i was working, and I did not realize it was real until it died( as it had a cute little stuffed bird on a wire in it)!! Get the picture now!
Well i planted all the areas and now they look so pretty with yellow,orange, red, white, and light and dark purple. I have Mums, Daisy Mums, Petunias, Tickle seed(love that name) and Salvia for the most part ,plus the perennials i planted last year that came up in the septic garden like some bright yellow Tiger Lilies that will bloom later, i hope. So just my porch planters have annuals in them. I did accomplish making the barrels and 3/4 of the septic garden perennials! Yeah for that- less waste and spending next year!!! I will learn enough about perennials next year to hopefully eliminate the petunias as annuals eventually and go with flowering perennials to replace them. But i was a good girl and my job is done.I started at about 3pm and ended at 8pm- yup 5 hours by the time i prepared the soil , planted and mulched them all!! (I will be stiff tomorrow i thought to myself!)It just statred to rain as i put away my garden tools in the garage. Wasn't that polite of God to put off the rain for little ol'me!! Now i just hope they continue to grow despite me!!he he
My brother Gary gave me a tomato planter this year. It is made to hang up outside and you plant the tomato plants into the holes he cut on the sides and then water it from the top which is covered with a removable wood cover with a spout in it. The tomatoes actually grow downwards from the planter so as to avoid any "animal tasters". This should be interesting. I no doubt will forget to water them but will try my hardest to keep up with them. I am planting little yellow plum tomatoes - my favorite!! I used to eat these from my Grandma Florence's garden ,so they bring lots of good childhood memories back of tasty summer treats! Grandma and Teddy( my step grandpa) were "master gardeners" so we will see if mine hold up to theirs?!
Happy Spring to you all.....even if the temps are still in the 60's!!
P.S. I am planting no annuals at home, however, my beautiful perennial bushes of Peonies are blooming at present so i have a pink and white polka dot side yard at present!!They smell just like roses! They grow without any help from me!!Thank goodness...
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