Will the Bluebirds Stay or Will They Go South

I have written about the Eastern Bluebirds many times.  I get excited to see them in the Spring.  I watch them build their nests in the birdhouses close to our house.  I protect them from the House Wrens while they are nesting.  Then in August, after their last brood has fledged, they usually disappear from around our house.  I see them in the woods, but they stay there to raise the youngsters.  Once in a while, I will see several passing through in the fall.  They usually don't hang around.  This year is different.  I don't know if the mild fall temperatures have allowed them to stay.  The past few days I have seen quite a few bluebirds, but today I saw them no matter which window I looked out of.  They are sitting in the trees, in the yard, on the roof, on the deck railings, in the rain gutters and on the birdfeeders eating the regular birdseed we have out for the wild birds.  They may be gathering for migration or the word is out that I will feed them all winter.  I can give them mealworms, but it appears they will also eat the seed I have for all the other birds as well.  I put some pine needles in the birdhouses, in case they want to roost in there, and I put out water which has a heater so it won't freeze.  I guess I will have to trust the birds to know if they will stay or they will go.  Until then, I will enjoy the time they are spending here. 

I know I have taken way too many pictures of them, but I sometimes feel like this will be my last chance.  Hopefully they won't leave forever, but just in case, I have taken a lot of photos.

The Eastern Blues are sitting in the trees.

They were sitting on the deck railings.

 They are perching on the shepherd hooks.

It was like he was posing for me.

 

They are looking for food wherever they can find some.

I think this is an unbelievable sight on October 29th in Wisconsin.

Pillows and Shoes are Hard to Buy Without Trying Them First

Earlier this month I wrote about our trip to Sam's Club and how it prompted me to repair our food saver.  What I didn't talk about is why we were near the Sam's Club in the first place.  We were in the area for my husband's allergy doctor appointment.  He has had allergies for many years and even had allergy shots more than forty years ago.  This year his allergies have been worse than usual, so we felt a trip to the allergist was in order.  They asked the usual questions about whether you have dogs, cats, carpet or knick knacks.  Then they put thirty or more pin pricks on his  back and checked for a reaction.  Of course, it is always the same for our family.  It shows various trees and shrubs, ragweed and dust mites.  I asked the nurse if there is anyone in the world that doesn't react to dust and dust mites and she said "yes, you would be surprised that many people aren't allergic to them".  Right, show me someone.  I have not heard of anyone.  I have never had allergy testing, but I bet I would react as well.  They recommend not having any carpeting, never open a window in your bedroom, never leave any clothing on the floor and strip anything decorative from the room.  Dust mites feast on dead skin cells.  How gross is that?  In addition, it is recommended that you wrap the mattress and the pillows in very expensive covers that are made to kill dust mites.  As luck would have it, we saw a couple of people demonstrating some wonderful pillows at Sam's Club.  They were not only supposed to be the best pillow ever, made up of chopped bamboo and foam, but also had dust mite covers on them.  We thought this was meant to be.  The cost of the entire thing was the same price as buying a pillow cover.  We pondered the situation and low and behold, just that day (of course), we could buy one and get two free.  Such a deal!  We walked around and decided to go back to purchase them.  We brought them home and fluffed them for the night.

 
I washed the bedding, vacuumed the room and got ready for bed.  I laid my head down on my new pillow.  It seemed comfortable, but I couldn't go to sleep.  Something was not right.  It was like sleeping on lava that slowly crept to the outside edges leaving my head laying in a hole.  I fluffed the thing again, and again I found my head slipping into the indentation.  When I laid on my side I felt the pillow smothering my face.

The third time, I got up and gathered my own special perfect memory foam pillow that I had been sleeping on for many years.  It felt so good.  My husband was having similar issues on his side of the bed.  The next night, I decided that I should try the new pillow again.  Maybe I hadn't given it enough time.  Within fifteen minutes I had my old pillow back.

I should have been suspicious when I saw that this
gigantic pillow could fit in this little bag.

So now we have three king sized pillows that we can't enjoy, and I need to find room to store them.  I will never fit them back into the tiny bag they came in.  I did take the mite repellent covers off the new pillows and put them on our old pillows.  To make things worse, we saw these pillows for sale at other places for the same price per pillow as the three we purchased, and we wouldn't have had to take three to get the special deal.  We could have tried just one to see how they were.  I usually have a good sense about these things and very seldom get lured by a slick talking sales person, but not this time.

I  still have to address the issue of a mattress cover.  They cost almost $200.  The nurse said to never wash bedding in cold water.  Only hot water can kill dust mites and then dry in a hot dryer, never outside.  I thought, if dry heat kills mites, then why not put the electric blanket on high for a half hour every now and then.  I don't like sleeping with the electric blanket on anyway, but I do like to warm the bed covers before crawling in on a cold night.  The thought of all those electrical waves surging through my body is scary, but it may kill the mites.  I decided to google it and there it was in print.  http://electricblanketinstitute.com/heated-mattress-pads-reduce-mites-and-allergies.html

We know how accurate everything we read on the internet is, so this must be true.  I guess it won't hurt anything to try, and who knows it may just do away with all those tiny microscopic critters that we are all allergic to.  

With Winter Approaching, Stop and Enjoy

We are in the midst of fall.  We have had our first freeze and everything is quietly moving toward  winter.  The days are still warm and nights are cold.  This is the first year in a long time that we haven't yet lit the pellet stoves and only once have we had a fire in the fireplace.  It is getting dark earlier and earlier in the evening.  I can't say I am ready for winter, but what choice do I have?  I might as well enjoy the process.  Today I walked around in the woods.  It was very quiet except for birds chirping, the sandhill cranes gathering and the geese landing.  Those are familiar sounds so I consider them almost the sounds of silence.  Those from the city who aren't used to those sounds would probably find them annoying or loud.

Almost every morning brings a layer of fog that gets burned off by the sun.

The sky is full of landing geese looking for a place to rest.

 

The woods is getting covered with a layer of pine straw making the ground soft like walking on carpet.

There were a couple of downed trees that fell during a summer storm.

The color has peaked leaving behind shades of brown.

The squirrels are gathering leaves to line their winter nests.

This time of year forces us to settle in and slow down our lives.  That isn't easy for some who think you can't be productive unless you are on the go all the time.  I admit, I have to work on that.   I saw a poem on a walking trail.  It describes the woods perfectly and gives us a new appreciation for its wonders.

Part Four-Our Mini Michigan Vacation-Tahquamenon Falls

 
Our long weekend came to an end, and it was time to go home.  We had breakfast and were on our way.  We headed through some more beautiful scenery and over the Mackinac Bridge.  Then we traveled toward the Lake Superior side of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  We had heard of the beautiful colors at Tahquamenon Falls.  We stopped for lunch in the little town of Paradise and made our way to to falls.   The falls are divided into two separate areas.  There are the Lower Falls and the Upper Falls.  We started with the Lower Falls.  It was a beautiful day.  We were very lucky because the park ranger said they had three inches of snow a couple days earlier.  The colors were not as brilliant as they had been before the snow, but it was still nice.

The Lower Falls was pretty, but it was quite small.  We enjoyed the walk along the trail, and being able to stretch our legs and breath fresh crisp air.

After reading some information about the falls, we walked back to the car and drove four miles down the road to the Upper Falls.  It was much more impressive.  After walking about a half mile into the park, we saw there were several vantage points to view the falls.  Two of them required climbing down several steps to get to the lower level.  We started with the flight of 116 steps which turned into 190 steps by the time we walked up and down levels along the lower boardwalk.  Then it was up the steps which proved to be harder than going down.  People were very friendly and we chatted with some people who were also discussing all the steps.  We viewed the falls from all the viewing areas and ended up climbing another set of 94 steps.  By the time we got back to the car, my fitbit said I climbed 31 flights of stairs qualifying me for the Redwood Forest Badge.  Whoopee!  My husband on the other hand only had 11 flights doing the same steps.  Maybe holding on to both railings affected the number of steps recorded.  I can vouch for him.  He walked the same number as I did.

It was late afternoon before we started home.  It was a long drive in the dark, and we considered staying in a motel, but we kept plugging away.  We arrived home about 10:30 pm.  It was nice to be home, and it seemed we had been gone for much more than five days.  A wonderful fall trip for sure, and considering my last four days of blogging, I want to assure people these are our experiences and I'm NOT an employee of the Pure Michigan Department of Tourism.  My home state of Wisconsin has equally beautiful sights which I also hope to visit.

Part Three: Our Mini Michigan Vacation-Sleeping Bear Dunes

On the third day of our journey we took a drive to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.  Sleeping Bear got its name long ago from an Indian legend.  Apparently long ago in the land that is now Wisconsin, a mother bear and her two cubs were driven into Lake Michigan by a forest fire.  They had to swim, but it was a long way across the lake.  The mother bear made it and waited on top of the dune for her cubs.  The cubs didn't make it and the two islands off in the distance named Manitou Islands represent the cubs.

The drive to the Dunes was beautiful.

One portion of the Dunes involves a scenic driving tour called the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive.  Pierce Stocking was a lumberman in Michigan and conceived the idea of building a road in this terrain so others could enjoy the Dunes. 

A covered bridge starts the drive.

You could bike the drive because it is only 7.4 miles, but there are some very steep uphill and downhill grades.  I wouldn't make it on a bike, that's for sure.  We visited Traverse City during the summer of 2012.  That summer was so hot that the people of Northern Michigan were shocked.  They very rarely get temperatures in the high 90's.  As a result the sandy dunes were too hot to visit let alone walk on.  That is why we wanted to return on this trip.

The second stop of the drive is a view of Glen Lake.

A sand dune is basically a pile of sand deposited by the wind.  The prevailing winds move the sand across the plateau.  The wind was blowing so hard on that day,  it was easy to see how the dunes can change all the time.

This is the eastern edge of the dunes.

While we were there a couple was trying to take some wedding pictures.  The wind was so brutal they couldn't even stand in an upright position.  We nearly got blown off the cliff.  Thank goodness for having good enough balance to keep us from falling over the edge.  Of course, hiding behind a big sign helped us maintain our footing.

All they wanted was a wedding photo at the dunes.

We had sand in our eyes and ears and who knows where else.

We continued along the scenic drive seeing a variety of trees and vegetation.  Along the way we saw the ghost forest.  With the dry sandy conditions, it is hard to believe some of these plants and trees can survive.  They have adapted over the years.

Next we drove to another area.  At this point you could actually climb the dunes or at least try.  My husband and brother in law didn't even want to try.  My sister and I did.  It felt like walking on a stairstepper.  With every step, we slipped back a foot.  It was quite the workout.

After a nice lunch in a local establishment, we headed home.  It was a fun day.  We were even able to catch a virtual geocache.  If you want more information about the Sleeping Bear Dunes, the park service has info.  http://www.nps.gov/slbe/learn/nature/index.htm  There is so much to see and learn in this area of Michigan, you could stay a couple weeks and not see it all. 

Part Two: Our Mini Michigan Vacation-The Punzel's Cottage

In continuing our mini vacation to Michigan, my sister and her husband showed us around the Traverse City area.  They have many interesting places, but a stand out business is called Punzel's Cottage in the Tidendal Woods.  It is a Scandinavian cottage specializing in everything Scandinavian.  It has gift items from imported food and cheese, books, clothing items and jewelry, trolls and anything else you can imagine.  I even saw sewing patterns for making authentic costumes.  It is actually more than a store.  It is an experience.  They call themselves a Living Scandinavian Folktale.  When you pull into the parking area the first thing you see is the Dala horse.  The owner loves to answer questions and shares her folktales and Nordic lifestyle.  If anyone is in this area, it would be worth the trip.  I think the pictures speak for themselves. 

 You see these signs for Danes, Norwegian, Swedish etc. in the parking lot. 

When you look up you see a bridge surrounded by trolls.

The Punzel Cottage containing a variety of Scandinavian gifts.

This is the Tomte Hus (elf house).

For those reading about this cottage and are interested in some children's books with a Scandinavian theme, please go to this website:  http://pickledherringpress.com/

These darling books were written by a high school friend of mine and will be enjoyed by all.