When you have a new house on the waterfront, people come – especially in summer, which is the only season that most people want to visit the far-north. Visits from family and friends was one reason for building in the first place. (I was pretty content to live in a trailer and use a compost toilet — which admittedly was tough in the winter – but most people like a flush toilet. 😄) Six separate overnight-or-more visits within a month was a test for the new house. Missing from the photos below is my brother from Montana, who was here for a job and stayed a few weeks.
My friend June from the east coast was the first to arrive. So glad she was willing to play Scrabble! (The game doesn’t get much use.) This was one of those games that dragged on too long, and we finally ended it without a conclusion. Sometimes, the best conclusion is no conclusion. I took this picture through the window…Getting on the water is, of course, the main goal in summer. June was happy to kayak again, since it’s harder for her to do where she lives.Next, a couple from Jeff’s Great Loop adventure. They were the first of two RV rigs to use the waterfront this summer, thanks to the electrical and other amenities that he installed.Diane and Henry were on their boat DeDe when we met them on Jeff’s boat Many Moons. Like many boaters, they turn to RV travel when off the water. Their home is in Virginia.A few days later, my sister from Washington State and her husband. She came primarily for her 60th high school reunion.Since one sister was here, another came, also with husband…this one, formerly from Detroit, has moved just four hours away. It’s nice to have her closer.Both brothers-in-law took a dip..… while my sis and I paddled.Then another set of boating friends, and another RV on the waterfront. ( The tiny boat on the dock wasn’t getting used much, so I sold it.)Loren and Lisa, formerly of Irrational Exhuberance, live in Arizona now and were on a long road trip, making a point to stop by here – with their dog Piper, who also was on their boat with them.Some people are natural socializers. (Jeff, for example.) I am not, although I love to host and do it often in Virginia. When I feel overwhelmed, I escape to the water, grateful that it’s so close. Other introverts know what I mean!When all the visitors had gone, we returned to some practical tasks. Here, the “man who can fix anything” (as one neighbor said), in his Iron Mule, removes a huge log that we found submerged in the sand across the bay. (I had to get into the water with tow lines to manually tug it free from the mud before it would float.)Remembering why I am here in the first place, I visited my parents’ grave and considered how to improve its appearance. Cemeteries are such interesting places, holding so many stories of lives lived and history created. Wandering through them, the mind imagines all the stories we don’t know.This story I know. At least some of it. (There’s always so much we don’t know about someone else’s lives, even our parents.’ So many things I wish I had asked them! Isn’t that always the way?) Some white rock dressed it up a bit.
hey, ho, Mary! I cant believe we’re on the cusp of September!! Such a busy summer, here too. Your cabin life and all of your friends are why we’re in the UP. I’ve been volunteering with 2 museums and writing for the paper still, and I visit the Ishpeming Main astreet antique mall to sell things. I’ve had a little landscaping done at the house. It’s August and aill have a fire tonight. Even for the UP, that a bit odd. Keep happy and say hey to Jeff for me. You both look great! Teri
I always feel like I’ve had a mini visit when you post a flow of photos – thank you! BTW – you were in the mud loosening a log so it could be lifted by a man with an iron mule???? !!!!! Yikes!
Right! Thanks for noticing that. 🙂 The water wasn’t very deep but I had to pull very hard to nudge that thing from the mud. And it was huge. Jeff gave me some kind of the logger’s tool to help roll it. (I never get pictures of my part in these tasks so it looks like i’m just the photographer and bystander. But I have my desire to drive something like the Iron Mule… I know my limitations! 😄)
For Many Moons 
hey, ho, Mary! I cant believe we’re on the cusp of September!! Such a busy summer, here too. Your cabin life and all of your friends are why we’re in the UP. I’ve been volunteering with 2 museums and writing for the paper still, and I visit the Ishpeming Main astreet antique mall to sell things. I’ve had a little landscaping done at the house. It’s August and aill have a fire tonight. Even for the UP, that a bit odd. Keep happy and say hey to Jeff for me. You both look great! Teri
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I always feel like I’ve had a mini visit when you post a flow of photos – thank you! BTW – you were in the mud loosening a log so it could be lifted by a man with an iron mule???? !!!!! Yikes!
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Right! Thanks for noticing that. 🙂 The water wasn’t very deep but I had to pull very hard to nudge that thing from the mud. And it was huge. Jeff gave me some kind of the logger’s tool to help roll it. (I never get pictures of my part in these tasks so it looks like i’m just the photographer and bystander. But I have my desire to drive something like the Iron Mule… I know my limitations! 😄)
LikeLiked by 1 person