Freighters

It has been a busy week on Lake Huron. Lots of large freighters were steaming north and south, during the day and the night. Here is an image of one of them, heading north:

From 8 Sept 2011

Here is a shot of that same freighter taken from inside our cottage:

From 8 Sept 2011

Some fun with aperture:

From 8 Sept 2011

Here is a southbound freighter. Clearly, he is fully loaded:

From 8 Sept 2011

The shipping season will start to wind down soon. I am just glad that I was able to capture a few images of them.

Pure Michigan

Yesterday was a warm and sunny late summer day here, just East of the Equator. After checking out the Harrisville Arts and Crafts Show, we proceeded down to the beach. Deirdre and Samson and I spent a few lazy hours enjoying the warm breeze from the southeast, and we also manged to get in a long swim in Lake Huron. The water was warm and inviting. The waves were less than a foot and the swells were non-existent. When we finally came back to the cottage, our outside thermometer informed me that it was 78.8F. It was a beautiful day. Here is an image of Samson enjoying some quality time under an umbrella at our beach on this sunny Sunday, 4 September, 2011.

From 5 Sep 2011

Fast forward 18 hours and things have changed. When I woke up this fine Labor Day morning, the outside temperature was 52.2F, there was a steady 10-15 knot breeze from the northeast and the waters of Lake Huron were pounding the shoreline. The waves were easily 3-4 feet with about a 12-15 foot swell.

From 5 Sep 2011

Today appears to be a one-day anomaly. The weatherguessers are telling me that the the forecast through the end of the week is that it will warm up to the mid 70s by the weekend. It is often said that if you don't like the weather in Michigan, just wait a few minutes. It will change.

From 5 Sep 2011

The temperature swing and the shift in the weather is driven by the Great Lakes that we love and enjoy. Lake Huron and its fellow Great Lakes serve as enormous heat sumps which, given the correct conditions, can cause the weather to be so fickle in the Enchanted Mitten. We would not have it any other way.

Oscoda musings

In the very near future, a moving van will darken my door and take a few belongings on a road trip to the eastern edge of the Enchanted Mitten. The aforementioned van will travel to Oscoda, Michigan, where they will stop at the cottage me and the HR Maven purchased back in January. We had some work done on the place in March and it is now ready for us to put our personal imprint upon it. Look for updates over the course of the next few weeks as we make this property our weekend get-away.

Cottage update

Since my last post, progress has been made on the cottage purchase. I have started the process to secure a mortgage for the property, and we have the home inspection scheduled for next week. We will drop Samson off at Whiskers, and head up for an overnight trip to Greenbush for the inspection. So far, so good. Everything is progressing along smoothly.

Stay tuned to this channel for future updates.

Back in Battery

The subject of this post is a phrase taken from my time in the Navy. Warships carry large caliber guns to shoot at people and things we do not like. These guns are known as a battery, and they have such fancy titles as "Mount 51" or "Mount 32." From time to time, maintenance needs to be done on the guns, and when the gun system is taken off line, it is known as being "out of battery." When the repairs or maintenance is completed, a report is made to the Tactical Action Officer that simply states, "Mount 51, back in battery." That simple report means that the gun is ready for action again.

Well, I am happy to report that I am "back in battery." I last updated this blog almost a month ago. Between work and a few projects, I just did not have the time or the inspiration to write. Well, my motivation is back and a few things have happened my life. Now for the update to the goings on here just east of the equator...

Work has kept me incredibly busy the past few weeks. Despite the tough economy out there right now, the General has kept me incredibly busy. GE Aviation here in Grand Rapids has been chasing new business and I have been busy assisting in the pursuit. I am also now a group manager, so I have additional responsibilities in overseeing the work of seven reliability engineers.

Last weekend, Deirdre and I made a road trip to Oscoda, Michigan, where our friend Steve has a cottage on the shores of Lake Huron. We went there for the specific purpose of searching for a cottage of our own. We visited Steve at the end of August and we got the bug to look in earnest for a cottage. Subsequent to our visit in August, we located a realtor (her name is Missy) and we told her what we were looking for in a cottage. Missy looked at some listings for us and arranged for us to see five different properties. Each one had some different to offer, and all of them were beachfront property.


I am happy to report that we have located a property and made an offer to purchase it. The seller has accepted our offer and now we have to work out a few details of the purchase. We will need to have the property inspected and appraised, and start the process to close on the property. We are expecting to close sometime in late November. The property is a two bedroom, one bath cottage on a lot that is 50' X 175' with a great view of Lake Huron.



The inside of the cottage is pretty typical of most cottages in northern Michigan: varnished knotty pine. The kitchen was recently updated and there is even a garage which blocks the sounds from U.S. 23, a road that snakes around the eastern shores of Lake Huron. This real estate transaction is a "work in progress," and there are a few milestones we will need to meet before we get the keys to the place. Look for updates as evolution this progresses.

My new red shoes

Well, made a quick get-away to Lake Huron for the day and Samson had his first exposure to a real lake. We know that he loves playing in the pools at Whiskers, but he had never seen a natural body of water before today. Samson was a little tenuous when he was first exposed to Lake Huron, but after a few minutes of barking at the waves, he absolutely loves the water.



















In the course of our visit to Lake Huron, I bought a pair of Crocs. A couple of my friends have them and I was always interested in getting a pair. Well, I found a pair that fits that were on sale (half off). How could I refuse a deal like that? I will tell you, these Crocs are comfy and they are the best beach shoes ever. They give me great support and they rinse right off. These will be my beach shoes for years to come.

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