Skiing in Michigan

While in Michigan, we had the opportunity to go skiing. We rented some cross country skis and explored a nearby park, Grass River Natural Area. It was a beautiful snowy place with a trail to a small lake.

Our Group: Ben, Joy, Megan, and Paul

Joy and Megan on the trail.

One of the many boardwalks on the trail.

Joy and Megan at the lake overlook.

This old railroad bed was perfect for cross country skiing!

The next day, we headed over to Schuss Mountain to enjoy a day of downhill skiing and snowboarding.

Our Group: Megan, Ben, Joy, Shilah, Kristen, and Paul.

A cute snowy couple.

Another cute couple. We thought this bench was cool because it was made out of skis!

Joy and Megan riding up on the ski lift. We had a great time!

UP Birding

Grass River Natural Area
We went cross country skiing at this park in the Lower Peninsula. I thought this was pretty, so I threw it into the post as well.

A Birder's Guide to Michigan had very useful directions to different feeder stations. This was one of the first ones we stopped at just north of Kinross. Turkey's were just sitting beside the road. Pine Grosbeaks were at the feeders, plus the other common assorted northern birds.

This is the Edison Power Plant. A gray phase Gyrfalcon used to spend the winter perched on this building. Alas... I did get some nice looks at Common Goldeneyes and Common Mergansers.

If I make it back, I will want to spend more time at the excellent feeders at Dunbar Park. Evening Grosbeaks and Common Redpolls had been reported here before and after. There seemed like there were hundreds of Pine Siskens calling at once. They really appreciated the seed that was spread on the ground under the conifers. Dunbar is where I got some really nice pictures of the Pine Grosbeaks.

Red-Shouldered Hawk

This lovely hawk was sitting along the road just up the hill from the Shieldstown covered bridge over the White River. He did not seem to be bothered by me stopping. I was hoping that he would spot some prey while I was watching.

Mr. Scout

Now that Scout is an old man in rat years, one of his favorite things to do is to sleep in his yellow house with his blankets.



One day, when we came home we found Scout curled up in his blankets like this. He regularly shuts the door (with his blanket) when he is ready to sleep.

Fun and Games

While vacationing in Michigan, we were able to do one of Joy's favorite things... play games! We played a number of thrilling rounds of Jenga, some fast games of Set, plus some Pictionary and Phase 10. And when we got tired of playing card games, we had the Wii to play too!

Megan was the queen of Jenga!

Ben making his move.

Joy and Megan showing off their dancing skills.

Paul showing Shilah how it is done.

We had to try the local Mexican restaurant.

Our ice adventure! We took a walk on our frozen lake at night.

The mornings were very peaceful. It was beautiful to watch the sun shine on the snow.

Relaxing in the morning and enjoying breakfast with a snowy view.

Our Snowy Cabin on Lake Manuka

We spent last week at a cabin in northern Michigan with some friends. It was snowy, peaceful, and a beautiful place to stay.

Common Goldeneye

This hansome duck was swimming in the St. Marys River in Sault Ste. Marie, MI. There was rumored to be a Harlequin duck in the area, but Common Goldeneyes were the most common. Other ducks in the area were Mallards, Black Ducks, and Common Mergansers.

Northern Shrike

A new bird for me while visiting the UP was this Northern Shrike. The Northern Shrike is pretty similar to the more southern Loggerhead Shrike, but the mask is much thinner. These guys apparently make it to northern Indiana in the winter, but I have not seen one.

Pine Grosbeaks

I had one day to visit the eastern UP to look for boreal bird species. While I struck out on several of the birds that I was hoping for, I did enjoy getting to see several flocks of Pine Grosbeaks.
Pine Grosbeaks are a large member of the finch family. From a distance, they just look large, plump, and gray. These guys were not very concerned by my presence, although they were more challenging to photograph than they would appear. I had seen them on other time in the Rocky Mountain National Park; this was my first time to see them in the Midwest.