Millions of Trilliums

It's been a dreary week up here in the UP, but we aren't complaining. So many parts of this country are dealing with rain and flooding - including some of our favorite places in Wyoming.

But with the muddy roads and the millions of raindrops that fall and the onslaught of millions of mosquitoes and other bugs whose species I don't know...

...come millions of trilliums.

Most of the ones I found are white, but if you look towards the top of this photo there are a couple of pink ones.

They blanket the woods and the power lines and the roadsides bringing a smile to my face and my heart.

One of my favorite things...

Back Home Again...

Riley and Lindsey and Gus came to visit us this past weekend now that we are back in the wonderful UP. I absolutely love this picture of Gus staring at the rolling waves of Lake Michigan with the Mackinac Bridge in the distance. 

Great picture Riley and Lindsey!

We had a great weekend sitting 'round the bon fire talking, laughing, eating...

It's taken me until today to get every single thing unpacked. As I've mentioned before, Steve is renovating our little house here in the woods, and during the process things have been moved around and rearranged. But truthfully, I just wasn't in that big of a hurry to unpack. When we arrived on Friday, May 8, there was just enough daylight to walk around the yard and check out my spring flowers - tulips and daffodils - and perennial herbs. No porcupines on the back porch this year!

Then on Saturday I unpacked the essentials.

It was a gorgeous day.

Steve said, "We have all next week to unpack. Let's go fishing."

I said, "I'll pack a cooler and get my fishing pole."

I caught a 10.5 inch brook trout out of this hole but forgot to take a pic of it. I was so excited because I was using the bait I used out in Wyoming and it worked!

So Ike and I hung out hoping to catch another...

...Bear watched and waited...

...but got bored and decided to primp her paws in a wildflower patch.

I wasn't catching anymore fish so Ike bailed on me and went on to better scenery and a more comfy spot.

Then Steve came around the bend with a 9 inch brook trout.

I made him stop so I could get a pic of his fish before he released it back into the river.

Steve doesn't miss a beat. In the midst of the unpacking, we took a day trip downstate to get things for this project from places like Lowes and Home Depot. Here Steve is putting up the doors he made for the pantry he built me. I now have two closets and one pantry. When we moved here to deer camp, I had zilch, nada. 

I wanted to share this photo with those of you who aren't on Facebook (Hi Mom!). I posted this a few weeks back with the caption "My favorite place to stop on the ATV trail." 

I'm gonna miss that state until next time.

Counting the Days...

The dogs and I took our walk a few days ago and I wanted to share with you the beautiful spring day!

There wasn't a cloud in the sky!

Well, I guess there was a cloud or two floating over the canyon. Steve and I took our last ATV mountain ride for the year. It makes me sad, Wyoming is so awesome, yet I'm ready for my beautiful UP and Yooper friends.

Do you see the top of the cabin?

There it is, our home sweet home for the past 2 1/2 months.

Very soon we will be filling that white trailer up with all of our stuff and head back east and north.

Bittersweet.

But having these guys coming out of hibernation helps.We found this dead Bullsnake on the road by Lake DeSmet. They are nonvenomous. However, I guess they bite hard.  The biggest Bullsnake can get up to 8 feet long and weigh just under 10 pounds. They are easily mistaken for Rattlesnakes but don't have the rattle at the end of their tail. Locals tell us not to kill the Bullsnakes because they keep Rattlesnakes at bay.

Okeedokie.

Good to know.

Time to go home.

Seven and Four and Two to Two

Our last fishing trip at Lake DeSmet lasted seven hours but we caught four fish!

Four NICE fish.

We each caught two. We tied. Yes, we're a little bit competitive that way when we fish.

Just a little.

My fishing buddy goes to work.

Yum! Fish Fry!