Family Rest

Over the Labor Day week-end, my sisters and I took a trip together to see my brother Jay and sister-in-law Cheryl. I was up for 6 days, came home for one, then headed back for a family vacation and well deserved rest, we had so much fun.

Sitting together on their back deck, we listened as Jay told stories from his recent trip to a reservation in Manes-tee.

He and Cheryl have been working hard getting the sauna and cabin ready for winter.

Always class, Cheryl stains in her long skirt and jewelry! Actually, we had walked back to the cabin and she couldn't resist trying out the new deck stain. Eventually, she and Jay will finish staining the entire exterior of the cabin.

I love their dogs. Sierra is a yellow lab who loves to play fetch and swim. So combining the two seemed the natural thing to do!

She could do this all day if you let her, and if you had the stamina to keep throwing the stick! Ralph is a sheep dog mix, and is the sweetest thing. He's diabetic and almost blind, but you'd never know it. He's an awesome watch dog, and a big moosh. I love him!

Nature abounds in and around the pond. I caught this glimpse of one of the bull frogs that live here,

and also this garden snake sunning by the tree.

They own many chickens, this is Mardi-Grau, a young Polish hen.

There are so many different mushrooms on the forest floor, and these shelf mushrooms on the side of the trees. I don't know the technical name for them.

I thought the yellow ones that are in numbers were so pretty.

Jay found that something was eating his tomatoes, and set a live trap thinking it was probably a raccoon. In the morning, he found this little possum, and released it by the river and woods down the road. He was so cute!
I can't wait til I can go back, I just love it up there.