One More Week :-(

Today, in a frantic effort to see what I can of upper Michigan, I drove to Wilderness State Park, which is just to the left of the "tip of the mitt" -- on Lake Michigan (geographically challenged readers: see map).

I was surprised: one side of the bay was sandy in places and the water clear -- almost like an ocean. There were sand bars meters out into the ocean that were only a couple inches deep.


The other side was rockier, and there were many seagulls. Supposedly the endangered Piping Plover inhabits the area, but of course I didn't see any.


Besides seagulls, I saw a crayfish (?).

On the way back I stopped in Cheboygan to see the matinee showing of Stardust, which was fun, if simplistic like all fairy tales. Speaking of stars, a meteor shower is supposed to peak tonight. There's no moon, and I can see the milky way here on normal days. Anyway, while I was walking in the residential area killing time until the movie, I came across this deserted Carnagie Library. They always make me a little bit sad.


Bonus: here's a picture from Petoskey (see map again).

The Empire Strikes Back?

Russian planes flying near Guam on Wednesday were heralded as harbingers of a new Cold War. But I wonder if that's not wishful thinking. Wouldn't we all rather have another 40-year stand-off with a known enemy than face, say, China? The C.W. made for great spy novels and space ships, and at least we didn't have to deal, as in the current situation, with religious rhetoric (at least not on the Russians' part) or curtailed civil rights (except for the wee McCarthy episode in the 50s). I'm all for it, unless it accelerates the whole 80s trend in fashion and shoulder pads come back. I'm NOT wearing shoulder pads no matter what the state of global diplomacy. Although, shoulder pads were really in vogue during glasnost and all that -- during the waning years. Maybe I should be more concerned about the poodle skirt . . . Now THAT is a scary thought.

Sad :-(

Chinese river dolphin feared extinct. First extinction of large vertebrate in over 50 years. Anyone who isn't sad that a dolphin species goes extinct is a HORRIBLE PERSON, and I hope you have BAD DREAMS in which Flipper grabs your ankle and drowns you.

PersonalDNA

Yes, yes, yes, I should be doing other things. But it is hot and I have an ear infection and I can't really make myself get up.