The Denis Sullivan Schooner (Barry's photo)
I called my friend Jan today. We’re trying to arrange a trip to a tea house in Houghton next Friday. Along with another friend, Joanne, we’ve been planning this trip for a year or two now. It seems we can never arrange a day when we’re all available. It looks like this Friday might hopefully work.
Jan said, “You’ll never believe what I did yesterday!” I was all ears, but never expected her next sentence at all. “I was sailing on a ship from Keweenaw to Huron Bay.”
Jan was one of the passengers on the three-masted schooner that Barry and I waited for yesterday for two hours in the rain! As promised, here is the photo of the Denis Sullivan ship. The expedition was offered in conjunction with Michigan Technological University and the Keweenaw Land Trust. Participants, as the flyer announced, were challenged to work aboard the traditionally rigged Great Lakes Schooner while exploring important links between land and water conservation.
Jan said she stood near the operations and watched the crew work with great interest. She marveled how they made precise nautical adjustments with such skill. It sounded like it was a fantastic experience. Her story sounded so fun and intriguing I almost wished I was on board ship rather than wandering along the shore of Lightfoot Bay for two hours peering for the sails on the horizon. Which we never saw. Barry eventually photographed the ship from Witz Marina near 6 p.m. when I was cozily at home writing yesterday’s blog.
Here are two websites for interested readers: http://voyage.pierwisconsin.org/ds/schooner.php shows a virtual tour of the ship and answers the intriguing questions A) Who was Denis Sullivan? B) Why did they build a schooner and, most important, C) What is a schooner?
http://www.discoveryworld.org/denisSullivan.php tells interested folks how they can become a part of day, multi-day or semester-long voyages on this ship. It says: The S/V Denis Sullivan is a modern educational sailing vessel with two 180 hp diesel engines, a scientific laboratory, two computer workstations and a modern communication and navigation equipment. She maintains single bunks in co-ed areas, shared toilets (heads) and showers, and limited storage. The vessel can carry up to 21 participants overnight and 50 passengers on day sails. She is complemented by a professional crew of ten.
Circles in the sand
While Jan was sailing in Lake Superior, feeling the wind and rain on her cheeks, I was wandering around with my camera admiring the many beautiful images and natural art on the shore.
Sand and water art
I loved the way this reddish branch lay planted in the sand, sideways, dangling over the rhythmic rush of the waves. See its reflection? If you look closely you can even see glistening raindrops. And this pollen-stained indention of the pond also looked so intriguing.
Inland pollen bay
And a gift for the land from the magnificent bald eagle. He (or she) dropped a tail feather onto this beautiful shoreland, perhaps to honor the sand and waves, the commitment of the Keweenaw Land Trust members, the memories of children who once built sand castles here, the cold June rain, the frozen snowy winters or…maybe the tail feather simply was ready to fall from sky to earth and rest gently between the green beach grasses.
Beautiful eagle feather
Finally, some of you may have noticed I changed the header photo. The red berries are gone! Time for another view. A wider more expansive view, at least for now. (P.S. today’s outdoor adventure involved taking a walk along the road in the rain. It’s been raining for days now, it seems. And it’s cold. In the 50′s. Since when did the 50′s become cold? My mind kept trying to convince me how miserable it was…until finding those wild ripe strawberries. If it wasn’t for Part 2 of the sailing ships the title of the blog would have been: Eating Wild Strawberries in the Rain.)
Ripples in an inland pond
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June 30, 2009 at 9:47 pm
Gerry
It’s going to take some effort to get used to a door opening to a scene with no red in it, but I’m up to the job. Probably.
Nice framing of the schooner, Barry! It is funny to think of you waiting to see it while Jan was sailing on it, but you did have an adventure of another kind. Just going out and paying attention pretty much guarantees that you’ll find something worth thinking about, doesn’t it?
Love the sand pattern. It echoes the patterns on some of the stones that tumble on the bayshore here. I think they’re some kind of sandstone, but don’t hold me to it.
July 1, 2009 at 7:14 am
flandrumhill
You would post an eagle feather the night before I see an eagle on the trail. Just don’t post any bear fur photos ok?
Later this month, the Tall Ships are coming to Halifax. It’s a really big deal out here whenever they come. People are all over the place trying to catch a glimpse of them as they parade around the harbour, bank machines run out of cash and there’s not a parking space to be found. The ships dwarf the skyscrapers when they come into port. They must have been such a sight to the natives when they first arrived in the New World. Barry’s photo makes me think of what they would have seen from the woods.
July 1, 2009 at 12:10 pm
allielujah
I cannot believe I forgot to link back to NaBloPoMo. Silly me, I must fix that soon!
http://nablopomo.ping.com, I do believe, though I’m pretty sure just typing in http://nablopomo.com will still direct you.
July 1, 2009 at 3:29 pm
Nature Lovin' Super Mama
Centria-Thanks for stopping by my blog. the Pigeon is near Gaylord, or Vanderbilt to be exact. I live here only b/c we could not find jobs in the U.P.! O want to retire near you, and mt. man is going for some where warm…I think we should flip a coin
Anyway, Love your blog as well, and the many beautiful pictures you post. You capture the north as I know it…thank you! Hope you have a great day!
NLSM
O and good luck on your quest!
July 1, 2009 at 6:10 pm
centria
Gerry, just told Barry your comment. He said, “oh did I get a photo credit?” Love what you said about just going out and paying attention pretty much guarantees you’ll find something worth thinking about. How true, how true! I used to be so nervous about coming up with something to write about in this blog day after day. But your sentence just sums it up. Go out, pay attention, and you don’t have to worry.
Amy, can I post a bear photo if it’s not too close?
Yes, can’t you imagine the reactions the Native Americans had when they saw these tall ships? If our hearts flutter (and we know what they are) can you imagine the first sighting of one when you didn’t know what it was?
Allielujah, thank you kindly! I appreciate the links. For any of you other bloggers who want to dedicate to writing every day for a month, go join NaBloPoMo. (whatever that means). Everybody supports everybody else in that endeavor. I figured being on Day 193, maybe that might inspire people wanting to stick to the comittment of regular blogging. Or something. Hope you have fun with this Allielujah!
Hi there Nature Lovin’ Super Mama. I know exactly where Vanderbilt is! We go by it on our way downstate. Well, hopefully you win the coin toss and can convince the Mt. Man to live up here. It’s great…except when it’s 50 degrees on July 1st and you have to build a fire in the woodstove. Shhh, don’t tell him that… Thank you so much for coming over here to visit this blog. I’ll be back to visit yours.
May 10, 2010 at 1:25 pm
Colleen Lloyd
Hi Kathy, it’s 10:30 am and I’ve just finished June. The intent was to read for a few moments while enjoying my coffee but have ended up spending the last two hours here. I am enjoying this so very much, everything about it, including the comments. I feel as if I am right there with everyone, experiencing life on the Upper Peninnsula. Have you ever thought about putting this into a book? What you do here is really special. The way you draw people right into your stories and descriptions. I lose all track of time and literally become part of your story. You seem to be so present in each moment that you share…so completely and honestly there. As well as being a darn fine writer and photographer! There is so much more here than just a daily blog!!
May 10, 2010 at 6:24 pm
Kathy
Colleen, I still can’t believe you’re reading the entire outdoor blog year. TWO HOURS? You read for TWO HOURS? You are a saint. You could be my publicist. You know my problem about putting it into book form? I am so “in the moment” that it feels like this moment has already passed. It was a great year of moments, but it feels almost too hard to go back into a past moment and re-live it. Of course, it could be viewed as making it into the present moment, but… I am so glad you are enjoying it. It was a special blog, wasn’t it? And you know there are still between 175-300 people stopping by per day. That’s amazing. Guess that’s what google does for ya. But it makes me happy that you are experiencing the year and enjoying it so thoroughly. I admire YOU!!
May 11, 2010 at 10:48 am
Colleen Lloyd
Kathy, yes, I do understand how you might feel about going back. I think I would most likely have similar feelings about that. I also wonder if reading it this like this, not a day at a time but several days or even weeks of posts all connected together with the comments from your readers and friends (which is such a great part of it all and takes it to another level again) gives one a different perspective and appreciation. I suppose it might. In any case… it’s a wonderful journey, on every level, and I’m not at all surprised that people are being drawn to it.
Smiles, Colleen