Passing along the MeMe blog awards!

River stones

A couple of days ago flandrumhill (Amy) from Nova Scotia passed along a MeMe blogging award to Opening the door, walking outside.  Who knows who came up with this idea in the blogosphere?  But here were the instructions:

In order to accept the award one must reveal seven things about oneself and then pass along the award to seven other bloggers.  Since I won’t be extensively outside today until after blog-writing self-imposed deadline (and still have photos from yesterday!) it’s time to play along.

There are so many interesting blogs that I have read this year…it’s hard to decide which ones to highlight.  But since this is an outdoors blog, the decision is made.  The highlighted blogs must have writers who feature the outdoors predominantly, or who exhibit a strong sense of Place or Landscape in their blog-space.  My other beloved blogs will have to play second fiddle.

I don’t know if this is allowed, but the first award goes back to flandrumhill.  Amy comes from Nova Scotia and her blog is utterly utterly fascinating.  She is a teacher and lover of the natural world extraordinaire.  She blends together facts and mystery with a charming style.  She’ll make you want to visit the coasts, the bogs, the woods of this fair landscape.  Do visit her world and I guarantee you’ll learn so much about Nova Scotia and the way the land intersects with our human vistas.

Red pine bark

Then there is Gerry at Torch Lake Views.  I admit to adoring Gerry’s neck-of-the-woods because she lives smack-dab in the middle of the area where I spent many years growing up at my parents’ cottage.  Reading her blog brings back memories and joys.  She’ll mention a place like the Dockside or Brownwood or Bellaire and my heart goes pitter-pattering back to those years of floating on Intermediate Lake on a paddleboard, learning how to drive on Antrim County Roads, exploring Lake Michigan’s shoreline.  She’s REALLY funny too; has a great sense of humor.  Do stop by and read about this lakeland community in Northern (lower) Michigan.

Then there’s Bree.  Bree lives halfway between the Upper and Lower Peninsulas.  “What?” you say, “What exists between the two peninsulas?”  The answer is Mackinac Island.  She’s living there this summer from Georgia and her blog is jam-packed filled with the enchantment of living on Mackinac Island, a place where motorized vehicles aren’t allowed and the muskets fire from the fort.  She’ll make you want to pack your bags and move there.  She almost makes me want to scurry over to the island before the summer’s out, just to walk again along the roadside smelling fudge and dodging bicycles and… Do visit Bree’s Mackinac Island Blog.

Pebbles caught in between slate

Moving back downstate Michigan (hmm, seems to be a Michigan theme going here…)  you all might want to check out these blogs:  Nature Loving Super Mama who lives near the Pigeon River forest and the Tip of the Mitt and  Adventures of an Innkeeper about Iris and her life as an innkeeper in Benzie County (haven’t quite figured out exactly where Benzie County is yet.  Not exactly…)  Also Kath at the Great Lakes Gazette is a wonderful promoter of Michigan and shares IMPORTANT information like where is the best pasty?  (Everyone knows the U.P. is famous for pasty meat-potato-vegetable pies, right?)  Hurry on over and find out what she has to say.  OK,  one more Michigan favorite:  Jessica at The Magical Mundane Blogspot.  She shares lots about gardening and the outdoors…check it out!

Shadow play

Guess I can’t even follow simple instructions.  Two more blogs, just two more, even though I’m probably missing at least a dozen of the really good ones.  My dear friend Sahlah has a wonderful blog.  I LOVE her photos.  They are astounding and they lure me into the thought of traveling out to the West Coast to visit.  If you have a spare minute or fifteen minutes, drop into her wonderful world at sahlah.wordpress.com.  You won’t regret it. 

Finally (I promise!  I promise!)  do you want to see some MAGNIFICENT photography?  This fellow has been a photographer for more than twenty years and has some “real” equipment, much better than the little Sony Cybershot this blogger is using.  You’ll drool looking at some of his photos, I promise.  Please visit:  http://cherokeebydesign.wordpress.com/  (and he writes some good poetry and other thoughts as well!)

OK, to finalize the deal.  Seven things about myself.  Oh dear.  What don’t you already know?  Well they would have to be indoor kind of things.  Let’s see:

1)  I have two part time jobs.  As a business manager of a two room school and a township treasurer.

2)  We’ll be married for 31 years next month.  Barry and I, that is.  (had to do some quick math.)

3)  I have a challenged gall bladder, so to avoid surgery, we started eating a macrobiotic diet about three years ago.  So far:  no surgery!  And no pain, if I don’t eat too much fat.  (like on trips.  which sometimes happens.)

4)  We had a delicious enchilada sauce pizza covered with black beans and onions and peppers and cilantro and low-fat mozzerella cheese last night for dinner.

5)  Oh dear!  Nothing else interesting is surfacing.  Let me think harder.  Our last dog was part probably half-coyote.  We found her pitchforked and injured at the neighbor’s house back in the 1980’s and I picked up the injured dog in the dark (what kind of idiot does this?) and she screamed and lay still.  We had her fixed by the vet and she was the greatest dog in the world.  But she’s been long gone.

6)  This blog has taken a LONG time to write. 

7)  OK, I’m a rulebreaker.  Will not state a #7.  Except for the fact that stating you’re a ruler breaker, is probably #7.

Trail of needles on stone