Bridges

More kayaking from yesterday - but not today, it is raining! Paddling up river, I came to the mysterious remains of a bridge. The bridge abutment leads to a narrow, high ridge, as were constructed for narrow gauge railroads in the 1800s, but now overgrown with huge trees. It would not be visible in the summer undergrowth. In the distance is the Fisher Lake Road bridge over the Portage River. Also mysteriously, Fisher Lake Road does not go to Fisher Lake. So many mysteries!

Home Sweet Home

I've been thinking about starting a series of photos of the many interesting homes in Three Rivers, but the morning was sunny so I went out on the Portage River - and found an interesting home... well, it is for wood ducks, but has a great location!

Sunset, again

I didn't mean to post yet another sky picture - but there it was yesterday evening, monochrome. A sense of scale comes from the trees and power lines in the lower right corner, (click image for a larger view.)

See more of the world in monochrome at The Monochrome Weekly, presented by Aileni.

Michigan Tiki

"Tiki" as a decorating style, idealized to ridiculous adaptions of decorative elements from a broad range of Pacific cultures, was popular among restauranteurs and suburban homeowners in the US in the 1950s. When I was growing up in California there were still some remnants of the style, especially "Tiki-torches", decorative garden lamps for outdoor parties, and in the decor of moldy old restaurants and bars. Moving to the midwest, I was very surprised to find "Tiki" still "alive and kicking" in rural areas, with Tiki-themed restaurants and Tiki-themed rest stops along the highway. I even once spotted a "Tiki" gas station.

Yesterday was a lovely sunny day, and I went out on the Portage River here in Three Rivers. Along the river this property-owner has a nice dock with comfortable chairs - and a palm-frond decorated "Tiki" umbrella! Looks so jaunty with the bare deciduous trees, don't you think? :-)

Saturday Morning

After last night's peaceful sunset, the brilliant colors of this morning's sunrise were a surprise. It has been a beautiful day, so far! View over Hoffman Pond on the Portage River in Three Rivers.

Friday Sunset

A sunny morning, but the rest of the day was overcast, grey. As the sun slipped under the clouds at the end of the day it produced a lovely pastel sunset. (Looking west from the hospital in Three Rivers.)

Skywatch Friday gives you a glimpse of skies around the world, find links to this week's participants at http://skyley.blogspot.com/.

Veterans Day

Yesterday was Veterans Day; the Riverside Cemetery in Three Rivers was decorated with flags and markers for the graves of former servicemen. Formerly called "Armistice Day", November 11 is also celebrated as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day in other countries, and marks the end of World War I. In the US, it became in 1954 a day to honor the veterans of all wars.

This giant boulder in the cemetery was placed there in 1903, "Dedicated To the Perpetual Memory of the Soldiers of All Wars." Surrounding the boulder are four signs, each sign with lines of a poem. Walking clockwise around the boulder, the poem reads:

The neighing troop, the flashing blade,
The bugle's stirring blast,
The charge, the dreadful cannonade,
The din and shout are past.

No rumor of the foe's advance
Now swells upon the wind:
No troubled thought at midnight haunts
Of loved ones left behind.

No vision of the morrows strife
The warrior's dream alarms.
No braying horn nor screaming fife
At dawn shall call to arms.

On fame's eternal camping-ground
Their silent tents are spread,
And glory guards with solemn round
The bivouac of the dead.