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Summer Memories from the Far North

4/23/2015

6 Comments

 
Now nothing seems as strange as when the leaves began to change . . . or how we thought those days would never end . . . it was summer time in Northern Michigan . . . 
~ Kid Rock
Picture
For those of us who choose to live our lives far, far north of the equator, with the ever changing rhythms of our lives dictated by the four seasons, summer is teasing us again. It happens like this in Michigan every year, yet people continue to be surprised by it. It's part of the rhythm. It's April 23 today. Yesterday it snowed. This morning when I went to let the dogs out, an angry wind was chasing a few rogue, frantic snowflakes around the yard. In unison, my bewildered pair of Boxer dogs gave me a desperate look that said Seriously?! Again?  

Oh, Michigan Summer! That fleeting stretch of days that fall sometime between July and August and rival Christmas for the anticipation and the magic. Northern summers. Long, languorous days that ficklely fade into balmy, billion star nights or cool fire-lit forays . . . the buzz of cicadas and fresh garden tomatoes and children splashing in cerulean blue pools until the fading sun calls them to dinner . . . Fireflies at dusk and the earthy scent of thousands of backyard bonfires drifting over neighborhoods and stretching wide through campfire woods and to the riverbanks of the Grand and the AuSable and the Shiawassee and the Manistique . . . Sleeping Bear sand dune mesas reached on aching legs under an unforgiving sun . . . just for the multitudes to gaze over giant, ancient lakes. A cool glass of Merlot under a warm night moon . . . or the Northern lights over the Mackinaw Bridge for the very lucky . . . 

I realize that right about now I'm sounding like Tim Allen on a Pure Michigan ad, but really! Doesn't the yearning begin to take you there when you're hit with an icy blast on a Thursday morning in April? Ferryboats and fudge and dodging horses on Mackinaw Island . . . Drinking  wine coolers and falling off water skis on Wamplers Lake . . . Up North cabins on Crystal Lake, motorcycles on backwoods highline trails, telling ghost stories around campfires, and rainy night Monopoly games . . . Fireworks in the suburbs that scare your dog under the bed and fireworks for two countries over  the Detroit River . . . Farmers markets and county fairs . . . 

What is your Michigan summer memory?

​I know it's not just this Michigan girl standing at the window, palms gripping the warm ceramic of a sunflower teacup, while wrapped in a fuzzy, oversized bathrobe, and gazing imploringly Heavenward. Let's all curse and pray. Like all Michiganders do every spring on thirty-five degree days. It's that time of year again.





6 Comments
Windy
4/23/2015 05:39:01 am

Well done! you might add dogs chasing sticks or a frisbe into the water and diving or back flipping off the pontoon or jumping off bridges into the river you just tubed down or even sailing on the open waters as the sun sets and of course everyone's favorite bonfires and smores

Reply
Aerin Leigh
4/23/2015 06:34:18 am

Oh, the tubing! And the flock of chairs! And Queen's Fat Bottomed Girls playing on the river pontoon at midnight! And hot tubbing in the rain til 4am! The best times with you!😘

Reply
Sabrie
4/25/2015 01:01:49 am

The smell of coppertone sunscreen mixed with the water and sand on the beach! I can't wait. Very good blog! Makes me yearn for summer so much more!

Reply
Aerin Leigh-Amann
4/25/2015 07:03:27 am

That's a great one, Sabrie! Copper tone summer and hot sand! I'm feeling it!

Reply
Shelley Kunkle link
5/21/2015 12:44:46 am

I have never had the experience of travelling out of the south. I absolutely enjoyed reading this! I live in Florida and while it is paradise in itself, something I do miss is the change of seasons and cooler weather!

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Amanda Marie link
5/21/2015 11:03:31 am

Great post! I am so ready for summer! I live in Charleston and it is pretty much here however the weather always plays tricks on us here! One day will be nice and warm in the 80's then bam! It is like 40's the next day! I love the season and watching them convert is the best! Thanks for the simple reminder of the beauty of nature! ~Amanda Marie~

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    I'm Aerin Leigh.  I'm a once upon a time teacher and a forever reading cheerleader.  I'm a writer, a reading specialist, and a a believer in the power of words.  I've seen a little of the world, but my first love is Michigan.  I live here with my husband and two spoiled Boxer dogs, Merlot and Riesling.  We're happy empty nesters and we spend a lot of time in our hot tub. . . to stay warm.  Winter is my solace, but Summer has been my teacher and my friend.  I'm an occasional runner, and a constant connoisseur of wine and friendship and gel nails.  Anything that lights up is magic to me . . .  like fireflies, the glow of a storybook moon, Christmas lights under the stars, and my Colorado grandbabies' faces when they see me on Skype.  I embrace quirky things like Feng Shui and Acupuncture and prayer . . . because they just might work.  I'm a survivor of much and of many, but I leave my heart wide open.  My children are my role models, my current passion is possibility, and my God is good. 


    Come follow my leap of faith journey . . . There'll probably be a lot of crazy, but you just might get to witness a soft landing.  
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