INDIAN SUMMER

This is the Indian Summer of my youth, the Indian summer of my dreams. Languid sunny & mild days, crisp nights, and all the sounds and smells of Autumn. Eight days in a row now with more to come. The Maple trees are on fire with color not seen for many years, along with the brilliant yellow of Beech & Aspen.

I know all about the biology of trees in autumn…chlorophyl that makes the leaves green and so on. But I like to think that God gives us these days as a kind of reward for what is to follow.

 What a great place we live in. We have marveled at least a hundred times at how blue the sky has been, how stunning the colors, how the October warmth embraced us. The rivers & streams are swollen with spawning salmon, orchards are overflowing with sweet apples and people are coming north in record numbers. This past weekend, there were no rooms available in the Grand Traverse region. We went to Traverse City on Saturday, walked the bay, went to the Farmers market, then drove to Leland. We had packed a picnic so we went to Vans beach and were surprised to see so many people laying on the sand and walking the vast shoreline of Sleeping Bear. It must have been 80 degrees. We kicked off our shoes and walked the shore looking for the elusive Leland “Bluestone” and actually found a few. After, we went to one of the 20 or so superb winery/vineyards that dot the Leelanau Peninsula. Shady Lane is just beautiful and they produce an excellent product. Altogether, a spectacular day in Northern Michigan.

Cider mills are not a big thing in northern Michigan, but they are huge downstate. I guess it must be because we have so many apple orchards up here that maybe we take the whole thing for granted. I miss Franklin Cider Mill in Franklin Michigan…an upscale village northwest of Detroit. There cider was always the best…pure, thick, and sweet. And I loved watching to donuts being made. The workers dropped the dough into huge vats of boiling oil and the dough would bubble & pop until a doney was born about a minute or so later. Those donuts were then, and still are, my very favorite. Some mills would have huge bonfires on the weekends along with hayrides and haunted houses later in October. Then there was game day…college football Saturdays. I miss those days as well. Huge pots of homemade chili, brats on the grille, a multitude of snacks and deserts at the tailgate parties on the golf course at U of M. And yet, despite not having these things, it is still better living up north.

Trout season came and went and I confess that – dumb me – took time off to wet a line only ONE time! Indian Summer is supposed to last for at least another week, so I need to get off of my ass and take advantage of this blessing and head to the Holy Waters where the fishing is open year-round.

Indian Summer will soon give way to Eskimo Winter.