So much to talk about tonight, and lots of photos to show you also.
I feel like I’ve been running at top speed today, and as I look forward through the rest of the week, I see no let-up in sight. That is probably a good thing. If I had time to slow down and really think about these last few days, I would be in a permanent pout. So I just keep cleaning, and packing, and trying not to think . . . only four more nights on the island.
First, some pics – because no matter what else I’ve done this week, I have definitely been outside with the camera. I never would have believed that the fall colors could get any more spectacular than they were last year, but I was so wrong. This year the yellows are more yellow, and the reds are more red. The trees are almost glowing – that’s the only way I know to say it. And there have actually been other things going on besides glowing trees!

Our condo boardwalk is over 20 years old, and when we arrived this spring and walked on it for the first time, we all knew a new boardwalk was in our near future. Most of the planks were loose, and you could feel the "give" with each footstep. It was becoming a hazard.

As each section of the old boardwalk was pulled up, someone else was busily hammering together a new section to replace it.

. . . then returned on Monday morning to finish up. On Monday afternoon, the dray driver hitched up two horses to the wagon and hauled away the old boardwalk wood. Three-and-a-half days from start to finish - plus cleanup. Awesome!

Sunday was the last service of the season at Little Stone Church. We posed after church with friends Don and Bonnie, who just celebrated their 49th wedding anniversary. They must have gotten married when they were 12!

The Carriage Museum closed last Wednesday, and the workers spent three days cleaning up and cleaning out (kinda like Ted and I are doing now). We walked over on Friday to find Denise and Kim sanding and scraping paint from all the benches. Denise said they paint them about every three years - and this was the year to get it done.

As fast as Denise and Kim could get a bench prepared, Judy would start painting it. We will miss all five of these wonderful friends. We saw them every single day that we were here.

The path behind the Carriage Museum, where Ted and I walk with the dogs if we're heading for Turtle Park or the fort . . .

. . . and one of the private tour drivers chose to follow that path with a group of visitors while we were standing and talking.

From under the overhang of the Carriage Museum porch, a perfect example of God's spectacular color palette.

Inside the museum. This window is where we buy the most delicious donuts on the island. Psst . . . don't believe those signs - the wonderful Jamaican ladies who cook those donuts have left the island - this window is closed for the season.

The riding stables are still open, but a lot of their horses are already playing in the pastures in Pickford. The horses that are left are probably wondering, "When do I catch the boat?"

I had never been to the Wawashkamo Golf Course, but I was out that way Saturday afternoon working on a story and rode down the entrance path to snap this pic of the clubhouse.

Monday morning breakfast with the girls at Jesse's Chuckwagon - Frankie, Mary, Loretta, Jill, Marti, Paula and "bad hair day" me with the cap!

I think I've posted some version of this view at least three times this summer. Can you tell me what's missing?

Answer: The huge pots filled to overflowing with grasses and profusely blooming flowers of every variety. Workers from the Grand emptied them this week.

No spectators Monday at the Grand Hotel tennis courts - no players either. The temp never climbed out of the 50's.

Trees on the Jewel Golf Course - it will only take one day with a lot of wind, and they will be bare until spring.

Cadotte Avenue - it seems strange to look down this long street and not see rows of carriages filled with tourists. Carriage Tours is still open, but is making only a limited number of runs each day.

Round Island Light through the trees in our yard. As more leaves fall, our view gets better and better.

Ted and Maddie - walking up one of our hills through the leaves. How blessed I am to have this man in my life.
Do you remember me saying that a writer had emailed me several weeks ago about using some of my photos for a story she was doing? Well, the magazine hit the stands last week, and Jill called all excited to tell me the bookstore had just received several copies. The photos were taken last fall as the horses were leaving the island. Maggie Catchick-Houghton used them to illustrate a story entitled “Where have all the horses gone?” in the October issue of Mackinac Journal, a monthly magazine of the Straits.
Newsy Stuff
A big thanks to Joan – excuse me Abby and Benny (Bear and Maddie’s feline pawpals) – for bringing our two four-legged children a bag of doggie treats for their trip home this weekend. Joan was on the island for a few days, and Abby and Benny sent the gift with her in case we ran into each other.
And a special thank you to Maggie. She is on the island visiting her in-laws and has just starting reading the blog. I ran into her up in the Village when I was walking Maddie the other day, and she had a bag of doggie treats for the two furballs and a bag of chocolate chip cookies for me in her basket (I immediately claimed her as my new best friend)! Also, she had written the sweetest letter, and I have to tell you, Maggie, you had me in tears when I finished reading it at home that day. Girl, you write beautifully! Thank you so, so much for every word.
I’m off tomorrow to Cheboygan for Bear’s last grooming in Michigan this year. I’ll get home just in time to haul him up the hill, then go back down the hill to attend a spaghetti supper at the school – a fund raiser for the senior class.
On Thursday, I’ll be sharing with you a subject that has become very important to me over the last few weeks. It’s something that everyone who loves the island should be supporting, and I want to tell you all about it.