Chickens come home to roost.

I took a shortened version of the ride described by Mr. Moohoo on his blog today.  I don't like pigs much -- childhood memories linger for a very long time.  (Warning to parents who may be reading this -- pigs are scary to young children.)

I found a few chickens and roosters along our route, but they were surprisingly difficult to photograph.  Their darting skills are impressive.  After the iconic triple crossing -- across Riley to the dentist's office parking lot, then a quick shot across Butternut, and a cruise through a scenic little neighborhood on Shadybrook, before the dart across 144th to Woodpine and down Creekside to 152nd.  There I parted ways with the Smith's -- a text message from OSLO and the COTU gave me a good excuse to cut my participation short.  I was tiring fast, I will admit.  Not having ridden much at all this year caught up to me, is my excuse.  For supper we had the traditional pizza from Papa John's before loading up Mrs. Smith's rented bike in my Pilot and returning it to the bicycle shop.  Which is next door to Captain Sundae.  As happened when the Unky Herbs were here, it rained on our ice cream.  Family time here is winding down, along with summer.  Leaves are beginning to turn, sunsets are early and sunrises late.  Soon only photos and good memories will remain.

Testing the limits of my bicycling fitness level.

Today's bike ride turned into my longest ride of the year.  Thankfully, it was pretty close to a perfect day to be on a bike -- low 70's, light wind.  The ride up Lakeshore to Kirk Park is one that I don't make too often any more, but motivated by guests who consider that an iconic ride, I gave it my best shot.

The Smiths, looking out over the beach, stairs and dune grass at the Park.

The "not quite enough spokes" wheelset, with the new tires.  GZ's bike now matches his Rabobank jersey.  Probably not a coincidence.

I opted out of one dreadful hill on the return trip, adding a stop at the PSPS and an extra half mile to the ride.  A decent trade-off to my mind. OSLO and Totally Jammin' joined us for supper, and we Facetimed with the College Girl while they were here. More family time.  If this isn't nice, what is?

Beach Check

Beach Hazard Warnings have been a regular thing here this week.  That usually means beach erosion, so this afternoon I took a walk down to Tunnel Park to check on the status of the shoreline.  We're losing the lower bluff -- more so in some places than others, but there's not much beach left anywhere.

Crows, most likely.

I don't know what this bird is called, but it darts about on the beach very quickly.  It's tiny, and I don't remember seeing it before.  Though I've seen similar birds on Florida beaches.  I don't know what they're called either....

Mother Nature is an artist.

The college girl joined us for supper, since she was in town working on a project for one of her classes.  She liked the mustard chicken and cauliflower prepared by the Smiths, and took a few of the extra cheesy biscuits back to the dorm with her.  Last night we had OSLO and Totally Jammin' here for supper.  Lots and lots of good family time this week.

Photography Lessons

The college girl and the lad arrived in time for supper tonight, making six of us around the table.  Later, four of us made the walk to the top of the hill by the tunnel, planning to be back before sunset.  While we walked, the college girl, who is taking a black and white manual photography class this semester, used us as subjects for some of her required shots.  In a tradition that goes back forever, I took some photos of her taking photos.

Portraits.

She's been one of my primary models for years now, and knows what to do when the camera is pointed in her direction.

I like this photo -- she told me that I need to get closer to my subjects.  So I did.

Mrs. Smith and Totally Jammin', deep in discussion.

Back on the deck in time for sunset.

There are a lot of cameras here today.

September in Michigan

The airline continues to deliver on its promises, more or less, and the Smiths arrived safely and on schedule yesterday.  Travel is hard, as we know, and today was a quiet day.  Some grocery shopping, a visit to the bike shop and a stop at the hardware store was enough activity for most of us.  It was overcast, warm and muggy for much of the day -- then the sun broke through in the late afternoon and Mrs. Smith and I took a walk to the park with the tunnel.  She'd already been there a time or two since she arrived.  This jaunt was near sunset,  my clear favorite time to visit there.

Bicycle maintenance ensued.  A good time was had by all.

Unmistakeable Signs

Here are two literal and figurative signs for your consideration.  First is the sign at the Gold Barn blueberry farm on 160th and Quincy -- mostly a U-Pick place.  Here's their sign, photo taken this afternoon  -- September 1st.

Bowerman's doesn't quit quite as early as Gold Barn, but they're about done, too.  Here's their sign, photo also taken today.

I stopped in Bowerman's -- they had two varieties of blues still available.  Tasting took place, and the Eliots were pretty good.  Bowerman's claims to leave them on the bushes a little longer to develop some sweetness.  The other variety is Liberty, which is a sweet berry, but less "blue" than Blue Crop.  I have a couple of days yet, so I may buy a few and stretch the season out a few more days.  I am, however, pretty tired of blue fruit.  That aside, the end of blueberry season marks the end of summer here.  I think we're about there.