The Cranes visit our sit-out group

During the pandemic a few of us at the end of Eagle Court Court, in urgent need of social contact, began sitting outside at the end of our driveway.  We have kept to that tradition, without the social distancing, for some five years now. 

It was also around the time of the pandemic that Sandhill Cranes began paying a visit to our neighborhood -- we've watched them come and go, have babies, stroll around the grounds, mostly feeding and pooping as wildlife is prone to do. 

But we never expected this.

 

Grand Rapids Update

[Scenes from everyday moments of our lives. . .]

The best neighbors you can have are a family of Sand Hill Cranes: Bob, Carol and little Teddie.

the Cranes

The Grilled Cheese Fest, held at Fuller Park in Grand Rapids and sponsored by the Cheese Lady of Grand Rapids, was packed with hungry folks enjoying a gorgeous autumn afternoon.

Grilled Cheese Fest 2022

Celebrating nephew's Ben's 42nd birthday at the Rainbow Grill in Hudsonville, with his dad and gram, where I had a thoroughly scrumptious  chicken salad.

a true chicken salad

Ben's birthday

However, usually it's home cooking for us: here is my marinated pork sirloin steaks ready for the gill and baby potatoes ready for roasting.

home cooking

Back out for dinner with the Galloways where I polished off a tasty Cubano sandwich (sans pane) at Third Nature Brewery in Rockford.

Third Nature Brewery

An arboreal neighbor who has seen better days.

survivor

Susie and I took her mom to a CRC church in Byron Center one afternoon for a Lucas family reunion luncheon and sing-a-long.

songfest at the Lucas reunion

On a gorgeous September afternoon I came across these three veterans buried in Winchester Cemetery, Byron Center, Michigan. Thought you'd like to meet them.

George Otto, 126th Infantry, died in France

Levi Higby, 6th Michigan Heavy Artillery, died in New Orleans, LA

James A. Burwell, 126th Infantry, killed in the Argonne Forest, France, buried in France

New neighbors, vaccinations, care homes, upcoming trips and remembering absent loved ones

This first week of June finds much of the world still in turmoil from a global health crisis. While those of us in West Michigan have fared better than many, there has been little cause for celebration. And just when we thought the bad news, political, social or otherwise, would not cease we woke up the other day to find new neighbors have moved into our little corner of the planet. 

On my own and with no approval from anyone else, I've decided to call our pair of Sandhill cranes Bob and Carol. What they call each other is unknown. Whether Ted and Alice will make an appearance remains uncertain. 

Anyway, they've been hanging around feeding for the past several days. The belief shared by most of their neighbors is they have built a nest in a nearby tree line.

In other news, Susie and I are now fully vaccinated and the wearing of masks in most venues is now optional for those of us who've had "the jab." Susie's mom is doing fine in her care home. Located about 2 miles from us, we've been locked out from visiting inside for more than 14 months now but word is that will change soon. The home had one staff member test positive recently, and we had to put off planned inside visits. We anticipate they will likely begin next week (barring any new positives of course). 

The good news is we've been able to take my mother-in-law outside. She's been over for dinner several times and we actually took her to visit family members buried at Woodlawn and Plainfield Township cemeteries, followed by  a family get together at nearby Clear Bottom Lake for Memorial Day.

It's been over a year-and-a-half since we traveled overseas. In fact, our one and only trip since the onset of the pandemic was to Mackinac Island for a few days. We had planned a trip to the Grand Canyon last year but had to cancel for obvious reasons.  

Anyway, the hope now is that we will be able to give a Grand Canyon visit one more chance this year, probably in early November. As for Europe, we're now talking about a sojourn of two or three months beginning in April of 2022, but haven't got to any serious planning yet. Italy, Germany, Scandinavia, Netherlands and ending in Paris is what we're tossing around right now all via rail with short-stay apartments. Stay tuned!

John VandenBerg and his wife Marian and Tunis Vandenberg (far) in Woodlawn

Marian and John Ten Have in Plainfield Cemetery

Oh, and speaking of cemeteries. . . 

La Douleur/Grief by Marcel Grouillet, division 2, Pére-Lachaise Cemetery