Rain

Our Linden, after a morning shower.

On our way home from Saint Ignace.

May 25, 2004: That's a local farmer's field. Someone's been piling water on it.... Central Michigan is, well, wet. Took this picture on the way to work this morning; it's a couple miles down the road from the office. These soggy fields are pretty common around here these days. The water levels are down a bit from last Friday, but the meteorologists keep promising more rain. It's already the wettest May on record, and there's a real chance to break the rainfall record for any month.

When it rains, I generally find birds hiding under my truck. This little guy was peeking out the wheel well one day in June. Camera: Nikon N90s

This track runs under the bridge in the middle of our office complex. It was raining, I shot it from the car, the window was wet, and (most immportant) the train was moving. I like it anyway.

... bring May flowers.

South Haven's Old Harbor Inn probably dates from the 1980s, but it's designed to look older. The hotel lives in four separate buildings, arranged around this little alleyway of commercial storefronts. 40 or so very different rooms are scattered around the place. Those that face a boardwalk or the street have outside doors, while the upper-level rooms are up stairways. (Wheelchair accommodations are not a strength, here, though I expect some of the rooms are accessible.) All the guest rooms in the buildings to the right in this photo overlook South Haven's harbor, which is the hotel's best feature. Downtown South Haven's excellent restaurant selection is a couple blocks away, and it's about a half-mile to the beach. A great location. It's quaint, but there's a catch. There are two nightclubs in the complex. The one at the end of this road, named York's Landing, runs year-round. The other, a seasonal operation called Magnolia Grille, lives on a riverboat and is just a few feet off the alley. This nightclub density is, obviously, not a problem for everyone. And since our stays have been off-season we've not had to deal with the riverboat partiers. But the place does have a reputation for rowdiness during the summer. In fact, the hotel's invoice warned us about it. Our room--straight up from where I shot the picture--is probably far enough from the action that we'd not have been bothered. The rooms that directly face the riverboat, on the other hand, can only be attractive to folks who've come for the party. That said: The Inn's a fine hotel, and we've been pleased with the rooms and the service. The location cannot be beat. A similar view , seven years ago.

Enough with the rain, already.