Tuff & Alys

A years worth of updates!

2011-10-17T09:45:00.003-04:00

Wow. I can't believe how I've neglected our blog! So many things have happened over the past year & a half! I'll start with the most important..everyone in our immediate family is well! We are blessed! Our grandchildren are growing up strong & smart, we love them all & are very proud of them. It's amazing to see their indivivuality & personalities develop as they grow.
Tuff and I have not spent much time at Kidders cabin lately, but we're going to change that! We are making our plans to head north in the next week or so. It will be a long awaited & well deserved break! I have left my managers position at Lowe's after 3 years. It was a great company to work for, but after having hip replacement surgery last November, I realized that it was just to physically draining. What to do next? Well, Tuff and I wanted to try our hand at selling fresh local produce, and started up "Kidders Fresh Produce". (you can find us on facebook). We studied & researched & took a chunk of our savings & the rest of the summer to set up & sell tomatoes, sweet corn, peppers, and everything else under the sun, ending this month with mums, pumpkins, gourds, squash, etc...we did well! We worked 11 hour days and every weekend, but were satisfied with the results. We met many new friends and earned a regular customer base. We now know that we can do this, and do it well!
Unfortunately, the people we were in a lot rental agreement with decided that they wanted to raise our lot rent an ADDITIONAL $900.00. A month! Wow. Of course, we cannot afford this. Maybe this was a sign that we could not trust these people, and to get away, FAST! But, we have several months to locate another spot if we decide to continue. It was a great learning experience, and mostly fun! We will take down our stand today and head north soon!! Can't wait! Alys.

Mushroom Hunting 2010!

2010-05-24T09:11:00.003-04:00

Tuff, Alys, Missy, Jessica & Kesse spent some time at Kidders Cabin Morel hunting! Just look at this guy we met out in the woods with his huge Morel! We met up with Pete & Rachel one day and hunted with them, and hunted several days in the forest in Yuma. We found enough for it to be fun, but the weather had been finicky and the mushroom season wasn't good this year. We still had lots of fun! Here are some of Tuffs pics, and here are some of Alys'..a great time was had by all!!

Spring Picnic

2010-04-19T13:56:00.003-04:00

We had a picnic at Otis Park on Mt. Zion road. Our intention was to find lots of MORELS, but we got skunked! We did talk to a couple that came out of the woods with 20-30 small greys, but we didn't have any luck. We did have a great time visiting, the kids had a blast, and the food was good! Next time we will have better luck with the 'shrooms! Here are some photos of our day..

Ice Skating on Kidders Pond

2010-04-19T13:08:00.003-04:00

Every year when the pond freezes safely enough Tuff takes the snowblower down & cleans it off for anyone who wants to come over & go ice skating...this weekend Kesse, Buddy & Lucky Sammy decided to give it a try..Sammy even decided to go for a ride on the sled...well..for a few seconds, anyway! Here are the photos!

Halloween party 2009!

2010-04-19T12:58:00.006-04:00

Once again our annual halloween & pumpkin carving party was a huge success! We had great weather,
wonderful family, and a fun hay ride. Kesse, Lauren and Drew did a great job putting together the "Haunted Trail"! Here are some~~scarey~~photos!

Kidders Cabin, Autumn 2009

2010-04-19T12:50:00.002-04:00

We had a great time at the cabin during my favorite time of the year! Scott, Micki, Grace, and Mickis parents Clay and Barbara joined us. We had fabulous weather, scenic walks, and cozy campfires! We also had a great time exploring Lake Michigan at Ludington. Click here for some colorful photos!

Arbors for sale!

2010-04-19T12:42:00.003-04:00

Here is one of my hobbies: Building copper arbors! I've built a few for myself that I have here
at home, and I built and donated one to the Michiana Master Gardeners for their auction to raise
funds. Here are some photos of the last one I built.

Spring has arrived!

2010-04-18T09:00:00.002-04:00

I can't believe I haven't posted since last October!! I'm going to start posting here again soon, I promise! We've had a great year, everyone in the family is staying healthy, and our grandchildren are growing too fast! It seems like time just passes too fast lately. Tuff and I are getting ready to go mushroom hunting with our family today..it got pretty cold last night, but the reports are out that they're popping up! If they're up, we'll find them. I'll post our pictures from today later and keep our blog updated more often! Love you all, see you soon! ~Alys~

Bluebirds!

2009-10-25T10:12:00.005-04:00

We were lucky to have a bluebird couple build their nest inside a decorative watering can under the shelter of our barn porch. The female laid 5 eggs, and both the male and female took turns feeding the babies. Here are the photos showing the complete cycle of a bluebird being born...pretty amazing stuff!

Kayaking the Pere Marquette!

2009-10-20T17:56:00.006-04:00

What can be more fun than 37 friends Kayaking the Pere Marquette River?
the Kidders, Moyers, and the Kruis family got together for a day on the Pere Marquette. It was a perfect day, lot's of fun, and beautiful scenery. The Pere Marquette and the Pine River are both national scenic rivers in Michigan, and both are right in the area of Kidders Cabin, so Tuff and I get to kayak them alot. It was a blast to do it with so many friends, and some of them were first time kayakers..you can bet it won't be their last trip! Here are some fun photos..

More Raised Beds...

2009-10-20T17:20:00.004-04:00

Tuff also put in raised garden beds for Missy and Jessica..they wanted a garden but didn't really have a large area to till, so this worked out perfectly for them. Everyone pitched in and helped build, fill & plant them, and they had a very successful growing season. Click here and here.. to see!

Time Flies!!

2009-09-28T11:53:00.003-04:00

OK, so I haven't posted ALL SUMMER! We have so much to catch up on, and so many photos to share of the last few months. We had visitors from out of the country, projects, cabin time, family time, and (I hate to admit this) Facebook time! I've gotten to where I'm posting to facebook and farming on farmtown, and I've neglected our blog. That's going to change and I'm going to catch up this month, guaranteed! Watch for an update soon..!

'Shroom Hunting 2009

2009-06-23T09:50:00.005-04:00

Most of our family gets really excited when Mushroom hunting season is near...We start planning & plotting, we look online to see if anyone is finding them near us, what color, how many, etc. Missy actually looses sleep over it. I don't loose sleep, but I dream about huge woods full of them, and I am standing in the middle of all of the golden morels with a huge bag picking them all by myself. Then I wake up. So, we went to a few spots around home that we usually find a few, and planned some time at the cabin so we could check out the woods where we went last year with Pete & Rachel. To make a long story shorter, we did find a few. Jessica & I scouted the area at home on a rainy day and Jessica found a handful to take home & eat.(MMmm good!) Tuff & Missy headed to the cabin a few days ahead of me, and we went to our new favorite spot, and found quite a few, all colors mixed together, blacks, greys and whites. It sure is exciting to spot them! Then a few days later, Brian, Lauren, Drew, Jim & Melissa drove up & had some fun picking! We were lucky and had great weather, and the woods was beautiful. We drove the jeep through some fun 2-tracks and did some exploring..and took LOTS of photos, click here to see them!!

Easter Hunt 2009!

2009-06-01T13:29:00.008-04:00

It was another fun Easter Hunt at the Kidders! Great company, good food, great fun! We still haven't decided who has the most fun..the kids or the adults? This year we added another element, musical chairs! It may sound a little corny, but it was a blast, and we saw a little competitiveness going on with a few of us. (of course, it wasn't me) What can I say, I'm already looking forward to next year. Want to see some fun photos? Then click here!

Signs of Spring 2009!

2009-04-22T15:07:00.002-04:00

Tuff and I have been itching to get out and do a little mushroom hunting..so we went for a 2 hour hike through the woods with Buddy. We didn't find any 'shrooms, but it sure was nice to get out in the sun and smell all of the good spring woodsy smells & hear all of the birds & frogs singing. I think it's been a little to cold for the Morels to pop up, but with the warm weather coming in the next few days it won't be long, so keep your eyes peeled!

AT LAST!

2009-04-18T10:58:00.003-04:00

All I can say is "Finally!" "At last!" "It's about time!" I know you're all enjoying the warmer weather, too. It just makes me want to get out and start digging in the flower beds & garden, but I know it's still a little early. Especially since I heard the "S" word on the weather forecast! At any rate, I know it's just a passing thing, and soon we'll all be saying its too hot! Welcome back SPRING!

Buds' Raised Garden Beds

2009-04-18T10:01:00.005-04:00

Tuff & Bud recently put some raised beds at Bud & Irenes house. As we all know, Bud is an avid gardener and grows lots & lots of produce. He even donates much of what he grows each summer to a couple of organizations. These raised garden beds are a great addition to his garden & Tuff was excited to help put them in. Bud also has awesome compost piles and got to fill the beds right away...We can't wait to see lots of veggies & strawberries growing in them! Here are some photos of the day...

Wildflower field, year 3!

2009-04-18T09:45:00.002-04:00

This will be the third year for our wildflower field. We went to a seminar 4 years ago and learned as much as we could before starting it. One of the things suggested was to burn or mow 1/2 of the field after the 2nd year. This is beneficial for the soil, and it keeps down unwanted woody growth. Well, we burned 1/2 of ours, and we just can't believe how things are growing in that half! We have lots of lupine, lobelia, yarrow, dianthus, rudbedkia (black-eyed susan), and lot's more coming up! We can't wait to see what comes up compared to last year...it seems to change a little each time. Here are some photos of the field after the burning, and some of the growth that started just a few days later. We'll post more photos as it grows, so check back soon!

Composting

2009-04-18T09:31:00.002-04:00

We wanted to show you our composting pile! Anyone that gardens will know the benefits of composting..it's great stuff to add to your vegetable or flower gardens. Tuff keeps several piles in different stages going all the time. We have one that's ready to till in our garden beds now, one that will be ready next spring and a brand new pile that's just being started. We put grass clippings, chopped leaves, sticks, kitchen scraps, (which includes veggie & fruit scraps & peels, coffee grounds, eggshells, etc., no dairy, meat, or fat) into the pile all summer & winter, along with topsoil, water, & turn every month or so. You end up with awesome compost which adds benefical nurtients to your garden beds! Here are a few photos showing the composting process..

Lowes Kids Clinic

2009-03-01T14:59:00.004-05:00

Ty, Grace, Eli, Kesse and Yvonne signed up for the kids clinic at the Lowes where Alys works, to build a racecar. I think there were a total of about 50 kids attending, and loud hammering was heard through-out the store for about 1 1/2 hours! The kids get goggles, an apron, the kit, a certificate and patch to keep. Some kids have over 10 patches sewn on their aprons, and come to the clinic regularly. Irene, Bud, and Tuff came along to watch the parents help the kids build their racecars. I hope that Grace, Ty and Eli become regulars at the clinics, it's so much fun for them! Click here to see more photos of the morning.

Sledding at Dr. Lawless Park!

2009-02-08T17:28:00.004-05:00

Since warm weather was in the forecast Tuff wanted to plan a sledding/picnic day at Dr. Lawless Park. During the month of February they normally turn the outside flood lights on the sledding hill and are open late. They also have a wonderful pavilion with a huge stone fireplace with fire-wood provided! It's a great place to sled all day, and have a nice fire & warm food. So, Tuff did all the prep work, made the chili, loaded up the truck with sleds, food, grill, crock-pots, hot cocoa, and lots more!
The snow melted faster than anticipated, and there was a pond at the bottom of the hill, but even with the thin layer of snow the kids had no problems getting the sleds to move pretty darn fast! The park cancelled the lights due to the lack of snow, but we all stayed anyway and told scary stories in front of the fire. Kesse, Lauren, Drew, Elizabeth, Madison and Morgan had a great time, as did all of the adults. Here are some photos of the day. Thanks to Tuff for planning such a fun time!

TOO MUCH SNOW!!

2009-02-08T11:04:00.005-05:00

Tuff headed up to the cabin after Pete called and said there was too much snow on the roof!
This has been a record year for snow, and our neighbor Pete said he hasn't seen this much snow at Wolf Lake for 25 years. Tuff headed up on a Wednesday and stayed until Saturday. He had to snow-blow all around the cabin first just to make a path to walk around it. He then used a snow-rake to pull the snow off. One of our other neighbors brought him an electric snow-blower to use on the roof, and that worked much better for him. It was just Tuff and Buddy on this trip, but we are planning on heading up late February or early March for about a week just to relax and maybe do some ice-fishing or 4-wheeling. Here are some of the snowy cabin photos!

Sledding Day!

2009-01-21T19:04:00.003-05:00

Kesse, Lauren and Drew recently spent the night with us. We had a "build your own pizza" night, followed by a night-time sled ride! Tuff pulls the kids through some trails with the 4 wheeler, and Buddy is never far behind! Everyone had a blast! These are great memories being built, and it's going to be so much fun looking back at these photos years from now. Click here to see more!

Winter Scenery

2009-01-21T18:56:00.002-05:00

We've really had alot of snow and record cold temps this year! We have gone from temps in the 30's with snow to temps that are -15 with wind chills of -20! We've also had a few mornings with freezing fog. Now that's something you don't see everyday! Here are some of Tuffs awesome nature photos.

Let It Snow!!

2008-12-18T09:40:00.000-05:00

We had a pretty good snow recently, with a heavy frost. This was a perfect morning for some awesome photos! Tuff is becoming quite the photographer...check out his photos here.

Pheasant Hunting

2008-12-18T09:22:00.000-05:00

Tuff, Scott, Perry, Cory & Dalton went Pheasant hunting at Rolling Hills in Marcellus Michigan. This was Scotts first time bird hunting, and also Cheese, Perry's Lab. Buddy has been hunting before and loves it! The snow was pretty deep and the birds were sitting tight under cover, but the dogs worked hard at flushing them out. A great time was had by all. Here are some photos of the day.

Ricks Deer

2008-12-18T09:14:00.000-05:00

Rick is also an avid hunter and called Tuff over to see his deer. The guys were pretty lucky this year! Click here for photos.

Deer Hunting 2008

2008-12-18T08:59:00.000-05:00

It's that time of the year again! Deer Season at the cabin. This has always been one of our favorite times; Tuff has a perfect hunting area on our 10 acres near the cabin, and I get to explore northern Michigan for new areas to Christmas shop! This year was very successful for Tuff, he got his Buck on opening day just after daybreak! He hasn't got a deer for a few years, so this is very exciting! We have some great friends at Wolf Lake that also hunt, they have land that joins ours, and the guys have fun sharing stories and planning the days strategy. Buddy loves to be at the cabin, too, and can't wait to go exploring. Click here for some photos of our annual hunting trip!

Annie Oakley (Lauren) & Wild Bill (Drew)

2008-12-18T08:45:00.001-05:00

Lauren & Drew spent the weekend with us and had a blast learning how to shoot BB guns! Tuff had a safety session first, and then they got busy with the targets! They were both very good, and Lauren has earned the nickname "Annie Oakley"! She is a very good shot! Drew is good also, but not as accurate as "Annie". I'm sure with just a little more practice he will be knocking down those targets as fast as Lauren does! They had a great weekend, and Lauren showed her tree-climbing skills to us. She sure is some climber! Here are some fun photos of the weekend!

Sandhill Cranes & Amazing Acres with Kesse & Yvonne

2008-12-18T08:31:00.001-05:00

If you ever get the chance to view the fall migration of the Sandhill Crane, do it! It's one of natures most amazing things to see. There are literally tens of thousands of Sandhill Cranes landing at the Jasper-Pulaski Fish & Wildlife Area in Medaryville, Indiana, between 4pm and sunset. The park is beautiful, and there is a large tower with ramp and platform that's big enough for many people to enjoy the view. You will also see many deer out feeding with the Cranes. Click here to hear the Sandhill Cranes. Here is a map of the Jasper-Pulaski park. And finally, here are some photos of our trip. We also stopped at a huge pumpkin farm which is just on the way, and you will also see some photos of our day at Amazing Acres corn maze in Michigan with Kesse & Yvonne. They were amazed at how the Cranes would just come out of nowhere and land in the fields.

Pumpkin Carving Party 2008!!

2008-10-27T09:36:00.007-04:00

Our annual pumpkin carving family gathering was a huge success! Everyone had a great time carving, going on a hayride, bobbing for apples (even Murphy & Buddy got in on this event!) visiting, and of course enjoying all of the great food! Thanks everyone for making this a great day..we can't wait for next year, and we are already planning for some new fun things, so make sure you don't miss it! Click here for some great (and maybe scary) photos! UPDATE: You may have noticed that I added a photo to this post...I ran across the top photo of Madeline Leers (Mom) and Kesse carving pumpkins in 2002! They really had fun that day, and I thought everyone would enjoy seeing them.

Autumn at Wolf Lake, Kidders Cabin

2008-10-21T20:37:00.000-04:00

This is probably our last trip to the cabin before the snow starts flying! It was a perfect weekend, and Scott, Micki, Grace, and the dogs, Toby and Sydney came for a visit. It was Graces' first time here, and we all had so much fun. I'm sure you'll enjoy the individual posts of our activities. Before you get to them, click here to see some beautiful fall colors! We took so many pictures, and had such great photo opps...click here to see them!

Graces' First Trip to Kidders Cabin!

2008-10-21T20:30:00.000-04:00

This was Graces' first trip to the cabin. She had so much fun! I'm sure this will be the first of many more in the future! Grace was willing to explore and go anywhere we went. I think we have a future mushroom huntin', fishin' kayaking, campfire Kidder in the family! Click here to see more cute photos of Grace at Kidders Cabin!

Buddy, Sydney, Toby

2008-10-21T20:25:00.001-04:00

I think the dogs had as much, or even more fun than we had!! They swam, fetched, played, took a boat ride, explored, and then started all over again. They were so exhausted after our 5 mile hike that they all flopped down and took a nap in the yard. It was so much fun watching them have fun! I'm sure they will be coming again, and Buddy will be looking forward to having his friends Toby & Sydney back. Click here for some hysterical photos!

A 5 Mile Hike

2008-10-21T20:19:00.000-04:00

Another of our favorite things to do is to hike the 5 miles around wolf lake. Especially this time of the year. It's a great way to see all of the unique cabins and "trailer parks", and it gives the dogs a chance to meet some of the neighbors. All of the dogs did great, they all stayed right with us and we only had to put them on the leashes a few times when traffic got heavy. Click here for more photos.

Touring the Pine River Corridor

2008-10-21T20:14:00.001-04:00

When you come to the cabin, you just have to take an hour and take a trip down the two-track that runs along the Pine River. It's a great way to see what the river is like without getting into a boat! The colors were awesome, and we had a great time exploring, looking for bears, and gathering stones, leaves, and bark for Graces' project! Click here to see our photos!

One Last Boat Ride!

2008-10-21T19:56:00.000-04:00

We just had to take one last trip around Wolf Lake before taking the boat & pier out..besides, Grace just couldn't wait to drive! It was chilly, but a beautiful day for a cruise, and the dogs just loved it! I think it was Toby and Sydneys first time on a boat! Click here to see some more pictures.

The last of Hurricane Ike

2008-09-19T09:02:00.000-04:00

The remnants of Hurricane Ike came through Elkhart September 13 & 14, dumping up to 12 inches total in some parts of northern Indiana and southwestern Michigan. Bud & Irene have lived on Christiana Creek since 1955 and have never seen the creek as high as it is. There are many lakes that feed the creek, and it continues to rise even today, 5 days after the rain stopped! Here at our house, the Washington ditch, which drains all of the farm fields around us flooded its banks and ran over the field next to us and flooded our pond. The Washington ditch went down back to it's normal level within just a few days. Click here to see some photos of the creek at Bud & Irenes house, and here at our house.

Late Summer at Kidders Cabin

2008-09-06T09:54:00.002-04:00

We finally got a few days to go up to the cabin! It was so nice to be up there, even if it was only for a few days. We had not been up since early June, and were ready to get going! We had a couple of nice days to get some chores done, mainly mowing the grass and trimming some trees along the paths on the 10 acres. We also went on a sunset kayak trip on Wolf Lake, and got back just at dark. What a relaxing way to end a day! We also got to kayak the Pine River again. (see the post below) We had nice weather, and finally some rain! It's been dry up there, too. We also got to visit with Chuck & Joy and see the big Buck that Chuck got some photos of. (Of course, the location is top-secret!) We were sad to see our "Kidders Cabin" sign was missing. Leo & Bud made the sign for the cabin in 1996, and it was a treasured part of the cabin. We will have to make a new one to replace it, but it just won't be the same. Hopefully whoever took our original will return it one day. Click here for some photos of our trip.

Kayaking the Pine; after the flood

2008-09-05T10:13:00.002-04:00

We were anxious to get to the Pine River and see how the flood in June changed it. We had been reading on the internet that it was really different, and was actually closed to canoes and kayakers for several weeks. It really has changed in many areas! There are many more rapid areas, lots & lots of logjams, and the twin boulders that were near the end of the run at Low Bridge are missing? Moved? Or just underwater & sand and we can't see them. If you've done the Pine you will remember these boulders that you had to go between. They were one of the rivers major challenges. There are many more challenges since the flooding, but it is still passable, and lots of fun! The trip from Peterson Bridge to Low Bridge took us approx. 3.25 hours. What great day! Click here to see some great photos of the Pine River, and some of its logjams & boulders.

Kayaking Christiana again!

2008-08-11T14:32:00.005-04:00

Here we go again! This is our first evening trip. We got on the creek after 6 pm, and out just at dark! It was a big group, Tuff, Alys, Vic, Perry, Miss, Brian, Melissa and Jim. Some first time kaykers again, and everyone had a blast! We started at Redfield road in Michigan and got out at Vic & Perrys again. It's about a 3.5 hour trip. We stopped at Bud & Irene's house on the way and had some apples from their trees. This stretch of the creek is always fun! Click here for video 1, video 2, video 3, video 4, video 5, video 6 & video 7.

And again! "the guys trip"

2008-08-11T13:59:00.004-04:00

Tuff, Scott, and the Coryn brothers Scott & Shawn went down Christiana Creek for the first time on Sunday, and had a blast as usual! They came across a huge water snake that you will see in the photos, and Tuff said Scott Coryn had everyone laughing so hard! Click here for some photos of the guys trip.

Kayaking Christiana Creek

2008-07-31T21:53:00.006-04:00

We recently went kayaking on Christiana Creek with Rick, Betsy, Megan, Courtney, Chris & Brooke. We put in at Redfield road in Michigan & got out at Vic & Perrys house in Elkhart. This trip took us about 4.5 hours, a nice leisurely float. The creek is very clean and a good fishing creek. Tuff & Rick grew up on the creek, and used to spend hours upon hours in it. It's nice to be able to still get on it & have a great landing place at Vic & Perrys. Perry had a wonderful lunch of fresh pizza, salad, breadsticks & cold drinks waiting for us, thanks Perry! We had such fun that we decided to make the run again a few days later. This last trip was just Tuff & Alys & Rick & Betsy. Tuff & Rick had all of their fishing gear this time, and some anchors rigged on their kayaks to make fishing a little easier. It gets a little swift on the creek in a few spots and it's hard to stop and fish without one. They both caught many really nice bass, smallmouth and largemouth. I even caught a pretty nice smallmouth, it was a blast! This trip took us about 7 hours with all of the stops for fishing, but it was such a perfect day just to float & relax. Hopefully we will be able to get to the Pine River before summer is out. Click here for some photos of our adventures on Christiana Creek. We also have some fun video of the day, click for video 1, video 2, video 3 & video 4. This is some of our first attempts at videoing while kayaking, and it gets a little tricky, so you'll have to forgive some of our upside-down/sideways/turned around views.

Flower Power

2008-07-19T20:43:00.000-04:00

Here is our wildflower field. This is our 2nd growing season, and the 3rd year since preparing the soil. Tuff and I attended a seminar put on by the Michiana Master Gardeners featuring Neil Dibol, and were immediately inspired. The first year we cleared the ground in the spring & summer, then broadcast spread the wildflower seed in the fall. We were really amazed at the results last spring & summer, and again this year. It seems like each season brings new color and a different variety of flowers and grasses. Click here to go to Neil Dibols Prairie Nursery website.
Click here for more photos of our Wildflower field.

Gardening

2008-07-19T10:50:00.002-04:00

As you saw in our earlier post, we are experimenting with raised garden beds this year, in addition to the more traditional style of gardening. We have discovered that we love the raised beds! There are many benefits, such as non-compacted soil, and planting, weeding & harvesting from a sitting position is much easier on your back. The raised beds are 2x12x16 long. We still have the tilled area for pumpkins, watermelon, squash, etc. And, in addition to that the 75 (15 different varieties) of tomato plants that Bud started for us in his greenhouse. So, now you know where to come & get your tomatos!! Click here to see our gardens.

Creek Party!

2008-07-19T10:34:00.005-04:00

Irene and Bud had the 2nd annual creek party at their house, and everyone had a great time! They live on Christiana Creek, and it's a perfect spot for kids of all ages to play & explore. Bud & Irene have lived there since the 50's, and 4 generations of Kidders and their friends and extended families have enjoyed the creek. (actually, there are 5 generations that have enjoyed the creek, because Bud & Irenes Dads' both used to fish there!) The day started with a wonderful dinner catered by Essenhaus, and then the fun began! The kids played in the water, floated, and searched for buried treasure in the sand pile. Thanks Gram Irene & Grampa Bud for such a fun time! Click here to see more photos of a very special day...

Grace

2008-06-27T14:42:00.004-04:00

Our Grand-Daughter Grace spent the night with us a few weeks ago. We had so much fun with her! She had wonderful adventures with Papa Tuff picking strawberries (and eating them) and exploring the wildflower field, playing with Buddy, and playing in the sink...that was one of her most fun things to do. She also LOVES to swing! She discovered she could do it all by herself, and kept saying she was a "Big girl".
Click here to see more photos of Grace!

Kesse & Brittany at Kidders Cabin

2008-06-19T21:10:00.005-04:00

Alys, Tuff, Kesse, Brittany, and the Moyers, Betsy, Rick & Megan all spent 5 relaxing days at Kidders Cabin. We had a few cool days, but most of the time the weather was wonderful. (the tubing photos look warm, but it was a chilly 56 degrees that day! the girls just had to go!) We had a ton of fun kayaking, fishing, and sitting around the campfire. Click here for some fun photos!

Chuck Krause

2008-06-04T12:07:00.006-04:00

Update: Our friend Chuck passed away this fall. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Chris, and his family. We will miss having him stop by the cabin, but his spirit and memory will always be with us.
Original post:
We received sad news this morning from Chuck Beurmann, Pete & Rachels son, that our friend Chuck Krause, who lives near Wolf Lake and is the local wood carver, had a terrible accident while cutting a tree down on May 19th. Apparently a tree that he had cut down rolled onto him, breaking his back, hand, and causing other injuries. The outlook is not good. He will most likely be paralyzed from the neck down. The best case scenario will be if he can recover the use of his arms. He is being cared for at Grand Rapids hospital, on the 4th floor, heart center. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Chuck and his family. We will post updates as to how he is doing. Chuck Krause became a friend of ours many years ago, and always enjoys stopping in at the cabin and showing us his latest wood carvings, and sitting around the campfire talking. He is especially proud of his kids and grandkids accomplishments. The last time we visited with him was just a day or two before his accident, and we gave him a section of the Elkhart Truth newspaper from last summer that we had been saving for him. It had featured an article about his son and grandson in the cherry spitting contest. They are world champions! Chuck was also a champion cherry spitter. We did not know that he had been injured the last time we were at the cabin, and had driven by his house, only to see that he was not at home. Click here for some of Chucks wood carving pictures that he is so proud of. Beautiful work, Chuck.

Twin Fawns

2008-06-01T20:14:00.004-04:00

While we were at the cabin Megan and her fiance Dustin came for a visit. Megan has been coming to the cabin since she was 10 years old, and wanted to show Dustin around. So after a tour of the cabin and checking out Wolf Lake, we all got on the golf cart and drove down the road to our 10 acres. This is a nice wooded area where Tuff loves to deer hunt. While we were driving around the trails, we noticed that Buddy wasn't with us anymore. Tuff blew his whistle (which always brings Buddy running) but this time, Buddy was nowhere to be found. We drove around the trails again, and Tuff spotted him over by a downed pine tree. After investigating, we found out why: Buddy had found twin newborn fawns, and wanted to show us. When Tuff went over there Buddy was licking one of the fawns on the head. The fawns were beautiful. We didn't have our camera with us, but went back to the cabin to get it and rushed right back. The fawns had moved, but Buddy was able to sniff them out again. We took a few photos and left them alone. It's awesome to see so much wildlife thriving in the area.
Click here to see the fawns.

Pete's 'Shroom spot

2008-05-31T21:51:00.003-04:00

Tuff and I were at Kidders cabin recently, and our friends Pete and Rachel Beurmann, who live full time at Wolf Lake, decided to give up a very special morel mushroom hunting area, and took us to a very beautiful federal forest where the elusive morels grow. Of course you have to know how to identify an ash tree. Pete helped us out there, too. We had a nice 25 minute ride to the woods and had breakfast at Garlets corner.
The growing conditions have not been good at all, with the dry and cool weather we have had. Still, you hold out hope that you will find enough for dinner! Pete was the first to find one, and after that we all found a few. I think we only found about 30 total, greys and yellows, and they were nice sized! We all had enough for dinner, and had so much fun finding them, and really enjoyed out time spent with Pete & Rachel. You can be sure that we will be back at this special woods, but don't expect to find directions or a map on this blog! We mushroom hunters are pretty secretive about our hunting grounds!
Click here for some great 'shroomin pictures.

Morels & More!

2008-05-23T08:41:00.003-04:00

While we were up doing our remodel job at the cabin we had to take a few breaks and of course, look for some mushrooms! We have a few spots very near the cabin that have always produced a few yummy morels. It was a little early for the yellows to start popping, but we did spot two! We also got very lucky and saw a bunch of wild turkeys several times, and one time the big tom turkey was strutting his stuff showing off to his harem. Of course, it's always great to see the colorful birds that are so happy to see us back & filling up their feeders. We can't forget Buddy, he just loves being at the cabin, and is so much fun to have along. One of his favorite things are playing with sticks....the bigger the better! Click here for some morel & wildlife pics.

Remodeling at the Cabin

2008-05-23T08:29:00.005-04:00

As you already know, Kidders Cabin is one of our favorite places to go. We recently decided that we needed to do something about the "Guest Room". We did away with the 1950's set of kids bunkbeds and added a queen bed, shelving, new paint, carpet, lighting, and many more little things that make this room so much better! Check out the before pic and the result of our 2-day remodel. Click here. See you up there soon!

Family Cement

2008-04-27T13:47:00.011-04:00

Last year we had the hard task of selling the house where I grew up on Baldwin Lake. My family moved there in 1964, and my Dad and Mom took the small 2 bedroom lake cottage and eventually ended up with the 4 bedroom walkout basement on the lake. My Dad, Bill Leers passed away in 1994, and we lost my Mom, Madeline in 2006. My Moms wish was that we sell the home and divide the profits between her 9 surviving children. The family that bought our house had a vision to do an extensive remodel and still keep the original structure of the house pretty much the same. When they were doing this, they had to remove the cement patio that was poured in 1972. Our Dad was pretty darn proud of what he had accomplished and signed his, Moms, and the kids names remaining at home in the cement patio the day he poured it, along with the date. I knew this was going to be removed with the renovations, and went over and took some pictures before the remodeling began. Several months went by and the house was looking great. One winter day in 2007 Tuff and I were driving around Elkhart and pulled into a parking lot where there were some old bricks, and pieces of limestone set up as benches for sale. As we drove into the back of the lot we spotted some broken pieces of cement, and Tuff said "That's your Moms' cement" I thought he was crazy, but sure enough there was a large piece with all of our names on it!! Needless to say, we now have that chunk of my childhood here at our house, and have it set up as a table in our garden area. I believe it was meant to be here with us. We also discovered the iron spiral staircase that was in the house in the same parking lot, and have that also. Although I am not sure yet how we will use it, you can be sure to see it in the future on our blog. To see a few more pictures of our family cement, click here.

Kidders raised garden beds

2008-04-26T15:23:00.003-04:00

After helping with Rick & Betsys raised garden beds, we decided that was the way for us to go! We are now building and installing our own raised beds. We are looking forward to planting, weeding and harvesting without all of the back-ache we usually get! Plus, we can now allow the grass to grow between the beds and just mow like usual, and do away with standing in the mud while we are working. We mixed good topsoil with 1 year old composted leaves & grass, and rotted manure, and filled the beds. We can't wait to see how this style of gardening compares with what we have always had in the past. We will still have our traditional areas for pumpkins, squash and other plants that need alot of room. Check back later, because we will post pictures throughout the growing season. Here are just a few more pictures of the raised beds.

Annual Easter Egg Hunt!

2008-04-26T14:42:00.003-04:00

Since Easter was so early this year we decided to wait until nicer weather to have the Kidders annual Easter Hunt! And it was well worth the wait. We had picture perfect weather, and everyone had so much fun! We had a great group of kids & plenty of food. Everyone got to try out the stilts Tuff made, and I think Jessica won that contest, but everyone had fun trying them out. It's much harder than it looks! Bud & Irene brought their golf cart along so that they could cover more ground and see what all the kids were finding in their areas. And last but not least, we had the PRIZE egg hunt, which was hidden in the wildflower field. Lauren was the lucky winner of 5 golden dollars in the prize egg! We all look forward to our Easter get-together and can't wait until next year! Click here for more fun pictures.

Raised Garden Beds

2008-04-06T22:29:00.003-04:00

Rick & Betsy needed to move all of their raised garden beds, so Tuff took our John Deere tractor over and we got all of the beds moved, filled, and ready for planting in just under 9 hours! With all 4 of us working, and a few visitors pitching in, we made really good time. Tuff and I are thinking of adding some raised beds to our garden. It was a perfect day, sunny, almost reaching 70 degrees. Click here to see the new raised garden bed area.

Signs of Spring!

2008-04-05T14:36:00.005-04:00

When we got back home yesterday we were greeted with cheerful purple and white Crocus'! Along with other bulbs and plants poking up out of the ground, they are a sure sign of warmer weather to come!

Here are some more photos of the Crocus.

Cabin Fever!

2008-04-04T22:49:00.008-04:00

Tuff, Buddy and Alys headed up to Kidders Cabin hoping to do some spring cleaning and leaf blowing. Imagine our surprise when we found lots & lots of snow still on the ground! We had to get out the shovels and snow blower before we could even pull in the drive! Although we didn't get some things accomplished that we had planned, there were plenty of things to do around the cabin. We walked around Wolf Lake almost every day, and that is a 4 mile hike. Good exercise for all of us! We visited with some of our neighbors, Pete & Rachel Beurmann, and Chuck Krause, who is a local wood carver. You will see some of his fish carvings in our photos. We've met some pretty good friends up here and always enjoy sitting around the campfire chatting with them. We saw plenty of wildlife, deer, birds, owls, snow geese, loons and even some turkeys that Buddy especially liked chasing from the yard. When we left this morning, 4/4/08, alot of the snow had melted and it was warming up into the 50's. We will have plenty of time for those spring chores the next trip up. Click here for some snowy pictures!

Buddy

2008-03-24T19:14:00.005-04:00

I've been looking at several blogs in the last few days and alot of them feature babies, toddlers, families..and believe me, we will have plenty of posts of our family, kids, & grandkids, but we just have to post Buddy! He's brought us alot of love, companionship and fun just when we seemed to need it the most! Everyone in the family loves him, especially all of the grandkids. He's always willing to play, play, play! Here is a quote that is so true:
"The one absolutely unselfish friend that man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous, is his dog." -George Graham Vest
Click here for some sweet pics of Buddy.

Voyageurs National Park 2006

2008-03-24T13:22:00.004-04:00

This is going to be a "blast from the past" from our vacation with the Moyers in 2006. It was a trip of a lifetime, and Rick & Betsy planned the whole thing. We just tagged along! We drove to Crane Lake Minnesota, and then boarded a houseboat, loaded our kayaks on top, and towed our pontoon boat. We toured Crane lake, Sand Pt. Lake, Namakan Lake and Kabetogama Lake for 7 days. It was beautiful. We saw Bald Eagles every day, fished, kayaked, soaked up the sun, played trivia on the radio every night with other house-boaters in the area, and just had so much fun. The scenery was wild, and the sunsets breathtaking. We had Canada on one side and the US on the other. This is near the boundary waters that are so famous for canoist and kayakers. We would love to make another trip and rent a cabin for a home base, and explore with the pontoon and kayaks again. To see some amazing photos, click here.

Kayaking the Pine River

2008-03-22T21:43:00.007-04:00

Tuff and I love to kayak. Our friends the Moyers love to kayak also. We have made many trips down the Pine and the Pere Marquette, but my favorite is the Pine River. Here are some photos of an Autumn trip we made with Rick, Betsy, Megan & Courtney. (yes, the girls got locked out of their car, so they had to work on that before we got started!) It was a LONG but beautiful day on the river. The only person to get wet was Tuff, and luckily he is always prepared and had a change of clothing with him! BRRR That water was really cold that day! I will probably do LOTS of posts of kayaking, so I'm sure you'll see more of our adventures on the Pine in the future!
Click here to see our photos.
Here is a great link to the Pine River.

Kidders Cabin

2008-03-22T15:28:00.007-04:00

Kidders Cabin came to us in 1996, and has become a special place where all of our friends and family meet to relax, fish, kayak 2 of Michigans National Scenic Rivers, the Pine, and the Pere Marquette, ride the trails, explore, mushroom hunt and so much more! We have 12 years of memories here, and 12 years of photos to post! We have great memories of wonderful friends that we have lost, Leo Haggard and Jim Vest, who fished with us many, many times. And also Madeline Leers, who rode over 80 miles of trails with us in one cold snowy weekend, and loved every minute of it! We will always have stories to tell around the campfire of the fun times we have had with them. To see photos of our fun times at Kidders Cabin, click here!

More Snow!

2008-03-22T10:14:00.007-04:00

When we heard on Thursday that we were going to get more snow I couldn't believe it! So far this winter we have had 77" of snow, with our average being 70.5".

It's supposed to get down in the teens tonight, so this snow will insulate any spring bulbs that may be coming up. At any rate, I'm sure it won't be around for long!

Click here for a great weather radar page that we look at daily.