This is Forty Mile Point Lighthouse. It’s forty miles southeast of Old Mackinaw Point and forty miles northwest of Thunder Bay. So, an appropriately named lighthouse. It was completed in 1896 and has guided Lake Huron sailors since April of 1897. The tower is still an operational beacon. It’s lit by a 4th order fresnel lens set at three second intervals. The lens was built by Henry LePaute in 1872.

The lighthouse has recently been restored inside and out. Many of the rooms are furnished as if their original occupants had just run down to the water’s edge to check their fishing lines. Recently, the pilot house of the 1912 Steamer Calcite was relocated to the grounds. 

When you visit, be sure to walk down to the beach. One hundred and fifty feet of the shipwrecked Steamer Joseph S. Fay is visible. It was loaded with iron ore when it broke up on a sandbar in 1905. The lighthouse keeper’s log for October 20, 1905 reads: “At 8:30 p.m. last night the steamer, J. S. Fay, came ashore here in a sinking condition. She soon broke up. Most of the crew came ashore on the pilot house. Three men swam ashore, the mate was drowned.” The entry for December 4, 1905 reads: “The assistant found a dead man on the beach about 1 mile up. We think it is the mate of the Fay.” Many sailors lost their lives in Lake Huron’s violent storms. Fall could be especially treacherous.

One great way to find your way to the lighthouse is to follow the bike path out from Rogers City. If you want to shorten the route a bit, park at Seagull Point. You’ll have a great view of Lake Huron and won’t miss a bit of the most scenic sections of the path. The path ends at the lighthouse. Or use these GPS settings to guide you to the entrance: N 45 29.024; W 083 59.892.

Read more about the lighthouse here. As you enter the grounds, tune your radio to 107.3 FM to hear a bit about the history of the site.

This is another scarf knitted in the Jared Flood way, in different colorways of yarn with slow color changes. The free pattern is here. Flood’s pattern calls for three colorways, in four skeins, of Noro Silk Garden. Knitted up that way, the scarfs are stunning. My three Silk Garden and one Kuroyon Noro knits are in the slide show below.

But knitting in Wisdom Yarns Poems decreases the impact on the pocket book quite remarkably. And all without any sacrifice in the beauty of the finished object. I usually cast on 45 for the Noro versions. This time I cast on 39 and ended up with a similarly sized, but somewhat longer scarf. Wisdom is 100% wool, but it’s is spun in a way that almost looks as if it has some mohair in it because there’s a bit of a fuzzy halo to the yarn.

Here’s the scarf before it was one:

And now another glimpse of the “after:”

For a slide show of my versions of this pattern, click on the thumbnails.

I confess to not having toured Dinosaur Gardens or even played putt-putt at its Raptor Retreat 18-hole mini golf course. So, being uninformed, I’m not sure what happens when a visitor climbs the ladder of this brontosaurus. Does a knock on the door gain admittance to the wonder of a bronti’s innards? Is it maybe the clever entrance to a slide down his tail?

I do think that the brontosaurus painter could have jazzed this specimen up a bit. Was he really this drab? If so, I suppose realism might be best. Probably my childhood was a tad too influenced by my favorite inflatable float toy, “Dino,” the big green Sinclair Oil Company mascot. Poor Dino. He blew away one day on Elk Lake and was never seen again. He’s probably shown up on Ebay by now.

Dinosaur Garden did more with green in this fellow, obviously pieced together at the shoulder. A masterpiece, with more of that  60′s comic book character look. He even has a spotlight that shines on him at night.

But it is the 20-foot Jesus with a bowling ball that really steals the show at Dinosaur Gardens. With both dinosaurs and God and bowling, you can hit an awful lot of fan bases. Since 1957, Jesus has graced the site. To me, it looks like he even got a recent fresh coat of paint.

Further on down US-23, a very muscular very hairy Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox stand guard among the tall red pines. Paul is still looking quite impressive, but Babe could definitely use a fresh coat of blue paint. Probably once Jesus’s baseplate got its paint there wasn’t enough left over for Babe.

Word is that Babe was a great help to Paul around the logging camp. Babe could pull anything with two ends and was really useful straightening out twisted logging roads. Paul would then pick up the extra miles of road, once the kinks were all pulled out, and use the leftovers in other places where he needed road. And Paul, we all know that Paul was so big it took five storks to deliver him to his parents.

The first Paul is near Ossineke. The next Paul, without his Babe, is in downtown Oscoda. The modern hardhat is an inspired touch.

The day we visited, even hard-hatted Paul was unable to keep US-23 open and traffic moving through Oscoda. The road was torn up, blocked off, and we had to detour all around the downtown business district.  But all businesses are open during construction (even Rent-A-Hubby if you need to rent one).

Further on down US-23, one woodcarver has an entire yard full of wares to choose from. There are lots of samples on display including this wonderful boreal dead fish collection.

But my personal favorite among his work is dinodog:

I can definitely see this guy on Antiques Road Show about 50 years from now. “You didn’t scrub the fungus off the base–that’s good, if you had it would have lost thousands of dollars in value.” “He has some cracking, but that just enhances his worth. It shows he spent lots of time outside.” I admire this carver’s sense of humor. He also carves lots of bears. I’m pretty sure that this one, on a residential lawn south of the carver’s shop, is the same artist’s work. But I’m fairly sure that the bunny ears are not original equipment.

The sunrise side tour of public folk art closes with this gem from a colorful gift shop in Harrisville. I call it Moose With Purple Antlers. Setting him off against that bright orange wall makes it basically perfect.

I love the sunrise side. No kidding. This place is so much more real and so much more fun and feels so much better than toney art galleries on Michigan’s sunset side.

This little gem is a free pattern from Cheryl Oberle’s website: Carol’s Clever Little Shawl. It is Carol Sanders’s adaptation of a historic shawl from the 1800′s. You will find the story of the shawl, and a link to a PDF with the pattern, at the link I’ve supplied.

I’ve knitted mine of Malabrigo worsted, in the azul profundo colorway. It is a nicely mottled dark-but-not-really-navy-blue and I am very pleased with myself for chosing this yarn to knit this pattern. The pattern calls for worsted weight on size 10.5 needles. That wasn’t going to work with Malabrigo, so mine is knit on a size 9. I am short, at 5’3″, and for me this is a full-sized shawl.

The pattern has just enough lacework to keep it interesting. There is a bit of short row shaping every 18 rows. One especially appreciated feature is the keyhole. Just tuck the ends through the keyhole and there is no need for pesky shawl pins. This shawl stays put on its own. Casting off, all it needed was a bit of steaming on the points. Here’s another I knit a few years ago, of Brown Sheep worsted.

I’ve already worn my azul profundo (deep blue) shawl on two chilly evenings this week.  But today it was in the high 80′s, and muggy, so all wool shawls will soon be packed away. That’s Michigan weather for you!

This Cottage Creations old stand-by is Babies and Bears, designed by Carol Anderson and Kristi Williams. It’s sized for newborns to toddlers (and teddy bears). The change in sizing is accomplished by the yarn selection. Mine is knit in Cascade 220 Superwash on size 7 needles. My somewhat educated guess is that it will fit a bear approximately the size of a six month old baby.

This pattern is a great knit, with surprises along the way. In fact, the designers credit Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Baby Surprise pattern for their inspiration. It’s knit from the wrists in to the center, first one half then the other. Graft the two pieces together. Add the hood. Toward the end you’ll be knitting button bands and the garter stitch framing at the bottom. For the detail panel on the front and back, you choose a gansey raised stitch pattern or an easy fair isle. This, of course, is the raised stitch pattern.

The solid color shows off the construction in a way I find very appealing. I’ve also knit it in variegated yarn and in a tweed. Both were cute and well-received by the recipient mom. But from now on I may stick to solids. This one is my definite favorite.

I am feeling rather smug about my button choice. Mom’s old button jar really produced some vintage gems for this piece. I know that parents now have safety concerns about buttons on baby sweaters. I’ve sewed them on well with very sturdy thread. But I’ll save some yarn and I could always remove the buttons, stitch up the buttonholes, and…  I’m not sure what the and would be. Snaps wouldn’t be good. Maybe sewn-on I-cord ties. For now, I’m imagining a teddy bear wearing this.

Not too long ago I posted about Pam Allen’s Comfy Cardigan, published in Clara Parke’s The Knitter’s Book of Wool. It is indeed comfortable. In fact, as I’m writing this I’m wearing Comfy on a chilly Michigan spring evening. But, nice as these wooden buttons are, they were too much button for this sweater. I looked at the sweater and only saw the buttons. Plus, the fabric is is a bit limp and the buttonholes are placed very close to the edge. So, despite my serious sewing impairment, replacing the buttons had to happen.

These Dill buttons, purchased recently at Mary Maxim’s in Port Huron, are a much better fit for this sweater. They are thin and very lightweight. The mottled yellow green works well with the yarn colorway.

Again while shopping at Mary Maxim’s I also found the perfect thread. I did not know that thread came in variegated colors these days. An interesting development and, again, a good choice for this sweater and these buttons.

This is another Rambling Rows, the brain child of Cottage Creations’ Carol Anderson and Pat Penney. It’s the smallest of the versions the pattern provides. On size 7 needles, knitted up in the worsted weight version of Berroco Comfort, it is 28 inches by 34 inches. To me, it seems like it would be an excellent size for a car seat cozy.

Comfort has great color selection: 66 solids, 13 heathers and 14 print shades. Color choice is not always my strong suit, but I am pleased with how these play together. Quite a 60′s sensibility, including avocado, burnt orange, dark brown. There are a lot of stitches to pick up as each of the individual 55 mitred blocks are connected together. Comfort was a bit splitty for that task. But with just a bit of extra care it worked out fairly well.

The sweater is not the old friend. I’ve not worn the sweater much. It’s pretty but the boatneck neckline hasn’t been a favorite look. The “friend” isn’t the pattern either. A bit after completing it, in somewhat an overdose of de-cluttering, I recall throwing the pattern away. So I haven’t even been able to link to it on my Ravelry page and I can’t give attribution here. I just figured I wasn’t going to knit it again and I wouldn’t be recommending it to anyone, so why keep it. I recall it was from a magazine and possibly this was the cover sweater.

The friend is actually the yarn. Tahki’s Soho Bulky. The company seems to be called Tahki Stacy Charles now. I’m sure they are the purveyors of many fine yarns, but the company discontinued Soho Bulky quite a few years ago and knitters everywhere should mourn the loss. OK. That’s an exaggeration. But it was a great yarn. I knit this sweater and basically just keep it around to enjoy the look and feel of this wonderful rugged yarn.

I’ve knit gobs of bears out of Soho Bulky, including this long legged guy who was donated to a charity auction. His body is knit in Soho Bulky. His sweater is knit of a more “refined,” tame yarn.

This sweater, also knit from a pattern I can’t locate anymore, is pure Soho Bulky. It’s seen lots of wear and still looks and feels great.

I have a very high tolerance for wool-against-the-skin. When others are busy complaining about how “itchy” something woolen is, all I feel is nice and cozy. To me, that sense of scratchy yarn against the skin is a comfort. So I have no problem with hats of Soho Bulky.  This one is Jared Flood’s Quincy, with a wonderfully clever mobius strip construction.

And this was probably my Soho Bulky magnum opus. It’s Carol Andeson and Pat Penney’s Rambling Rows afghan knit using their pattern for its grid guide, but without regard for their instructions on color placement. This afghan is laid out on a queen sized bed. If gifted, which it won’t be until they crack open my will, it would come with a small child and cat warning. It could probably crush one under its weight. I lost count of how many skeins I knit to complete the project. When I used up my stash I had to scour the internet looking for extra skeins of the precious Soho Bulky.

I have no skeins left. I used the last of them, mixed in with Philospher’s Wool, to complete this log cabin throw.

So, old friend, it looks like we part company.

It wouldn’t be half so horrible if they’d learned what we two-legged mammals teach our young’ns: “Finish the one you have before you take another.”

They are eating the living part of the tree. And they are only eating birch trees. I get it that beaver think birch is especially tasty. The Girl Scout Mint Cookie of the tree world, apparently. But this is so so disturbing.

That’s me near the entrance to Ghost Bay, inspecting the damage.

I do not find this even one bit of engineering clever.

We lost count of the number of birch trees toppled and munched all around the perimeter of Ghost Bay. And, as you can see by the lodge, the beaver aren’t even using much of the downed timber to reinforce their home.

These critters have made a royal mess of a place that means a lot to all of us on the lake. In the past, when I caught a glimpse of them swimming, I’d feel quite privileged to share the lake with them. For now, I’m just overcome by the wastefulness of their feeding habits.

I don’t knit many sweaters. And when I do, they aren’t usually for me. But I was drawn to Pam Allen’s Comfy Cardigan from Clara Parkes’s Knitters Book of Wool. A friend knit it and recommended that it was one of her most comfortable sweaters. I’m a fan of slipped stitch and the honeycomb pattern of the bodice looked like it would be fun. It was. Twice.

First, I decided to modify the pattern to make it larger by adding honeycombs. Hmm. It seemed like a good idea, but before I was done I had a sweater with a 79 and 1/2 inch chest. That’s about two Dolly Partons and would not do. In my own defense, the sweater is unusually constructed and I did not understand exactly where I was in it most of the time. You start in the middle of the back with a provisional cast on and work to the edge of the back. Then you make a similar piece for the front. You join the pieces, and that’s where the sizing change occurs. Knit for a bit, cast off for the sleeve cut-out and then knit down to the cuff. Now back to that mid-back provisional cast-on and knit all the same sections for the other side. You pick up hundreds of stitches at the bodice and knit until it’s the length you want. A bit of ribbing, and you’re done.

After my Dolly Parton sojourn, I ripped back almost to the beginning and began again. This time I followed the pattern exactly, for the largest size. I was about 1/2 stitch per 4 inches above gauge, which ended up working out fairly well for me size-wise.

Maybe because of the somewhat lightweight worsted I used, Berrocco’s Vintage, this doesn’t have quite the “body” that might be best. The feel of it is soft and quite nice. But it isn’t doing too well with its rather dainty buttonholes, buttonband, and ribbing. Despite steaming, the buttonband and ribbing is curling some. I will tackle it again with more aggressive steaming.

Rather than shop for the perfect buttons, I used some nice wooden ones I had in my stash. They’re a bit too beefy and I’ll probably swap them out soon for something more lightweight. I’d like the sweater’s honeycomb pattern to catch the eye, more so than my button choice.

This turned to be a rather quick knit, as sweaters go. True to it’s name, it’s very comfy. The side-to-side construction assures that nothing binds.