It's Still Summer in Michigan

It may say September on the calendar, but today is too lovely to be called fall. I am so lucky to be able to walk to the state park from my house, and I always enjoy it so on days like these when families take advantage of the summery weather. Today I saw a man painting in long white pants, short sleeve shirt and a straw hat with an easel set up by Lake Mac. He could have been a scene in a book, or a painting from long ago times. Another curious thing I saw was a little dog being "walked" in a stroller. I have to say this seems a bit cruel and unusual for a dog who looked to be perfectly healthy. Don't folks know dogs like to run about? But the best part is coming up to the channel just prior to entering the beach area. I love the little toddlers with their diapered bubble butts poking out of their shorts, and their little bare chests and toes as they run through the sand. This one was following a "doggie, doggie, doggie", all the while pointing at the doggie and running as best he could in the sand. I love seeing the families with the little towheads eating their hot dogs and drinking their pop at the picnic tables along the channel (we do live in Holland, so they really are mostly tow-heads). Lovers of all ages, newly in love couples strolling with their blankets and picnic supplies to watch the sunset, grandmothers and grandfathers sitting on their chairs either with their children and grandchildren, or without. Middle age couples reading in their camp chairs or grilling with friends. There is a relaxed ambiance about it all that is charming to me. Some nights when I walk, the older folks are sitting in their chairs and listening to the Tigers on the radio, enjoying the last days of the beach and baseball.

Fishermen/women of all ages are out as well. Some walking with their poles to the end of the pier, some along the channel, and one lucky fellow caught a big one while chugging through the channel to the big lake. There were cheers all around for him. In these lazy summer days everyone is warmly welcoming to those that cross their paths.

Sailboats on the lake, people on ski-doos, and a few die hard families still sitting on shore with their blankets and umbrellas, determined to soak it all in before fall blows in.

I enjoyed some time on a lookout just soaking in the sun, listening to my music, and thinking how serene it all is. It seems surreal that I get to enjoy this, and that others in the world are enduring war, poverty, illness and death. I need to be a lot more grateful for what I have.

When I turned to leave, I heard the wind rustling in the Aspens, and discovered, they not only sound like rain, but also an awful lot like when we turn the pages of our sermon taking notes in church! I passed a couple that had been reading and restrained myself from accosting a perfect stranger to see if he liked The Shack. As I sat on a boulder and emptied the sand from my sandals, the sun glinted off the beach grass and it looked for all the world like the grass that we put in Easter baskets.

It won't be long and this beach scene will change. The clouds will be dark and low, and the sun will turn the cloud edges shades of gold. The leaves will be golden as well, and will gently float to the ground. A friend once told me about a poem with these lines "Margaret are you grieving over golden grove unleaving" (Gerard Manley Hopkins) I always think of this poem in the fall. But for now, it is still summer in Michigan :-)