In Like a Lion is Fun for my Lambs!

March came in like a lion!
After school, I took my little lambs out to play. Winter finally made its appearance! (It probably was just waiting for the ferries to run again.) These pictures are all from March 1st, our first decent snow in a long time. There was lovely ice!











The night's storm left one side of trees encased in ice:

















My oldest ditched her mittens (she has warm hands like her Daddy):











The snow was dotted with bits of ice that had fallen from the trees:








A freighter in the distance:


Closer...





Now, I run across the lawn to get a better shot and accidentally take a picture of my foot;


Much better!


I looked it up on BoatNerd.com and this freighter had a load of salt:











The ice was melting off these trees and falling in random "plops."





The birds were active! It may look wintery but it sounded like spring!





A hive:









The icy snow frozen on trees looked interesting!


Closeup of ice on the tree:


Little sister didn't remove her mittens, but she did misplace her pacifier:


When I offered her a ride in the sled, she went the opposite direction and flopped on the ground. It's hard to know what to expect from my toddler!


Too cute!





My favorite shot of the day:





We bought the sled last year, but didn't buy a rope. We had an extra bike lock though! I wonder if that makes it more of a Mackinac sled?


My precious daughters!



(We were blessed with a stunning snowstorm last night- you can expect those pictures in another blog post soon!)

Mommy, is today a Snowmobile Day?

Leap Day brought crazy weather, which included the snow that has eluded Mackinac Island most winter. Yesterday morning, my 4 year old asked, "Mommy, is it a Snowmobile Day?" And I got to say, "Yes!"
There was some snow about a month ago, but our snowmobile's steering post rusted over the summer. My husband was strong enough to turn it, I was not. So we got the steering post replaced ...just in time for bare roads. Yesterday was the first day I could snowmobile all season!
Despite it's nonuse, it started well. One of the runners was stuck, frozen to the ground; I managed to pry it loose with our shovel. It was a great ride to the school!
After we dropped big sister off at preschool, we got to see the ferry pass. Daddy was standing on it, so we waved!


Then the snowmobile wouldn't start again. Another Mackinac mom helped, and helped, and eventually it started. The snowmobile was running funny though. We picked up Phil (who had picked up groceries!) A passerby pointed out my problem- our snowmobile is missing a rear wheel. The rear wheels are important. Here is what both sides should look like (note the blue wheel):


See the problem?


I looked for the missing wheel and asked around about it, but no success. I have bad luck with snowmobiles I think. It's a shame... They are so convenient for a Mackinac winter!

A Ferry Tale on Leap Day

My husband called Arnold Transit this morning to see if they were running today despite the weather. He was told yes with a chuckle and "It's the Huron!" (The Huron is tough! It is commonly referred to as "the slow boat" on the island, but you will never hear Arnold Line use that phrase!)

Phil had recruitment events scheduled from Thursday-Saturday, but the Thursday flight was 4am so he needed to get off today. Good thing he caught the noon boat! It ended up the last trip of the day! (I guess they encountered 8-10 foot waves on the way over.) Departure was pushed back to 12:30, to give commuting contractors a chance to get off the island. The wind was so strong, I can't imagine it was practical to work outside anyhow! Some were concerned the Mackinac Bridge could close and they still might not be able to get home. (It did not close, but had wind escort for high profile vehicles.)
The first challenge was getting out of the ice in the harbor!


Phil reported it was crazy as they turned out of the harbor! But after that, things smoothed out and they went with the waves more.


Arriving safe & sound!


The Mighty Huron at the St. Ignace Docks:


By tonight, Phil's 4am flight was cancelled. It was decided they can still interview over Skype. He'll be returning tomorrow morning (instead of Sunday). For me, that's a happy ending to this crazy, Leap Day ferry tale!

Location:Mackinac Island