Big Pigeon

Two Detroit artists brought their urban art expertise to Huron County in May and created this really big pigeon on the side of a barn south of Port Austin. Calling themselves the Hygienic Dress League, Steve and Dorota Coy painted a pigeon on the side of a barn owned by Hank and Janette Ziel out on Stoddard Road east of M-53.

I stopped to photograph the big bird one night this week. The clouds in the east are tinted pink and match the color in the neck of the bird. It's pretty cool urban art, out here in the fresh air of the countryside.

Watch a video about this art work.

Read Bill Diller's article about the painting.



Copyright 2013
Wanda Hayes Eichler

Big Fawns

The whitetail fawns in Huron County are getting much bigger as the summer progresses. These two did their "freeze frame" routine when I stopped my Chevy Volt last night. With the window rolled down and the car turned off, I whipped out my camera and watched these two. They were tall enough to stare me down over the grain field, yet they have not lost their baby spots yet.

Pretty soon Mama came on the scene and sent some kind of signal to the kids. Just after this second photo was taken, they all bounded away, across the fields.

These photos were taken on Stoddard Road, just off of M-25, near Lighthouse Park, but you can see deer almost anywhere in Huron County this summer.

Copyright 2013
Wanda Hayes Eichler

If I Were A Daylily

If I were a daylily, I'd be this one. My blossoms would be the color of summer sunsets gone by, ridged by the genetics of my past, and ruffled a bit on the edges.

My life would be lifted to the blue water skies of my lakeside clump. I would tell the buds yet to come about a day's sunshine and fresh air. I'd brag about the yellow moonlight and the fawns and raccoons that nuzzled my fragrant blooms in their nighttime wanderings.

Kissed by the winds of the Great Lakes and nourished by the rich soil of midwestern farmlands, I would signal the botanical wonder of a creation that is as varied as the heavenly stars and as sturdy as the geology that formed the lakes.

If I were a daylily, I'd be this one.

Copyright 2013

Wanda Hayes Eichler

Frank Murphy Museum

The Huron County Democratic Party held a picnic on Saturday afternoon at the Frank Murphy Museum in Harbor Beach, Michigan. Frank Murphy, born and raised in Harbor Beach, was appointed to the United States Supreme Court by President Franklin Roosevelt and served nine years on the court.

As a  former mayor of Detroit, governor of Michigan, attorney general of the U. S., and governor general of the Philippines, Frank Murphy's legacy is tied to major civil rights issues of the 1930's and 1940's. There is so much to be gained by touring the Murphy Museum, a little known treasure on the east side of Huron County, Michigan, and as Dems, we felt a great affinity in learning more about this citizen of our county.

The Murphy Museum provides a unique, personal perspective into the life of someone who came from a small town, yet was so involved in the issues of the New Deal, World War II, and labor relations. The many photos and artifacts show aspects of Justice Murphy's life that bring history to life.

People come from all over to get a glimpse into the early life of Frank Murphy. Since many of the items in the Murphy Museum relate to his time as Governor General  of the Philippines, visitors with connections to the Philippine Islands are impressed by the knowledge that they gain when they visit the museum.

From the many photos of FDR, to the table where the agreement was signed that ended the sit-down strike at the Flint GM plant in 1937, the Murphy Museum gives an intimate view into the life of a Huron County citizen who served in many roles in our government, yet called Huron County home for all of his life.

Copyright 2013
Wanda Hayes Eichler

Saturday Storms

 

On the way to the Loons game in Midland on Saturday we encountered at least four cloudbursts. Here's what the corner of Bay City-Forestville Road and M-19 looked like around 5 pm.

The Loons won the baseball game on a cold summer night in mid Michigan.

Copyright 2013
Wanda Hayes Eichler

The Hogs Were Last

The Junior Livestock Auctions are always a full day affair at the Huron Community Fair. Today's event started at 10 am with feeder cattle auctioned first, then a break for lunch, then the milk auction, the steers, the lambs, and finally, the hogs. The last hog was auctioned at 6:40 pm.

My husband Ed is the buyer in our family. I go to the auction to support the youth who have worked hard raising and feeding their prize animals. The profit from the sale of the animals often is added to a college fund or goes for other necessities in a youngster's life. These kids know that their dedication and discipline pays off. It's good for them to be around adults who care about them and their projects.

Still, the auction was getting long for me today. I had some art supplies with me. I've learned from my travels to keep the art kit small and tucked away. So, out came a pen and a few watercolor pencils and the trusty waterbrush.

This pig, sketched on the auction list handout, at least looks like a pig! I'm not the best at seeing the animal shapes yet. I have to learn the lines and I do that by sketching and sketching, again and again.

So here's today's iconic Junior Livestock hog. Truth be told, this pig is an amalgamation of several hogs that came into the auction ring over the ten minutes or so that it took me to get these lines on paper. My pig is quite stocky; the show animals were long and lean.

Now, before you judge this art too harshly, remember that the hogs were last. My pen and my brain were tired after a long, but successful 2013 Junior Livestock Auction.

Copyright 2013
Wanda Hayes Eichler

Mackinac Mug

Ed brought me a new Mackinac mug, so, of course, I had to sketch it. This mug is just right -- sips easily, feels good in my hand, keeps coffee hot, and it reminds me of The Island.

Very cool.


Copyright 2013
Wanda Hayes Eichler

First Tomato

A red, red Jet Star tomato and green leaf lettuce spent a moment on the cutting board in the kitchen. Then came the toast, the mayo, a touch of butter, the slicing knife, the sandwich.

Mmmm, how can one describe the first tomato? Full of flavor, fresh, tangy. Firm when sliced, saucy and zesty.

The slices that could not stay in the sandwich were eaten before the sandwich. Such pure joy -- the first tomato.

Copyright 2013
Wanda Hayes Eichler

Sheep Show 2013

Yesterday's Sheep Show at the Huron Community Fair gave me yet another chance to present the Grand Champion Pen of Lambs trophy on behalf of my design company, Graywood Designs. Here I am, on the right, holding Vivian Wheeler, my rent-a-baby, for the photo op.

I like to have little kids in the photos and due to unforeseen circumstances, none of my grandchildren were available this year. J.D.Wheeler, an alumnus of many sheep shows, and his wife Samantha graciously said yes to my request to have Baby Vivian be a part of the trophy presentation.

The champion lambs belong to Tyler Devroye and they are beauties. The Devroye brothers, Tyler and Justin, and their families, the Devroyes and the Renns, can be counted on to bring quality sheep to the Fair each year. Vivian's Huron County family, the Wheelers, are also tops in raising sheep. So this photo is kind of a sheep dynasty photo.

Be that as it may, the photo also has this wonderful color coordinated fashion look. The Devroyes are decked out in blue. Vivian has on a navy print top with classy baby jeans, and I'm wearing navy and white polkadots with turned-up-cuff blue jeans. What a photo -- fashion, sheep dynasties, and young people who are the future of just about everything.

It all makes me realize how honored I am to be a supporter of the 4-H Sheep Show and to be a tiny part of these kids' lives.

Copyright 2013
Wanda Hayes Eichler

Little Raptor

Spotted in a dead pine tree near the corner of Helena and Parisville Roads this weekend, this little raptor seemed intent on having his photo taken. The bird clutched the branch for dear life and kept watching me as I maneuvered to get a good angle with my camera.

Notice how long the talons are and notice that the feathers are fresh looking, not worn down, like a bird that has been around for a while. Some of the feathers are fluffy, like baby feathers. The dappled, speckled look would indicate that this is a young bird, too.

I hope that the little raptor finds plenty of mice and voles to eat, and that he/show grows up to be a fine big part of the food chain in Huron County.

Copyright 2013
Wanda Hayes Eichler

Swim Costume

Granddaughter Hannah has this really cool swim costume that makes her into a bumble bee. The costume has wings and a stinger. It has black and yellow stripes. There's a cool hat with two black antennae sticking up from the striped cap.

Hannah's "other grandma," Grandma Linda found the swim costume in Canada and brought it back for Hannah. With her pink water shoes, our old canoe, her Daddy and her Grandma Wanda, Hannah had a good time today, wading in Lake Huron.

Copyright 2013
Wanda Hayes Eichler

Sailboat Race

Every sailboat in the Port Huron to Mackinac Race that is on the shore course comes past the lake house. Today the vessels have been coming in waves. First we saw one, then three, then ten. That was at mid-afternoon. By evening, there were scores of boats, all upbound for Mackinac.

On a computer screen the sailboats look like grains of rice, spread out across Lake Huron. By morning, there will not be a sailboat in sight.

Copyright 2013

Wanda Hayes Eichler

Summer Storms in Windmill Country

Summer storms in windmill country have been dramatic today. A cold front swept across Huron County in mid afternoon. Between Elkton and Pigeon, the storm rose dramatically in swirls of clouds and sweeps of rain.

Thunderhead after towering thunderhead crossed Saginaw Bay, then marched east, headed toward the Verona hills and Lake Huron. Around 6 pm, my camera captured this image of the turbines and one huge cloud just north and east of Laker High School.

Along the Lake Huron coastline, violent winds tore down tree branches. My garden was hit hard. The red beets look like they were stepped over by the winds. The foliage on the tomatoes appears shredded, almost like it was hit by hail.

After days of hot and humid weather, the summer storms have arrived.

Copyright 2013

Wanda Hayes Eichler

Me and Paint

There are a few pink geraniums that I bought at the end of the season that need potting. I'm picturing them in colored pots, so I hauled out the little bottles of craft paint, blue and yellow,and got busy. I wanted a teal blue color but got a Martha Stewart type green.

The geraniums will not know the difference.

Once I got to messing with the acrylic paint and had two pots done, I looked around and found some more pots to paint and a garden trowel. Half a bottle of blue later (I hardly used the yellow), the drippy job was done and things were drying.

Of course, I had to document the painting session in my little art journal. Didn't get the color right there either. Oh well, painting is kind of like golf -- there's always another pot (hole) and always another day (game). Terracotta pots and little white balls, it's all the same to me. Just part of things I like to do.

My mom and dad must not have let me play with paint when I was little. It's that denial of play in childhood that leads to big trouble in adulthood. Take my brother-in-law Patrick, for instance. He absolutely loves fireworks.

Patrick can shoot off bottle rockets underwater. He and my Dad once conspired to produce a fantastic fireworks show for my birthday. In February, in the snow. On the farm, and it was cold. Patrick's wife, my sister MB, says that his mother must have never let him strike a match when he was a kid. So now he's like a fireworks nut.

And me? Well, I probably never got to paint.

Copyright 2013
Wanda Hayes Eichler

The Out West Quilt

Gloria Swartzendruber came strolling into the Graywood Designs office in Pigeon early this month with an incredible quilt that will be auctioned at the Northern Michigan Mennonite Relief sale in a few weeks. Gloria and her husband John found the quilt in a Texas shop last winter. They purchased it and are donating it to the auction which raises money for Mennonite relief work all across the globe.

This quilt is on display this weekend at the Pigeon District Library's annual Quilt show which starts tomorrow, Thursday, July 18 in the community rooms of the Library. Quilts will be on display throughout Summerfest Weekend.

The quilt's title is "Out West I" and its designer and maker is Peggy Hanson of Ingram, Texas. The quilt is 59" x 75" so it would be an excellent choice for a wall quilt or it could be displayed on a bed.

Gloria likes to applique and took great delight in pointing out all the choices of fabrics and texture that Peggy made as she created each block. There are suede fabrics, curly fabrics, burlap with frayed edges, batiks with painterly swirls, embroidered accents, and lots of other special touches in this mastery of needlework.

The Texas longhorn cow is coming right out of the quilt. Frayed burlap, looking like dust, adds to the illusion. His eyes are on the viewer. His legs are in motion.

The long horn block is an artful combination of motion and color. You can almost hear the creature snorting as you look into his eyes.

Peggy's scorpion has wonderfully threatening claws and a spiny tail that would scare even the bravest insect lover.

Other blocks portray saguaro and ocotillo cactuses, a native dancer, an armadillo, roadrunner, cowboys, horses, a windmill, and lots more.

The entire quilt is a wonderful example of needlework design and execution at its finest.


The Quilt Auction takes place on Saturday, August 3 at the Oscoda County Fairgrounds near Fairview, Michigan. All proceeds benefit the fine relief work that the Mennonites do so well. If you are interested in bidding on this quilt, let me know. I'm sure that I can arrange a proxy bidder for you at the auction.

Copyright 2013
Wanda Hayes Eichler

Exuberant Sourdough

The sourdough starter, brought out of the refrigerator and left on the kitchen counter, got a little too exuberant during my last baking session. Here's the first time that it burst forth from its apothecary jar home. The second time was a royal mess, so I poured what was left of the starter into a much larger container.

The little loaves made from the starter proved to be quite tasty. Ed doesn't like the tang of sourdough, so next time I will sweeten the dough even more. I'm hoping to come up with bread that will work for toast and sandwiches. This one has both whole wheat and white flour, no eggs, and a lot of the exuberant starter.

Copyright 2013

Wanda Hayes Eichler

Wondrous Roses

How could roses grown in this hot, hot July weather be so beautiful?

I brought in several stems of the Seven Sisters rose that grows right outside the kitchen window at Cedar Bluff lake house today. Putting together an arrangement, I was struck by the waves of the pink petals, the deep gloss of the leaves, and the sureness of the thorns.

Roses are such a wonder. Their foliage covers a fence or a post with lacy green; their scent softens the morning air; their tumble of blossoms brings a smile to the weariness of a hot, summer day.

Copyright 2013
Wanda Hayes Eichler

Watercolor Bark

I was so taken with the textures and color of the American Planetree bark in yesterday's blog post that I tried a sketch of the bark in my art journal today.

I used gouache watercolors (Prussian blue, Naples yellow, spectrum red), a Pigma pen, and Caran d'Ache watercolor pencils (yellow ochre, greyish black, sepia, black).

The art experience was interrupted several times by experimentation in the kitchen with a sourdough bread recipe, so my concentration was broken.

The sketch is so-so. The bread was better.

Copyright 2013
Wanda Hayes Eichler

Artsy Bark

I have always been an admirer of the great and wondrous trees on the campus at Michigan State. This close up of the scale-like bark of an American Planetree outside of Dem Hall has an artful quality.

Ed and I spent part of the afternoon on campus where we stopped by Dem Hall to see Peter and Clay. I had my first opportunity to walk through the galleries at the incredible Broad Museum, too. We needed a day to "get out of Dodge" and State is a good place to visit.

DROID photo -- cropped, enhanced

Copyright 2013
Wanda Hayes Eichler

Woodland Garden

Pink and red astilbes light up the woodland garden late in the afternoon. A white astilbe has yet to appear among the dappled light of the shady garden.

DROID photo -- cropped, enhanced with Lomo

Copyright 2013
Wanda Hayes Eichler

New Moon In July

The new moon and the planet Venus put on quite a show last night. This image, looking almost due west, shows the crescent moon slightly above the horizon while Venus shines with an intensity that is almost brilliant.

I thought this was a pretty good shot, especially with a point-and-shoot camera like my trusty Sony Cybershot. Then I looked at Earthsky.org and saw an image almost exactly like mine, also taken in Michigan.

It's a small world, indeed, especially when all of us on this tiny planet with all of our tiny cameras are looking up at the same moon and stars.

Copyright 2013
Wanda Hayes Eichler

1000 Posts, And Counting

I'm not sure how I will celebrate, but this blog post is the 1000th one that I have written. I started the blog in 2008. I had written a weekly column for the Progress-Advance newspaper in Pigeon, Michigan for a number of years when my children were growing up.

When my interest in blogging came along, I thought, "Gee, why not revive the defunct "Willow" name and try blogging?" My blog, "From Under the Willow," was born then. The first post on Monday, March 3, 2008 didn't even have a title. I was quite the newcomer to the whys and wherefores of blogging.

Fast forward a year or two to December 2010. I knew that my Dad always enjoyed reading my blog. I had the wild and crazy idea around Christmas time that maybe, as a gift for Dad, just maybe I could produce one blog post per day. I would stick to topics that would interest Dad, and then I could accomplish two things: first, a daily post; second, a followup email to my Dad which he would get to read every day.

By the end of January 2011 with 31 posts under my belt, I began to see my way forward. The discipline of writing every day was beginning to stick. At the beginning of May, as I wrote "Milepost Number 121," I knew that a year of blogging was possible.

My husband Ed (my proofreader) was totally supportive and began telling others about "Wanda's blog." And Dad, well he was enjoying the daily missives. My sister Mary, who saw Dad almost every day, said she would walk in the door of the farmhouse and Dad would immediately begin the conversation with, "did you see what's on Wanda's blog today?" It was always good for me to hear how much he followed my writing.

2011 came and went, and then 2012. The daily blog posts keep coming. There's a standard that I try to meet with the photography (600 x 400 pixels, photo should tell a story) and with the writing (clear, concise, always revise, always spellcheck). I carry a camera everywhere that I go and take advantage of photography classes that I think might improve my skills with a camera and with Photoshop. The blog is public, as it always has been, and is posted to Facebook and Twitter almost daily.

So, this is the 1000th blog post. My Dad died this spring and it has been tough to acknowledge that he is not seeing each daily post. Some day in the near future, I will change the blog sidebar which tells about my Dad and is sort of a forward to the blog. I expect that that day will come soon, but I am not pushing my father's memory too far away from my daily blogging yet. It is too soon to do that for me.

If you have come this far with me, dear reader, do let me know that you see Willow from time to time. It is good to have the support and feedback of readers. Who knows but what there could be another 1000 daily blog posts in my life and yours.

Blessings, from Under the Willow That Shades Us All.

Copyright 2013
Wanda Hayes Eichler

Artwork: View From My Chair

Here's a page from my daily art journal where I drew and painted a chair and lamp and table in the great room. The paint is blotchy; the chair is wobbly, but I kind of like this early morning view.

I'm starting to see how representational art can be. Very funky, too.

Pen and ink; watercolor

By Wanda Eichler

Copyright 2013

Wanda Hayes Eichler

Nasty Cloud

It wasn't swirling and it wasn't a greenish yellow color, but, boy, this cloud sure did scare me today. The temperature dropped as I drove right under the massive cloud. A white wall of water followed about a quarter mile behind the cloud and brought another torrential downpour to the western side of the Thumb.

This cloud was photographed on M-142 between Pigeon and Bad Axe at 1:38 pm today, Monday, July 8. Thunderstorms with large amounts of rain have hit parts of Huron County since Saturday. Bad Axe had 5-6 inches of rain on Saturday afternoon. Ditches and creeks are running high today, Monday.

Copyright 2013
Wanda Hayes Eichler

At Rybak's Ice Cream Store

Ice cream is the greatest. Miss Val sacrificed some serious time with her pacifier (notice how it is hanging, neglected, in this photo) to put in some quality ice cream time.

We visited Rybak's Ice Cream Store in Grindstone City this weekend and found their cones to be quite satisfactory. Located in a vintage two story building that was built in 1884, Rybak's is a new addition to the many places in Huron County that sell ice cream.

Val tried out the chocolate. It took her the better part of a half hour to get to the bottom of the cone, but it was waffle-y wonderful in her toddler world.



Big sis Hannah dug right into her cone. The painted church pews on the front porch are a great place to enjoy a cone and soak up the summer atmosphere in Huron County.

Rybak's Ice Cream Store is located about one mile north of M-25 on Rouse Road. Take M-25 east out of Port Austin for about six miles and turn north on Rouse.

Copyright 2013
Wanda Hayes Eichler

Evening Pines

After sunset on a July evening, the evening pines are silhouetted against the blue sky. The day is closing and the pines are leaning toward one another, like a fold up book of paper cut outs with pages that rise and fall as they are turned.

Photo taken in Harbor Beach, Michigan, near North Campground, along the walking trail that leads from the Coast Guard Station to Trescott Street Pier.

Copyright 2013
Wanda Hayes Eichler

Working On The Rosewalk

Ed and I worked all morning at the Pigeon Historical Museum, cleaning up the roses along the rosewalk that leads from Main Street to the Depot Museum. The old roses along the split rail fence have just about finished blooming for the summer and needed to be trimmed back.

We usually spend an hour or so, once a month, keeping this border clean and tidy. The daylilies are beginning their summer bloom and the weeds were getting pretty aggressive.

So we thinned out the roses, pulled dead leaves off of the daylilies, and trimmed back the dying daffodil foliage. There is less color in the after photo, but, believe me, the border needed some attention. It would be nice to have some annuals inserted into the border for color, but that will have to wait until an irrigation system can be installed.

A big thank you goes out to Al Collison and his DPW crew from the Village of Pigeon. They were trimming shrubs at the same time and hauled away all the trimmings. Thanks, Al!

Copyright 2013
Wanda Hayes Eichler

Happy Fourth of July

Fireworks light up the sky over Bay City on the Fourth of July in 2004. I had a tripod and my Olympus C5050 camera and took this image from one of the bridges.

This year's Fourth of July will stretch out for the weekend with fireworks and parades on various days and nights. That's kind of cool. It is also very cool that we celebrate independence here in the U.S.A. with a day of liberty, a day to do what one wants to do. Have a picnic, putter in the garden, see a baseball game. It's a day for flying the flag and feeling humble and proud, at the same time, for being an American citizen.

Happy Fourth!

Copyright 2013
Wanda Hayes Eichler

Big Thunderhead

A huge thunderhead towered over the Cooperative Elevator's eight story tall towers this afternoon. I followed this cloud across the county as I headed east from Pigeon to Harbor Beach. By Bad Axe the skies had thickened. By Verona, there was rain and by the time I turned south off of M-142 at the Parisville Road corner, the skies were blue again.

The white two story building at the far left is Main Street Cafe and Bakery, home of the best homemade potato chips ever. The brown one story building is the Pigeon Village Hall and also houses Winsor Township's offices.

Here's the same cloud with a wind turbine in the photo. I like the contrasts -- strong, definitive tower lines, graceful arc of the blades, and the puff of the storm clouds. This photo was taken along Richardson Road, between Pigeon and Elkton.

Copyright 2013
Wanda Hayes Eichler

Sunset Bands of Color

Sunlight glinted off the blades of wind turbines along Parisville Road in Huron County on Monday evening. The sky was painted with bands of color, like an artist had washed color into color in a celestial painting.

The particulate from wildfires out West and in Canada may have been carried into Michigan already, or the sun might have been at that "perfect" angle. Whatever the cause, the sunset on Monday night was awesome.

Copyright 2013
Wanda Hayes Eichler

Little Lettuces Fourth of July Salad

The little lettuces and tiny beet plants are way too thick in my garden. So I pulled up several handfuls with my fingertips and brought them into the kitchen. I washed them and cut away the roots. Already the white lettuce stems and red beet stems are telling me that it is almost the Fourth of July.

I picked a few dill fronds, too, and placed them in a mortar and pestle with a tablespoon of olive oil that I ordered from La Tienda when I made paella earlier this month. I crushed the dill into the olive oil, just enough to release the scent. Then I pulled out the stems of the dill, leaving behind the fragrant, now bruised leaves.

Into the olive oil/dill mixture, I added 1 tablespoon each of mayonnaise, sour cream, and buttermilk. I whisked  the mixture and then added a quarter cup of Heinz cider vinegar. (Next time I will drop the vinegar back to two tablespoons and try rice vinegar instead.) I whisked the dressing again, after adding the vinegar. There is a lot of tanginess going on here, so I  used sugar in the next step to soften the tartness of the dressing.

Then I tossed a cup and a half of fruit, some sliced, with a tablespoon of sugar. I used red grapes, strawberries, and blueberries. (Remember, this is going to be a Fourth of July salad.) I let the sugar and berries macerate about ten minutes.

Next I combined the lettuces and beet greens with the fruit mixture. Sunflower seeds, about two tablespoons, were sprinkled on the salad.

 I tossed the salad with the dressing and then, by hand, broke up strips of Parmesan cheese that I had sliced from a block of Parmesan using a vegetable peeler.

The Little Lettuces Fourth of July Salad, with red and blue fruit, was served in square white bowls with a grind of fresh pepper. All in all, the lettuces, beet greens, and dill had been less than an hour from having been picked and washed. This amount made two servings, but the quantity of dressing was generous and could have dressed more greens.

Ah, what a tasty and colorful salad for celebrating this Fourth of July.

Copyright 2013
Wanda Hayes Eichler