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Up north - late August 2023

 

summer Lake Michigan from 200-foot dune top with dark patterns of fish below the water
Dune Lake Michigan
Fish schools under the cool blue
Shapes like lava-lamps


shoreline Lake Michigan white sand with dog prints and driftwood
Lakeshore dogprints trot
While waves make background music
For the human's feet

foreground sand dune shoeprint high above the blue water
Shoeprint on dune top
Timeless view but passing step
Ceaseless wind blows on

close-up ripened dark purple fox-grape surrounded by backlit leaves
Sun-kissed grapes pucker
At the thought of coming cold
But til then summer

close-up surface of sand dune shows tracks of last night's small creature
Small feet scurry past
Morning summer sand shows all
On night-time business

morning long shadows on split-rail cedar fence with lichen on the endpost & old wooden resort hotel in the middle distance
Lichen on fence post
Sunbathe most mornings up north
Quietly growing

morning light floods into screendoor at far end of carpeted hallway of historical resort hotel
Long morning shadows
Old hotel memories grow
Year by year warmer

large golden head of beach grass (Maram grass)
Cans to return
Maram grass with seeding head
Again born again

cold summer morning steam rising off the northern lake still dawn pink, swimmer silhouette near lakeshore
Warm lake steaming dawn
Swimmer braces for cold plunge
Brisk start to the day

minutes before sunset the lakeshore dune's lumpy surface glows golden
Sunset dune shadows
Golden shapes from people's feet
Maram grass waves gently

big bumblebee busy in the big pink head of the Joe-Pye Weed
Summer humming work
Busy bee buzzes Joe-pye Weed
Laden with pollen

dim light before daybreak over the lake foregrounded by patio and long wooden dock
Barely lit lake view
Awaits daybreak of summer
For early swimmers

extreme close-up of feathery mosses in bright green
Moss wearing bright green
On sandy pine needle ground
Soaking up the sun

redpine replantings in ruler-straight rows like corn
Upright row on row
Red pines at attention wait
The rare August rain

wetland boardwalk in bright late afternoon light
Boardwalk builders' work
Brings wildlife closer to hand
Decades passing by

mature clusters of white-barked birch near wetland preserve in afternoon light
Birch stands together
Near wetland trail and wildlife
Papery white bark

extreme close-up of golfball-sized oval beach stone with lakeshore sand running into the distance
Glaciers round the stones
Waves and sand polish them smooth
For eyes to admire

pale yellow dune flower at knee-high in late August
Dune lily yellow
Rises above the warm sand
Catching August sun

juvenile beetle clambers on fox-grape leaf
Green stink bug quickly
Crosses big foxgrape leaf tops
Searching for a mate

native flowers of the towering sand dune top above Lake Michigan
Bladder campion
Pale pink its rounded bottom
Making summer seeds

large excavations on dead tree trunk by Pileated Woodpecker
Pileated plonk!
Soft wood gives up buggy treats
Croak! Away for more

trailside white berries in maple-beech forest along the Lake Michigan shoreline
White Baneberry waits
Passing hikers stop to shoot
Pretty nature sights

extreme close-up of endgrain of planks on summer dock to show tree-rings and lakeshore in the background
Tree-ring years on view
As summers pass do not grow
Bare feet walk the dock

smooth silvery wood of weathered cedar tree laid flat as lawn ornament
Cedar tree driftwood
Sounds of crashing waves not far
Wind tumbled no more

lakeside storage shed for paddles and life-jackets
Paddlers safety vests
Drying til the August lake
Calls the resorters

towering mullen at lakeshore now dry and ready to seed
Shoreline mullen tall
Stands near lapping speedboat waves
Engine purring loud

Glassy lake speedboat
Pulls wakeboard in tight circle
Slingshot thrill goes past

Undulating lake
Bumps the dock time after time
Making shadows roll

Sand-filtered cold flow
Springs running to the lakeshore
Waves lapping it up


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