Flip Flops or Fires? I'll Take Both.
In my mudroom right now, we are having an overflow problem with shoes. Flip flops, hikers, galoshes, and snow boots line the narrow strip of floor between our benches. It is a testament to the recent weather, as three seasons seemed to collide within a week’s time.
It is also cause for me to lean against the door jam and smile.
To the left of my mudroom, in our kitchen, a handmade fabric banner is stretched across the sliding door. It reads, “Give thanks.” Looking at this pile of shoes—some caked with mud, others still glistening from tonight’s snowfall—I am doing just that. In northern Michigan, our between-season weather is often cause for serious grumbling. This year, however, the combination of damp rains and summer-like days have been (at least in my mind) a heavenly mix.
Just last week, we were soaking up a hazy blue afternoon. Justin and I had the kids out for a hike, watching them run up the hills near our home only to come crashing back down, their laughter always floating three steps behind them.
I
There was something so rich about being hot in t-shirts and fleece in the middle of November, strolling through the remainders of a neighbor’s pumpkin patch and counting deer prints in the dirt. We paused at one point, all five of us suddenly quiet and still.
“This is nice,” Noah said, breaking the silence as he swooped down to grab a stick. As he tossed it up for our mutts to leap after, I looked down at Lizzie, happily bouncing along in her sling. Max was rediscovering the joy of rolling down a grassy knoll in sloppy three year-old fashion. The sun was beginning to sink into the hillside, orange and yellow hues bleeding into the pale autumn blue.
“Yes,” I said, taking Justin’s hand. “This is nice.”
It isn’t that hiking is a rare treat for my family, or that I am not mindful about stopping to take in the beauty of being outdoors. It’s just that at that moment—that warm November moment—I had a sense that we were getting this incredible bonus; like when, after eating at Lulu’s a few years back, I discovered Short’s Brewery was just down the street. It was that good.
Tonight, as I sit in front of a cackling fire—our nightly staple as we head into the deep parts of winter—I understand that the ever-changing, often frustrating weather that thrives in northern Michigan also brings out an incredible richness. It creates an appreciation for both those rare glimpses of warmth and sun, and also the days like this one, where the cold, wet outside calls us to hunker down, cook up a storm, read by the fire.
Tomorrow morning, I’ll pack up the flip-flops and other summer-weight shoes, as I’m sure the last bits of heat have been drained out of this year. I’ll look out the window to the fields below my house, smiling at the memory of our last warm weather excursion and already imagining the first time our cross country skis will break trails on that same ground. Soon enough.
As we sit “between seasons,” what are some of your favorite gear-up-for-winter activities?
It is also cause for me to lean against the door jam and smile.
To the left of my mudroom, in our kitchen, a handmade fabric banner is stretched across the sliding door. It reads, “Give thanks.” Looking at this pile of shoes—some caked with mud, others still glistening from tonight’s snowfall—I am doing just that. In northern Michigan, our between-season weather is often cause for serious grumbling. This year, however, the combination of damp rains and summer-like days have been (at least in my mind) a heavenly mix.
Just last week, we were soaking up a hazy blue afternoon. Justin and I had the kids out for a hike, watching them run up the hills near our home only to come crashing back down, their laughter always floating three steps behind them.
IThere was something so rich about being hot in t-shirts and fleece in the middle of November, strolling through the remainders of a neighbor’s pumpkin patch and counting deer prints in the dirt. We paused at one point, all five of us suddenly quiet and still.
“This is nice,” Noah said, breaking the silence as he swooped down to grab a stick. As he tossed it up for our mutts to leap after, I looked down at Lizzie, happily bouncing along in her sling. Max was rediscovering the joy of rolling down a grassy knoll in sloppy three year-old fashion. The sun was beginning to sink into the hillside, orange and yellow hues bleeding into the pale autumn blue.
“Yes,” I said, taking Justin’s hand. “This is nice.”
It isn’t that hiking is a rare treat for my family, or that I am not mindful about stopping to take in the beauty of being outdoors. It’s just that at that moment—that warm November moment—I had a sense that we were getting this incredible bonus; like when, after eating at Lulu’s a few years back, I discovered Short’s Brewery was just down the street. It was that good.
Tonight, as I sit in front of a cackling fire—our nightly staple as we head into the deep parts of winter—I understand that the ever-changing, often frustrating weather that thrives in northern Michigan also brings out an incredible richness. It creates an appreciation for both those rare glimpses of warmth and sun, and also the days like this one, where the cold, wet outside calls us to hunker down, cook up a storm, read by the fire.
Tomorrow morning, I’ll pack up the flip-flops and other summer-weight shoes, as I’m sure the last bits of heat have been drained out of this year. I’ll look out the window to the fields below my house, smiling at the memory of our last warm weather excursion and already imagining the first time our cross country skis will break trails on that same ground. Soon enough.
As we sit “between seasons,” what are some of your favorite gear-up-for-winter activities?
16 Comments
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Comment by Sus on November 16, 2008 at 1:48pm - Frannie and I took down the paper bats and plastic bag ghosts filled with leaves last week and carefully cut, glittered, and hung up what in our front window? "GIVE THANKS." Are we living eerily parallel lives or is it just me? Enjoy those fire-lit winter evenings. Makes me want to go snuggle up with Frannie and B on the sofa in my new, warm "perfectly mismatched" socks a friend gave me for my birthday. In fact, I think I will. Your posts are always so good that I crave the feelings you're describing, down to the warmth of the crackling fire.
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Comment by Jeff Smith on November 17, 2008 at 8:05am - Kate, Nice piece. Loved the Lulu - Short's metaphor. J.
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Comment by edward on November 18, 2008 at 11:50am -
Great piece. while I love winter, the warm weather that teased us the first week of November was certainly nice. A bit of extra time on the bike outside was a treat for sure. I was agonizing over winter arriving until this morning. As I walked back from taking the trash can to the road, snow was falling so hard that I couldn't see the neighbors house, it was silent with no wind just big fat white flakes of snow falling on me and my boots crunching in the snow. I stopped, took it all in, smiled and thought ahead to skiing with the boys, skate skiing in the peaceful quiet woods and snuggling up to a warm fire at the end of each day. It was so peaceful and made me "geeked" for winter.
Winter has arrived, there is no fighting it, so I might as well embrace it and enjoy all that our area has to offer in the winter months.
It’s time to wax the skis and get the kids gear ready, we'll be on the slopes next week!
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Comment by Lawrny on November 19, 2008 at 5:11pm -
It's so nice to keep up with the Harbor Springs group. Kate I loved the pictures keep shooting and blogging!!! Go girl!!
lawrny
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Comment by Zach on November 19, 2008 at 5:14pm - One of the best ones yet.
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Comment by Rob on November 19, 2008 at 5:58pm - Kate, this --- along with your past posts --- has made us feel as though we are "home" again. Thanks for keeping us in touch with the happenings of HS. Get the skis out and enjoy the next season.
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Comment by teri morrow on November 19, 2008 at 8:59pm - Kate, great article. Thanks for sharing. It is nice to experience the beauty of your area at this time of the year. As outsiders/tourists, that only enjoy the busy summer season, it is nice to get a glimpse of the "real" north.
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Comment by s kay b on November 19, 2008 at 9:02pm - nice Katie!
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Comment by robin on November 20, 2008 at 12:30am - I'll take flip flops over fires...We too had to pack the flip flops and crocs away until next summer. You truly have a piece of paradise living in Harbor Springs. It sounds like you make every season one to remember with your husband and children! Love the picture in front of the fire.
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Comment by Leonard on November 20, 2008 at 8:09pm - Good thing the flip flops are put away...must be that northern insight. Really enjoy reading these blogs, yours especially. It is fun to read and your words become a picture book.
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