Return to Hack-Ma-Tack

Every year we look forward to our visits to the Hack-Ma-Tack. This tradition dates back to the time we rented the Panella cottage on Mullett Lake, when we would make a special trip with the boys for a dressy night out. Often we'd get to sit in the big curved window, with a great view into the woods. It was always a special occasion, one where we would laugh and smile and reflect on our great good luck as a family.

In more recent times, our Hack-Ma-Tack memories include all of our adult children. A favorite was my birthday in 2011, when a "happy birthday" phone call from Joe and Ashley while Ken and I were having dinner in the HMT bar turned into a last minute visit. They took off from Washington at about 7:30 and got to Black Lake by midnight.

That same year (2011), we met another September 16 birthday girl, Peg, celebrating in the Hack-Ma-Tack with her son and daughter-in-law. We had such fun with them we made a date to celebrate birthdays same-time-same-place in 2012. They didn't make it, but we found out it was because her kids didn't make it up. So maybe we will see her this year!

Another favorite was taking Jonna and Tomi to the Hack-Ma-Tack for the first time. If memory serves, I think Adam paid the tab that night, or at least split it with us. That's a milestone in the life of a parent.

And of course a milestone in the life of a child is being able to bring your parent to a place very special to you. Here's Pa outside at the HMT in 2011. We walked him out front to look at the channel; here he is walking back up toward the restaurant, all spiffed up in his khaki sweater and slacks. Watch out, Pa, there's a speed limit here, you know.

We'll be at the Hack-Ma-Tack on our 25th anniversary (July 2 this year), and we were there for our 20th (pictured below). Our dining companions that night were Adam and Emily, and Jen and Mike.

One of the neatest things about owning the Black Lake cottage was being able to pick up our Hack-Ma-Tack tradition. We hadn't been at the HMT with the boys for some time when the pictures below were taken - 2007, the year we bought the cottage.

So, the beat goes on. We'll be at the Hack-Ma-Tack next week during Felicia Bernardini's visit, on our anniversary, my birthday, and a time or two in between. Life is good.

Flatter than piss on a plate.

8:33 AM. Current conditions: 53 degrees and sunny in Onaway--our thermometers say we haven't quite reached 50 here on the lake. It's really pretty. The birds are chirping away, happy to see morning come after what I hope will be the last near-frosty night for the summer. The forecast is for 67 degrees by the time happy hour rolls around, with no chance of rain and only light winds from the NE. I'm betting our southern exposure and protection from the NE winds will result in warmer temps here at the cottage. (How am I doing, Kenny?)

Because the tree line behind us prevents light NE winds from reaching the lake, the water is "flatter than piss on a plate," an indelicate description I learned from my father, who learned it from his father. It is unclear to me how this comparison first arose; perhaps you can enlighten me, father?

Ken finds and destroys a mosquito, but not before getting bit.

Yard Work Hard Work

At my request, Ken expanded the garden in front of the garage. I had used our old yellow hose to lay out the curve, then spray painted the grass inside the line to guide his shovel.

I removed the stones in front of the Pachysandra, and tossed them all in the center of the garden where there are no plantings, just for the time being.

Once that was done, I applied Preen liberally to the bare soil and covered it with weed cloth.

Ken has been saving up our nice, dry yard waste (leaves and pine needles, not grass) and mowing over it with his power mower to reduce it to a fine mulch. He brought it over by the wheel-barrow full and we spread it over the weed cloth.

With that section complete, I moved on to the section on the right, digging a deeper trench, cutting out roots, and smoothing the earth. Another application of Preen and it was ready for mulch. We're doing a side by side comparison to see if the weed cloth is appreciably better than Preen and mulch alone for preventing weed and grass growth in the border.

The last two photos show the two beds fully covered with mulch.


Next step: use the stones to shore up the higher portion of the bed, and once the stones are gone, mulch the center section. I'm not going to edge the bed with stones this time - this will be much easier to maintain from year to year.

We like the progress so far!

Wellington is dead, long live Wellington Garden

When we bought this place, the well head was covered by a faux wishing well that had seen better days (pictured here in 2007). The kids named it "Wellington." When they would play frisbee or catch in the yard, a stray projectile headed for the wishing well would elicit a loud "WELLINGTONNN" from the participants. After several attempts to improve its appearance with paint and plantings,  I asked Ken to remove it. In its place, I created a garden space, with the idea of planting sufficient perennials to conceal (while allow access to) the equipment. 

Last fall, I purchased and planted three daylilies (from that cool place near Petoskey) with the intent to transplant other perennials - mostly hosta and other varieties of daylily, onto the plot.



Today, I put in the ground all the hostas and Siberian Iris from Dewitt and some daylilies, peonies, and Blue False Indigo transplanted from the garden in front of the garage. I did this in about 3 hours, in a bit of a hurry, actually, because rain and thunderstorms were predicted for most of the day. The rain came, but not the thunderstorms (at least not yet), so everything got a good watering and should settle in nicely.

Goldeneye Ducks - Another Common Migrant Makes an Appearance

Goldeneye pair, photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons

We saw a flock of 15-20 of these (Goldeneye Duck) floating and feeding in the lake out in front of the cottage today. It's hard to tell exactly how many, because they are divers, but Ken says, definitively, there were 16. They are migrants, so we won't see them for much longer. I think the cooler spring has kept the migrants around longer than usual - I hadn't seen these or the Buffleheads we saw the other day in any other cottage year.

Bufflehead pair

Tribe Jonna Puts in the Dock

The girls rocked the dock!

Tribe Jonna drove up Friday May 3 to enjoy the cottage with us and help put in the dock for the 2013 season (our 7th). We've decided to declare the "put in" weekend as the first weekend in May each year, and just see who shows up, rather than trying to schedule around busy calendars.

The weekend started at the Lodge, where Ken and I received enthusiastic greetings from Wally, Paula, and Ross. Ross proudly showed off the Eagle's Nest's new menu, and we enjoyed a platter of the smoked pork ribs.

The girls texted us when they got off the highway, and we met them at the Duck. Shaina favored us with her rendition of Pat Benatar's "We Belong" while we enjoyed the year's first Dirty Duck pizza. And speaking of dirty, the look she is giving me is for reneging on my promise not to film her while she sang. The video is available for viewing on request. Jonna's comment to Shaina when she protested about the video-taping:

"You've been here before, you know how this goes."

Meaning, I take it, Mom is not to be trusted where cameras and karaoke are concerned. So true.

The weather cooperated beautifully for the dock-in weekend. Before the work started on Saturday, the girls did some relaxing, first in the cottage over cups of coffee, and then on the lawn outside.

Time to suit up!

Jonna elected to be the second man in the water. Her donning of the waders is always a high point in the day. As funny as she looks standing still in those over-sized waders, the on-land walking is even funnier.

Ken looks like he is throwing his hands up in despair, but I'm sure he's actually giving concise and useful instructions to Shaina and Melissa. As he says each time, once the first section is in it gets easier, and that proved to be true this year as well. Three to load each section onto the cart, two in the water, done in no time.

Saturday afternoon we went up to the Lodge for hors d'oeuvres and drinks, and watched the Tigers trounce the Astros. Final score was 17-2.

No Sunday brunch at the Lodge yet, so the girls had time to relax and enjoy the place before they took off around 1:30 p.m.

It sure got quiet after that. We missed them right away. Thank you girls!!!

SUVs with Spartan Plates Take Over Parking Lot

Ron's grey SUV

Another guy's grey SUV 

Yet another guy's grey SUV

We had a good laugh in the Funistrata parking lot when we noticed the license plates of the only other two cars there. The owners of the Lincoln were sitting inside it when I took this photo and wondered just exactly what I was doing until they got out and noticed the other two plates.

The Stocks, waiting for steak and pasta

The Faulds, waiting for pasta and steak

Beach Combing on a Sunny, Cold Day

A cold wind off the lake and wind chills in the mid 30s did not deter me from beach combing for special stones on this sunny up north day.

However, I did not linger on the beach once my pockets were full.

Jane ventured farther down the beach in search of Petoskey stones, and was rewarded with a couple of good finds.

Chef Ronaldo's Special of the Day

Ken assisted Chef Ronaldo in the preparation of today's breakfast. Well, he made the toast, anyway.

Ron used all our leftovers to create his chef's special breakfast. Mushrooms, green pepper, and cheese omelets; a little dab of steak, mashed potatoes, and fried potatoes on the side, all accompanied with bacon and Ken's special buttered toast and washed down with hot coffee.

Trip to Bountiful....Bloody Marys

The "Knot Just a Bar" bar/restaurant in Omena was my choice for today's excursion. The food was good, but the Bloody Mary (with a little beer chaser) was the attraction. They make their own jalapeno vodka.

Lunch:
Karen - Perch Kone (big paper cone full of fries and perch)
Ken - 'Strami Sammy
Ron - Slider Sampler
Jane - Chicken pot pie

It was sunny in the back seat of Ron's car on the way home, the perfect place to enjoy my well-earned food coma.

LeBear II

We're back at LeBear in Glen Arbor for a second visit. This is thanks to Ron and Jane Faulds, who invited us to share the accommodations this week. They traded a week of their Nuevo Vallarte timeshare for a stay here.

Ken drove over from the cottage Saturday in time to play a round of golf with Ron and Tom Sterling; I arrived on Tuesday after my haircut. The weather was beautiful yesterday, still beautiful today but a bit cooler after a weather front moved through this morning. Ken was sitting outside as the wind picked up and the temperature dropped.

Jane and I are going for a walk on the beach.