Summer views from my kitchen window

I set up my office in the kitchen this summer.  I had an amazing view of our back yard.  What wonderful sites. The zinnias and nasturtiums attracted the sweetest hummingbirds. I wish I had a picture of them. There were always deer passing through. A doe and her two fawns made regular visits and even stopped in for afternoon naps on the grass.  In September a gaggle of turkeys started to make regular visits as well.  One morning I even spied a coyote stealthily slinking through. It wasn't sublime and quite all the time for daschund, Sandy, was on duty. She insists that is her job to chase the deer away from her home.  You will see from one of the pictures that the deer have learned to ignore Sandy much to her dismay. This has truly been a magical place to work.

Remembering the Lakeland Campus on my last day, June 25, 2010

Exploring Northern WI and Upper Michigan

In May Mike and I found the headwaters of the Menominee River. This is where the Brule River joins the Michigamme to become the Menominee River. The Menominee River forms the boundary between the northeast corner of Wisconsin and the southern tip of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We wanted to get closer to the dam and it took awhile to find our way around, but we found success. This is a picture of the Michigamme Falls Dam.

The Menominee is 118 miles long and has nine hydroelectric power dams and reservoirs on the river, this is one of them. Large blocks of the shoreline and adjacent uplands are owned by We Energies and timber companies such as International Paper, plus the Michigan and the Wisconsin Departments of Natural Resources, and county governments in Wisconsin.

The map below refers to Michigamme Lake as the Lower Peavy Falls Pond. This is part of the Michigamme River. It took us awhile to find this spot. A more direct route is to take Hwy 95 north of Iron Mt to Randleville, veer to the left and then take a left on Peavy Falls Road. It becomes Lower Dam Road as you cross into a different county. This would be an amazing body of water to explore. It is totally undeveloped.


This photo is looking from the Michigamme Falls Dam. You see the Brule River on the upper right. This is the beginning of the Menominee. How cool is that!

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Our vacation at the cabin

Mike and I decided to spend a week at the cabin for our vacation. On our first day, Friday, May 28th, we witnessed several box turtle making there way from the river to a sandy slope behind our cabin. Their mission was to lay eggs and return to the river. When we awoke the next morning we observed 2 snapping turtles doing the same thing. The video below is of one of the snappers as she made her way back to the cool Menominee River. It was amazing to witness.




In addition to the amazing snapping turtles we observed several box turtles making the same trek to and from the river to lay eggs.

WLDI

On June 12th I had the privilege was helping Marc Boucher celebrate his completion of the Wisconsin Leadership Development Institute. I learned so much throughout the year as his mentor. I can hardly believe that it was 13 years ago that I to graduated from WLDI. I am happy that this training opportuntity still exsists. In addition to being present, I was also asked to speak. That was quite an honor.

Reina at the cabin

On June 13th Mike and I traveled to the cabin. His mom, Lorraine and her friend Saron and Mike's sister Katy's daughter, Reina had been there all week. The weather had been cold and rainy but that began to change on Friday. As soo as we arrived, Reina and I hoped in the paddle boat and headed down river. What a glorious day! There were easgles circling and wonderful sunshine. It was so much fun to experience the cabin through the eyes of an eleven year ols. It was pure joy! When we weren;y on the river we were working on a puzzle.

The next morning Mike started a fire and Reina and I tried our luck at fishing. I discovered that roasted marshmellows taste just as good in the evening as they do after breakfast. Thanks for a great time Reina. I hope we do that again soon.

WTCS Tech Expo

On May 28, 2009 Nicolet College hosted the Tech Expo. 170 technical college and K-12 faculty and staff gathered to learn about ways that technology can be used to enhance learning. I was so proud to have been a part of planning the event and am so fortunate to work with an amazing group of people at the state and local level who created the success. Below are picture from the event.