Boarding Call

I've not had a Mackinac specific post in quite awhile, so I thought I'd share a unique to Mackinac moment with you - horses leaving for the winter, a sure sign that the "season" is over.

At the peak of the season, there's upwards of 600 horses here on the Island, all with their job to do, hauling people or freight. But they don't spend the winter here, due to the lack of pasture and the necessity/expense of hauling all their foodstuffs over via ferry.

So except for a very few, they travel to Michigan's Upper Peninsula, in small groups, to spend the winter at pasture. And that  starts with a ferry ride to the mainland.

Due to the current very low water levels, the ramp down into the ferry is pretty steep, but most of the horses take it in stride - they've made this trip before!

But occasionally, one will decide that this just isn't a good idea:

"I don't WANT to go!!!"

"I still don't want to go!!!"

"Okay, if I have too, but I still think it's a bad idea!"

"What's his problem? It's no big deal."

In the spring, the process is reversed, with the horses gradually returning - they're usual the first "seasonal" workers to arrive!

Touring Michigan: The Chippewa County Fair

I can't remember the last time we went to a county fair, certainly not in the ten years we've been on Mackinac, but this past Saturday we were looking for something fun to do nearby (but definitely OFF Island) - so we went to the Chippewa County Fair.

First on the agenda was looking at all the animals; while we see plenty of horses on a daily basis, there's no longer any other livestock on Mackinac.


I had to laugh at these guys, one of our local poets just published a new anthology entitled "Low Down and Coming On: A Feast of Delicious and Dangerous Poems About Pigs" - I wonder what they would think about being thus immortalized?

The sheep in spandex were pretty funny too!

I loved this sign, it's right to the point!

I really enjoyed walking the midway; it was exactly as I remembered with the rides and games, all the colors and activity.

This was a bit different, I sure don't remember ATM's at the fair before! But I bet it gets a lot of use.

Going to the fair and eating food with no nutritional redeeming value is just a must...

Does the ice cream count as a serving of dairy?

Last we toured all the 4-H exhibits, it's just not a fair without giant vegetables.

As well as intricate needlework projects:

And preserves:

My husband showed at the fair years ago,as we walked about he kept saying "I was sooo tired by Saturday night, but it was sooo much fun!"

We had a great time and it's a great place to remember where all our food really comes from: The Farm - not the grocery store.