Chasing the Northern Lights...

We ventured out of Detroit late on Saturday, 11th May, with hopes of seeing the Northern Lights. There was no light pollution at Maybury State Park - but there were equally no Northern Lights to be seen. :( On the bright side (excuse the pun), the sky was definitely pretty, and the children loved their late-night adventure to a park with an amazing playground!

Anya loved the kids' zipline.

Riaan and Eliza having so much fun together.

Beautiful clear skies. :)

Quilt Photos at the Lighthouse...

We drove to the Detroit Riverfront earlier this month, where we had a photo shoot with the lighthouse and a couple of Candace's beautiful quilts. :) We also enjoyed a lovely walk along the picturesque river - and I loved seeing some more vessels on the river, including a US Coast Guard tugboat.

It was a rather gloomy day.

The first of Candace's colourful quilts.

And here's the second. Beautiful!

Boats moored in the small harbour.

View looking southwest along the Detroit River. Windsor, Canada, on the far shore.

Ring-necked pheasant.

The children loved this free merry-go-round at the park.

Here comes Riaan!

The Diamond Queen, a sightseeing tour boat.

Diamond Queen out on the water.

USCGC Bristol Bay steams up the Detroit River. 

She was pushing a barge along the river.

Yellow Garden Spiderlings...

We came across this nest of newly-hatched yellow garden spiders on our recycling bin earlier this month. They were not only on top of the bin, but also inside. There were hundreds of them! It made for a cool biology lesson for our children. :)

New Pet Fish...

Meet Evie-Cambri-Nemo, our new pet fish, named by our children after their cousins and, of course, Finding Nemo. :) It is in fact a betta fish - also known as a Siamese fighting fish. It has been many years since we last had a pet fish at our home, and our children are so excited to have a little fish in the family.

Home Depot Crafts...

Another month, another Home Depot children's craft project. This time, the children made beautiful flower picture frames. :) I fetched them from our local Home Depot and the children put them together outside on a lovely sunny day.

Anya working on her picture frame.

Riaan and Eliza. :)

Riaan's First Portrait...

We were at the chiropractor's office recently, and a gentleman in the waiting room noticed Riaan at work on the children's whiteboard. He asked if Riaan could draw his portrait. And so Riaan got to work right away and five minutes later, he had completed this fantastic work of art. The man was amazed! :)

Riaan's sketch of the man in the waiting room.

The subject matter of the portrait. :)

Return to Kensington Metropark...

We visited Kensington Metropark, one of the largest Metroparks, on a chilly afternoon in late April. We last visited this beautiful place as a family of three back in 2016, and it was a treat to return and make new memories as a family of five. :) We had a lovely hike around Wildwing Lake - near the Nature Centre - and particularly enjoyed seeing all of the bird life - especially the sandhill cranes and great blue herons.

A scum-covered painted turtle.

A pair of northern-banded water snakes soaking up the sun.

View over Wildwing Lake.

Chipmunks were everywhere on this trail.

A type of sparrow gathering seed.

Eliza feeding the chipmunks.

Riaan makes a new friend. :)

Walking past one of the local residents - a sandhill crane.

The small island here is covered in great blue heron nests.

A closer view.

Majestic swan.

Sandhill crane.

Striking blue jay.

Muskrat swimming along a channel.

Great blue heron in the process of swallowing a late lunch.

It was a beautiful day!

Fair Lane Flowers...

We visited Fair Lane, the old home of Henry and Clara Ford, back in April. Here we saw beautiful flowers and trees as we walked through the vast gardens of the estate. It was refreshing to see spring in Michigan!

Red bud trees are beautiful.

Tulips planted in a round flower bed.

The view towards the house.

Eliza's Artwork...

Eliza is a talented artist for her young age. :) She's drawn pictures of Bilbo Baggins as well as a DHL Stormers rugby player sheltering under twin umbrellas. I love seeing our children's creativity come to the fore!

Bilbo Baggins. :)

Outdoor Ping-Pong...

Riaan recently rediscovered our old ping-pong equipment, and in no time there was an impromptu game of table tennis underway outside! I think the table was just a touch smaller than regulation size! :) The last blog post documenting table tennis was in May of 2021.

Candace vs Riaan while the girls look on.