Cricket at Ford Field...

We celebrated a friend's birthday at a nearby park earlier this month. I was amazed to see a large group of people playing a quite competitive game of cricket on the field below us. I had a chat to them and told them that I was from South Africa. It turns out that they're all from Afghanistan and Pakistan and play cricket each week as the weather allows. 

Upon hearing I was from South Africa, they told me that they always support SA in the World Cup and other cricket tournaments, because "the South African cricket team usually doesn't do very well in big competitions." It gave me a chuckle. I'm glad that people support SA, even if it is occasionally out of pity!

An intense game of cricket underway!

Morning in Detroit...

Earlier this month, on a bright Saturday morning, we drove into Detroit and visited the Awake Cafe. Run by a ministry, this coffee shop serves both breakfast and lunch. From there, we swung by a tiny park nearby, and then headed to John King Books, a massive four-storey used bookstore near downtown Detroit. We found some interesting finds, including some of the Hardy Boys series, books about the Titanic, and J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion. It was a great morning!

The storefront of Awake Cafe.

Each cup holder has an encouraging handwritten note!

Avo on toast for a yummy snack!

The cool park just a stone's throw away.

The huge building dwarfs us!

The main entrance.

Riaan explores the second level.

Painted sign on the wall in the stairway.

Pretty view of Detroit.

Faint Northern Lights

We caught a very faint glimpse of the Northern Lights earlier this month. We drove to a state park a short distance away, but we actually didn't see the red hue in the night sky until we were back home in Metro Detroit. 

A slight green tinge as viewed from Maybury State Park.

Reddish-purple colour in the night sky!

Clearer in this image looking north-west.

The city's light pollution didn't help.

Long Family Orchard and a Hike with Friends...

We visited our Mercy Ships friends on a lovely sunny day on Saturday, 5th October. We met up at Long Family Orchard, where we previously visited back in 2016, and munched apple doughnuts paired with cider. We then drove to a nearby state recreation area, where we hiked around the lake and enjoyed seeing the colours of trees changing as autumn nears.

A pensive-looking Anya with her apple doughnut.

Our three pose on the giant rocking chair.

Changing colours of autumn.

Beautiful leaf.

Great egret wading in the lake...

And catching a frog for a late lunch!

Two kayakers enjoying the serene Huron River.

Autumn Sunsets...

There have been some beautiful sunsets over the past few weeks. Here are a few of our favourite ones. :)

Flowering Asters...

Candace's asters that she planted last year have finally flowered. They have really taken over around our mailbox and have attracted so many bees this autumn. They also add a dash of colour to the front of our house. :)

Eliza's First Tooth Loss...

Our middle child lost her first tooth late last month. Unlike when Riaan lost his first tooth and we never knew what happened to it, Eliza knew that it was the time to pull it out - she had, after all, been wiggling it for quite a while!

White River Campground...

Late in September we drove down to the White River Campground, north of Indianapolis, where Candace's parents were camping for the weekend. We joined them for a day and enjoyed exploring the surrounding area. We visited the Strawtown Koteewi Park, where we explored the nature centre and the replica Native American village. There were also atlatl throwing demonstrations, along with an arrowhead making workshop. It was really interesting!

Walking over the White River.

A late morning walk to Strawtown.

The trail is for horses, cyclists, and walkers.

It was a lovely warm day.

Wildflowers growing in the prairie grassland.

The trail winds through tall prairie grassland.

Replica community building at the Taylor Center of Natural History.

Replica stockade wall.

Riaan trying his hand at the atlatl - what was used for hunting prior to the invention of bows and arrows.

Arrowhead workshop.

There are also animal exhibits and a small museum here.

Cycling Sunrise...

An early morning cycle rewarded me with breathtaking clouds as the sun rose over Detroit. I stopped and snapped a few photos before continuing on my ride. The frequent planes overhead (top left of this photo) were also a bonus.

Lovely morning for a cycle. :)

There was also a low-hanging mist shrouding the low areas on my route - as seen in this photo.

Father Christmas Babushkas...

We were given some store-bought stackable wooden dolls recently. They were from a kit, so you could paint them any pattern or design. Riaan decided to paint them as Father Christmas, since they have the pointy hat on top. So now he has three Santas, complete in red, light blue, and navy. :) He did a wonderful job!

Oakwoods Metropark...

We visited Oakwoods Metropark, almost directly due south of Detroit's main airport, in the middle of last month. We enjoyed a simple picnic lunch, and then explored the fantastic Nature Centre before hiking through the lovely woods along the Huron River.

We also met all the resident animals at the nature centre - snakes, turtles, and toads, as well as Radar the great horned owl and Hawkeye, the red-tailed hawk. It was a great afternoon! 

Fun in the Nature Centre.

Anya loved this turtle/tortoise carving.

Looking out over the Huron River.

It was a beautiful day!

Selfie as we hike along the trail.

So relaxing in the forest.

Spider web.

Circular ferns.

We saw a deer through the trees.

Wigwam model.

Radar, the great horned owl.

Hawkeye, the red-tailed hawk.

We purchased owl pellets at the Nature Centre and it was a fun family activity dissecting them to discover what Radar had eaten. :)