HANGING WITH THE YOOPERS

Once again I was on the road and this time my travels had taken me to the northern Peninsula of the state of Michigan, otherwise known as the "U.P."  The folks here are known as YOOPERS because they live in the upper part of Michigan and they fondly refer to the folks in the lower part of Michigan as TROLLS because those folks live "under",  or below, the long bridge that connects the U.P. with the lower part of the state.  Northern Michigan is a large area containing only 3% of the states population most of which are of Scandinavian decent. It is a unique and scenic area surrounded by two of the Great Lakes.

Mackinac Bridge 

Lake Michigan

LAKE SUPERIOR   Painted Rocks

The trip to the U.P. from West Palm is a challenge since it involves flying from here to Atlanta, Atlanta to Detroit and then Detroit to ESCANABA, MI. Now if you have never heard of Escanaba, MI don't feel bad because you are not alone. The airport has ONE (1) gate and only TWO (2) planes fly in and out of the airport each day. BUT there is a movie featuring Escanaba and staring JEFF DANIELS (Escanaba In Da Moonlight). (It's rather a cult classic but worth the watch if you are so inclined. It actually was filmed in and about Escanaba.) Anyway, after flying into the tiny airport and being met by my wonderful friend Dwayne we drove the 7 miles north to the even smaller town of Gladstone where Dwayne lives on a most beautiful farm.

Deer eating sugar beets

Princess  "DumbAss"  the turkey

BALD EAGLES 

  I got to feed the deer each day and chase "DUMB ASS" the turkey around the yard to keep her from pecking any more paint off  the car.  There is a resident female turkey who seems to think she is the loveliest turkey in the county. She comes out of the woods every day and struts her not so fine butt over to the bumper on Dwayne's truck where she can see her reflection. There she preens herself and rubs herself and talks to herself. We assume she thinks she is talking to another bird but she just is having one very fine time of it. It is quite the show with the exception of the scratches she is putting on the car and truck.
Then there is the skunk who was waiting to greet us one night when we came home after dark. He just sat by the barn watching us without a care in the world. Even the deer steer clear of that little guy. The resident bald eagles are by far the most impressive though. There are at least three of them roosting in the tall trees on the edge of the tree line just in back of the barn. They are huge birds and often swoop down to sit on the roof of the barn where they will sit to survey the property. One afternoon we counted 13 eagles in the tree at one time.
 You can't see a neighbor to either side of the property and even though the main road is not that far away you don't see or hear any cars. This is country living at it's best. I could be in Maine, Alaska, Maryland or upstate New York. It's all the same.

I got to play Country Girl for a few weeks. As BFF Jeanne told me, and I have to agree, I am really a country girl at heart! I would much rather be in my jeans and tee shirt than a party dress any day! So move over turkey and grab me the rake, I'm out to pick some apples and bake some pie. YOOPERS here I come!