Palm Sunday, a Marblehead Lighthouse filler photo and taxes

| March 24, 2024

Today, Sunday March 24, 2024 is Palm Sunday … the Sunday before Easter. For Christians around the world, it commemorates the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. On this day, a cheering crowd greeted Jesus along the road, spreading their garments and palm branches before Him. For us today, it is time to get our […]

Semi-depressingly reminiscing about my childhood home #TBT

| December 21, 2023

My childhood home on Lake Erie in 1967 It is the time of year when we reflect on the past year … or in my case … the WAY past years. Last month, my brother Ron mentioned that the property (just the land) that our childhood home was being listed for sale. We were both […]

Homemade Croutons: My mother would have smiled

| December 10, 2022

With inflation pushing grocery prices up, Brenda refuses to purchase store-bought croutons unless they are “on sale.” So since we had a quarter loaf of stale bread after our recent week away, I decided to cube and turn it into Rosemary, Italian seasoning, Garlic and Olive Oil croutons. After making them (bake 10 minutes at […]

A riddle by Dennis Prager got me thinking …

| June 4, 2022

Q: What do you call a religious person who claims that the end is near? Answer: A fanatic. Q: What do you call a secular person who claims that the end is near? Answer: An environmentalist. When my podcasts on my weekend playlist are finished and I’m still in the mood for some audio content, […]

Talking Alaska and snowmobiling when I was a kid #TBT

| February 24, 2022

Last week I was talking to an online friend from Alaska about outdoor cold-weather activities who shared a winter camping photo. He was complaining about the freezing rain and less than ideal weather this year on his 20 mile snowmobile trip, so he cut it short and drove to Wasilla to watch the start of […]

The Old Wooden Ladder: Shag carpet and “The Pig” #TBT

| October 8, 2020

While doing some the pool house garage cleaning and reorganizing over the past couple of weeks, a piece of the old shag carpeting I duct taped onto the old wooden ladder I acquired in the 1980s fell off. As usual, it triggered memories. First, the good times Brenda and I had with our sailboat Brenich, […]

Music Monday: Do You Know the Way to San Jose

| September 9, 2019

This content is restricted.

The Western Basin of Lake Erie has had a MayFly invasion

| June 30, 2019

After spending a few days on Put In Bay last weekend, I knew there were a few May Flies around (sold all my MayFly lures) … but had no idea there were this many! Katelyn sent me a shocking link with a few social media photos (and radar) from where we park our car. Ugh […]

One week late, but finally archiving our Put In Bay family weekend

| June 29, 2019

This content is restricted.

Remembering the Lake Erie Islands with our family #TBT

| June 20, 2019

Although the Throwback Thursday #TBT memory of celebrating my late parent’s 50th wedding anniversary in 2007 leaves me bittersweet, I’m so thankful we had our time together (photo above and below the break is with them on Kelley’s Island in 2007). I’m not sure where the time disappeared … but I honestly thought that both […]

Sold the old May Fly lures in one lump. Time for a fish dinner?

| May 14, 2019

It has taken awhile, but someone who enjoys Walleye fishing decided they wanted all my MayFly Lures. He made me an offer and so decided to give him a “buy them all” price.  At least I’ve recovered most of my printing losses on this project from years ago and likely made a fisherman happy. He’ll […]

Looking back at to our early years of sailing Brenich #TBT

| July 12, 2018

While adding a photo to a post about Katelyn, Drew and Annalyn on Put In Bay earlier this week, I had a few more from our pre-kid days that might make for a good Throwback Thursday #TBT post. So here are a couple more sailing on Lake Erie from 1985 aboard Brenich our Baba 30. […]

Déjà vu for me, as my kids enjoyed the Lake Erie islands

| July 10, 2018

This content is restricted.

Old May Fly Walleye fishing lures that need to be tossed or sold

| March 27, 2018

While cleaning out old Consolidated Printing and Publishing files and boxes stored in our basement, I ran across about 50 May Fly Lures made by a charter fishing company. We printed and packaged these in batches on demand for Darrel Rowh’s side company Misty Blue Tackle and a note on the box indicated these were […]

My slang name for a dirty drainage ditch – CRICK plus #video

| October 26, 2017

Yesterday I shared a "map" diagram with my daughter Katelyn and labeled a small drainage ditch we called the "crick" … also shared a disease story with her that she decided not to share with her friend. The name for that bit of water got me thinking about all the names we use for bodies […]

Racking my brain to remember names from elementary school

| October 25, 2017

My daughter Katelyn and I exchanged a few messages over the past couple of days that had me reminiscing and trying to remember names of a few kids when I was in grade school. It started visiting in Perrysburg last week watching Annalyn when Katelyn mentioned that a co-worker of hers and father went to […]

Driving the shoreline of Lake Erie on my way to see Annalyn

| October 21, 2017

This content is restricted.

Remembering Summer and my childhood on Lake Erie #TBT

| August 31, 2017

As I reflect on this past weekend with family and as summer comes to a close, a Throwback Thursday #TBT mental image and old photo reminds me of just how idyllic my own childhood was. Brenda and I hope we replicated that for our own children and are now doing our best to be the […]

Thinking about my dad. Has it been two years?

| August 11, 2017

Tomorrow will be two years since my dad passed away, where does the time go?  His interest in cars was handed down to me and although we both approached it from different angles, we BOTH held a respect for how each enjoyed automobiles. I did not have had the same "spit and polish" love for […]

Pre-posted before our family weekend in Cincinnati

| August 5, 2017

This content is restricted.

Sailing Brenich out of Vermilion Ohio in the 1980s #TBT

| July 20, 2017

My son Taylor posted a few photos of his weekend with friends in Vermilion, Ohio and the background canals and homes triggered a Throwback Thursday #TBT memory for me. Before kids, Brenda and I owned a beautiful sailboat we named Brenich and kept it in Vermilion for the first year (subsequent in Huron) and haul […]

Babysitting duty and exploring where I grew up

| May 2, 2017

This content is restricted.

Thanks for the memories: Jim Raab

| August 24, 2015

It is not one of the better quality photos, but my brother Ron (right) sent me a “guess who this is” photo from a trip he took this past weekend. At first I didn’t know who was in the photo with him, but after a close look at the background I deduced that it was […]

Are Northern Water Snakes populations back to normal?

| August 18, 2013

A friend shared a video a YouTuber, Amy Siewe, collecting Northern Water Snakes a couple years ago and he asked me if we were concerned about snakes crawling aboard when we sailed on Lake Erie … my answer was “no, we never even though about it.” It is interesting to see the perception people have […]

Fresh-Water Wind Farm on Lake Erie

| June 25, 2010

Cleveland Ohio is undergoing a skyline change … A fresh-water wind farm is taking shape at Lake Erie and when completed will provide 20 megawatts and get on to about one gigawatt power by 2020. Huge individual turbines 300 feet tall, to be built by GE will be erected off Ohio, Cleveland. Better designs: These […]

Digitally reminiscing with Google Maps and Streetview

| February 21, 2010

After reading an article by Kathleen Hughes in this weekend’s WSJ, I just couldn’t help myself in reminiscing about where I grew up … they were wonderful memories for me – I couldn’t have asked for a better childhood. Nevertheless, noting the comment about digitally visiting home, I “re-experienced” memories from my childhood taking the […]

Woodstock – trying to remember 40 years ago

| August 14, 2009

The word — the place — the music — the festival called Woodstock still evokes passion either ‘positive’ or ‘negative’ and the music, politics and lifestyle branded the generation who came of age in the 1960s.  The 40th anniversary of the three day concert in Bethel, New York takes place this weekend marking the event […]

Ice fishermen stranded on Lake Erie

| February 7, 2009

I grew up in a commercial fishing and cottage community on Lake Erie just east from the Crane Creek State Park (label on the map below) and fondly remember ice fishing every winter. As a family we enjoyed recreation on the frozen lake from playing hockey to  fishing, ice boating and snowmobiling.  It was a […]

Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee

  1. lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
  2. digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.
My Desultory Blog