When they call off school my kids get a phone call, email and text, or you can go on several different web sites to find out instantly if school has been canceled. When I was a kid, I had to sit by the radio and listen for my schools name to be announced in a long list of schools. I went to Carrollton Public Schools and it was a small district without any bussing so we were about the last school to close, and I would have to listen to the radio DJ read thru a list of a hundred schools waiting to hear if it was added to the end. There were no computers back then, so the list was not alphabetized, it was in whatever random order the schools submitted there closings. I remember on snow days waking up early just to listen to the radio and to see if school was closed and by the time I heard those glorious words “Carrollton Public Schools are closed” I was awake for an hour or two and now way to exited to go back to sleep. My brothers and I were out early playing in the freshly fallen snow. I think the best snow days were the ones that were never anticipated and mom would let us sleep in and then tell us school was canceled. It’s strange that we have so much information and instant access about what the weather is doing. I remember the days of  Chuck Waters forecasting the weather with a map on a wall and some magnetic snowflakes and clouds. I hope wherever you are you are enjoying your “snow day”

I drove by this old school radio station on M52 near Owosso a few times going to my kids cross country races. I finally got a chance to stop and get some pics. I love the neon sign. I can just see the Disc Jockey spinning the tunes talking into the classic microphone with the power coming out of the antenna behind the station.

The Remick Heritage Center at Alma College, it was a nice autumn day when I took this photo so I thought I should post it while it’s still autumn. Alma has a beautiful campus.

I saw this old railroad plow in Cadillac, It looks like it has not been used in a while. I can only imagine what it was like sitting in the control box on top blasting thru deep snow drifts in the Michigan wilderness being pushed by a locomotive.

Dedicated to the memory of THE WAR DOG erected by the veterinarians, humane organizations and the dog-loving public to perpetual kindness t man’s most faithful friend for his heroic services in World Wars I and II

A while back someone post a link to the Michigan War Dog Memorial near South Lyon, since I was near there I wanted to see it. Traveling down Milford Road near 11 mile, up on a small hill you see a large stone memorial with a statue of a German Sheppard. I parked the Jeep and went up the hill to see it, and that is when it hit me that this is more than a memorial but a cemetery for K-9s that faithfully served our country. There are hundreds of markers from dogs of several wars. I have been to several cemeteries and this one is way different, when you look at the markers and see names like, Sport, Buddy or Champ. Just from the names you can visualize a happy hard working dog standing next to an American soldier protecting the troops.

What I found on the memorials website is the interesting part, it was lost, not misplaced , but forgotten by the people the dogs served so loyally. In time the memorial became overgrown and was not seen, and as generations went by it disappeared into the Michigan woods. In 2010 it was found again by army veteran Phil Weitlauf and his dog Cody. Volunteers started the process of clearing the site and returning the memorial to the purpose it was created for.

if you would like to know more about the memorial here is a link the website.

http://www.mwdm.org/

Mt Hope Church in Mt Hope Michigan between Jackson and Chelsea. there are some wonderful little towns in the central lower part of the state.

Skunk Creek in the Rifle River Recreation Area. The weather was kinda rainy and the color was not that good yet, but I still look for something to photograph, I think of going out and taking picks kinda like hunting or fishing, sometimes I do well and sometimes I get skunked, I got a little bit of both on Friday. besides any day in northern Michigan is a better than a day anywhere else.

I went for a drive up north today. I went up near Grayling down thru Roscommon and then over to Rose City and after that Omer, it was a little early for fall color and the weather was not that good but that aint gonna stop me from going out and getting some pics. this is a pic from the Rifle River Recreation Area. the trees are starting to change. maybe next weekend the will peak.

I found this old general store in Kilmanagh MI, the cool thing is it still has the old gas pump out front. It looks Scooby Doo and the gang is gonna pull up in the mystery machine.