As we slide toward the darkest time of the year, we look for reasons to hope. We always find them, blessings mixed in with the thorns of Advisory! Winter storm warning! If the morning walk is a bit nippy, we notice little things we hadn’t seen before. The Cowboy notices deer tracks leading into the swamp, and I notice tiny red berries on a thorny shrub. (While I am taking pictures of the berries the Cowboy and Miss Sadie are investigating the swamp. Fortunately it is easy to track them in the snow, and I retrieve them fairly easily. Not so easily that I had hands left to take photos. Here are the berries.)
If my steps are covered in heavy snow—and tonight they will be if the Weather widget is to be believed—there is the cheery sight of Tom Morrison pulling up to clear them, thus earning a bit more for Young Eddie’s college fund. In fact, let me introduce you to Young Eddie and his parents, Cheryl and Tom.
There now. Don’t you feel better about the future?
Torch Lake Views 
p.j. grath
December 8, 2009
That’s a handsome family. And I always feel better after I read your blog, Gerry. Well, maybe not that credit card scam deal….
Gerry
December 8, 2009
Oh dear. Then you won’t want to hear about John King’s followup email about the AT&T phone bill scam . . . But be of good cheer. Contrary to first impressions, there are more Young Eddies in the world than there are nefarious scammers of all stripes combined. And we haven’t made a dent in our stock of stories about good dogs.
centria
December 8, 2009
Look at those red berries against the white snow! And, heavens, I suppose everyone down there is hunkering getting ready for the snow, too. Have you got all your supplies?
Gerry
December 8, 2009
I knew you’d like the red berries! And eventually Amy will tell me what they are. I have batteries, extra water, candles, an oil lamp, the woodstove and a manual can opener. And the dogs, of course. Entertainment and warmth, all in one. I feel that I should go get some chocolate, though, in case the storm is really bad. I have unaccountably run out.
centria
December 8, 2009
No chocolate! I have a bar of organic dark chocolate with crunchy hazelnuts & sweet currants. Oh how I would love to share it with you! (and, yes, Amy will be along shortly to inform us of the appropriate name.)
Anna Surface
December 8, 2009
Nice shot of the berries in the snow. We finally got an appreciable snow last night and today. City workers have been busy with scraping the streets. Looks like you are ready for a snow in! The couple’s baby is such a cutie!
Gerry
December 8, 2009
I gather we are in for a bit more than “appreciable,” even by northern Michigan standards, but the forecast has been wrong before. I’m going to the Planning Commission meeting tonight anyway. If necessary, I can snowshoe home.
Young Eddie is, indeed, a cutie. And his mommy and daddy are very, very, good parents. They remind me of my mommy and daddy a hundred years ago.
Scott Thomas Photography
December 8, 2009
Do you hang out in the local grocery store and interview everyone? 🙂 I like how you mix natural and local history together, Gerry. Allows a good read.
Gerry
December 8, 2009
Heh heh. I don’t exactly hang out there – Russ and Donna pay me to be there every now and then. Working at the Eastport Market has opened up amazing vistas for the enterprising Story Gatherer, and people always know where to find me if I’m not home of an evening. My other day jobs (writing for two newspapers and billing for the Township EMS service) are nowhere near as productive. The other really productive place is Sonny’s Torch Lake Market, where I go for breakfast, treats, and solace. Then there are the editing jobs, which are not at all productive for the Story Gatherer. They do, however, buy a good deal of kibble.
Carsten
December 8, 2009
Here are two comments on your interesting story.
The berries are from a wild rose. We have them in the garden and I leave them until important plants need the space. -Which can take a looong time.
The darkest time of the year is passed now you have snow to lighten up the nights.
Gerry
December 8, 2009
Carsten, you make a very interesting point. Just the other night I noticed that I did not need the flashlight to take Miss Sadie and the Cowboy for a walk, as the moon on the snow was quite enough to light our way. On the other hand, there are the moonless nights, and the dark, dark dawns. I will be happy to see it grow lighter in January.
Thank you for the wild rose ID. I had a suspicion that was it, but I have never seen a bloom at this particular location, and wondered at the sudden appearance of berries. Then again, I miss a good deal, and am often surprised by loveliness.
flandrumhill
December 9, 2009
Just to be difficult, I’m going to suggest that the berries are actually ‘haws’ from a type of hawthorn. Unlike rose hips, which usually enclose numerous seeds, haws have only one or two stones inside them.
If you see them again on one of your walks, open up one of the berries. You’ll then be able to discern whether it’s a hip or a haw 🙂
Gerry
December 9, 2009
Ooh – I know exactly where those berries are. I’m going to march right over there and check. Just as soon as I thaw out from our morning adventure. Hip, hip, haw.
Beth Toner
December 9, 2009
Snow! Lots of it! But not here. 🙂 That photo looks like a Christmas card!
Gerry
December 9, 2009
Well Merry Christmas! And just wait until you see the pictures from this morning.
Cindy Lou
December 9, 2009
Hope you’re staying warm, Miss Gerry! What a wonderfully hopeful and entertaining tale today – thanx!
Gerry
December 9, 2009
Glad you enjoyed it. I hope we’re staying warm, too. No telling how long we’ll have power when Mama Nature decides to bless us with wet snow.
La Mirada Bob
December 10, 2009
“They remind me of my mommy and daddy a hundred years ago.”
Ha, you must have mistaken me for some other old codger. I still have 16 years and seven days before I reach that magic number. It pleases me to know that you have your snowshoes at the ready; I hope the meeting was a success and that you drove home OK.
Gerry
December 10, 2009
“No township meeting is a success unless it ends in a solution or a fistfight.” Alas the meeting was, by those lights, not a success. It was, however, an incremental move forward.