Memory Lane

Today's post has nothing to do with log cabins. Although we had our wedding reception in one! Today's post is dedicated to my husband on our 3rd wedding anniversary and to go down memory lane once again. Te llamo mucho Gregorio! (See Greg - I know more spanish than you think.)


We were just pronounced husband and wife. I think the polish priest on the right doesn't approve of the kissing but our deacon on the left seemed to have good humor!

Ha - kissing outside the church again!

A beautiful walk in the woods.

Isn't he handsome?!

We had a Mariachi band playing during dinner - very fun!

Okay, enough of the romantic mushy stuff. Back to the "log cabin" tomorrow.

Tomorrow's Wedding Anniversary

Tomorrow - October 28th - is our 3 year wedding anniversary! That is our wedding cake pictured above that Greg's aunt made for us. Our reception was at a log cabin on the grounds of a country club. That place was so perfect - the chinked walls, stone fireplace - we couldn't wait till we had our own log cabin back then. Greg asked me what I would like for our anniversary - did I want that digiscope for my camera? Jewelry? What?

I told him I would like to spend a long week together at our log cabin. And so my loving husband has obliged me. We leave this Friday and I'm already planning our days. Hiking, maybe some kayaking, hitting a Christmas craft show or two, have some friends visit and of course Greg's favorite - gathering rocks in his ATV - ha!

I can't wait till Friday! (Love you honey!)

Birdwatching at the Log Cabin

One of the best things about having a log cabin in northern Michigan is all the different types of birds we get to see. We have seen Bald Eagles, Pileated Woodpeckers, Black Capped Chickadees, White-breasted Nuthatches and so much more. Setting up bird feeders all over our property and seeing all the different feathered visitors have given us as well as our log cabin guests much enjoyment. I think it's great for the kids in teaching them about nature and wildlife. My 9 year old stepson can now identify every bird that visits our feeders.


If you do decide to feed the birds, I would recommend the following items:

• Buy a Field Guide for Birds so you can identify all your visitors. Amazon has a good selection here.
• Pick up a decent set of Binoculars. These are especially handy for those hikes in the woods and will also help you with bird identification.
• Bird Feeders - I have a varied selection - suet cages, tube feeder, platform feeder (not all birds will feed from a tube feeder) and thistle bag. I would highly recommend getting some baffles or squirrel proof feeders so your birds have a shot at the food!
• Good selection of Bird Seed. The quality seed will attract a better variety of bird - I stay away from the cracked corn and other cheap birdseed fillers. I get the Black Oil Sunflower seed - (many bird's favorite), suet cakes (woodpecker's favorite) and thistle for my finches.
• A heated birdbath - this was one of the best investments I ever made. This is such a popular place in the winter for birds who need water - it expends too much energy for them to eat the snow - plus they still like to take a bath in the winter. (In the summer, just unplug it and you can still use it.) It will also attract birds that won't necessarily come to your feeders. I had a Coopers Hawk drinking out of it last winter - of course no other birds joined him while he was there!
• Bird Houses - we got to experience baby Black-capped Chickadees being raised and learning how to fly this past summer - it was so precious! Not all birds will use a bird house and the birds that do use it have specific requirements sometimes and the opening has to be a certain size, etc. Consult w/ your bird supply store or online.
• Window decals or sun catchers to prevent bird strikes. Over a million birds die per year because of hitting a window. I had 4 chickadees bang their head on my cabin windows last week so I put up the sun catcher I have pictured below.

HAPPY BIRDWATCHING!!

I bought this sun catcher at a local gift shop and affixed it to my window with a suction cup holder.

Bad cat at the Log Cabin

I finally found a headboard I liked at a reasonable price for our bed at the log cabin. I am addicted to that Garden Ridge store thanks to my friend Michele! (P.S. - my friend Michele has a cool online store for doggy fashions if you'd like to check it out.)

After Greg put it up he said - now this is a nice bed and the cat shouldn't be on it. I said okay.

Five minutes after Greg went outside......bad cat decided to check it out. Ha,ha....

Log Staircase

I had mentioned before that one of the best things I think we purchased for our log home was the log staircases (up to the loft and down to the basement.) The main staircase has become a nice focal point in our home. We had the builder finish and stain the main staircase. To save money, Greg is doing the basement stairs himself. He's been working on lightly sanding the dirt tracks left from the people traffic and is now ready to finish staining. This has been a little hard to do as Marvin the cat keeps wanting to walk on these steps and see what his daddy is doing. Amazingly, the loud noise from the sander doesn't deter him.

Sanded steps ready for staining!

My "hope chest" for the Log Cabin

See this little pine cone lamp in the picture above? It holds a very special meaning to me and our log cabin. When Greg and I first started thinking about a log cabin 5 years ago, we talked about what it would look like and what we would do once we had it. It was in the early stages of dreaming. We weren't talking cost,mortgage, builders or any practical stuff.

One day we were in a small town shop and I saw this pine cone lamp. I told Greg I liked it and wouldn't it be great for our log cabin. And then I said, well, it will probably be a while before we can build a log cabin so no sense in buying this lamp right now. Greg grabbed it off the shelf and said let's get this honey, we will have a log cabin one day and this will go in it. This was the 1st item for our log home "hope chest" and now it has a permanent home. I bring this story up because a woman in one of my log home groups was talking about how they were years away from building a log cabin but she wanted to buy stuff for it now - I told her she should do it - the dream will come true and the road to get there makes it all worth it!

Outdoors at the Log Cabin

It's amazing all the things you can do outdoors just around the log cabin. Greg and I had some set projects to work on but we always find time for a little fun!


Here is the morning moon shot from the deck of our log cabin.













We checked the logs - making sure everything looks good as winter is fast approaching. I noticed my stain color has darkened slightly and I like this new tone.













We had numerous Mallard ducks in our lake quacking up a storm!

















The leaves are still falling off the trees.












The Black-capped chickadees are flying rampant on our property and enjoying all the bird feeders I put up.












I added some little pumpkins to our porch steps.












Greg and little Greg were suppose to be raking. See that very small patch of green toward the log cabin....this was their progress. The next thing I knew, I heard the ATV start up and those 2 were cruising down the road. Hey guys - what about those leaves????

To end the day, I made a cherry pie. (And told the boys they could have a slice once the raking was finished.) I have my ways.....