D is for ...

First, D is for Dad. That's he and Daughter on the breakwall at Presque Isle in Marquette a couple of years ago. Dad's a tough one to put any kind of label on. He's a very conservative, hardworking guy. He's never bored and always has a long list of things that need to be done, nearly all of them outside between the months of March and November. He makes his own wine, maple syrup, apple cider, and pickles. Brother and I learned many things from him, most especially the value of hard work.

Next, D is for the Dead River Basin. The Dead River is located in the middle of the U.P. It is dammed in several places, and there is a large storage basin (basically a slow moving lake) in the middle. Dad built a cabin on the basin in the mid 60's. The cabin is composed of 2 rooms, a sleeping area with 3 bunks, and a kitchen/dining room/ living room area. There is no running water, and no electricity. When Brother and I were little we spent almost every weekend of the summer at camp. We learned to swim there, we learned to fish there, and we learned that Grandpa Van got mad when we ate all of the fish he had prepared, forcing him to eat peanut butter. It is still my favorite place in the whole world, even though you have to get there by boat; the road doesn't go all the way out to our place.

And finally D is for Dart. He is our social cat. He loves everyone and will jump in their lap especially if they don't like cats or are allergic. He and his 2 sisters were born under our front porch. We had recently had a cat put to sleep, so it worked out well that we got to keep him. His name is short for D' Artagnan. I was thinking he should be named after one of the Three Musketeers (since we found 3 cats) but Athos, Porthos, and Aramis didn't really have the right ring to them. He's grown considerably since we got him. His all time record was close to 24 pounds. As a comparison Cookie weighs almost 9 pounds.