05B3967F-62C0-4F3B-BF06-8711AFC668D8 In Michigan's Upper Peninsula, summer is a little bit of heaven on earth. For a few weeks, we have had glorious weather. Tourists flock to our small towns from all over the country to experience a dip in Lake Superior, jumping off Black Rocks for a thrill of a lifetime and very accessible walks up mountains and our many beaches. Our past community leaders have preserved the shoreline for public use. Many of our nonprofits have worked with landowners to donate, purchase or commit to public access miles of wilderness areas for biking and hiking. It truly is a beautiful experience for people to come here and have a sense of peace and solitude.

For photography, not the brilliant colors we had last year. Many sunrises were more subtle, with many red suns showing up amidst the haze of morning. Still beautiful, inspirational, and peaceful, just different. I always explored the morning with Bella, my Maltese, who crossed over the rainbow in July. I felt the loss, an emptiness as I walked the beach alone. She was part of my photography business and so enjoyed her morning walks until she died. Her ashes are in the lake we call Superior. 

A quote by Professor Ichak Adizes: "our life after our physical death is one of feeling, not thinking, not one of physical existence but of consciousness, after our physical demise, we continue to be alive through those whom we loved or hated or through those who loved or hated us. We are what we do to others and how they feel about it. And that is what is left alive after we physically depart. Life continues differently." 
The four seasons teach us that life continues; the beauty and colors of fall, as phenomenal as they are in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, can quickly turn white and beautiful as the snow covers the land. For me, life continues differently but somewhat the same. After being lonely for three weeks, I reached out to my Maltese lover's network and found a male Maltese puppy, that in August, I acquired and named him Shadow. He has taken time to learn his job but has adapted well to his new role.  

Photography, Lake Superior mornings, and all I have experienced in over two years of going to the lake have been rewarding. People tell me they look forward to my pictures in the morning. It's a little more than taking pictures for me. C. Austin Mills, In the Garden, speaks for me and how I feel. "And he walks with me, and he talks with me, And he tells me I am His own, And the joy we share as we tarry there none has ever known."