I’ve been following my sandhill crane colts since I first saw them on June 14, deep in the grass. A week later, I came across them nesting nearby in a roadside wetland. Then, Saturday night, I discovered them back in the field, which had been mowed. They were huge! I’m not surprised, though, since colts grow incredibly fast, shooting up about an inch a day during their first month.
Steven Marsden, a Lakeview High School friend from the class of 1964, once again provided the audio narration for the latest book in my Northwoods Mystery series. Bookseller P.J. Grath called the book a “sure-fire winner. Set in northwest lower Michigan, with action stretching from the Platte River in the south to Cathead Bay in the north, and featuring various parts of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Wayfinding is a tight, cohesive story of a few months in the life of forensic detective Quinn Macarthy.”
You can read Grath’s full review of Wayfinding at the following link:
https://northportbookstore.blogspot.com/2026/04/bookseller-recommendation-for-spring.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawSjgCpleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeIahHNSqcfyGONvk2b31XdUFs924YvjLUomeNwmNzF5liSTSP7KK0SAYuEDY_aem__1KspOyy-uIkP-UunTecyQ
Wayfinding is available in paperback, e-book, and audiobook formats at all of your favorite online and independent bookstores.
Spring is a great time for birdwatching, with the migration in full force. I recently spotted a killdeer, a savannah sparrow, and an eastern kingbird, all summer-only residents of our area. But the most exciting find for me was seeing colts, or sandhill crane chicks. The parents and their two babies crossed the road in front of me and went into a field of tall grass. I didn’t think I’d gotten the colts until I got home and blew the image up on my computer. Look closely, and you’ll see their yellow feathers on the right side of the last image.
“It doesn't have to be the blue iris, it could be weeds in a vacant lot, or a few small stones; just pay attention…”
