October 20, 2026- Hana gave an enthusiastic thumbs up to our afternoon walk today. When I recounted where we had been, she shouted “Yeah!” She talked to some of the Halloween figures which we passed by, on our 2-mile roundtrip. (She is still in the stroller.) At other times, she sang little songs.
There was more bantering and laughing at the dinner table tonight. Hana made a half-hearted complaint when we were eating chocolates for dessert. She was very happy that we also ate pear slices, which were her dessert. This girl is all about inclusion.
HANA’S NOTE- I decided to stay downstairs today. I didn’t feel like climbing. It was fun to see so many funny decorations. Papa says they are skeletons and witches.
EXPANDING CIRCLES: Michigan- “YES!! Michigan welcomes you!” – So went the billboard on my second entry into the state. My visits to the Wolverine State, seven all told, have taken me just over the line to Niles; as far north as Muskegon, Fruitport and Grand Rapids; to Davison (the site of Louhelen Baha’i School)-three times; to Ann Arbor and through Detroit, en route to Ontario. The place is indeed welcoming.
The turf- Michigan is divided into two peninsulas-Lower and Upper, separated by the Straits of Mackinac (Mak-i-NAW). Lower Michigan is generally flat, with a few rolling hills in the north central region and on The Thumb, a subpeninsula east of the Saginaw-Bay City-Midland area. Upper Michigan is also mostly rolling hills, with dense forest. The Porcupine Mountains occupy the western sector of the “U.P.” Michigan is bordered by four of the Great Lakes: Superior, Michigan, Huron and Erie. Lake St. Clair, a smaller lake between the Detroit Metropolitan Area and the Windsor-Chatham area of Ontario, is divided between Michigan and Ontario. Several islands in the Great Lakes are also part of Michigan. Three of the most prominent are Isle Royale (a National Park, actually closer to Ontario and Minnesota than to the Upper Peninsula); Drummond and Mackinac Islands, in Lake Huron. Michigan is drained by several shallow rivers: Saginaw, Cheboygan, Au Sable, Ontonagon, Tahquamenon, Manistee, Kalamazoo, Grand, St. Joseph, Muskegon and Escanaba.
First Nations: Michigan is the ancestral home of the Ojibwe (Chippewa), Odawa (Ottawa) and Bodewatami (Pottawatomi) peoples. These nations formed the Three Fires Confederation, with each nation responsible for a sacred function and each supporting the other two, in times of hardship. The Ojibwe were Keepers of the Faith, responsible for traditions and sacred ceremonies. The Odawa were Keepers of the Trade, negotiating and maintaining trade routes, from Hochelaga (Present-day Montreal) to the Mississippi River. The Bodewatami were Keepers of the Sacred Fire, who organized Council Fires, where the three nations parlayed and made important decisions. The 1836 Treaty ofWashington and the 1855 Treaty of Detroit set the conditions for Michigan’s settlement by European-Americans, while preserving Indigenous people’s hunting and fishing rights. These conditions remain in force today. The common language, Anishinaabemowin, is taught in the First Nations communities of Michigan, and traditions are experiencing a renaissance. There are twelve Federally-recognized First Nations tribal communities, throughout the state.
Where I feel most at home; Davison, New Buffalo, Fruitport, Grand Haven
Where I feel most at peace: Louhelen Baha’i School
Future Five: Sleeping Bear Dunes, Keweenaw Peninsula, Isle Royale, The Thumb, Petoskey
NEXT: Ohio
