Brush-n-Rod: the ol' Au Sable

Brass Colored River

by Kerstan J. Copeland

I watch my children

in this brass-colored river

and memories pour forth like

clay squeezed through a child’s hand

I remember early visits

and I know the wonder they find now

They have tasted Northern waters

and will hereafter thirst for more

My boy is the

first son of the

first son of the

first son of the

only son

of the man who built this place

My children are young yet

too young to truly feel the weight

of that history

but that will come

They will be caught by it

just as surely as my brother and I

caught crayfish beneath the dock

Ode to a High-Tech Crapper

by Kerstan J. Copeland

Wake up kids its time to go

very soon we must be gone

We’re headed to the Great North Woods

to see a high-tech john

A Modern marvel this commode

like none you’ve ever seen

Thumb through the manual

as you sit on this throne

soon you’ll be agreein’

It’s higher than any you’ve perched upon

and has more moving parts

You plug it in, wind it up

‘tis truly a work of art

I’ve seen many a marvelous thing in this land

a Golden Gate and a Canyon (Grand)

But all of it pails when I compare

these marvels to a chair

that turns my poop into something good

‘stead of wasting it like another would

So bring a book and TP

because you’ve got

to sit upon this high tech pot

Above is the high-tech crapper mentioned in the poem. It is a composting toilet and it is uber-cool...

I am this Clay

by Kerstan J. Copeland

Reaching into this biting water

I draw forth a fist-full

of Au Sable clay.

I shape it, mold it, change

it’s form. The clay pleases

my hands the way a

staccato rhythm pleases my ears.

Bird. Frog. Face. Squirrel…

The clay is workerd, kneaded, molded

from one iteration to the next.

I am this clay

changing over time.

I am one thing and then another.

My views, face, hair, soul are

ever in flux… dried and firm

one moment, a little river water and all

is malleable again, ready to re-form.

I hope that my changes please

the hands of the Almighty just as this

river clay does me.

I am this clay.

our grand adventure...

the sun beginning to rise in Texas

Austin, Tx.

crossing into Arkansas

hey, Bill Clinton was born there!

the Mighty Mississippi

rain on the way up...

up into Illinois... not many pics of Missouri because most of that part of the drive was done at night...

that is one big cross...

crossing into Michigan...

finally at Brush-N-Rod...

the Old Cabin

the New Bunkhouse!

check out the view of the Au Sable from up in the bunkhouse loft!

the High Tech Crapper (a true wonder!)

river clay

time for art and poetry

canoeing with Rob

the Breakey's treehouse

sunset over the Au Sable

the Great Mason Track Dunking of 2008

our trip to Traverse City, Sleeping Bear Dunes, and a Cherry Farm

Lake Michigan

back at B-n-R

fresh cherries!

our friend the chipmunk

Amish Country

a "seasonal road"

Our Lady of the Wilderness shrine

Hartwick Pines

tubin' the Au Sable

Andrea made this 17 years ago...

Uncle Rob & Aunt Phyllis' house

At Lake Huron

the 45th Parallel

farmland near Rob & Phyllis' house

Long Lake

the new Presque Isle light house

Mackinaw City

the Mackinaw Bridge

up on the U.P.

Back at B-n-R

walking down to the dock one last time

headed home (we're in Indiana)

I've always wanted to eat here!

storms over the Texas plains

remembering the cabin