Clear your head and take a deep breath

Please take just a moment to lighten your heart and feed your soul. . .

You're still the greatest dad!

Twelve years ago today my dad passed through that door to see what was on the other side. Thanks for everything, Pop! Steak, baked potatoes tonight and fresh Michigan corn (frozen this past summer, I'll have you know), finished off by Susie's homemade vanilla ice cream and her scrumptious brownies.

Washington Post reports KKK Supports Trump

If you're to vote for Donald Trump among those folks standing with you are the members of the Ku Klux Klan.

The Washington Post, along with the LA Times, NPR and Fortune magazine reported today that the KKK, through their newspaper The Crusader, have officially announced their support for Trump. Read more here.

Oh, and in case you've forgotten, one of Trump's mentors as a young man, and an on-again, off-again attorney for Trump for many years, was Senator Joseph McCarthy's right-hand man, Roy Cohn.

Van Halsema cousins

There was quite the Van Halsema reunion for Aunt Thea's 92nd birthday at Raybrook this past Saturday. I had the opportunity to photograph at least three Van Halsema cousins who hadn't seen each other for quite a few years: Emily/Amahl Van Halsema from California, Melissa Ten Have Loaney from St. Louis and Jennifer Ten Have Galloway from Clear Lake right here in Kent County.

Emily/Amahl and Jen

Susie and her cousin Lissa

Autumn day at Clear Lake

This past Sunday I drove out to the Ten Have-Galloway home at Clear Lake near Rockford. After chatting a bit with Uncle John -- everyone else was away -- I took a stroll around the lake, savoring the quiet, the color and the solitude.

And yes, I tinkered quite a bit with post-processing the photos and experimenting with color balance, tonal qualities, that sort of thing.

Finally, I couldn't resist adding two photos of drop-dead gorgeous trees in our neighborhood.