Excerpts from 'Tales of the Green Cottage. Vol. I & II'

Perfect sparkling water and blue sky days

Boating and canoeing, sunning and swimming have filled our days.

The Lodge is going to be beautiful. We were given a tour and Mark, Jackie and crew have done a great job. Ask to see Jackie's quilts. We spent almost every day at the beach with our friends and family.

Our stay in the green cottage has been delightful. We came to Lake Nettie to celebrate our first wedding anniversary. We have also been hunting ruffed grouse and woodcock all week long. We did not have the best results hunting, but the green cottage, serenity, wildlife and the friendly environment has made this week most unforgettable. We've had some great beach days, great sunsets, great boat rides and walks. It's so relaxing to be here again. This really feels like our second home.

Favorites -- Rogers City: ice cream cones at the place next to the movie theatre (get the praline pecan), pizza party at Lakeside Park, Seagull Point. Woodwinds Restaurant in Onaway. At Lake Nettie: sunsets, boat rides, 'river trip' in canoe all the way to the highway culvert, reading at the beach, swimming, walks, the variety of birds and other wildlife.

We've all gotten sunburns, and scattered sand everywhere. Sun tea was a favorite. I read five books, sent postcards and tried to keep my journal up to date. See you next year.

Hi Green Cabin, This is the first time up here. Me and Dad went in the boat and beached it on the dock. Then we went fishing off the dock and caught 2 bass, lots of bluegill and sunfish, another bass and two tiny fish. Bye green cabin. Alaina, age 7

Little did we know that an inquiry on the internet would lead us to this beautiful place. We've enjoyed unseasonably warm days, cool nights that made the fireplace so enjoyable; were surprised by wild turkeys flying within inches of our heads; had to hike this side of the main road due to hunting season, but there was lots to enjoy. The rowboat ride around the lake was an added treat… took a ride around the area to check out the towns … do go to Posen if you like ice cream. The IGA store there fixed us a cone with a mountain of ice cream for 85 cents! We'll be back, Green Cottage. Winter well.

 After 15 1/2 years of marriage, and the raising of 6 children, we are finally on a honeymoon. We are here in the green cabin for the opening week of bow hunting. After 3 1/2 days of hunting, we've seen 21 deer. No shots from us, we've been close though.

 p.s. Jackie is a wonderful cook!!!!

As a city person, this has been a beautiful place to vacation.

Watching clams is another item I've not done before and I am amazed at what I have learned.

Lots of loon calls echoing on the lake, and some wonderful sunsets. We've done a lot of reading. Just brought up some good books, I guess. But we've rested a lot, relaxed quite a bit and successfully took off the 'plowstraps' of work, deadlines, appointments, etc. There are many things, places and people dear to us here, and we cherish and remember them when we're away.

I returned to Lake Nettie after a 26 year absence. Our boys, 12 and 9, absolutely went wild over the lake as I did the first time I was here with my family in 1957. My family came and stayed in the Brown for many years. We have enjoyed the camp fires at night. A great way to get to meet and make new friends. There is something about a camp fire that settles body and mind and makes it ready for a peaceful night. Then coming back to the cabin and setting around the screen porch watching the moonlight braking on the still water, listening to night sounds and the stillness let's one's soul breathe.

All year long I looked forward to my stay at this quaint Green cottage, which seems to have grown as naturally as the pines, rising up on her wooden barrels out of Lake Nettie's shore. I brought my niece and nephew (ages 14 & 13). After hearing the extended forecast for unseasonable cold weather, I feared the three of us might drive each other up these knotty-pine walls. Instead, we discovered this cottage at its cozy best. We started each morning by lighting the kerosene heater. And fell asleep each night to the crackle of embers in the fireplace. We played Monopoly, read novels silently and ghost stories aloud, roasted marshmallows in the fireplace and backed brownies in the oven. We took trips to Rogers City, Onaway and Ocqueoc Falls, and took pictures of wildflowers, grasshoppers and each other. My sister arrived Thursday afternoon, bringing good weather with her.

This was our 7^th year in the The Green and we, too, look forward all year. But I must say this has been a different sort of time, the weather being so cold and wet. Perhaps I cheated a bit, but we did enjoy the promise of a warm bed every night … an electric blanket came with us this year, along with long underwear and down jackets.

I enjoy 'packing for the cabin' and cooking on the gas stove! We've expanded our menu now that I'm at ease with the gas oven! No longer are we confined to 'camp food,' but baked chicken, pork chops, cinnamon rolls, baked potatoes, etc! It never seems drudgery to cook all week -- funny how different it is at home!

My joy has always been to sit down on the pier early in the morning and read and meditate and feel the warmth of the sun and hear the loons and count the baby ducks swim by. May the peace that is offered here be experienced by all who come and rest in the Green Cabin. As the deer pants for the streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirst for God, the Living God. When can I go and meet with God? Ps. 42:1-2 (NIV)

Oh the joys of the Green Cabin. We have developed so many family memories here over the past six years. Here is a place of rest and discovery. Kate has grown so much during these past years and we have all the special little places we have discovered and invented including "Mud Turtle Lane", "Peach Haven", "Loon Lake". I'm sure these will never be found by Rand-McNally but they are very real to us. Our standard fare has been fish, swim, sun, eat and sleep. No phones, clocks or schedules.

It was great to spend a week here on the lake surrounded by woods. I loved seeing deer, chipmunks, rabbits, beavers, loons, ducks, geese, wild turkeys, and even a bald eagle. We fed ducks and geese from the dock and woke up to the call of the loons.

I really enjoyed reading the other entries in this book! Most of our days here were pretty cold, too! Our last two days here were sunny and warm. No matter what the weather, it sure is beautiful! On the warmer days we went out in the boat, walked on the old trails, or just sat outside and enjoyed the weather. The colder days were spent inside drinking hot chocolate, reading, doing crossword puzzles, and playing games.

What a wonderful discover -- Nettie Bay! Up here for a weekend of birding with Lon Emerick and Jim Bruce as our leaders, we've seen an incredible variety of species in this beautiful and varied setting. Starting with the parenting loons on the island in front of the lodge, woodcocks after dark on the first night and an owl last night, the days have been filled with Orioles, warblers, and a scarlet tanager, even a hummingbird! Mark and Jackie are great hosts, really friendly and interested in birding too. We've finally found a great cabin in the woods -- hope to spend more time here in the fall, perhaps in a canoe. Thanks for preserving this great habitat for birds!

I loved that frog with the 'banjo twang" voice. And what looks like a U.F.O. to a teenager, looks like a satellite to a 28-year-old. This year has been so different from the last. The weather was gorgeous.

I brought my nieces who have been delightful company. We chased fireflies, gazed at stars, and made 'Tonka' sandwiches, and just enjoyed being out doors late into the night. We had a lot of good laughs this year.

One night, we were watching a huge raccoon, and Tyler (3) said "I like that Teddy bear!"

We did a lot of the normal things -- fishing, hiking , antique hunting, a trip to Mackinaw, swimming, watching the stars at night == what a beautiful sight! P.S. We saw Saturn last night!!!

When I got up this morning, everything was covered with beautiful snow. It was a glorious sight!

Hello Everyone! Our stay began when we drove up the bumpy drive at 8:00 on a clear 20 degrees cool evening. In the moonless night our headlights glanced off of the outhouse, the worn façade and downed tree limbs and brought and "oh, no" from our throats. But upon opening the door we were greeted with a deep warmth. Not only with the heater Mark had left on but also with the warm pine walls, Christmas trees atop the mantle and sparkling juice, apples and crackers on the table. This was exactly the setting my husband and I picture for our long anniversary weekend; a place to kick back, indulge in reading and maybe even find some stimulation for our interest. We enjoy nature and try to photograph it, write about it, preserve it but primarily to renew our spirits in it.

The weather was a surprise. We had anticipated the worst and were blessed with a sunny Thanksgiving day. It was in the low 30s and the lake partially froze. The wind came in strong waves breaking the 1/2" thick ice slabs into shards that clanged together in the bays on both sides of the cabin. It was a different kind of Thanksgiving for us. The food was delicious: it was the compay that was unusual. We ate dinner with two does strung up outside the window and fifteen hunters.

The moon is full now and reflecting in the lake. A peaceful ending to a Saturday full of exploring a snowdusted landscape glistening in the sun and a weekend full of warm memories and new friends. Best regards to our fellow 'tale tellers'.

Nighttime chourses of Spring Peepers, Whip-poor-wills, and the haunting wails of the Loons. Even an over zealous Ovenbird shouting "Teacher, Teacher!" at 11 p.m.

What a little piece of heaven this place is. May all who visit enjoy it as much as we have.