Home and Attack of the Killer Muskrat

August 19 and 20, 2024 Nine hours to home from Empire is two days of driving for us. From the CG, near Sleeping Bear, we drove to Saugatuck Brewing Co. for a very good lunch and a really good beer. Afterwards we walked on Lost Rock beach, Sammy loves wave chasing and he entertained several beach goers. Next stop for the night was a Harvest Host site, Twin Maple farms.

It is primarily an apple orchard, 20 varieties, many tree limbs drooping to the ground and some broken under the weight of the apples. They also have blueberries, cherries, strawberries, pumpkins, summer squash, a couple of acres of tomatoes, and lots of flowers. The sunflowers are $1 apiece, you pick. The owner said “I bought this place two years ago knowing nothing about growing apples”. Talk about a leap of faith. They have an open air store by the road, operated by his wife and daughter. He and his sons worked in the orchard until sunset. We made our purchases and then strolled around. Here are some pictures of the farm…..

Attack of the killer muskrat

In the sunflower picture above, a muskrat charged at Sammy seconds after the picture was taken. My guess is he had kits in the cattails, assumed we were a threat and was protecting them. The “fight” took about 2 seconds, Sam inflicted a bite on his back, he bit Sam’s nose. I pulled the leash hard and separated them. Sam bled a lot, took 20 minutes or more to stop.

Had lunch in Lafayette, IN at D T Kirby’s downtown, a road food rec. Peggy said it was the best hotdog she’s had in years, maybe ever (wrapped in seasoned bacon and deep fried). Kevin texted with her to help her with her order choice. Just left there, should be home in about 4 hrs.