An Old Motor and Quiet Evenings by the Lake

A couple of quiet days at home in Port Sheldon in late June. I spent some time inside working on a project, tinkering with this old Chrysler 45 horsepower outboard and getting it situated on the small turquoise boat. It’s slow, methodical work that’s good for filling the hours.

In the evenings, I walked down toward the water. The sun was setting over the channel, and the boats tied to the docks were still in the calm water. The roads here are just small paved paths that wind through the dunes and trees between the houses. It was overcast and quiet.

The path to Lake Michigan goes right past the usual landmarks—the big white tank behind a fence, the American flag on the dune. The beach itself was empty by the time I got there. The only signs of life were some chairs left up on the dune and tire tracks crisscrossing the sand. The light was fading, and the waves were gentle along the shoreline.