Category Archives: Dexter

Photo of the Basketball Now: 29 December 2011

Like Chelsea, Dexter hosts a basketball tournament over the Christmas break. I showed up at the gym to watch Dexter and Willow Run share the Christmas spirit through intense competition.

What’s that? What does a basketball game have to do with Christmas, you ask? Well…when they called traveling, we all thought of Joseph and Mary traveling to Bethlehem! And when they called a charge, we all thought of the charge Herod gave the wise men to find Jesus! And when they called an illegal screen, we…uh…

Hey, look! Pictures!

I would like to note that the above photo offers me an opportunity to poke some fun at Dexter football. I would also like to note that I am declining to take that opportunity. Let the record show that I have taken the high road once in my life.

Meanwhile, Coach Swoverland would like his team to remember the loneliest number.

Just as I’m a fan of adapting the Bedford mascot to various sports, so am I a fan of adapting Willow Run’s name to various sports. In this instance, wouldn’t Willow Jump be more appropriate?

As a bonus, Van Halen would approve of that name.

Photo of the Sushi Rollin’ Now: 22 July 2011

The Dexter library had a session to teach kids how to make sushi rolls.

Though a lot of people think raw fish when they hear sushi, it doesn’t have to involve fish that hasn’t been turned delicious by heat.  These sushi rolls were filled with a variety of vegetables.

The end results ended up looking delicious.  Maybe not quite as delicious as a good hamburger or slice of pizza, but delicious nonetheless.  (And, I suppose, less artery-clogging.)

Photo of the Well-Read Wildlife Now: 1 July 2011

The Dexter library celebrated Canada Day by inviting kids to enjoy a presentation by a wildlife expert.  (The library didn’t actually mention Canada Day at all, but I know for a fact there was at least one hockey fan in the library that day.  Close enough.)

The room was packed…

…but unfortunately, Dan the Creature Man was twenty minutes late due to traffic, so the crowd got a bit restless.  However, Dan did arrive, and the kids settled down to enjoy the show.

There was a parrot…

…that was more in the mood to nibble on the microphone than he was to talk.

There was also a chameleon…

…that happily grabbed a few crickets with a tongue that would make Gene Simmons jealous.

There was an iguana…

…that wasn’t nearly as grumpy as he looked.  Oddly enough, this was the only creature that caused tears; when Dan brought out the iguana, one little girl started crying.

Most kids were fascinated…

…but note the worried expression on the girl near the left side of the photo.  She didn’t cry, but it didn’t look like she was eager to make new friends.

There was a chinchilla…

…that added just the right amount of “Awwwwwwwwww!” to the show.

There was a tortoise…

…that looked as grumpy as the iguana.  He probably wasn’t as grumpy as he looked, either.  (Also, he looked like he should be a character in a classic Bill Peet book.)

There was an American alligator…

…that certainly didn’t look grumpy.  I didn’t ask him why he was smiling, mostly because I enjoy having ten fingers.  And because he didn’t speak English.

After the show, Dan brought back out his albino python so the kids could touch and hold it.

Many hands make light snake:

Surprisingly, the little girl who looked worried during the show was happy to touch the snake.  Maybe during the show she was worried about the economy or unemployment or the major rules violations coming to light in college football or something.

Photo of the KABOOM!, Oooh, Ahhh Now: 3 July 2011

We interrupt the usual delayed timeline to bring you these unusually timely photos.  Happy Fourth of July!

The Dexter area’s tranquility was shattered last night by the always well-attended fireworks show at Hudson Mills Metropark.

I’d never been inside the park for the fireworks, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.  I got an idea, though, when I was told to show up at 6pm if I wanted a decent parking spot inside the park.  (The fireworks start at 10pm.)  This turned out to be excellent advice.

What do you do when you’re going to wait four hours for a fireworks show?  You bring comfortable chairs and tasty food, and you enjoy the park’s amenities.

Hudson Mills includes an excellent playground.

One of the sand volleyball courts didn’t have a net, so a number of kids repurposed it as a very large sandbox.

Some kids took the opportunity to declare their independence from instructions and rules.

(Actually, as far as I could tell, that hill wasn’t actually off-limits until the fireworks started: the launch site was just a bit beyond those trees.  But the photo opportunity was too good to refuse.)

The Bearclaw Coffee van did an extraordinarily brisk business.  The line you see here was as short as it got.

For those inclined to lose a little bit of hearing, there was live music.

A number of vendors were selling various light-up trinkets like necklaces, swords and mohawks.  They weren’t too interesting in the daylight, but when the sun went down, they became a prime target for a strange-looking long exposure photo.

Finally, the fireworks started.  Hudson Mills puts on a great show.

The finale was crazy enough to give me slightly overexposed photos…

But that also provided a look at the smoke produced by all those launches.

Photo of the Playoff Soccer Now: 10 June 2011

Dexter soccer faced Livonia Ladywood.

Dexter was down 1-0 with only a few minutes to play…

…which caused anxiety among the Dexter players.  But with a minute to play…

Ladywood scored a second goal to effectively seal its win.

Unless I happen to be covering the state champions, the end of each sports season becomes the Sad Pictures of Sad Athletes Season.  Dexter’s loss gave me more sad pictures.