Cottage Ventures

09/03/2026

September 3rd
A Day to Remember the Stars and Stripes 🇺🇸
On September 3, 1777, the American flag was first flown during the Revolutionary War. Adopted just three months earlier, the original flag featured 13 stars and 13 stripes, representing the thirteen colonies that united to form a new nation.
From its earliest days, the Stars and Stripes has represented far more than a piece of cloth. It is a powerful symbol of freedom, unity, courage, and the sacrifices made by generations who fought to protect the ideals it represents.
Through war and peace, triumph and hardship, our flag has continued to fly as a reminder of who we are and what we stand for.
🇺🇸 Honor the flag. Remember those who sacrificed beneath it. Be grateful for the freedoms it represents.
Long may she wave! 🇺🇸❤️🤍💙

09/01/2026

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08/29/2026

Here is the geography fact that breaks people's brains: from Detroit you look south across the river to get to Canada. 🌃 It is the only place in the country where that works, and the best view of the Detroit skyline is from another nation.

At night the river goes glassy black and takes the whole city down into it. The glass towers throw shifting bands of magenta and teal, the art deco crowns light up gold, every office window is a pinprick, and it all comes back up off the water in long vertical smears that fracture whenever a freighter slides through. Low clouds catch the glow and hold it. 🌉

Detroit gets written about constantly by people who have never stood on a riverbank at eleven at night and looked at it. From here it is not a comeback narrative or a cautionary tale. It is just a big beautiful American city sitting on a river doing what it has always done.

What is your favorite place to see the Detroit skyline from, and when is the right time of day to be standing there?

08/22/2026

At Great Lakes National Cemetery near Detroit, some funerals are completely empty. No family. No friends. Just a funeral director, a priest, and a few teenage boys wearing white gloves.

These teenagers are part of the St. Joseph of Arimathea Pallbearer Ministry. Started in 2015 by students at University of Detroit Jesuit High School, the program ensures that no one is buried alone.

At their very first service, the boys carried the caskets of three homeless veterans whose bodies had gone unclaimed at the county morgue.

Named after the biblical figure who cared for Jesus's body, the ministry has inspired dozens of students from the all-boys school to step up as "men for others."

Dressed in matching suits, they carry the caskets and pray at the gravesite.

"We represent the family that is not here and that is a privilege" said student co-founder Lenny Froehlich.

The experience sticks with the students long after graduation, completely changing how they see people who go unnoticed by the world.

It proves a simple but powerful truth: the ultimate service is simply showing up to be present for someone.

08/17/2026

08/14/2026

The Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory has graced Belle Isle since 1904, making it the oldest continually operating conservatory in the United States. Designed by Albert Kahn, its 85-foot central dome shelters tropical palms and exotic plants year-round. In 1955, it was renamed after Anna Scripps Whitcomb, who donated her collection of 600 orchids to the city—many of which still bloom here today. 🌿💛

Golden hour turned the glass dome into a glowing crown, mirrored perfectly in the still waters of the lake.