Pictured Rocks, Munising MI

This is the first batch of vacation photos that I shot last week.  Charlie and I went to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for a week long trip.  The trees were turning spectacular colors and our weather was wonderful the whole week (except for a little fog Friday morning).  

I shot hundreds of photos and am still sorting through them -- but here is the first batch.  We took a 3 hour boat tour of the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.  The water was so bright and colorful -- just gorgeous!  The rock is part of a large basin of sandstone and the brilliant colors come from the "seepage" of water and minerals.  More photos will be posted later.

Detroit Zoo and a Week of Vacation

I just had a week off of work and enjoyed quite a bit of that time with my family.  Charlie had to work so I took my mom to Detroit for a couple of nights.  We spent one day at IKEA (I'm in love!) and the other we went to the Detroit Zoo.  It was incredibly hot, and we were disappointed that most of the animals were not visible because they were trying to keep cool.  We did enjoy the creatures we could see though and had a good, exhausting time.

They had a butterfly garden (not as big as the one they sometimes have at Frederick Meijer Botanical Gardens)

They had a nice bird exhibit -- there were some birds there I had never heard of.

Some tired, hot animals.

They had peacocks, but we had more fun looking at the pea-hens and chicks that ran around freely.

We were really looking forward to the arctic circle exhibit.  There is a tunnel under water and the polar bear swims around so you can get a close-up view.  Well, the seals were having fun swimming, but the polar bear would have nothing to do with it.  

We were very exhausted after walking all over the place.  Probably because we spent 3 1/2 hours walking around IKEA the day before.  Did I mention that I love that place?
After the two days in Detroit, we headed home to my place and relaxed.  We went to the coffee shop and a few stores in Frankenmuth before Mom headed home.  Then, the next day I headed to her place.  I spent an afternoon with my grandma, making our favorite veggie soup (to freeze for easy lunches).  I helped her get her Super-8 projector up and running -- and was able to watch a vacation movie from 1966.  We have many more to check out in the future.
Mom and I also made a quick drive out to Spring Lake, MI to visit Lake Michigan.  It doesn't feel like summer to me if I don't visit the big lake at least once.  I didn't get my feet wet, but we walked the fisherman's pier and enjoyed the lake air.
This weekend, Charlie and I have just been chilling out and watching the olympics.  Tomorrow I head back to work.  It is always rough after a good vacation, but it'll only take me a day to get back into the swing of things.

My Favorite Things -- Hot Air Balloons

Spring is here!

The last few weeks we've had absolutely amazing weather!  Spring came early -- last week we had temps in the mid 80s.  It was the perfect ending to a terrifically mild winter!

The chickens were very restless and needed to get out of the coop.  I put up a movable fence to give them access to grass, bugs, and dirt.  It isn't going to keep any raccoons out, but I lock up the coop at dark to prevent any catastrophes.  Netting over the top should keep hawks out -- I hope.  

Their first day out, all of the ladies dug into the dirt and rolled and flapped around in it.  Nothing like a good dirt bath to ring in the warm weather.  

The girls are all doing very well.  Olivia was sick for a couple of weeks -- she seemed lethargic and wobbly.  She didn't eat much either so I thought she was going to die.  Happily she survived.  :)
I also thought a few plants I purchased last year had died, but they also survived.  Below is a cold hardy kiwi that I thought had died last summer.  Tah dah!  It's back!

The rhubarb and asparagus are growing well and I will harvest some of it this year for the first time.

Now that all the trees are flowering, the weather is going back to normal.  It is dropping below the freezing point at night which is going to cause a problem for our fruit crops.  I'm trying to protect my pear tree by covering it with a garbage bag tonight.
The best thing about this weather is that I get out of work much earlier now.  This is the first summer in 6 years that I will be able to work in the garden in the afternoon and evening.  How exciting is that?!?

Northern Michigan Snow Storm

My husband and I braved a late winter snow storm last night and today in order to head North for his birthday.  Our hotel room "with a view" that we booked was warm and cozy but the view was pure white.  This morning, we had a great view of the people trying to dig their cars out of the hotel parking lot.  Charlie had a blast driving around in this stuff.  I had a good time snapping photos from my car window.  It was gorgeous, sticky snow that caused a lot of broken trees and power outages.  

What I'm reading

The Feast Nearby has been a pleasure to read this winter.  I'm almost done with it and I'd recommend it to anyone who is interested in eating local foods, putting food by, and simple living.  Robin Mather writes about the year after she lost her job in Chicago and her marriage.  She moves to West Michigan (near and dear to my heart) with her dog and bird to heal and regroup.  The book is more a collection of essays grouped by season -- talking about how she sources local foods while sticking to a strict budget.  At the end of each chapter, she includes a half dozen recipes/techniques to use and preserve the various ingredients she highlighted.  I'm excited to try some of them this year!

Next on the list to read is this book:

Folks, this ain't normal looks like it is going to be one that really makes me think.  I've read the first chapter (I had to take a peak) called "Children, Chores, Humility and Health".  Joel Salatin (you may have seen him in the film, Food, Inc.) jumps right in discussing what he thinks is wrong with our society today - how removed we are from how life has been for centuries.  We no longer raise our own food (some of us are trying to learn though), chop our own firewood, etc.  I'm curious to see where he takes this book.

I'm always open to suggestions for good books.  Please share if you have read anything interesting lately.

Going Dutch

I got these tulips the other day and had to photograph them before they faded.  They are live tulips (not cut flowers) and they were on clearance at the grocery store.  I knew they only had about two days left to look pretty, but it didn't bother me -- I have other plans for them.  I am going to plant the bulbs this Spring and enjoy them next year when they grow again.  These flowers were less expensive than buying the bulbs alone.
My Dutch (frugal) heritage is showing -- not only was it a great buy, but the flowers are from the Netherlands as well.  I am 3/4 Dutch and come from an area that is packed full of Dutch people.  Ever heard of Holland, Michigan?  Holland is just down the road from Grand Rapids.  They have a tulip-time festival every Spring.  So many gorgeous flowers!
Anyway, I definitely crave Spring right now.  We've been pretty lucky with a mild winter, but I'm ready to get my hands dirty in the garden again.  I'm dreaming up my plans for this year's garden right now -- what I want to grow, what did and didn't work last year, etc.  What do you plan to grow this year?  Leave a comment if you are a gardener as I'd love to know your plans.

Snowy weather

Such unusual weather this year.  Michigan has been unseasonably warm and free of snow -- until this week.  Well, I guess we had one snowy day in December... but that is about it.  Finally in mid-January we got a nice load of the fluffy stuff and some cold temperatures.  I saw a forecast of 40 degrees and rain showers for tomorrow so I guess it will be going away again.  

Don't get me wrong -- I don't like cold winters and this warmer weather suits me just fine.  I'm the type that likes snow in December (gotta have a white Christmas) then by January 1st I want it gone.  So, I guess I've been fortunate so far.  It makes one wonder if this odd weather is part of a natural cycle or if Al Gore was right... 

Anyway, after feeding the chickens and breaking the ice out of their waterer, I snapped a few photos off the other day.  You can click on the photos to make them larger if you want (especially the first one -- you can see individual snow flakes!).

Michigan International Alpaca Fest

Alpacas!!!  Lots and lots of alpacas!!!  Last weekend my mother and I went to the Michigan International Alpaca Fest in Grand Rapids and had the chance to learn more about them.  I knew I loved the feel of their fur and... well... they are just so dang cute!  

Being able to get up close to the alpacas was a really neat experience.  Did you know they hum?  They don't kick and are pretty mellow, but not exactly tame.  The only one we saw that really craved his owner's attention had been bottle-fed after it's mother refused to take care of it.  They do need to be around other alpacas but they don't really cuddle.

We watched the alpacas compete for ribbons.  Well, their owners competed -- the alpacas just tolerated it.  The judge would check them all over and pull out tufts of their coats and lay them on his sleeve.  It was fun to watch.
The owners proudly displayed various ribbons from prior shows in their stalls -- along with information about breeding or buying their alpacas.

A gal I work with raises alpacas and was there with three of her own (shown above).  They won several ribbons the day after this photo was taken.  Way to go!

There were also numerous booths with socks, mittens, yarn, etc. for sale.  The only thing I really wanted was a drop spindle and some fiber to try making my own yarn.  I've been messing around with the one I ended up getting, but I can see this is going to take a little practice.  Once I get the hang of it, I'll have to post a bit of a how-to on this blog.
What a fun experience we had at the Alpaca Fest!  Can you believe it was a free event?  Oh, and I was invited to a farm open-house in December by one of the breeders at the show.  I'm not looking at owning alpacas at this point -- but I definitely enjoyed learning more about them and being able to start crafting yarn with their fluffy coats.