Sunday (7/25) Bug Pix

Yes, that's right, bugs. Often they get a bad rap among people, but we all know, really, that they are part of the entire ecosystem and all other life depends upon them and what they do. (And, in a larger sense, everything is interdependent; life flows into life. Distinction between species/life becomes very fuzzy when you realize that everything depends upon everything else.)


Bugs are always challenging to photograph; they take a lot of time. I never seem to get the shots I want, but hopefully these are still of interest.


Andy

One person's trash....

...is another person's treasure!

The conversation will go something like this:

Me: Look what I found at a tag sale today!

Andy: Oh, what are you going to do with it?

Me: Put it in my studio.

Andy: Oh, and then what?

Me: I love it, I will just enjoy seeing it while I'm in there.

Andy: Oh.

~Michele

Sunday Flower Pix

Michele and I have been waiting for one of our lilies to open. She noted it a while ago and has been keeping her eye on it for at least week. One opened on Friday and then one more popped on Sunday. Luckily, I had the morning free to take advantage of the lighting. 


Enjoy!
Andy

. . . and, music we added!

Can you beat a gorgeous summer evening on Northport Bay, enjoying a picnic supper and listening to local jazz? The Neptune Quartet, lead by Don Julin, hit another home run on Friday night. Their self-described form of "Mediterranean Jazz" is a favorite of ours and luckily they offer CD's so we can listen to them through out the year. 

And, yes, dogs enjoy "music in the park" as much as people. I'm not being critical when I say the following--I think it is a fun observation: is it me, or do most dogs and their masters resemble each other?!   ;->

Andy

Just add music...

As Andy mentioned in his July 17 post, we enjoy relaxing on Friday nights with a picnic dinner and "Music in the Park," in Northport. So far tonight's meal consists of wine, cheese and chocolate. (I know Mom(s), we must have more than that, and don't worry we will, there are't many missed meals around here!)

We do not often have cheese (the waistline, you know) but when we do, we love our locally made "Raclette." It is made just a few miles from us, at Leelanau Cheese and it has won countless awards. The cheese shop is located at Black Star Farms, which is also where both of tonights wines are from. We picked up the chocolate bar there as well. Some of you may already know that we kinda like chocolate! This bar is most interesting, as the texture really is stone ground, if you will. It's very good and worth trying. If you can't find it locally, we order from "Chocosphere."

Wishing everyone a winey, cheesy and chocolate filled weekend.

~Michele

Still no rain...

It has been so hot and dry here, I thought I better take a few more pictures of the flowers before they all wilt!

~Michele

Walking to the mailbox

I thought I'd take my camera along as I walked up to get the mail. Here's a few pictures of what I saw along the way.

This is the short cut path back to the house. I remember when we purchased our home, the owners daughters showed me the path and said they used it if they were running late for catching the school bus. Times flies, those young ladies have long since graduated from high school.

~Michele

Heirloom Tomato Frittata

We love eggs and I just got into making frittatas this year. I was inspired to make another this morning after rejoicing, yes, REJOICING, that local heirloom tomatoes were at our farmer's market yesterday. And, they are too die for!


Nothing special here: finely chopped garlic scapes sauteed in Tuscan herb infused olive oil and spinach, pour in 5 beaten eggs. Let cook half way through, top with sliced tomatoes and broil until slightly brown on top, firm and/or eggs are NOT runny in the middle. I then garnished it with chopped cilantro. 


Sweet cherries are still in season as are raspberries. I pitted the former and combined with the latter to accompany a frittata slice. It was great!


Andy

Friday Night Music

There is SO MUCH to do in our area and July and August likely offer the most choices. When possible we love to take in music at the marina park in Northport on Friday nights. Commonly, a local business sponsors the event and volunteers (music lovers) come around during the show and collect donations.

Last night we enjoyed a blue-grass band ("Sour Mash"; their site is here and the name stems from this) that performed in the traditional method of how the genre developed--all playing and singing around one mic. I'd guess about 400 people or so set up chairs and picnics and enjoyed the show for about 2 hours. 

We seem to not only enjoy food and wine in our area, but pets too; I had to include the cute lab shot. (If you like labs, check out my employer's publication: Just Labs Magazine) 

Hope you had a good weekend too.

Andy

Sweet Katie

We haven't added a picture of Katie in awhile, so I thought I'd share this one. It's one of my favorites! She is such a sweet girl, I always tell her "you are the light of my life!"

~Michele

Wildflowers in the yard

We aren't good at gardening ...... OK it's safe to say, we can't grow anything! But, here and there in the yard, we are lucky to have a few wildflowers, compliments of the previous owners and the birds have helped out too!

~Michele

“Engagement Central” . . . w/ Pix!

There is something magical about this area in which we live. Of course, our post on 7/6/10 tells the amazing Coast Guard engagement story. And, now, we have another one.

Michele and I enjoyed a wonderful sunset on Lake Michigan last night. This was on the main public beach in Leland, about a 15 minute drive from our house. About half way through the evening a young couple with one of their parents sat down to enjoy the sunset not too far from us. After awhile, the young couple went to walk the beach for a bit.

When they came back the woman was crying, yet the whole group was jazzed—the young man had just proposed! And, then we heard the young woman’s Dad say, “My camera battery just died.” Of course, I had my camera equipment with me (“Don’t leave home without it!”) so Michele and I interpreted that as a cue. We’re glad we did.

Not only was the young couple delightful, but we had a chance to chat with the parents as well. Come to find out, they lived in Michele’s home town for over a decade—not even a mile from where Michele grew up and where her parents still live! In fact, it is almost certain that Michele’s mom served the bride-to-be a high school lunch at some point before she retired. What a small, wonderful world it is.

I got about 5 shots of the two. And, as you can see by the beautiful samples here, I don’t think they can take a bad picture!

CONGRATULATIONS, BRIAN AND LEAH!!

Andy & Michele

Summer Flower Pix

Had a wonderful photoshoot this morning. A friend of ours is, simply, an amazing gardener; berm after berm of gorgeous flowers, plants and landscapes. He was generous enough to host a small group of people who love photography. One in particular is incredibly talented at enhancing photos after the fact, or, what is called, post-processing. I'm hoping to post some of his creations later.

For now, here are some shots I took.
Andy

Cherry coffee cake

With cherry season in full swing here in northern Michigan, I thought I would share one of our favorite coffee cake recipes. I hope you enjoy it.

Cherry Coffee Cake*

3/4 C sugar

6 T butter

2 farm fresh eggs

1/2 t vanilla or almond extract

1 C flour

1 t baking powder

1 1/2 C Leelanau County pitted sweet cherries

1 T brown sugar

1/4 t cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a 9 inch pan. In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar and butter; beating until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder and gently stir into butter mixture. Spread dough into pan and arrange cherries on top; slightly pushing into dough. Mix brown sugar with cinnamon and sprinkle over cake. Bake for 45 - 60 minutes or until tooth pick comes out clean. Makes 8 servings.

*adapted from Lee Point B & B

~Michele

CherryFest Air Show, Part III—AMAZING STORY!

OK, the following pictures I took are not technically great or fantastic to me. (They are followed by some pictures provided by my coworker.) It is the story BEHIND these photos that make them special. Let me share what I found out today back at work after a 3 day weekend . . .

Recall that I was taking shots of the Air Show on Sunday, 7/4. I got several shots of the Coast Guard LIVE demonstration and thought it was over. Then, something odd happened. The “Swimmer,” the guy who jumps in to save people, finished his real-life demo and then jumped BACK in the water. He swam to a Coast Guard boat which then sped off to the shore. The chopper then ended up flying right over me as it headed back to base.

I had seen this demo before and thought it odd, but forgot about it. Today at work I found out what happened. The “Swimmer” had something planned. When the boat got close to shore he jumped in and swam to and preceded to climb the rocks to the pavilion. Scratched and bloody legs from the rocks didn't stop him—he stood up to where the mic was waiting and called down my coworker, her husband, and their daughter.

Grab a tissue: there, in front of thousands of on-lookers he proposed to my colleague’s daughter! Can you beat that?!?!

Here are some pics from my viewpoint and then some from my coworker. Congratulations to the couple; this is one to remember!

Oh, and, btw . . . she said yes.  ;->

Andy