Rooster in Training

I am not an early bird. I am a night owl. However, the early morning farm markets have changed my schedule and I am now an early bird.

God has a great sense of humor. He knows that I have a difficult time getting out of bed in the morning. I am not grouchy, but I am not singing, either. But...God found a way to make me laugh every morning!

I sleep with the bedroom windows open, so I can hear the soothing running waters of Beitner Creek. When I wake very early in the morning, I hear the birds, and especially one unique bird. Our neighbors have a baby rooster, who wakes me up with the most unusual sound that I have ever heard. Instead of a rowdy "COCK A DOODLE DOOO!," he says "COCK A DOODLE ooooo." It could also be interpreted as "er, er, er, er, er, ooooo." He tries so hard to be authorative, and he does okay until he hits the last "do." It sounds like a sigh...Michael says he sounds like stuffed animal.

This funny rooster in training wakes me up and makes me smile, every morning. Thanks, God!

Pet Tags

This is just a reminder to all pet owners to make sure that their pets have identification tags on their collars.

On Monday evening, we found a young woman crying over a dog that she hit with her car on Three Mile. It was a beautiful dog with a collar, but no tags. We had no way to find the owners. The police officer had to put the dog by the side of the road and hope that the owners found it.

Yesterday, the dog was gone. We are glad that someone found the dog, but so sad that the owners do not know what happened.

It is so sad when a pet escapes, but even more sad when something tragic happens and we do not know how to contact the owner.

Please have a tag with the pet's name, the owner's name and number and the vet's name. It will save much heartache later.

Pumpkin pancakes and pups

Last week, I said I would share the story of the pumpkin pancakes and the dog. I hope I get the story right! A client said that she was preparing to make the pumpkin pancakes. When she left the room for a moment, she came back to see her dog covered in pancake mix! He was telling her that he liked the pumpkin pancakes as much as she did! I wished she had been able to photograph him with the new pancake makeup look. It would have been great.

If you are feeling creative, take some photographs of your family (or pets) with the pancakes while camping, or the cookies at a party, or wherever you enjoy Creekside Grains. I will be glad to post them on the site.

One last note for the day. Don't read the last two chapters of Marley and Me while you are in public. I was at the Suttons Bay Farm Market on Saturday morning. We had a few quiet moments, so I thought I would pull the book out and read. Bad idea!!! Within seconds, I had big tears in my eyes, then the small sobs started coming. I had to put the book away, so I could be happy sharing Creekside Grains instead of sobbing at the clients. I was able to finish the book last night, then cry myself to sleep...

I had the world's best dog. Annie died two years ago and I still miss her desperately...

Mama and baby ducks

As I drove home from the Leland Farm Market on Thursday, I was on a busy stretch of M-22. Next thing I knew, mama duck decided to cross the busy road with all of her babies. It looked like there were eight to ten of them. I had time to stop, but Mr. Crazy driver on the other side was not paying attention. Mr. Crazy slammed on the brakes, stopped and blocked the road so that mama had no way to continue across the road. I was squealing, mama was quacking and babies were scattering everywhere! One baby did a somersault, but landed safely on his feet again.

Anyway, Mr. Crazy driver moved on and mama was able to finish her journey to the bay. Let's hope it was a one time crossing and they will live on the water side of the road from here on.

If I had a video camera, it would have been a great segment! The babies were adorable and mama was very good at trying to keep them in check!

Farm markets are not just for selling Creekside Grains. They are also for taking beautiful drives to the markets, visiting with awesome people and watching God's creation along the way!

Farm Market visitors

The past two weeks have been incredible for Farm Markets! We have had hundreds of visitors who bought lots of Creekside Grains mixes. Michael cannot make the root beer cookie mix fast enough!

The people we met have been so nice and very interesting to visit with. They came from all over the United States and several European countries, too. I cannot forget the four legged friends, either. Sometimes, it felt like a doggie convention. They have been so much fun to watch and sneak a pat on the head every now and then.

I especially want to thank the Brotman family for spending time with me. We met last week and were able to visit at each different market during the week. They are a very sweet family (with a great dog, too!). They gave rave reviews about Creekside Grains (especially the root beer cookies) and we are very grateful! They visited from the Chicago area. I hope to see them again next year!

Today, I met Mario Batali and his wife Susi Cahn at the Northport Farm Market. They were very gracious! I would love to have a review of Michael's root beer cookies from the experts!

Time to get back to packing the car. Two more markets in the morning!