Apple Time

 About eight years ago, Michael brought home a scraggly little Honey Crisp apple tree.

It was on sale for $5.00, because it was so sad. 

Michael nurtured it and babied it and this little tree gave us one apple three years ago,

then one apple two years ago. 

Last year, it also gave us one apple, but the apple fell off the tree and we had a catastrophic apple failure.

This year is very different!

We had a bumper crop of Honey Crisp apples that are so sweet to eat!

The little tree could barely hold all of the apples.

Michael was the apple picker a few weeks ago.

I held the ladder.

 This is just a few of the apples.

They are large, juicy and so sweet!

It is apple crisp time, but I do not want to use these apples for the crisp. 

We will use the apples from an old, old apple tree on the edge of our property

and enjoy these Honey Crisps for snacking.

Peaches

From this...fresh peaches from the farm market...

 To this!!!

The peaches are so good this year, that Michael is getting more peaches tomorrow to can more.

There is nothing like fresh peaches in the winter to brighten up a chilly day.

Coney the Weiner Dog

Empire, Michigan. It's 8:15 AM. I was setting up for the Farm Market. I looked toward the street and saw a weiner dog walking down the center of the street. I made a comment that there was a dog in the street and all of the other vendors yelled, "Coney, get out of the road!" Coney the weiner dog was taking her morning stroll. Her human father asked her to come to him so she could get out of the road. She looked at him, turned around and headed home. Only in Empire! What a fun day it was!

Strawberries

This past week, the strawberries made their debut.

I have been buying a quart of strawberries early at every farm market this week.

 They usually run out by noon.

Today, I bought three quarts to freeze for my winter fruit fix.

There will be a lot more strawberries in my freezer in the next few weeks.

 

I am so tired of the California strawberries that are big and red with no flavor inside.

These local strawberries taste like candy!

 

Now comes the best part.

Michael's strawberry shortcake with fresh whipped cream on top!

What a great way to enjoy summer!

Saturday Stroll

On my post Farm Market Saturday stroll around our property, I found many beautiful sights today.

 These flowers are so fragrant!

 The poppies are a great contrast to the grass. They are scattered throughout the property.

 Daisies are so strong. These daisies are growing up from a pile of rocks.

 These daisies have a better life in the grass.

Guess what else I found? 

This is a birds nest. 

We have no idea what bird family this was, 

but the nest is very small. It blends so perfectly in the cedar trees.

 

God is so amazing.

All of this beauty was found in one small space!

Baby Snapper

Today was the first day that I was able to ride our Harley Davidson with Michael. As we were turning into our driveway, we saw a spot on the pavement. When we got a closer look, we found a baby snapping turtle! I went to the office to get the camera, while Michael picked him up (with gloves on) and headed for the creek. Mr. Baby Turtle looked slow and tired and hot. He was a long way from any water. He also had a really ripe scent to him. It was not pleasant.
Michael got him to the creek, gave him a quick splash of water, then put him on a rock at water level. By the time I was able to put the camera to my eye, we blinked and Mr. Baby Turtle was gone! He took one look at the cool water and jumped right in!
Two weeks ago, Maureen found a very large snapping turtle up the road from our office. Michael got a milk crate, picked him up, put him in the crate, brought him home and set him free in our creek. He was not a cute and happy turtle. All he wanted to do was bite Michael! He was so large that he barely fit into the crate.
If this keeps up, we will have lots of snapping turtles in our creek! Fun to look at, but not fun for the little fish that the turtles will have for dinner.
If we had been in the car, we never would have seen him. I am glad that we had a fun ride and could rescue the turtle, too.

Pretty Purple

 I love our property in every season.

Last week, I enjoyed the fragrance and delicate beauty of the Lily of the Valley.

This week, the beautiful Iris has bloomed.

 We have iris flowers throughout the property. 

Some are under our deck, while others are randomly scattered in our back field.
One dark purple plant is in our front planter.
I found the image of that flower in last year's blog, on May 24!
Are we behind in blossoms and blooms this year!

 I gathered some of them in a vase to hold them in.

They were so tall that I had to photograph them on the ground.

I get to enjoy them on my counter for the next few days.

God's creation is so incredible!

Matthew 6:28

“And why do you worry about clothes?

See how the flowers of the field grow.

They do not labor or spin.

Fragrance and Fun

 When the lilacs arrived last week, I tried posting the images to the blog.

They would not open.

Today they opened, so I can enjoy them now.

We have a row of lilac bushes that extend the length of our property.

This year, the fragrance is incredible!

 We also have pretty white flowers close to the lilacs.

 The apple blossoms are so delicate!

I hope last week's frost did not hurt them.

We will find out soon.

 

 I am not sure what this bush is in our front yard,

but it is really pretty!

While I was busy photographing the lilacs, I almost stepped on the lone mushroom in our yard.

That's it. One. No more. Oh well. Maybe next year, I will find two.

Color by the creek

The edge of our creek and half of our property has wonderful yellow flowers again.

They are Marsh Marigolds.

There are bursts of yellow throughout the property.

This is the largest burst of yellow we have ever seen.

They enjoy cedar swamps and creeks, and we have both.

If we do not get snow again this weekend, maybe we can enjoy all of this color for awhile!

Welcome Our Newest Visitor

 Tonight we welcomed a new visitor to our bird feeders.

He is an Indigo Bunting.

Our Kitchen Table Bird Book says that he is a rare sight to behold.

They generally stay away from humans.

He is such a pretty addition to our feeders.

He contrasts well with the Gold Finches and Cardinals.

It is hard to believe that he winters in Central America,

then flies all the way back to live her for the summer.

That is a lot of frequent flier miles!

The Great Turtle

Just in time for the spring tourist season at Mackinac Island,

welcome The Great Turtle to our sugar cookie collection.

This sugar cookie comes with a cute turtle cookie cutter.

Decorating these cookies will be so much fun for kids!

Is It Really Spring?

 Look what I found in my front yard! 

Flowers!

 The hyacinths smell so pretty!

These white flowers are so tiny, but so pretty!

God's work is amazing!

Matthew 6:28

See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.

March Travels - Part One - Two Will Be Later

Creekside Grains Adventures - Part One

March travels took us over the Mackinac Bridge to the Upper Peninsula,

so we could attend the Minneapolis Gift Mart.

As you can see by the image on the bridge below,

the weather was gorgeous.

Mackinac Island is in the distance, waiting for the summer tourists.

Our first night took us to Norway, Michigan

where we found the most wonderful place to stay for the night.

The Viking Motel.

It was like being in a time warp.

The bathroom was 1950's decor, with pretty blue tub, sink and toilet.

 We did not photograph our room, but the floors were 1970's shag carpet

and the bedspreads were shades of 1990's.

 It was spotless and so much fun and the price was great!

 We thought we hit the jackpot with our room,

until we went to the lounge the next morning.

As you can see by the furniture, it was 1950's modern.

We visualized the veterans and hunters playing cards into the night.

We will definitely stay there on our next trip to Minneapolis.

 

Once we arrived, it was a busy week of meeting new gift store owners, 

and catching up with current clients.

Michael is pictured here at the booth.

 

Our trip back to Traverse City was another story.

We made it safely to the Upper Peninsula, 

when the winds came and the snow came and the ice came.

This was our view for several hours.

Michael was white knuckle driving.

We arrived home exhausted, but grateful that God delivered us safely.

April adventures to follow in a few days!

New visitor

I looked out my kitchen window this morning to see one of these hanging out in our cedar tree.

I had never seen one this close before.

It is a sharp-shinned hawk.

He was pretty to look at, but I do not want to see him this close again. 

When they hang out by my window, they are too close to our bird feeders.

They want one of our birds for breakfast.

He can have the mice from the fields, but he can stay away from my bird friends!

It's Snowing

April 1 - This is not an April Fools. 

It is snowing. 

It is 30 degrees. 

I wish I could say April Fool, but I cannot!

Some day, spring will come...

Four Feet of Snow

This was taken last Thursday afternoon.

There is still a four foot snowbank behind me. 

The actual snow on the ground was about two to three feet.

Some of the snow has melted in the past two days,

but it will be awhile before we see any other color than white on the ground.

Last year at this time, the hyacinths were in full bloom. 

They had better wait a few more weeks before they show their pretty faces!

Spring?

I peeked out the living room window yesterday morning and found these flowers,

all dressed up for spring. 

Hard to believe that they can grow so soon

when a three foot high snowbank is only a foot away from them. 

I also saw tiny green sprouts of the hyacinths peeking out of the brown dirt and leaves. 

Will spring actually arrive in TC?

Soon I will post an update of my snow bank.

It is still there and still very high.

Flowers in the front yard next to three foot snow bank and a four foot snowbank in the back.

Welcome to Traverse City!

M and M

Meet Maureen and her twin sister Megan.

Maureen has been working with us for the past few months.

She also works two other jobs and attends NMC.

Maureen is a busy girl!

Megan has been in Wisconsin at college, but came home for spring break.

We were blessed to have both Maureen and Megan work with us this week.

Their great smiles and wonderful sense of humor made Creekside Grains a happy place to be this week!

I especially like Megan's blue gloves that look just like blue hands!

Close Encounters of the Four Legged Kind

 We were eating dinner, when Michael noticed movement by the deck.

There was one of two fawns enjoying dinner, just three feet below the deck.

The other fawn was wandering in the creek.

Mommy was close by, keeping watch.

 Baby dined for a long while and we stayed in the house so we would not disturb him.

They finally wandered away, so we could leave the house and get back to work.

What an interesting array of critters that we get to watch.

Well Stocked Cupboard

I tried showing this image last week and it disappeared.

Here is a well stocked cupboard from a Creekside Grains fan in Wisconsin.

You never know when you need to bake and Tim is ready for that moment!

Thanks, Tim!

Too Much

Our friendly squirrel is at it again.

While I was in the house preparing my lunch,

I looked out the window to see Mr. Squirrel preparing for his lunch.

We had two leftover beer breads that I put on the deck

for the birds to enjoy.

Mr. Squirrel decided that he wanted a loaf of bread.

He grabbed it, put it in his mouth, 

then made me laugh out loud,

hysterically!

The bread weighs at least two pounds.

Mr. Squirrel weighs the same.

He was trying to lift a loaf of bread that was way too heavy for him.

The bread stayed in his mouth for about five seconds

before it fell out of his mouth, off the deck and onto the ground.

A muffin like the one below is one thing, 

but an entire loaf of bread was too much for him.

Our critters are so entertaining!