Seasons

Living in Arizona, the changing seasons were less obvious. It was pretty much hot and not so hot. Living in Michigan, I have become aware of the weather, trees and plants changing to get ready for the next season.
Right now the weather is brisk, you could be wearing long pants and a sweater, but I refuse, knowing that winter is right around the corner. The squirrels are gathering food and burying it for the winter.
Our tomato plants are still producing tomatoes, but I am not sure if they will ripen in time.
I have been so impressed by the growing season here, and I wanted to share a couple pics of our tomato bounty.

Cherry tomatoes

Homemade tomato sauce

We are so lucky to have a great farmer's market right downtown. Since we are renting right now, we cannot have a huge garden, only potted plants right now, and the market is a great place to get fresh, local and organic veggies throughout the summer.

Amish grown heirloom tomatoes with locally made mozzarella and basil from our garden. Yum!

New work, new style

I have been very busy the last couple weeks getting ready for my yearly trunk show in Arizona. I have been working hard to explore different styles of bead making to find the one that really speaks to me and reflects who I am as an artist. I think I found it. What do you think?

Mackinac Island, MI

Continuing on with my mom's visit... 

The main place we wanted to see on our trip was Mackinac Island, (Pronounced Mackinaw).

On the island there are no motorized vehicles allowed, except in the winter when they use snowmobiles. The main modes of transportation are horses and bicycles, which happen to be two of my favorite things, although I have mixed feelings about the horses but I won't go into that.

We took a ferry to the island, and once there you could just hang in town and shop, or go into the island and see all the historical sites. We did both. 

We had a great time, the weather was perfect for cycling, good coffee shop and of course the fudge was  amazing.

Here are some links for more information about the history of the island. http://www.mackinacisland.org/

The horses pulled everything from people sight seeing to supplies that were shipped over from the main land.

Mom with her rented bike.  

Cops on bikes

These horses pull the wagons for the Grand Hotel. They only use one breed of horse for the hotel and those horses wear a different set up than the others.

This is the view of the Grand Hotel. It hosts one of the largest porches in the world.  

The view from the highest point of the island. It was gorgeous, you could see all the lakes.

Mom and I on our ride around the island.

The Beach

Part 2 of the trip Up North. These Great Lakes will continue to fascinate me.

Mom enjoying the sand near Twas Point

Lake Huron

Mackinac Bridge. Lake Huron side.

Up North, MI

For my mom's visit, we planed a road trip "up north". In Michigan that means near the top of the mitten. Let me explain... the state of Michigan is shaped like a mitten, and when someone is describing a place they will raise their hand and to show where in the state that is.

We drove from Ann Arbor (in Southeast Michigan) to the web of the thumb and stayed in Twas. Twas is on the edge of Lake Huron and has a huge state park with beaches and lighthouses.

There are 129 lighthouses around the state of Michigan. Here is a map: http://www.freep.com/assets/freep/pdf/C4189482518.PDF

The lighthouse at Twas Point State Park was built in 1853 to mark the northern entrance to Saginaw Bay. It is still active today with a range of 16 miles.

This is the Forty Mile Point Light, it was built in 1897 and has a range of 16 miles.  (Photo courtesy of  lighthousefriends.com)

This is the Fresnel Lens that is the light. It is a 4th order lens and it is imported from France.

The view of Lake Huron from the top of the light

The Mackinac Point Light was built in 1890 as a fog-signal station. By late 1892,  a fourth-order lens was added and it became a light. This light is no longer active but serves as part of the historical park. 

The view of the Mackinac Bridge from the state park that houses the Mackinac Point Light.  This bridge is currently the third longest suspension bridge in the world, and the longest in the western hemisphere. This bridge goes over the straits of Mackinac, which is where Lake Huron and Lake Michigan meet, and it connects the upper and lower peninsulas.

Life is precious

I wanted to keep my blog light, but this has been a really difficult week and I want to ask for help.

A friend of ours is in the hospital fighting for his life. He was admitted for fever and vomiting and is being treated for an undiagnosed life threatening illness. He lives in LA with his wife and young daughter. While friends and family are keeping us updated via Facebook, we feel totally helpless.

Right now one of my coping skills is to send as much positive energy in their direction and stay as positive as possible.

I am asking you to help. His name is Jeremy B. Could you please send him some good thoughts, positive energy, prayers, or whatever you can?

With all the hate that is going on right now in the world and in America, I hope we can make one family's life a bit easier

Thanks!

Blueberry time

Summer in Michigan brings lots of fruit! This month it's blueberries. Jen, my partner in fruit crime, and I went picking at the Dexter Blueberry Farm. The blueberries are big and sweet this year even in the face of the drought. The farm was packed with blueberries and people. Oddly enough there were kids everywhere yelling out the mantra, "there are millions over here" and "there are billions over here".

Jen and I didn't pick millions or billions, but we did get hundreds... 

This is the first time I have ever seen how blueberries are grown

 They are so good, that I decided that they shall be eaten in their natural form, or with pancakes...

Check out the gorgeous color of blue.

No breakfast would be complete without one of my favorite coffee mugs made by my friend Allison Shock. http://threestarowl.com/