MY BACK TO NATURE GARDEN  has come to a critical juncture here at the end of July. My issue is that it shows lots of green growth and...

FOR A GOOD TEN YEARS in the 1990s, my hobby at my gentleman’s farm in Leelanau County was growing and learning about ornamental grass. I...

BUTTERFLY WEED HAS BECOME POPULAR  in northern Michigan, especially in the last ten years, as we have come to learn about the critical...

MY FIRST EXPOSURE  to Lupines took place decades ago in northern New Hampshire while visiting my youngest sister. The flowers had...

MY BIRTHDAY WAS MONDAY, the day after Father’s Day . I combined both days for my celebration. Why not! I picked up a couple of plants...

I RECENTLY SELECTED  a large print (LP) novel from my library, Sam’s Letters to Jennifer,  under the James Patterson brand. I first read the inside jacket and found the storyline appealing. It described compelling love stories in which secrets were shared between generations of women who had spent their summers on Lake Geneva in Wisconsin. This had a familiar ring in my own life. I spent summers in Leelanau County, where I tried to charm a few ladies in my teenage and college

MY DAD RAISED DAHLIAS  in the backyard of his home in Bloomfield Village, Michigan. It became a fun hobby for him as he moved through his...

MY REFLECTIONS TODAY  are about the Detroit Tigers. Their six-week rally at the end of the 2024 season, along with their appearance in...

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND HAS ARRIVED.  I made my mom’s potato salad recipe and bought a package of Koegel hot dogs (thank you, Flint!). I’ll...

LOUIS L’AMOUR WRITES ABOUT BOXING - a subject featured throughout his over one hundred novels. If the stories are not about fighters in...

THIS PAST YEAR , I have been reintroduced to cottage cheese and not just virtually through social media. I use it in many recipes,...

MY WRITING TUTORIALS claim that one of the best ways to improve one’s writing is to immerse oneself in reading all types and styles of...

A CATCHY FEW LINES CAME TO ME  in a Grisham book I was reading this past winter that cracked me up. The paragraph described the...

ALL YOU NEED IN LIFE  is baking soda and white vinegar. That thought came to me after I was recently confined to my loft for several...

I SIGNED UP FOR A FACEBOOK account fifteen years ago. I guess I was curious about its popularity and thought I should give it a try. I...

Tigger Alone I once had a cat who sat on my lap.   He watched the world letting it gently pass.   He up and died which made me sad.   I...

NICE SURPRISES FOUND IN MY BACKYARD  are always welcomed, especially in the dead of winter. My trip up M-22 to Glen Arbor last week...

MY CULINARY INTERESTS HAVE CERTAINLY changed over my lifetime .  Looking back at the diverse foods I encountered certainly brought me...

THIS WINTER BROUGHT  old-fashioned snowy conditions to my environs, which I certainly appreciated. It also sparked fond memories from my...

CABBAGE IS A SURPRISING discovery for me; its versatility is evident in the recipes I will try this winter. The above photo is a variety...