ISN’T THIS A GORGEOUS LEMON. It is Christmas week and I’m just about to enjoy the “fruits of our labor” by finally harvesting this...

POTTED LIVE EVERGREEN TREES have become popular in northern Michigan where they are increasingly being offered in the nursery trade....

AS A 10-YEAR-OLD I came with curiosity for anything out-of-doors. I often imagined that I was chosen to participate in the Universe's...

TREES ARE SUCH A FOCUS this time of year in northern Michigan. In October their attention-grabbing leaves produce a vast display of...

AS YOU CAN SEE from this photo, I became an urban forager in early November after my friend Nancy and I noticed half a dozen trees full...

RECENTLY I COMPLETED READING A BOOK written by Bill Bryson that was all about the human body. It was aptly named, The Body – A Guide for...

I’M INTO MY FALL clean-up of my living room in my loft. It has been a while since I spent time on this endeavor. My corner under the...

COOLER WEATHER has arrived in northwest Michigan. It was predicted, but it has been a bone-chilling event for me. My sweatshirt sleeves...

HERE IT IS OCTOBER, a month that features blue skies and colorful leaves; and always a few days that introduce us to the notion that big...

CONSUMING MORE FRUIT is a newer approach for me. With my more watchful diet and increasing awareness of healthier choices, fresh and...

THE WINTER SQUASHES ARE IN FULL DISPLAY here in mid-September at the various markets in northern Michigan. Over the years, I have enjoyed...

THE FIRST TIME I SAW GLEN LAKE an impression was etched in my memory and has been with me for a lifetime. It was early August 1953; I was...

THIS PHOTO WAS TAKEN this morning after I planted mums at the container at Champion Hill Golf Course https://www.championhill.com/. My...

ALMOST EVERY YEAR, as local tomatoes come to market, I make a late summer marinara sauce that I place in my freezer that I use through...

IT’S BEEN 60 YEARS SINCE I last read Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I remember small bits about the book, but it is turning...

IT TOOK AN ARTICLE IN THE WSJ to perk my curiosity about culinary uses for wild Staghorn Sumac. I have never used the spice but was...

MY GRANDFATHER WAS A CORPORATE LAWYER who worked for Domino Sugar for over thirty years ending his career as vice chairman of the...

THIS PHOTO OF MY YOUNGEST SON and his family makes me smile. Thankfully he got someone to snap a photo over in Wisconsin picking...

OFTEN I USE THE SENSE OF SMELL to help unearth a particular setting in my writing. It seems to help stimulate my recall and adds to the...

VERY DRY CONDITIONS CONTINUE here in northern Michigan at the beginning of July. Over the years I’ve watched the weather quite faithfully...