GIANT PUMPKINS MAKE ME SMILE. The one in this photo came in at 1,316 pounds grown in Loomis Michigan down near Clare. It will be carved...

THE LAST WEEK OF SEPTEMBER brought with it hurricane Ian’s fierce winds and devastation covered in real-time by an array of media...

IT’S BEEN SOME TIME since my last visit to The Manitou, and I have no idea why I waited so long to again enjoy their excellent fare. I so...

AS SUMMER GLIDES THROUGH SEPTEMBER I’ve been reminded of the incredible bounty of food that can be found in our region. My most recent...

IF YOU ARE READING THIS POST I’m confident it is because you found me through m22lakeshoretrail.com or m22lifestyle.com. Thank you. I...

DRIVING ALONG M-22 IN MID-AUGUST allows many opportunities for discovering small roadside produce stands. Their homemade signs announce...

AUGUST IS FAST UPON US. Many chores remain in limbo. My laundry dryer vent hose that detached in the winter is still not connected, and...

LET’S BE HONEST AND OPEN. Everyone’s favorite potato salad recipe originated from either their mother, their grandmother, or maybe a...

THESE LAST SIX MONTHS have delivered sobering news in the form of rising prices all around me for everyday goods and services. Groceries...

I HAVE BEEN WATCHING a new restaurant in Frankfort take shape with eager anticipation. I’ve motored by it for most of 2021 and 2022...

ASPARAGUS ARE SPROUTING in northern Michigan. This annual occurrence is welcomed by me and just about everyone else I know. From mid-May,...

HERE IT IS THE MIDDLE of May. The long winter is behind us. Traverse City recorded the highest temperature ever of 96 F beating a...

STORMCLOUD BREWING COMPANY established in 2013 has become a celebrated attraction in downtown Frankfort. Tourists and locals alike...

MANY INDIVIDUALS I SPEAK WITH kick around a term that describes a movement that has swept through northern Michigan. The word is...

I’M UPSTAIRS IN MY LOFT pecking away on my HP laptop. The morning light is just now revealing itself and I am becoming aware that it is...

MY GIRLFRIEND AND I HAVE MADE A PACT. We have agreed to support each other in exploring our region to satisfy our curiosity in simply...

RED DELICIOUS APPLES AREN’T PARTICULARLY TASTY . At least that was the conclusion my youngest son and I had in the late 1990s when we sampled them fresh from our neighbor’s hilltop orchard in Lake Leelanau during the mid-October harvest. The dark red orbs we were handed produced that famous crunch that we all associate with biting into a fresh apple, but my son quickly frowned and whispered, “Dad, these are awful.” I shushed him, thinking his reaction was a bit over the top.

I HAD AN EPIPHANY IN EARLY DECEMBER. It came to me after I saw the strong winds jostle leaves and seed heads here and there on a...

IT’S BEEN TWO YEARS since I put my cat Tigger down for good. It was a final act of our togetherness. He was ready. I was not. Tigger...

ANOTHER SEASON COMES TO A CLOSE. My cherry tomatoes hung in there until late October. During the month I planted spring bulbs, moved a...