Giant Blackberries, A Persistent Doe and More

One of our growers not only grows beautiful cherries and strawberries but they also have these gorgeous blackberries. As you can see, they are much larger than my thumb and they're pretty tasty too. Five berries would fill my hand!




I love these leaning fence posts, no longer serving a purpose.


I see these Sandhill Cranes nearly every week in Elk Rapids. Four flew over last Wednesday doing their unusual call.

A whole lot of plums!

This doe and her two fawns pulled a fast one over on me last week. I opened the orchard fence, drove in, parked, scouted and checked traps. I got back in my car and look in my mirror only to find her sneaking in behind me. I hopped out and stopped her fawns from entering and then spent 20 minutes chasing her around. She didn't seem to mind me much. I was able to get within ten feet of her multiple times. I must say, I had a smile on my face while I chased her around on foot through the orchard.


I also canned eight pints of nectarines today. Plus, I made some nectarine dessert topping. I had it on cheesecake today, yummy!

I'm a Peach Crazed Maniac

I picked a bushel or more of peaches over the last two days and now I'm at the printer waiting for my peach cobbler, crisp and pie recipes to print. It's going to be a delicious peach season.

I'm going to try Paula Dean's Peach Cobbler. Allrecipes.com's Peach Pieand Southern Peach Cobbler and .Pioneer Woman's Peach Crisp with Maple Cream Sauce.

I will let you know how they all taste, he he he.

Sunshine on a stalk

It's sunflower season in Elk Rapids, MI. I see lots of people throughout the day stopping to take pictures of all these beauties. How could you resist.









It's also Oriental lily season at my house. My Casa Blanca lilies are going crazy this year! They are as tall as me and extremely fragrant. They have multiplied well since a year ago, sending up three times as many stalks. My most favorite lily for sure.

Beach Weather

We've been going to Portage Point on Lake Michigan every weekend for the last month now. The water has been warming each day and is now at a perfect temperature. It's cool and refreshing but not so cold as to stop our blood flow. A visit isn't complete without taking a jump off the pier!



My brother, Justin, and I set out for a walk last week and witnessed possibly the most beautiful sunset we've ever seen. Unfortunately we didn't have the camera on us. He ran back to the house at a full sprint, grabbed the camera, and drove back over to me where I quickly snapped three shots before the battery died. By that point the sun had dropped below the tree line and was no longer sending out the fiery orange rays across the clouds. At that same moment a beautiful rainbow arched overhead and plunged into Suttons Bay. We could see rain off in the distance as well. It was spectacular!