My Kind of Gold

Cherry orchard

Tamarack

Wild asparagus

 

Come Walk With Me: Garden at Leo Creek Preserve

 

The laundry was in the dryer, and it was a beautiful day, and we were right on the edge of a trail I'd never explored, so -- Oh, my friends! People had told me I "had to" visit this garden, but it was so much more than I ever dreamed it would be, even at the end of October! If you are in Leelanau County, get yourself right over there now! Otherwise, put Leo Creek Preserve in Suttons Bay on your list for next year's vacation. Suggest you take a picnic lunch, as there are tables and benches hidden away in the most charming corners.

Morning Dew, October Version (Zoom for detail)

 

Highway Gold

 

I liked the way the curve/speed sign 

balanced the bright trees in the distance.

Dawn Breaking Behind St. Wencelaus Church

 

The First of October wrapped up with a bang!

 

Small segment, a little earlier

The quiet finale

Flowers by the Bank in Northport

 

Queen Anne, Monarch of August Fields

 

Northport, MICHIGAN - Dog {Parade 2026: "Pawty Like a Rock Star!"

Waiting for the parade to begin!

Color guard

Important local groups

Village Voices

`    

Pups and music = FUN!

Great Lakes Humane Society

Leelanau Dark Sky needs a Dog star!

Our agility coach!!!

And his Muttley Crew!

The entry that brought me to tears --

David Chrobak award winner

Over for another year!

Garden Black and Blue (and then some)

 

Black and blue salvia

Black petunias

Lobelia

Blue salvia

Borage

Phlox -- not exactly blue

Mullein -- Not even anything I planted!

Get busy!

Have you ever looked closely at sumac flowers? The bees caught my attention and drew it to the hundreds of tiny flowers.

Old Barns and Tools

 

Historic barn on M-22 between Leland and Glen Arbor

An open house in a newly restored old barn tempted us south on Sunday afternoon. This was the old Shalda farm. I remember when their little store stood across the highway on the southeast corner. 

Mr. and Mrs. Shalda in the old days (not my photo) --

New paint job for the country's 250th birthday --

Lumber neatly sorted and stacked --

This ladder was useful when hay was stacked nearly to the roof.

Many old things found in the barn could be seen...

...but the vintage and the modern were at times strangely juxtaposed.

Milk cows would have come and gone by this downstairs door.

This old apple tree caught my eye as we were leaving.

Old and weather-beaten, it is still bearing apples. 

Back at my own barn, where Tree Guy is at work cleaning and organizing things, he turned up a mysterious object. We were puzzled.

What could it be?

The patent number was the clue we needed.

An online searched turned up information. The patent expired long ago on this antique chimney cleaning device!