Cherry Season

 Tart cherries are these bright red pie cherries.  Of course they ripen during the week we have consistent temps in the 90's with high humidity.  My husband and I picked 17 pounds one day this week.  The next day I pitted them... I do this by hand so the cherries will be round and plump in my pies.  If I plan to make jam, I use a hand-crank pitter which chews them up a bit.  The 17 pounds yielded 10 quarts by the way.  We will enjoy these throughout the winter in cobblers and pies.

 

Here is my granddaughter, Emily, picking sweet cherries.  Notice the juice on her chin.  Her daddy had to remind her the best way to eat them... not by little nibbles, but rather pop them in your mouth all at once, then spit the pit out.  She got the hang of it right away.

 

Raspberries ripen nicely in the summer heat as well.  We eat them on our cereal and on ice cream with chocolate sauce dribbled over them.  They never seem to make it to the freezer.  Delicious summer bounty! 

Senior Center Location Extraordinaire

Here is our local Senior Center funded by the Commission on Aging.  It is situated on the shore of West Grand Traverse Bay of Lake Michigan.  The beach is fabulous.  The facility is small, built in the 1960's and our county population has grown considerably since then.  It is in need of renovation, but there is talk of relocating.  I just joined this fine group of people and attended the first of weekly summer yoga classes held on this beach one early morning last week.  What a delight!

It had rained during the night and the sky was brightening in the east.  To the west is the Great Lakes Maritime Academy and the large Coast Guard training ship, plus a couple of small private boats.  My vote is to stay put and renovate!

Iris Farm - It Must Be Summer

 

 There is a wonderful iris farm nearby.  The iris have been in bloom for the past week and anyone who wants to add some lovely color to their garden is placing their order now.  The rhizomes will be ready for pick up in the fall for planting.

In the meantime, one can pick a bouquet @ $1 per stem.  Here is the lovely bouquet I picked  consisting of just ten stems.  

 

The water is finally warm enough for our little granddaughters to play in the lake.  

And I've been out in the kayak for a spin a time or two ... in fact, the lake is calm tonight so I'll be heading out for a paddle soon.  We have "quiet hours" on our lake... no speeding and no wakes after 7:30 at night nor before 11 a.m. in the morning.  Very peaceful.

 

Blue

 

Ajuga gone wild in my front yard by the lake.

                                                        Iris in my garden on the hill.

 

A field of lupine along side the road near Lake Michigan.

Granny Porch

 My friend was here for our Memorial Day picnic and said "I love your "Granny Porch!.""  I didn't even know it was a Granny Porch, but I like it.  To begin this creation, a bat who I named Barry kept roosting up in the peak of this porch and although I think bats are very charming and useful, I didn't like him looking at me every time I came and went.  Finally I made a muslin false ceiling and strung some twinkle lights.  That seemed to solve the problem with Barry.

This folk art painting of the cat and bird has been hanging indoors for a few years.  An outdoor spot seemed appropriate.  Then one thing led to another.  I found these wonderful rag rugs at a tag sale.... they are made of recycled denim ~ perfect for the porch.  The little half moon table seemed to fit. I added a vintage crocheted doily, a fairy lamp and a bouquet of lilacs. Pull up a comfy wicker chair and, voila! ~ a Granny Porch!

I found this painting at an arts and crafts fair ten summers ago.  The artist explained her inspiration.  She was watching "Animal Planet" which featured this story of an injured wild bird and a sympathetic family cat.  The cat kept an eye on the bird but never attempted to catch it.  Gradually the bird became well enough to fly away.  The bird and cat had become friends.  The bird returned daily for the rest of the summer to visit the cat.

We host the neighborhood Memorial Day picnic each year.  Potluck, of course.  Such wonderful salads and casseroles and desserts arrive with no assignments, no planning.  It always works out so well.  We have been having these picnics for at least 35 yrs. since we all moved here and had our children.  The group has grown considerably and most of us are now grandparents.  This year we had nine grandchildren present between the ages of 1 and 10.  Great fun!  Next picnic will be July 4th at another neighbor's home followed by a Labor Day picnic to close out the summer.

A Successful Treasure Hunt

 Yard sales and tag sales are underway in earnest here.  Thought you'd like to see some of what I found today.  Only the louvered shutters were in my treasure stash before.  Notice the cute little
spigot on the galvanized water can.  Love the chippy metal tool box.  And a Camel cigarette thermometer advertising sign!....  It's pretty rusty, but still a great find.  The vintage rose-covered hand-hooked wool rug is lovely.

Along a quiet country road I spotted some blooming "jack-in-the-pulpit."  These are getting harder and harder to find.  They prefer to live in undisturbed deciduous forests.  I consider this a treasure, too.

Changeable Weather!

For the past two weeks we had unseasonably warm weather nearing 80* each day!

It was heavenly.  Cherry blossoms and trillium!

With the help of one of my daughter's starving artist friends, I raked the entire yard from road to beach and then cast 25# of grass seed where it was appropriate.

Mother's day weekend it snowed for two days.  The minor snow accumulation wasn't a problem except for our moods.  Mother's Day picnics all had to be moved indoors.

Here's my oldest granddaughter having a tea party with 

Sadie, our corgi.... underneath the dining table.

All in all, it was a lovely Mother's Day here and I hope it was for you as well.