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Looking to spruce up your garden or your yard? Two area communities have plant sales this weekend!

Cedar's Perennial Plant Sale is Saturday, May 25 from 9 AM - 3 PM. Hundreds of perennial and wildflower plants are ready for planting in your garden. Beautify your home with plants that attract butterflies and birds. Prices start at $2.00 with over 500 plants and 50 varieties. This is their major fundraiser of the year to support 265 days per year of free, educational, healthy and intergenerational fun.

The Annual Plant Sale on the Village Green in Leland is on tap for Memorial Day Weekend as well! Now is your chance to purchase native ferns, trillium, and more along with a selection of native trees and shrubs provided by locally owned Four Season Nursery, who will be on hand to answer questions about going native.

Sale runs Friday, May 24th and Saturday May 25th; hours 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. All proceeds help maintain the Village Green and assist with other Conservancy projects. The Wildflower Rescue Committee continually seeks new sites on which to dig. If you are building a home, driveway, addition, or know of someone who is, please contact the WRC so they may have a chance to remove these precious wildflowers before the excavators arrive! Contact Patty Shea: 256-9249 or Joanie Woods: 256-7154.

Photo credit: 20090429_0107_copy(Blood Root) by jsorbieus

Michael Huey in the last couple of days of a Kickstarter project to fund Straight as the Pine, Sturdy as the Oak. This new book will tell the history of Camp Leelanau for Boys, the Leelanau Schools, and the Homestead in Glen Arbor from their beginnings around 1920 until 1963. Richly illustrated, the book makes use of the Leelanau School Archive as well as the extensive private archives of the Beals and Huey families to draw back the curtain and tell a behind-the-scenes tale; as such it is a personal journey back through the development of the camp, the school, and the Homestead, told chiefly through vintage photographs, the detailed timeline, and individual short essays. It will be of interest to all who love the Leelanau peninsula and its history and, in particular, to those who have attended – or now attend – Camp Leelanau and/or the Leelanau School, as well as those who summered at or nearby the Homestead or live on the premises now.

Head over to Kickstarter for all the details, and watch the video and read about the project below! (more...)

The 10th Annual Empire Asparagus Festival will be held May 17-18, 2013 and features a slew of asparagus-themed events including a Street Dance & Pig Roast from 7-10 PM Friday, a fun run (or walk), Asparagus Eats/Wine and Beer Tasting,  Asparagus recipe contest, the Asparagus Parade, chalk art, music & dance and kids games and a 7 PM Finale Fun Food with Live Music on Saturday night. You can get all the details on the tasty eats and drinks below!

A feature by Susan Bayer Ward titled The Empire Strikes Back... With Asparagus explains:

There's a reason Empire touts itself as the apex of asparagus-a vegetable whose short growing season begins in early May and flows into June. The area's sandy soil, plentitude of water and temperate microclimate-fostered by Lake Michigan, make this the perfect place to nurture wild and farmed asparagus. In fact, Michigan ranks third behind California and Washington as a producer of this commercial crop which garners the state a surprising $29 million annually.

Truth be told, only one local farmer, Harry Norconk, runs a 240-acre asparagus-growing business south of town. But what the heck, this slender green harbinger of spring grows wild all over the place. And while surrounding towns, for years, positioned themselves as prime purveyors of cherries, morel mushrooms and wines, Empire decided to become the Valhalla of that savory veggie-the asparagus.

Also see Stalking Local Asparagus in Empire from MyNorth.com.

(more...)

Open for Business by joeldinda

There have been a flurry of articles and even a new "Leelanau County Commissioners Tinfoil Hat Brigade" Facebook page on the heels of a decision by Leelanau County Commissioners to reject a partnership with Grand Traverse County to promote growth and shutter the county Economic Development Corporation (EDC). It's now reached the Detroit News who report that business leaders are criticizing a decision by the Leelanau County commission to abolish the Leelanau EDC.

Meeting in Suttons Bay on April 8, commissioners said the northwestern Lower Peninsula county is wealthy enough already and that they don't want growth. They said it's up to people to find their own jobs and businesses to make their own plans. (more...)

photo: Dream On by Kenneth-Snyder

EMPIRE, MI - The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (National Lakeshore) will be offering a series of monthly astronomy programs this year. Join Park Rangers and the  the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society (GTAS) for a guided exploration of our night sky and one daytime event. The next Star Party is May 11 with a viewing of the closest star - the sun. Each special event takes place at a different location throughout the National Lakeshore to take advantage of strategic viewing opportunities. Come for star gazing, meteor showers, sun viewing, and storytelling. Kids of all ages can participate in the Night Sky Junior Ranger program.

Visitors enjoying park skies at a Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Star Party. Photos courtesy of the National Park Service

Starry night skies and natural darkness are important components of the special places the National Park Service protects. National parks hold some of the last remaining harbors of darkness and provide an excellent opportunity to experience this endangered resource. So visit the National Lakeshore and enjoy park skies by attending the following Star Parties:

May 11 (12:00-2:00 p.m.), Visitor Center Parking Lot in Empire
This is a daytime Star Party to view our closest star - the sun. View the sun using a solar telescope and solar shades. See solar activity, including flares and prominences.

June 8 (9:00-11:00 p.m.), Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive #3 Overlook
View Saturn, the Milky Way, and various constellations. Meet at the Dune Overlook #3, Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive. Please park at Picnic Mountain; the next right after the #2 stop.

July 13 (9:00-11:00 p.m.), Platte River Point
View the moon, Saturn, and various constellations.

August 10 (9:00-11:00 p.m.), Thoreson Farm in Port Oneida
The Port Oneida Fair celebration continues into the night. View Saturn and the Perseid meteors.

September 7 (9:00-11:00 p.m.), Dune Climb Parking Lot
View the summer Milky Way and many Deep Sky Objects.

October 21 (8:00-10:00 p.m.), Dune Climb Parking Lot
Celebrate the 43rd anniversary of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore with a starry event.

For all astronomy events, bring a flashlight for the walk back to your car and bug spray, if needed. Park Rangers and GTAS staff will be wearing red glow bracelets at the events.

The monthly Star Parties will be cancelled during inclement weather. The decision is usually made three hours in advance. Please call Park Rangers at 231-326-5135, ext. 331, for a voicemail message with the decision.

All programs are free. Participants need only purchase the Park Entrance Pass or have an Annual Pass displayed in their vehicle to join in the fun.

For more about the National Lakeshore, please go to www.nps.gov/slbe or their Facebook and Twitter.

Via Michigan in Pictures...

Spring on Good Harbor Bay, photo by Eric Raymond

Good Harbor is located on the northern edge of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore at the Lake Michigan end of County Road 651. Today only evidence of the vanished village are the pilings of what was once a 500' dock that could load 4 schooners at a time. The Good Harbor page from the Lakeshore explains that logging in the area began in 1863 to supply cordwood fuel for  steamers, leading to the founding of a village in the 1870s.

Shortly after 1880 (Henry) Schomberg bought out Schwartz's interest and built a big sawmill which had a capacity of 30,000 feet in a 10-hour day.

...The Schomberg Lumber Company ran a hotel, two stores which became a shopping center for the local farmers, and a saloon. The township line between Centerville and Cleveland townships ran down the middle of Main Street in Good Harbor. Centerville did not allow saloons, so Good Harbor's saloon was built on the Cleveland township side of the street ... At the height of the lumber business, the mill worked day and night during the winter and during the day in the summer. As many as 75 teams of horses were used hauling logs to the mill, lumber to the dock, and supplies to the camps. The lumber company owned some of the teams and the rest were owned by local farmers and rented to the lumber company. At its peak, the mill cut 8,000,000 board feet of lumber per year.

The schooners were loaded by farmers who were called to work at the dock when the ships arrived. Good Harbor had no protection from storms with a northwest wind, so ships had to leave the dock and sail to the Manitou Islands for protection when a storm would come up. Sometimes storms would come up too fast and the ships were driven aground.

You can read on for more and also see some of the wrecks in the area in the Manitou Passage Underwater Preserve.

Check this out bigger and see more great photos from the Sleeping Bear and Leelanau Peninsula (including another shot of the pilings by Terry Clark) on Eric's Leelanau County Facebook page.

Here's a pre-1970 photo of the harbor - quite a change from today!

Check out Don's photo of the Leland Harbor bigger!

4-H members from across the county will gather at Suttons Bay High School on Saturday, April 6th, from 9:30 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. for their annual 4-H showcase. The public is invited and encouraged to participate.

The 4-H Expo  features educational displays, live animals, chess matches and demonstrations by 4-H members. The 4-H clubs will also offer a variety of fun, hands-on activities for visitors of all ages.

Each year the members take on a community project, reflecting the 4-H philosophy of service to others. This year, members and the public are invited to bring individually wrapped child friendly foods like fruit snacks, cheese and crackers packs, fruit cups, cans of tuna, chicken or soup, small boxes of cereal, etc. to donate to an organization in our area called "Blessings in a Backpack". This organization feeds local children on weekends during the school year.

The 4-H Expo is free and open to the public. Lunch concessions will be available onsite. For further information contact the Leelanau MSU Extension office at 256-9888.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Park IS open. You can enjoy trails and other amenities. 

While the sequestration - the automatic, across-the-board permanent spending cuts that was triggered by  the Federal Government's inability to come to a budget deal - is a largely ephemeral concept for most so far, it has some very real consequences for Leelanau's #1 tourist attraction.

On March 1, 2013, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore was required to reduce its annual budget by 5%. That's a $234,000 reduction from a budget of $4,676,000, and as the fiscal year ends September 30, they have just 7 months to make the required reductions. Superintendent Dusty Shultz explains that, “The park remains open, welcoming visitors and continuing to protect the resources entrusted to our care.”

Here are the major actions being taken to implement the cut:

• Staffing and fixed costs like utilities make up about 98% of the park’s budget, and they shortened 22 seasonal positions and cut 5 seasonal jobs.
• Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive will not open until Memorial Day Weekend and will close after Labor Day.
• Ranger programs, including environmental education programs for school groups, will not be available until Memorial Day Weekend and will cease after Labor Day.
• Other than those at the Visitor Center and campgrounds, restrooms and trash cans will not be available until Memorial Day Weekend and will close after Labor Day. This includes the Manitou Islands.
• Mowing of picnic areas and historic farmsteads will be sharply reduced.
• Protection and monitoring of the endangered Piping Plover will be sharply reduced.
• Follow-up control of invasive plants such as black locust will be sharply reduced.

Photo credit: Manitou Island Park Ranger by lee.ekstrom

A new National Park Service report shows that the 1,348,304 visitors to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in 2011 spent almost $133 million in communities surrounding the park, supporting an estimated 2,347 jobs in the local area. The information on Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is part of a peer-reviewed spending analysis of national park visitors across the country conducted by Michigan State University for the National Park Service.

Park Superintendent Dusty Shultz explains: “Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is a wonderful place to learn about America’s story. We attract visitors from across the U.S. and around the world who come here to experience the park and then spend time and money enjoying the services provided by our neighboring communities."

Most visitor spending supports jobs in lodging, food, and beverage service (63 percent), followed by recreation and entertainment (17 percent), other retail (11 percent), transportation and fuel (7 percent) and wholesale and manufacturing (2 percent).

Photo credit: "Empire Bluff" Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore by Michigan Nut