The Leelanau Enterprise reports that MSU Extension and 4-H will host a children's summer gardening program for students in grades 3-6 in July and August at the Old Art Building in Leland. Participants in the Junior Master Gardener program will learn about soil and plant science, compost and ecology, wildlife and insects, vegetables and herbs, trees and shrubs, flowers and houseplants, and design and color. Students will also help with garden projects at the Old Art Building.
The cost per child is just $25 for current Michigan 4-H members or $35 for non-members - a bargain indeed (especially if you can get your kids to apply their knowledge in your garden!).
Photo credit: Josephs coat Empire by Cher
Our friends over at Taste the Local Difference tell you everything you need to know about asparagus: where to get it and what to do when you do get it! The feature includes a great recipe for the Grey Hare Inn’s Crepes Du Nord.
They are also having Pick It, Cook It, Win It 2007 Recipe Contest with five categories: Strawberries, apricots, eggplant, blueberries and pumpkin.
June: Strawberries Deadline: June 21, 2007 Prize: 16 oz. box of truffles from Grocer's Daughter Chocolates
July: Apricots Deadline: July 19, 2007
Aug: Tomatoes Deadline: August 23, 2007
Sept: Apples Deadline: Sept. 20, 2007
Oct: Pumpkins Deadline: Oct. 18, 2007
Took this photo on Saturday at the centennial Iris Farm along M-72 about 5 miles west of Traverse City (5385 E. Traverse Highway). It's really a beautiful place.
The Annual Plant Sale on the Village Green in Leland is coming! Last fall and this spring the Leelanau Conservancy Wildflower Rescue Committee dug up, potted and whisked native wildflowers out of the path of impending development. Now is your chance to purchase unusual natives like ferns, trout lilies and trillium, along with a huge selection of nursery perennials.
Sale begins Friday, May 25 and runs 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday; Sunday noon to 4 p.m. All proceeds help maintain the Village Green.
If you know of a site where wildflowers might be saved, or are planning to excavate your own property, call Rescue chairs Patty Shea: 256-9249 or Joanie Woods: 256-7154.
Village Green Plant Sale - Photo by Keith Burnham, Leland Report
The Leelanau County Planning Commission invites you to join in a special presentation about environmentally sensitive design on Friday, May 25, 2007 at the MSU Horticultural Research Station. Environmentally sensitive design is a development option that landowners and local governments can use to accommodate growth, while preserving the natural resources that are so important to Leelanau County's economy and quality of life.
Speaker Robin Green will review the basics of environmental design, how she created a highly-successful planned community with these concepts, and how it could work in Leelanau County. She will also highlight an environmentally sensitive residential project she worked on with the City of Tecumseh, MI. The project involved not only reviewing plans for the site, but also included drafting a new section of the zoning code to accommodate conservation development. Speaker Deb Callison will talk about perspective and what "change" adds to your life.
There will also be a bus tour of developed and undeveloped areas in the County. The Public is invited to attend and you can register and get all the details by calling 231-256-9812 or by email to tgalla@co.leelanau.mi.us.
Photo credit: Cherry Blossoms by jfactor1.
Last week's Leelanau Enterprise had a feature further illuminating something most people were pretty darned aware of already: Sugar Loaf is a gigantic mess.
Sugar Loaf Resort owner Kate Wickstrom said this week she wasn’t aware that Cleveland Township officials have been ready and are waiting for her to submit formal plans to redevelop and reopen the defunct ski resort.
Wickstrom said Tuesday that she also wasn’t aware that Sugar Loaf Service Company – which is responsible for providing sewer service to the resort – last week filed a lien against the resort for some $94,851 plus interest that the company claims she owes.
Read Loaf delays, troubles continue in the Leelanau Enterprise.
Photo credit: Waiting for Sugar Loaf (2003) by Andy McFarlane
APRIL 1, 2007 - SOMEWHERE IN A FIELD, MICHIGAN
An unidentified Leelanau County official said today that the gold plating of the new Leelanau County Courthouse was "Well underway." When asked why such extravagant measures were necessary, the official replied "I think our commissioners have always been influenced by Egyptian architecture, and let me tell you: this gold plating really makes the building 'pop' when the sun hits it just right."
The official would not comment on the price tag but did say that contractor G.N. Omes Exotic Siding of Zurich, Switzerland was doing 'a heckuva job.'
News from Last Year...
Lend a hand at Leelanau Conservancy Work Bees at DeYoung Natural Area in March, and help eradicate the invasive species Glossy Buckthorn in the stream belt off Strang Road. Please dress properly for cold weather and for field work (so you are able to get dirty.)
Work Bees will be held 12 to 2 PM and 2:30 to 4:30 PM on:
Friday, March 16
Thursday, March 22
Friday, March 23
Thursday, March 29
Friday, March 30
For directions and details, visit the DeYoung Natural Area page at the Conservancy site (intern Kennedy Sandoval will be parked on Strang Rd. w/ white honda) or call 256-9665.
Photo credit: Robert H. Mohlenbrock @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA SCS. 1989. Midwest wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide to plant species. Midwest National Technical Center, Lincoln, NE. Visit the USDA for more information on Frangula alnus P. Mill. (glossy buckthorn).
Kenneth E. Bull has established two funds to help support programs at the Northwest Michigan Horticultural Research Station and to provide annual scholarship money for area students pursuing a degree in horticulture at Michigan State University. The $26,000 gift will be used by the NW Michigan Horticultural Research Foundation as a challenge grant to raise $200,000 in gifts by the end of 2008. Foundation president Rick Sayler said:
"Mr. Bull continues his lifetime commitment to the fruit industry. Through his pioneering gift, he will be providing an endowment for a brighter future for area growers. The establishment of permanent funds that benefit the research station and area students is a wonderful way to insure that his generosity and leadership will leave an everlasting legacy."
Bull (age 95) has been active in Michigan's fruit industry for over eight decades. He raised apples, cherries, peaches, plums and pears on 500 acres in Casnovia Township and served as a Director of Michigan Farm Bureau.
This week's Enterprise reports on a new wrinkle in the already wrinkled tapestry that is Sugar Loaf. Cleveland Township resident and former planning commission chairman Charles J. Ryant Jr. has announced his intention to circulate a petition for a referendum on a zoning ordinance amendment that the Township Board adopted to streamline the Planned Unit Development (PUD) approval process for Sugar Loaf. Ryant apparently has issues with the lack of concessions required of developers who apply for PUDs.
The article also notes that Kings Challenge golf pro and manager Chuck Olson is now working for John Sills and that he is confident the course will open this spring. Olson did say:
"From the customer’s perspective, nothing’s going to change at the golf courses, but in terms of reuniting the golf course properties with the ski resort - what's happening now appears to be a step backward rather than a step forward."
Read Referendum plan, suit cloud Sugar Loaf’s future in the Leelanau Enterprise.
