Leelanau.com Blog
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This week's photo was taken by Mark Miller at Empire Beach. See more of his great work in his slideshow.

Amid the cold and deep snows of midwinter, the wolf packs howled hungrily outside Indian villages. Thus, the name for January’s full Moon. Sometimes it was also referred to as the Old Moon, or the Moon After Yule. Some called it the Full Snow Moon, but most tribes applied that name to the next Moon.
~Old Farmer’s Almanac

Speaking of wolves and January, last month the US Fish & Wildlife Service removed wolves in the western Great Lakes region from the federal endangered species list. Wolves are now managed by states in the region and the ruling takes effect on Friday, January, 2012. Read the release from the Michigan DNR about wolf de-listing.

Photo credit: Moon over Lake Leelanau by Missy Luick (a February full moon...)

This week's photo is Flying Crane by GLASman1. He captured it this May in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore . See it background big, on his map or check out more shots in his Sandhill Cranes slideshow. You learn more about these majestic birds and see another shot from Mark on Michigan Birds: Sandhill Crane from Michigan in Pictures!

Thanksgiving is just a week away and here's a few ideas to help make your holiday a little more local ... and a lot tastier!

It all starts with the turkey. I'm not sure if the folks at Hubbell's Farm or Haymaker Poultry Co. have any left, but I do know that one great place to get a tasty turkey is Biehl's Circle B Turkey Ranch. You can order them at the Merc in Leland and Oryana in Traverse City (and probably elsewhere as well). Don't forget to check the local produce and products at your favorite store - the Merc, Anderson's in Glen Arbor, Cedar City Market, Hanson's in Suttons Bay and Oryana and Burritt's Market in Traverse City all feature a lot of great food that hasn't traveled too far. There's a indoor farmers market at the Grand Traverse Commons every Saturday from 10 AM - 2 PM. If last week is any guide, there will be PLENTY of potatoes, squash and also lots of greens! If anyone has other ideas to localize your table, post them in the comments!

Once you have your bird and some ingredients, you need to think about how you're going to put it all together. Elizabeth Edwards at MyNorth/Traverse Magazine put together a collection of some of their best Thanksgiving recipes. We asked Lee Lutes, winemaker at Black Star Farms to share some of his thoughts on wine pairings- enjoy!

Two tasty appetizers are a Wild Game Sausage on Apple Slices with Cranberry Butter, with which Lee recommends a lighter red like Pinot Noir or Gamay Noir, and with the Wedge of Raclette Served With Spiced Walnuts and Pear Chips, he calls for something delicate maybe a bubbly (may we recommend Black Star Farms' really excellent Bubbly Nouveau when it's bottled) or a Pinot Grigio or a Pinot Blanc. Two tasty side dishes that really in season are Honey Roasted Root Vegetables and Buttermilk Biscuits with Pumpkin Butter. You'll be in great shape with Pinot Gris, Riesling, Pinot Blanc or Auxerrois. For dessert, how about a Plum Almond Tart, with which Lee would pair any of their Sirius dessert wines and also Ice wines.

See more thoughts on how make it a Michigan Thanksgiving on Absolute Michigan.

photo credit: Apple Stuffed Acorn Squash by carianoff

The annual Toast the Season Wine Tour returns to the Leelanau Peninsula Wine Trail for two weekends - November 5 & 6 or November 12 & 13. The self-guided tour features a special wine & food pairing (yum) at each of the 19 Leelanau Peninsula member wineries.

At your starting winery you will be given a commemorative glass, an LPVA holiday ornament, a souvenir wine key and a holiday gift bag featuring local food including fair trade coffee from Higher Grounds Trading Company of Traverse City, cocoa-coated chocolate covered almonds from Grocer’s Daughter Chocolate in Empire, and (of course) Michigan cherries from Cherry Republic in Glen Arbor!
Tickets are available online along with Toast the Season packages from a number of local lodging partners.

Ken shot this last night in Fishtown - see it bigger along with a couple more in his slideshow.

The display of the aurora borealis was one of the finest in a decade and was part of an EXPLOSION of Northern Lights that was seen all over Michigan!

Leelanau.com invites you to help in the battle against hunger in our region with the Father Fred Food Drive. Father Fred operates a pantry in Traverse City and also helps out with food pantries in Leelanau & Benzie counties.

The drive starts tomorrow (Saturday, Sep 24) and runs through October 1st. This year the pantry has seen 1,450 more families than last year, and Father Fred is working to secure food and cash donations sufficient to meet family needs through February, 2012.

The Oleson Foundation will match the value of food and cash donations up to $20,000.  Food and cash are both important, and as Father Fred would say, “No amount is too small to give.  Every donation is important.”

To get started, just click the can!

This week's photo is Sundrenched by jakphoto. See it bigger and in his slideshow and see more photos from this week in Leelanau in the Leelanau(dot)com group slideshow on Flickr.

I finally realized that I should post the great photos we have each week in our Almanac with a little more of an eye for posterity!

This week's photo is a panorama of the Grand Traverse Lighthouse by Ken Scott. Ken says that Sunday was an 'awesome cloud day'.

Check it out bigger or in his fantastic light'house's slideshow.

The Record-Eagle has a report on our silly heat. Check it out and also see Five Things You Need to Know Heatwave Edition: Beat the Heat in Michigan on Absolute Michigan.

Joel Dinda took this shot up near Northport.