The Leelanau Conservancy has launched a new blog called Why Leelanau?, about which they say:
To celebrate our 20th Anniversary, we are asking everyone who loves Leelanau County to tell us why and to send in a photo that exemplifies what you love about this special peninsula. Why do you live or visit here? Why did you decide to raise your kids or own a business here? Why are you passionate about this particular spot on the globe?
They invite you to send them your photos and stories and to pass this on to friends and family who love Leelanau!
The photo is titled It's all about … THE KIDS!! by Jim Grogan, but I confess to having jumped off that raft too!!
We at Leelanau.com: Jeremy, Fred, Steve, Jen, Andy and our families would like to wish all of you the happiest of holiday seasons and the very best for the year to come.
We very much appreciate the business we have received and also everyone who visits our site and shares our love for this beautiful part of the earth.
If you have a holiday message to share with everyone that you please post it in the comments below!
The photo is Christmas at Tamarack Gallery by tamarackgallery, and you can see more photos from the gallery right here and also visit the web site for Tamarack Gallery in Omena.
Molly recently posted about a strange visitor to her clothing store (Molly's of Leland):
Sometimes strange things can happen in Leland. One day last spring I had a visitor in the store that I would have never expected. I opened my office door and was surprised (maybe as much as he) by a screech owl. I just received these photos via email from Rebecca Lessard at Wings of Wonder which is a raptor education, rehabilitation and research center in Leelanau County. Rebecca was kind enough to come and rescue this little guy from my store. She thought he was a little on the skinny side, so she kept him for a while, then released him near Empire, MI. The best we could figure, he must have gotten in these old buildings somewhere and ended up entering my store through my basement door…who knows?
She has a bunch of posts on her blog: looks at new products in the store and photos of everything from the holiday decorations to out and about in Leelanau.
Check out Molly's Blog ... and if you have ideas for a better name than "Molly's Blog" I know she'd love to hear them!
The photo of the barn above (located north of Northport) was taken by Michael Hicks this summer I believe. 
The photo to the right was taken maybe 10 years ago - it's amazing how fast these old barns can crumble into ruin.
It doesn't have to go like this. Check out this article from Lake Magazine titled From Hayloft to Home about Leelanau resident and historical preservation expert Nancy Kotting and the process of turning a barn into a house. Nancy explains the feeling of living in a barn that's been converted:
It's been a joy for me - the loft, the feeling of virgin timber, the sense of strength and permanency that you walk into. I feel like I'm walking into a European cathedral. It's got a verticality that gives you a sense of walking into a sacred space. And a sense of security: This is a building that was here long before I arrived and a building that will be here long after I leave. I never had that feeling in a home.
Leelanau.com built their web site - check it out at nlkotting.com!
With nearly one hundred lodging clients, from single unit cottages and small B&B's to large motels, resorts and vacation rental businesses, it's fair to say we know the internet lodging business inside and out.
Beyond simply developing web sites that help people learn about and book stays at your property, Leelanau Communications can help your business develop online marketing strategies that bring travelers to your site and help you put "heads in beads".
Click through to our Lodging & Travel Web Site Design & Marketing page to see examples of our work or contact us to learn how we can help your lodging or travel business succeed on the internet!
Northern Lakes Community Mental Health has created a new Virtual Recovery Center blog on its redesigned web site. Each day for the month of October, a personal recovery story is being added in recognition of National Mental Illness Awareness Month. The stories are by real people who live in northern Michigan and include words and images created using disposable cameras in a "photobiography" project funded by a federal anti-stigma block grant administered by the Michigan Department of Community Health.
Below is the beginning of Deb's Story (that's her photo to the right too!):
When you think of an ideal childhood setting, what comes to mind? For me, lots of room to run, lots of siblings to double as friends, loving parents, good values and strong faith. That was my childhood. I did not recognize until I was much older that my childhood also came with a misconception of what mental illness is. Growing up in Traverse City, I was never allowed to even see the infamous State Hospital. Heavens know, getting “too close†could be dangerous. Ignorant thinking perhaps, but acceptable thinking in the 1960’s.
It was not until I was in my teens that it actually came out that I had two great aunts that resided at the State Hospital. It had been a well kept secret. My mother, being a very compassionate woman, would bring them to our home for an occasional outing. I remember the blank expressions and constant movements they both had, not understanding why; it was very frightening. I remember thinking, “I never want to end up like that.â€
Click to read the rest of Deb's Story and many more in the NLCMH Virtual Recovery Center.
I hope that anyone who has been following Leelanau.com for a while has seen that we've really been picking up the level of stories and presentation over the last couple of years.
It may have been hard for the casual visitor to see just how much information is contained here and to easily access it. To make that easier, we've rolled out our new category pages, featuring expanded listings for our web site sponsors and a constantly updated list of articles and news for that category. Check them out!
Photo credit: S. Manitou Light by Greg Jollife.
With all the events and otters and what-not we almost missed this article on Leelanau Communications' Jeremy Steck in the Enterprise.
Read Web designer appreciates working in his home county.
You might also enjoy checking out Jeremy's awesome Leelanau & Michigan sports blog:
Surfing, Leelanau Style, photo by Andy McFarlane
Today on Absolute Michigan we have a feature titled Michigan: Great Lakes Surfing Capital that I am pretty sure is the definitive collection of Great Lakes surfing videos that includes clips from Unsalted, the great movie about Great Lakes surfing.
I didn't find a Leelanau County video but as the above photo from just south of the Leland breakwall on Lake Michigan shows, Leelanau County is a great surfing and kiteboarding destination. Don't forget about Empire beach for surfing!
After what I think we can all agree was "entirely too long" designer Fred DeMarco and the staff of Leelanau.com has unveiled a new design for the Leelanau.com home page.
If you want to look back through the years to see where we've been and what we've done, check out the Internet Archive's Leelanau.com section. They have most of our 12 year career, from "The Black Period" of '96, through a brief flirtation with red and the "Putting Stuff in Cut-out Boxes" fad, to the dawn of the Blue Age (also known as "Remember when Sugar Loaf was a ski hill and not a county embarassment?") right on past the Days when Things Looked the Same but there were Less of Them to What Could Have Been Yesterday - it's all there.
If you want to look forward, stay tuned because we've got a whole bunch more that we will be rolling out before the summer is over!
