Swap/sale

They probably should have added give-away to the tile of the Ontonagon county 4-H Small animal Swap & Sale event. It is scheduled for May 16th starting at 9:00 AM at the Stannard Township Recreation Park in Bruce Crossing.

This is the 23rd year 4-H has sponsored the event. A variety of farm and garden related items have been sold in the past. You might find goats, small pigs, sheep, birds, ducks, chickens, quail, and, I'd think, dogs and cats. The fun doesn't end there. You might also find hours tack and clothing garden plants and house plants.

If you have something to swap or sell, you'll need to pay a $2.00 vendor fee and contact msue66@msu.edu.

KBIC Arts Expo

This is different.

the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community is sponsoring a Traditional Arts Expo at the Pines convenience Center on US 41 in Baraga. It will be held on May 2 and 3 and also on June 6 and 7, from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM.

The Expo will feature Traditional Arts and Performances by local Native American Artists.

Why is it different? I'm thinking it is a craft sale for things you'd imagine to be part of the Native American culture.

H1N1

Does this flu sound any worse than the normal flu that goes around every year? The normal flu spreads easily. The normal flu kills hundreds or even thousands every year, those who are older, or younger, or otherwise in poor health. The normal flu will often put people in the hospital.

I think the scare is because the news has decided to make this scary. Yes, we should be caution. We don't normally go around anyone with the flu. We usually stay home from work or school or church if we have the flu.

After having said that, I'm wondering if I should stay home from work today. Really, no joke. I have a little sore throat and I wouldn't want to give it to anyone else. The scare works but I guess I will work too. It's also normal to catch a cold with the coming of spring.

Hey, I can see buds on the tree outside my window!

Hanka Homestead

Many of us can trace our roots to Finland, myself included. The Hanka Homestead is good example of a old Finnish farm in the Upper Peninsula. It's off the beaten path but it might be worth the drive.

Fog..

No one seems to think it was particularly foggy but the planes weren't landing at CMX. I am sure glad this isn't our day to return home!

One flight that was supposed to arrive in Hancock detoured to Duluth. Another flight made it to Houghton and had to return to Minneapolis.

Soiree in SC

Anderson, South Carolina

In the UP we have festivals.. but there is nothing wrong with a soiree. Both parties have lots of food and refreshments. The south has a few more lemonade and ice tea tents than you find in Upper Michigan but both have the beer.

If you want warm weather, go south.

Pendleton, South Carolina

Outside my window today are flowers and birds and sun and warmth. You've got to leave the Upper Peninsula to find nice weather.

I haven't been very successful in convincing my nieces and nephews to visit the UP. They were born here but moved when they were very young and they don't have much interest in snow. Maybe they will visit some summer.

Up, Up and Away!

That's enough of this weather. We are out of here and headed south, South Carolina that is.

We leave from the Houghton/Hancock Airport(CMX) this morning on the first flight out at 6:10 AM. We will transfer in MSP and again in DTW for further travel to GSP. We've rented a car and will drive another hour south, to our destination in Anderson, SC.

I'll get to see my brother and nieces and nephews and grandnieces and grandnephews that I have never met! We are going to my nephew Brad's wedding. It's an outdoor wedding at an old historic home.

South Carolina's weather should be in the high 80's, about 15 degrees above normal for them. I'd bet they have green grass and leaves and flowers too. What?? Are you telling me that most of the country has green grass and leaves on the trees? The UP will catch up in another month, give us a break, it's still snowing.

Power Outage

Our power went out about 5:30 PM. We assumed it was due to the heavy snow that continues to fall. Isn't it fun! After about a half hour without power, Dave went in search of an gas lamp and flashlights.

The power stayed off for over 3 hours. It was getting cold in the house but at least we had light. I kept thinking that I should get up and do something but all the things I wanted to do required electricity.

The power came back on after 9:00 PM, all was well. I learned the next day that the power in Hancock went off about 9:00 PM and stayed off for three hours.

Mom said she didn't lose power and she only lives 10 miles west of me.

Whiteness

Is this Spring? If so, why did I wake to find 6" of snow on the ground? It might be beautiful in the early winter but it is not a pretty sight now.

This is the heavy wet snow. The kind that gets your feet wet. The kind of snow that gives people a heart attack if they try to shovel it. Snow that will not be blown away. Snow that is more water than snow.

I was surprise to walk outside and have it feel almost warm. It was 33 degrees at 6:30 AM. This stuff will melt by noon! Right? Don't listen to the weatherman, she/he doesn't know what he's talking about. The storm they are taking about is going to miss us!

I see flowers

It's wasn't too bad outside this morning. I managed to weed one flower garden, one of four. I've got some violets, crocus, and daffodils in bloom . I think those are flowers the deer don't like.

It's tempting to go out and buy flowers because the gardens look so bare but we all know it is far too early. We are lucky to be able to plant by Memorial Day. I actually planned on buying some pansies but they don't even have them in the stores yet.

We could use some rain but not the snow that is predicted. The fire danger is high according to the sign by the DNR office. The woods and fields are always dry until the leave and new grasses begin to appear.

Golf is here

The L'Anse Golf Course opened early this year. Dave has his golf cart polished and ready to go. It was a beautiful day that reached 70 degrees for a few moments in the afternoon.

Golfers from the Copper Country are flocking to L'Anse. The coursed farther north are not open. Most have quite a bit of snow. One thing about opening early, there are no bugs. Have you ever tried to golf with a winter jacket on? Takes some of the fun out of the sport.

The weatherman is predicting a cool down tomorrow. Couldn't they be wrong for once?

Visitor

I leave for work at 6:15 in the morning, it's still dark. This morning I stopped cold as I stepped out the back door. Something was out there, not very far away! The porch light comes on automatically, thank God.

What did I see? A large deer not 30 feet from me. Normally a deer would run off at the first sign of movement. Not this deer. It stood there and watched me. It watched as a second light came on and it still didn't stir. It just wasn't moving.

I knew it would run when I started the car. It had better not be chomping on the few flowers I have coming up in the garden!

It was still there, having only move 10 feet, when I backed out of the driveway. It didn't even look up from the new grass it was munching on.

Time to get out the deer be gone spray or I've heard shaved bar soap works. Some people use blood meal. Just so it stays out of my flowers!

False Reports

A Michigan Tech student reported being sexually assaulted on campus three weeks ago but has now recanted her statement. The statement followed a three-week investigation by the MTU Department of Public Safety, the Michigan State Police, and the Houghton County Sheriff's Department.

On March 25, the woman reported she had been assaulted in Lot 23 near the J.R. Van Pelt/Opie Library shortly before midnight two days earlier. She now says it never happened.

A second false report in Houghton in the past three weeks was made on April 4. A 20-year-old woman reported she had been sexually assaulted on Pearl Street. After officers from the Houghton Police Department determined the report was false, the woman told them the assault did not happen. There has been no decision yet on if charges will be filed.

What's going on? Is this a game? Do these women hope to gain from this? Did the assaults really happen and the women are now afraid to proceed?

Tea Parties

The news said there were several Tea Parties in Michigan and 100's across the nation. What do you think? I heard of several just in the Copper Country. L'Anse had two well attended Tea Parties. The organizer actually dove into the partially ice covered L'Anse Bay.

Escanaba had a TEA Party with more than 200 people in attendance. Modeled after the 1773 Boston Tea Party where colonists dumped British tea into the harbor to oppose taxation without representation. The modern protest concerns taxation without deliberation. The Escanaba group dumped real tea into the Escanaba harbor near the courthouse as an act of symbolism.

A crowd of about 200 people, many carrying picket signs expressing their concerns about the tax system, gathered at the Houghton County Courthouse and later to Veterans Park to hear speakers.

The following is a list of CONFIRMED Tea Party Tax Revolts planned within the state of Michigan. Please note that we ONLY list events happening on April 15th.

Adrian
Big Rapids
Coldwater
Farmington Hills
Flushing
Grand Haven
Grand Rapids
Grayling
Grosse Point
Holland
Houghton County
Hudsonville
Jackson
Kalamzoo
L’anse
Lapeer
Lansing
Livonia
Midland
Monroe
Muskegon
Plymouth
Port Huron
Rives Junction
Saint Clair Shores
Sault Ste. Marie
South Lyon
Traverse City
Troy

Can you add to this list?

Gladstone

Gladstone has plans for Harbor Point. The project will include installing fish cleaning stations and restrooms as part of plan to improve the look of the site located on Lake Michigan.

They will also improve utilities by making upgrades like electricity, water and sewer, installing more new boats slips and replacing old ones in the harbor, and sidewalk installation.

Gladstone was awarded $100,000 from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust fund in December for the project as well as a $150,000 grant from the Great Lakes Fishery Trust in November and a $75,000 grant in July from the Department of Environmental Quality.

Anyone have a picture for us? A before and after would be great. Maybe I should take a trip and take the picture myself!

Holiday Inn Express

It always seemed the Holiday Inn Express in Houghton was located in a strange place. It was in the parking lot for Kirkish furniture which used to be the old Pamida. The hotel was set against a steep hill. It was just stuffed in place for no apparent reason.

The Holiday Inn Express in Houghton will go to the highest bidder on April 30, after the bank initiated a foreclosure on the property owned by Minnesota-based, "Houghton Express L.L.C." They bought the proberty in 2006.

The auction is scheduled for April 30 in the Houghton County Courthouse at 11 a.m.

The motel and its staff will remain open for business.

It's sad but I hope someone buys it and keeps it open.

Happy Easter!!

Yooperville Style

Sometimes it pays to live in a small town that manufactures heavy equipment. We all know someone who knows someone, who has a relative who can borrow the equipment to do the job.

I borrowed this picture from Keweenaw Now. This is the Coast Guard Cutter I was waiting for. I'm not sure if it ever made in into Keweenaw Bay. Did anyone see it here? I assume it would have been here on Wednesday, the same day this photo was taken on the Portage Canal.

Moon over L'Anse

Yes, I know.. It's not a very good picture but than I'm not a very good photographer. Wait until summer when the moon reflects on the bay and makes the golden pathway across the water.

Easter Egg Hunt

Gather the kids or the grandkids and take them to the Easter Egg Hunt in L'Anse on Saturday. It starts at 1:00 PM at the Waterfront Park. It is sponsored by the Baraga County Convention and Visitors Bureau, the L'Anse Downtown Development, North Shore Realty and the Four Seasons Committee. The kids need to bring their own basket to fill with candy and small toys. They may get lucky and find a "egg coupon" for special kid treats from local business.

It sounds like the Easter bunny will be too busy to attend but he'll have lots of helpers on hand to help with the fun.

We still have ice on the bay

Just a picture..

Coast Guard Cutter

An Coast Guard Ice Breaker was supposed to come into the bay and loosen the ice but we haven't seen it yet. I have the camera ready for that event if it happens. I think that we missed it. It probably got in and out of the bay without notice. It's not as big a ship as you would imagine.

I've been told that it did make it's way through the Portage Canal and it was hard to tell it had even been through. The ice is apparently soft enough that it doesn't even pile up along the ships path.

Let me know if you've seen it.

What usually happens this time of year is that we have a south wind and within a few hours the ice has all blown out into the middle of Lake Superior. That's a good thing!

Waiting

Waiting for warmer weather. We haven't had snow or rain but it's been sunny, cold but sunny. Highs for the day are in the 30's, maybe the 40's. A cold wind makes it feel even colder.

Dave keeps checking out the golf course but there is no sign of activity. Rumor has it that it will open by the 15th but there are a few snow banks to melt first. His golf cart is in a building that you can't get in to.

I've got a few early flowers poking their tips through but I don't think I will have an actual flower for a few weeks. I'll be sure to take pictures.

Pictures

I can't see spring in the air? Click on the picture to enlarge. Can you find any trace of spring?

Stimulus money

The Indian Communities across the UP have all received stimulus money. The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community used some of their stimulus dollars to purchase a laundromat and car wash. These business were formerly owned by a tribal member who had to close them down. I believe there is a gas station that is also part of the deal.

The community needs the laundromat.. it's good that it reopened. I guess we could live without a car wash, there are other not too far away. The gas station?

What do you think? Good use of stimulus money? Is this how you want your tax dollars spent? Have you heard of other stimulus money coming to your community?

Deer Damage

Dave did what he could to help this tree after the deer decided to eat it for dinner. What do you think? Should we cut it down?

No camera!

Why did I forget my camera? I try to take it with me wherever I go. We were in Houghton and saw the Easter Bunny. He/She was on the Portage Lift Bridge waving to all the cars.. and in the rain too. It brought a smile to my face.

After that we saw a deer standing on the top of a hill. It was the strangest place to see a deer, not far from the Houghton High School, just off the road, standing there like the king of the hill. It looked more like the long horned sheep we saw in Colorado. If I had had my camera, you'd know what I'm talking about.

After that we saw the Jilbert's cow. The Jilbert's cow is a 20 x's life size cow pulled around on a trailer. It's not a big deal to us, we see it often, but I thought it have been a nice picture.

So.. here I am, typing words instead of letting the picture do the talking.

April Fool!

I don't have any April Fool's joke for you. No one played any jokes on me either. It's going to be a good year!

I think I promised I'd take a picture of my garden as it progresses. As you can tell, it isn't progressing.. YET. Wait.