Pillywiggin Postscripts

Lock-Down Update

4/24/2020

With all this downtime, you'd think I'd be up to date with the blog. Nope. We have a lot to catch up on! Our spring was off to a great start. Was. Right?!?! The beginning of March we attended the West Michigan Home & Garden Show in Grand Rapids and spent a wonderful weekend with Grandma & Grandpa Pillywiggin on the farm.

And then life was turned upside down by COVID-19. We spent the first week like everyone else... glued to the tube for more information. By the 2nd week we were just glued to the tube. When we finished binge watching "Joe Exotic Tiger King" we knew... TIME TO TURN OFF THE BOOB TUBE!

It was around this time that we received an unexpected gift from one of our customers. A box full of organic meal kits from Sun Basket. Thanks Steve & Jari! This was our first experience with meal delivery kits. Jason & I had a lot of fun preparing these meals together. They were healthy & delicious. Here's a look at what we made.

Sun Basket Meal Kit #1
Turkey Meatball Lettuce Cups w/ Buffalo Sauce

Awesome lunch. A little messy to eat as lettuce wraps but YUMMY! Next time I would serve this dish as a salad.

Sun Basket Meal Kit #2
Hot & Sour Chicken Stir Fry

We made this one for dinner - fabulous! My only suggestion would be to go easy on the hot sauce. Jason used 1/2 of the hot sauce container. That was plenty hot!

Sun Basket Meal Kit #3
Black Bean & Zucchini Tostada w/ Soft Boiled Egg,
Pickled Daikon & Onion Slaw

Another great lunch! We skipped the cilantro and Jason ate all of the soft boiled egg. I'm not an egg girl unless you disguise the yolk.

Sun Basket Meal Kit #4
Chicken Meatza with Mushrooms, Black Olives, Zucchini & Arugula Pesto

This was our least favorite of the 4 dishes. Maybe because it wasn't what we expected? Turns out, Meatza is like a pizza with a ground chicken "crust." It didn't look too appetizing in the making but it tasted good. Jason put the black olives on his half & I put the mushrooms on mine, so that worked out for us. I think this would be an excellent dish IF it had a bread dough crust, more sauce & cheese. :D

We saved the seeds from the organic peppers found in the Hot & Sour Chicken Stir Fry meal kit. They were really tasty peppers so we crossed our fingers and tried to sprout a few with the rest of our garden seeds.

Success! Here's a look at our pepper sprouts.

And our tomatoes!

My First Easter

Easter was different but we made the best of it. We usually go to Grandma & Grandpa Pillywiggins farm for a family gathering. This year we stayed home, pulled a ham from the freezer, fixed our own Easter dinner with the potatoes, carrots & yams and spent the day on the phone. We checked in with our family & friends to wish all a Happy Easter. From the U.P. to Lansing, Florida, Colorado & Oregon all were safe & well. You can't ask for a better Easter than that!

Easter Peeps - I'm The Monkey In The Middle :)

More signs of spring in our gardens and the return of Sand Hill Cranes! I spotted this pair in the field at the end of our road. It looks like one was on the lookout but when I stopped to take their picture they were not interested in me in the slightest.

On the Work Front

As of Friday afternoon, April 24th, 2020, the Governor's "Stay Home Stay Safe" Mandate has been eased to allow landscaping activities to resume. Hooray! Now we can get back to work in your gardens... just as soon as we finish our happy dance!

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Fall Findings

10/24/2019

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While we're waiting for the leaves to drop I thought I'd share some of our most interesting fall findings. Last Saturday was so beautiful Jason & I couldn't resist taking a color tour. I suppose we should have been working in our own yard instead but sometimes you just have to enjoy the moment. Fall beauty is fleeting. We should all enjoy it while it lasts! We'll be buried in snow soon enough. We found this little lake off County Road 612 in Kalkaska County. Picture perfect, isn't it?

Jason made a curious find. Do you know what it is?

It's called a "conk" - Inonotus Obliquus, a mushroom/fungus more commonly known as Chaga. It's a parasite on birch & other trees but apparently it's prized for human consumption for its medicinal qualities. I had no idea. But now that I do, I'll be on the lookout for more.

We still have blooms in our garden, mostly Hydrangea & Sedum now. Our Russian Sage & Black Eyed Susan are all but spent. Jason picked this beautiful bouquet for my 49th birthday. It was waiting for me next to the coffee pot when I woke up. It made me smile. At 49, who doesn't need a little reminder that old blossoms on the decline are still beautiful? It won't be long before we cut back our perennials but I plan leave the hydrangea blooms through winter.

Sadly, fall has brought more than just beauty to our area.

Lakefront property owners have been dealing with the effects of high lake levels all over Northern Michigan. Now, property owners along the coast of Lake Michigan are experiencing massive shoreline erosion. People are losing frontage, staircases, boat hoists, and more. The photos & video clips below were taken October 22, 2019 just a few miles outside of Eastport, MI.

Each video clip below is under a minute long but they capture the powerful destruction of Lake Michigan much better than the photos.

Coastlines are forever changing but it's sad to see it happen like this.

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A Visit to the Sunrise Side

9/2/2019

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Over Labor Day Weekend, a couple of West Coast Pillywiggins were invited to the Sunrise Side of the state. It was a beautiful day for a drive. We took the scenic route allowing ourselves plenty of time to stop at any yard sales that caught our eye. We found several sales but it wasn't our day for bargains. We decided to give up on yard sales and take a quick hike along Ocqueoc Falls instead. I must say, we made an excellent choice! We've been many times & highly recommend it. Swim, hike or BBQ. It's a great place for a day trip for kids and adults alike.

Ocqueoc River

Ocqueoc River (pronounced Ah-Kee-Ock) is the largest river located entirely within Presque Isle County, MI.
Ocqueoc is French for "Crooked Waters."
The Ocqueoc River is 34.2 miles long with a watershed of 94,394 acres.
It's one of the few rivers in the Lower Peninsula that flows North.
The Ocqueoc River flows through a limestone karst region. Because of this, some tributaries such as the Little Ocqueoc seem to disappear, flowing underground for some distance before re-emerging at the surface.
During spawning season, salmon can be seen swimming through these underground river systems.

Ocqueoc Falls

Ocqueoc Falls is the largest waterfall in Michigan's Lower Peninsula with a drop of about 5 feet.
Ocqueoc Falls is one of two waterfalls in Michigan's Lower Peninsula & the only "officially recognized" waterfall in the Lower Peninsula.
Ocqueoc Falls is the only universally handicap accessible waterfall in the entire United States!
Remnants of an old mill chase still exist above the falls.

We hiked the trail downstream, then back upstream to the bridge. While I read the writing on the wall, Jason searched the nooks & crannies for traces of black sand. Yes, there could be gold in them there hills! Gold can be found throughout Michigan. It was left by glacial deposits but a few lode deposits are also known to exist.

Presque Isle - Our Final Destination

It was our first visit to our friend's house, a beautiful, huge, hand-hewn log home they had built themselves. Many of our camping friends were invited for a potluck BBQ. As at camp, the food was delicious beyond words. Our hosts served grilled halibut they caught in Alaska. Another couple handmade wontons stuffed with wild rabbit. It was all so delicious. Like a 5 star restaurant hidden in the woods and the view was absolutely spectacular! I love our west coast sunsets, but the Sunrise Side definitely holds her own. She's a beauty!

Breathtaking, isn't it? But wait...there's more!
Our friends also have a view of the New Presque Isle Lighthouse.

Constructed in 1870, the New Presque Isle Lighthouse is the tallest lighthouse tower accessible to the public on the Great Lakes. It is located on the shores of Lake Huron near Presque Isle Harbor. I can see now a return trip is in order. There's so much more to explore!

Summer may be over but our Pillywiggin Adventures are not.
Autumn is our favorite season to explore Northern Michigan.
Who knows where we'll turn up next?!

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