End of Summer party

Pizza at Cold Creek Inn was the way we celebrated a great summer with friends. At first I thought this blog was about growing tomatoes and it turns out it was about celebrating our wonderful life at Crystal Lake. The tomatoes were great of course but so was all the local food we ate, the friends, the boats, the weather, the lake. Mike and I together and in love.
What a wonderful summer it has been.

I said this before, but thanks Dad for the gift of this lake we love so much.

Mackinac Island Adventures

It was time to take a break and head to world famous Mackinac Island with Jim and Suzanne. We rode around the island on bikes and had some great wine and cocktails at the Iroquois Hotel. We did not buy any FUDGE! We did bring back pasties. We also stopped at Legg's Inn for great Polish food. Then dinner at Dam Site Inn-all you can eat Perch of course.

Frankfort not Maui

This may look like a beach in Maui but it is Frankfort! Wind has arrived and it was sunny and warm enough for kiteboards, surfboards and sailboards. The waves were 3-4 ft and short but hearty Michiganders took to the sand and surf in good numbers.

Today is also windy ( my tomatoes are shivering) and rainy. It sure seems like fall. I am not sure we will get another fruit harvest before we leave for CA.

Best Donut in the World

I have to say that this IS the best donut ever. Shop and Save makes these Turtle rolls. Cinnamon roll with chocolate frosting, caramel frosting, pecans and chocolate chips. This might be the 5th or 6th one I have had all summer and I could not pass up one more.
At home, I never, ever have donuts. Even at church. In Maui I have coconut muffins. In Beulah it is the fab donut you see.

Took the sailboat out today, it is Mike's birthday. We celebrated with lunch on the beach with Jim and Suzanne and then margarita's and fajita's at the Roadhouse. Tomorrow-Mackinaw Island.

Better shot

Took this with a better camera and Mike thinks it is better. I agree.
It just does not get prettier than this and I have seen some fabulous places in the world.

Sunset in September

Taken from my iPhone when Mike went out on the sailboat. We are enjoying the last few days of 70 degree weather. Not a lot of wind and tomorrow we take this boat out of the water.
The sunset was amazing and the lake never looked more beautiful. Sad to know that snow will fall and this lake will freeze over in Jan.
The trees are starting to turn red and yellow and you can see yellow birch leaves floating in the lake.
Most folks are taking boats and docks out and many cottages are closed for the winter. It is a sad time to think about packing up and leaving until June of next year.

Mom's roses

My Mom planted these roses years ago. They have been neglected and this year I tried to feed them and water them and wonders of wonders! they bloomed at least 3 times this summer. I think she would be proud of the fact I care for them.

I am not sure what they are and they are from 2 bushes. They do have a nice scent.

We spent the day shopping in TC for the items needed to close for the winter.

lake rocks

an attempt at art...the lake wears down the rocks so they look smooth like this. We were at the Platte outlet when we took this.

I had to cover Beulah and Crystal the last couple of days. No frost, but I have 5-6 small tomatoes I am hoping to protect until they ripen.
Today we had one with turkey and bacon, lettuce. My version of a club with less bread. Yummm.

Platte River

This is the sand at the river near the outlet to Lake Michigan. Great sand, clear water and this is September.

It actually rained a bit today and of course we planned to take the Doos out of the lake. Buddy Dave helped and they are now safely in the garage. They need winterizing and some clean up. Summer is really almost over for us.
The old washing machine is leaking, not good as we have 2 weeks left. Mike has it all apart. Let's hope for the best. Can't tell how old the thing is, I am guessing over 10-12 years.

Fall Leaves

It is fall even if the weather has been warm and sunny for 16 days now! Some trees are just starting to turn color. I liked the green interior and veins and the red borders.

Fall brings a lot of interesting activity here. We haven't stayed this long-ever. We saw a deer crossing our street just 4 houses down the other night. All the cottages are empty, closed for the winter already. Our boats will come out this Monday as will the dock. The mornings are cool and we are expecting a frost soon. I still have tomatoes but I am watching them in case it gets too cold. The college teams are playing... I am feeling a bit sad, I always do when I leave this little piece of heaven for the fall.

It is fall, it is Salmon

We decided to go to the Betsie River today to see the annual Coho salmon run. In the 60's, the state planted young Coho to help control the alewife problem in Lake Michigan. It worked and also created a sport fishing opportunity. They just started migrating and you can see one successful fish jumping the dam, heading upstream. Farther down, lots of fishermen were out trying to get the fish before they get to the dam.

John and Jan grow stuff in MS.

This is the country kitchen of my friends John and Jan. The moved here a few years ago and have horses, a mule, and a garden. John sent these after he saw this blog.

I love it that my friends are retiring and doing something so simple as growing great food. We were all "executives" that worked and traveled our whole lives. What a relaxing hobby, and maybe we will be healthier as we age with organic, home grown food. Do I sound like Michael Pollan???

M22 Bike ride

We took a 14 mile bike ride yesterday. We left from our house and rode around the lake to 22 over to the Platte River and back. Nice pretty flat road, some shade and not too many cars. At one time we passed a group of wild turkeys on the side of the road. I wondered if they would fly out at me. They just gobbled into the woods.

September Harvest

What a bounty of summer fruit! We are eating corn and tomato salads, caprese, burgers with tomatoes, omelettes with tomatoes, brushetta, pasta with oil, garlic and tomatoes....

This is absolutely the best summer ever at the lake. It was 80 today and sunny. The plants love it and still have some fruit. Still no bugs, no worms. Fact is I can't really tell the difference between Beulah and Crystal either. Beulah matured first.

PS. Still loving the Fiestaware.

Judy Henley and Me

This is my friend from St. Agnes HS in Flint. She and husband Bob came to visit.
Weather is perfect and we can't ask for more sun. We went to TC to the car show ( still need help for the Vette) and to the Michigan Schooner Fest at the park on the West Bay of Traverse.

Tomatoes are doing pretty good. I am picking almost everyday and they love the sun. Production is slowing as I think they know it is fall even though it is 78 every day. I don't want to say it was easier to grow them than I thought but .....

I have now become involved in a new web project. Mike helped me launch flintsaintagnes.ning.com. We opened this 2 weeks ago and have 79 alums from all years. What fun we are having chatting and posting photos.

No photos

weather perfect, tomatoes just loving the sun and we are actually being lazy. We went to Frankfort for a late dinner and the town is deserted! Most places closed early and we ended up at Villa Marine which I bet looks just like a scene from Northern Exposure in Jan. Luckily they were still cooking.

Spinnaker time

What a perfect day for sailing. I went out yesterday with Mike and we flew the spinnaker. Today he went alone and I followed in the Sea Doo to take the photos.

Dinner was fresh salmon ( no not local but they are running in the Betsie and Platte), local corn, my tomatoes and a small salad. Pinot Noir, of course.
We ate on the beach because it was warm and calm winds. Does not get better than this.

PS. Well maybe as the yellow beans are still in the market. Tomorrow's dinner.

Harvest

The children of Beulah, Crystal and Tony! All tasty.
We are feasting on them everyday and we shared them with Jim and Suzanne yesterday at Lake Ann.
Weather has been amazing and so summery. We decided to stay another 2 weeks! ( thanks Cat and Jeff) The plants will continue to be feed and watered and we will see how many more tomatoes I get. This has been so much fun and easier than I thought.

A salad.

I am always looking for new ways to use the fruit of the vine. Today I made this simple salad. I have lost count of the pick as we are getting fruit every day! Both taste wonderful and are perfectly ripe. The small scars are just the way I know they are home grown and not from some tomato factory.

Mike went sailing twice today and the weather was perfect. He declared it " the most perfect day of the summer". We had lunch on the beach and a nice dinner with this salad and pork chops, corn and brown rice. Wine of course.

Here is what I love about eating local in Beulah. The turtle donuts(cinnamon roll covered with chocolate and caramel frosting, chocolate chips and pecans), the corn from Hall's, blueberries, fried perch and Fishtown white wine. We like the pizza at Cold Creek ( thanks Dave ) cherry pie, honeyrocks from Bay City, and the yellow beans!

Everyone grows tomatoes.

We were walking at the marina in Frankfort and stumbled on a small garden right at the docks. Big yachts and tomatoes!
As I talk to people I find that lots of folks grow tomatoes, who knew! My buddy Linda in Atlanta says her husband Dave has lot of them, this dock, my mechanic Dustin here in Honor ( and he had to cover them from frost the last few days), Bebe in Florida, Jenny next door and Frank our neighbor down the street is growing them in a moving bed that goes to the garage at night and comes out in the day.

local life

Here is Mike in a local VFW on burger night. You can see exactly how you order in this spot :)
They grill burgers outside on a deck and charge $4. for a burger and chips with all the fixins. Only thing better is the 3 for $5 beers!

Crystal in late August.

She looks a big ragged but fruit production is in full swing. We have eaten one and it was very good. Skin seemed thinner than some of Beulah's. The plant doesn't look all that good but I think all the energy is going to the fruit.

We are getting some rain and it is not a great weekend. Neither Mike nor I are feeling very well, cold, flu, bacterial junk-who knows but staying home is ok. We did go to see Inglorious Basterds and it was fun. Who doesn't love Brad Pitt and Quentin. Even popcorn here costs $6.85 for a Med bag!

It seem like fall happened all of a sudden. We are not ready for it. Time goes to fast. Maybe we will get a few days of sun this week. I think the tomatoes need it.

And how do I leave them in a few weeks? Mike asks if I have someone to give them to. Not really. Will they just rot on the vine? I have babied them all summer and all the other plants and snow will just come and cover all of it. Seems odd to me after living in CA where geraniums never die....

The Great Lake

This is Lake Michigan, taken from Glen Haven. What you see are the North and South Manitou Islands.
The lake is calm this day but when you read about this part of the lake it is one of the most dangerous sections in winter months. So many ships carrying goods around the lakes were grounded or sunk near here. Read the history of the South Manitou island lighthouse or the Pointe Betsie lighhouse. In some winters, 25% of ships were lost near here.

'nough said

I don't think this town was named after Mike's family but we claim the right to post the sign on this blog.

How cool is this!

I found this fiesta ware at the Buckley old engine show! It is a great way to show off the color and size of the fruit. The one on the right is from Crystal.

So far every one has been yummy, no worms and perfectly ripe.

republican portugese water dog--Bubbles

This is Bubbles and Jeanne. They came to visit and you can see Beulah in the photo. Luckily, Bubbles does not like to eat tomatoes.

Flint Northern Class Reunion

My husband had his class reunion and this was a shot of our friend Dave and another friend Suzanne ( see last post). A good time was had by all. So much for fun in Flint.
Now back to the sunny lake.

We had a nice dinner today of a caesar salad, fresh yellow beans and whole wheat pasta with mushrooms, garlic, white wine, basil and olive oil sauce with Beulah's tomatoes. A little red wine and life is good at the lake again. I picked on from Crystal but it needs a bit of time to mature.

Pick count 8! 5 eaten.

Flint buddies.

These are our Flint friends, the Dahls and the Smiths Up North with us. Both of the guys were in our first wedding ( yes we were married to each other, divorced and then remarried 22 years later). The attractive younger girl is Kelly Smith, daughter of Dave and Joanne.
We had a little dinner on Lake Ann with food and wine as you can see.
None of us lives in Flint anymore but we all have houses near each other Up North. How fun it is to have dear, old friends to visit with in the summer.

Tart

This is a tart cherry tree and the photo was taken by my iPhone!
Not quite ready to pick but full of fruit. Ah, the bounty of nature.
Picked another tomato and the damaged branch managed to produce 3 reasonable tomatoes. We ate two more today, count is up to 6. Crystal has one that is ripening and I am anxious to see how different they are. One thing I noticed is that the tomatoes seem to have a slightly thicker skin than the market or heirloom ones. I might go to the extension service to find out.
Added some food today and expecting rain tomorrow.

Glen Arbor

Glen Arbor MI with a view of the North Manitou island.
Big blue water, rocky shores, blue sky.
Glen Arbor is a small lake town near the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes. Glen Haven is an old lighthouse town we visited too.
Food! Art's Tavern for parmesan encrusted whitefish. Eat local!

Diane and Ken's boat

Here we are visiting Ken and Diane's sailboat at Charlevoix. They are sailing around the top of MI this summer. Considering my issues with sailing we decided to stay in the harbor and have a nice lunch at a local spot.

Pick count at 5

It is finally hot here and sunny. I picked 5 from Beulah and Mike and I enjoyed 2 of those today. No great new recipe just the caprese, I say "just" but it is a wonderfully simple way to enjoy tomatoes.
One growing note: the branch I protected by multiple slings, is withering and dying. It also had a black tape repair on the damaged branch. The 4 small tomatoes actually survived and I have been picking them. Maybe the fruit is sucking all the nutrients from the branch. Odd.
Here are some things I am learning. The skins seem thicker and I don't know why. We have good color, good texture inside, good taste. Need to google it.
Found an interesting article in the TC paper. Fleda Brown "on Poetry" found a poem called Vespers by Louise Gluck. It is about growing tomatoes! Here is a bit of it "I think I should not be encouraged to grow tomatoes. Or if I am, you should withhold the heavy rains, the cold nights that come so often here, while other regions get twelve weeks of summer." Up North we have a pretty short season for these red orbs too.
Next weekend the Frankfort farmers market is featuring heirlooms. I would love to be there, but that is the big Flint Northern reunion.

Lake at Sunset

It can't get prettier than this. I say this about everything here but it is true. What a paradise in the summer. This way taken off the dock at sunset. (thank you Mike)

We went to the MSU local alumni gathering and picnic on the lake tonight. I did not have enough of Beulah's beauties to bring but did make the melon salad and it was very good. Lots of fun meeting new people. Once you start chatting it seems less than six degrees between us all. Flint connections, Owosso family connections etc.
Current pick count is 3! Crystal has lots of offspring, all green.

First Cutting

For you skeptics, here is a shot of the inside just proving it was a real tomato and had no worms, no bugs, just luscious tomato.

Summer ( as we know it ) has actually come back to the Lake. It is calm, 80's and sunny. Mike took the Scot out alone and did great. I followed on the Sea Doo and had a nice ride almost around the lake on my own. Both are running now. If we could only get the Vette back and running we would be 100%.

"It is always something" Rosanne Rosanadana

Ta Da!

This is the finished product. It tasted as good as it looked too. This is basil from my garden.
We had a lovely dinner on the beach and it included this salad, grilled chicken, fresh Michigan corn on the cob and a Shiraz!
Life does not get better than this...

First fruit of the season

Here they are! First two fruits of the season. I think tomorrow will be the day we actually taste them. I am planning a nice caprese salad with my own basil.
I thought I would take an artistic photo. They look small but in fact are smaller than the size of a tennis ball. I think that is normal for Early Girls. I might even frame this.

Tony update

You may have wondered about my neighbor Tony Tomato. He is well and as you can see as several nice bunches of fruit ready to ripen. It seems he might be a cherry tomato kind of guy.
He lives in a nice old wheelbarrow painted a bright blue.

Ripe!

Here they are, the first ripe tomatoes of the season!! I think tomorrow is the day to pick. I don't want to do it too soon, but I just can't wait. Full photos of inside and out will be forthcoming.
We had a rainy night and not much sun today so ripening is slow I think. We are expecting a few days of more normal and HOT weather which should really redden everything.
I am going to google some sights to see exactly when to pick...you can just use some of the links on this site too.

Weekend Gardener says pick when fruit is solid colored and firm. Do NOT put on windowsill to ripen, which of course is what I have been doing with the market tomatoes I have been getting for the last 3 weeks or so. I did know that you do not put them in the frig. Bad form as Mike would say. It degrades the flavor. So store in a dark place away from direct light.

Visitors to Beulah

This is Jackie visiting from Williamston. We did some white knuckle sailing with Mike, shopped, ate and of course had some wine on the beach.

PIE!

ok, this is not tomato related but cherry pie and ice cream are an important part of life Up North. This was from the famous Cherry Hut. MMMgood.
And served on the beach...

Yellow Beans

This is one of the best summer veggies and one of my all time favorites. My grandfather grew these and they were a favorite of my mother's. I wait every summer for them to ripen. We get them in CA in late June and then I get to enjoy them again in August in MI. Some people think it odd that I am obsessed with yellow beans. Oh well, it is part emotion and part taste. That is the best food experience you can have.

My recipe: steam them for 10 min. Add a ton of real butter and salt and EAT.

33 Buick

One fun thing to do here is go to car shows. Lots of old and fancy cars are in MI as this is the home of GM, Ford, Chrysler... This was at Culver's, a great burger spot. Real Bonnie and Clyde style. Check out the hood ornament. I think no one loves their cars like we do in MI, not even those wacky CA folks.
No Vette's this week. Mine is still in the shop and it seems it needs less drastic work than we thought, whew!

RED the tomato is RED!

Here it is, the first RED tomato of the season! We have had a lot of sun and some rain and sure enough, ripening is happening.
We have been busy. We are taking advantage of all the fun summer events UpNorth. We went to a Shakespeare play (Henry V) at Elberta, dinner at Art's Tavern in Glen Arbor (local whitefish), saw the Glen Haven Coast Guard station, took a bunch of photos and have Jackie as a guest.
Jackie, Mike and I went sailing in what I thought was a good day. Turns out it was my version of the Perfect Storm and I just wanted out of the boat. I might be a better farmer than sailor...

New Baby

This is my attempt to show the latest addition to Crystal. We are now at 14 for Beulah and 10 for Crystal. I water twice a day because the pots are sort of small and they are on the concrete which I think dries them out faster. I admit to some insecticide powder ( maybe not so organic) and have been feeding them an organic mix.

Did I mention I hated tomatoes as a kid.? Liked ketchup a lot, hated real tomatoes. Not sure when I turned the corner but it might have been in my 30's as I realized that they tasted good on burgers. Then I started to discover fresh tomato bruschetta, tomatoes and fresh mozzarella and basil from my garden. In CA we get fabulous heirlooms and I just got addicted. We are always sorry to see the season end. We do not have a long enough growing season outdoors in MI to grow heirlooms ( or so the farmer told me at the Elberta market. I hope mine actually ripen before I leave in Sept....

Sometimes it is good to understand your history and family. Here is a photo I found of my mother and dad holding me in my Grandfather Bojko's garden in Flint. He was my mother's father. I will bet there are some tomatoes there!
The trend today is to have small family gardens, community gardens, big city roof gardens and to support local farming. Seems we are coming full circle and I am happy to be a small part with Beulah, Crystal and the Herbs.
How I wish I had the advice of mom and grandpa for my garden. I am sure they see me anyway:)

Closeup

This is Beulah. I am getting good growth but am worried about the small scars. I don't think she has worms, but not sure why they look like this.

I will take any advice I can get.