a front door, a message, and a yard, in support of ukraine and the pollinators
—
one of the reasons i love walking so much
is for the surprises waiting to be discovered along the way
when walking through the neighborhood
i travel with eyes wide open
people are so creatively expressive
flower pot art
a snake in the grass
smiling and made of latex, upon closer inspection
a front yard mini vineyard
a tiny village
—
“this world is but a canvas to our imagination.”
-henry david thoreau
The annual summer festival, a celebration of the Upper Peninsula’s quintessential cultural cuisine held in the Keweenaw Peninsula village of Calumet, Michigan, is hosting a Pasty Olympics on Aug. 19 from noon to 4 p.m. The zany new competitive event is “probably a world’s first,” according to its website
In addition to the long-running festival’s traditional bake off and pasty eating contest, this year people can vie to win “eternal pasty glory” through an array of Olympic-style competitions that add a strongman-style element to Pasty Fest, “speaking to the history and culture of pasties and the Keweenaw’s copper mining history,” organizers said.
“Expect opening and closing ceremonies and the spirit of competition to prevail!” said Leah Polzien, Main Street Calumet executive director.
One of the new events, the Pasty Relay, involves teams racing to craft a giant pasty — using pool noodles for rolling pins and mops to apply egg wash — with awards for fastest time, most appetizing and best team costumes.
Meanwhile, contestants in the new Pasty Pull are challenged to “harness pure pasty power” in an attempt to pull a truck as fast as possible down a 100-foot track along one of Calumet’s historic streets.
A new Pasty Fest Art Prize competition, featuring two dozen pasty-themed works of art, is already underway. The art includes pasties immortalized in paintings, mixed media, crochet, and even a tiny copper pasty sculpture. Anyone can view the art in the online virtual gallery and vote for their favorites through August 18.
—
“the pasty is the yooper burrito of the upper peninsula.”
-daily mining gazette (said by a naval recruiter in the u..p. in the early 90s)
—
ann arbor pride fest 2023
—
so happy to live in a city that takes pride in all people and celebrates everyone.
—
“festivals promote diversity, they bring neighbors into dialogue, they increase creativity,
they offer opportunities for civic pride, they improve our general psychological well-being.
in short, they make cities better places to live.”
-david binder
Sanders will once again produce its famous dessert toppings after taking a pause last year because of manufacturing challenges and extremely high demand. They will start manufacturing with its famous milk chocolate and caramel fudge – the two best-selling flavors.
“We truly appreciate the love that customers in Michigan and beyond have for our products that spans the generations and has been a part of family traditions for nearly 150 years,” said Jennifer Bauer, Chief Marketing Officer for Second Nature Brands. “That is why we committed to resuming manufacturing of our toppings as soon as we could. It is because of the support born in our hometown that Sanders is the fastest-growing chocolate brand in the country.”
Sanders expects to begin re-selling the toppings at stores in mid-August and by the end of August, they will be available on the Sanders website.
Life is good, and even better very soon.
my morning view from my hotel in san jose, costa rica at the beginning
a magnificent welcome
my morning view from my hotel-ish in the jfk airport area, new york, usa, at the end
even the boy scouts need help finding their way from time to time at jfk airport
2.5 hours in tsa security
dogs alerted to hiking shoes worn in the rain forest
they took my shoes for a while
later dropped them into a random plastic bin for me to retrieve with no explanation
planning in my head to work out an alternate flight
miracle flight delay at last minute
ran for ages and somehow made it on just in time
i’m not known for my running skills
but i was motivated
right on time
bus transfer to ann arbor
with the kindest, most positive, happiest driver i’ve ever encountered
helped an older blind woman board bus one step at a time
moved her personal things so that should could sit in a front seat
helped a very elderly man who did not speak english to secure a ticket and hook up to wi-fi
yelled out, “i’m not tryin’ to not listen to your conversation here,
but i’m overheatin’ and need to turn on the air so i may not hear you!”
apologized for now planning to be 5 minutes late to arrive in ann arbor
did not blame the delay on the people she stopped to help
got on her radio and gave us updates like an airline pilot
told us she was passing trucks, so she could go a couple of miles faster,
as per company policy, to make up the time
as we approached ann arbor
she shared that she makes it a point not to go over curbs
even with all of the city’s myriad construction detours
told us the she really is a hippie at heart and loves ann arbor
reminded me so much of the comedian, melissa mcarthy
a blond version
with her big hair clip, gloves, vest, reflector sunglasses
and best of all
an incredibly big heart and enthusiastic demeanor
born to do this job or any job with people
upon arrival in ann arbor
she told us not to worry
she would get all of our luggage our from the underbelly of the bus
did so with a smile, got right in there to grab our things, and wished us well before she headed off
a magnificent ending.
—
many thanks to all who followed me on this journey
—
“remember that happiness is a way of travel – not a destination.”
roy m. goodman
leaves in the rain
lovely homemade breakfast
pollinator hotel in the forest
fresh-picked peppercorns
cool water swimming pool at the rainforest hotel
local cat rests with la tortuga sculpture
shadow of a rainforest fern
rainforest hotel lounge
retro lighting and paneling
playing jazz standards and christmas music
the coatis and their families
often joined us for meals
a hut deep in the rainforest
offering a place for the workers to rest
a palm tree on the pacific ocean nods to the end of a day.
—
“i love to mix everything together. it’s really my way to see beauty.”
-alessandro michele
ethereal green wall in the alley of a small town
powerful monument in the capitol city
broken pottery mosaic on the sidewalk
tree trunk art in the rainforest
luscious dessert art
bottles create stained glass in the walls of the turtle sanctuary
heart becomes part of the path
where the fairies might live in the rain forest
small storefront in the rain
night setting at one of our rain forest stays
hanging rain forest bridge to ?
fisherman’s boat waits for him on the river
flowers growing wild on the caribbean beach
near where the sea turtle laid her eggs the night before
—
there was beauty of all kinds to be found in costa rica,
often in the most unlikely of places, in all its forms, as is beauty’s way.
—
“when you leave a beautiful place, you carry it with you wherever you go.”
-amanda stoddard
haezel who woke up at 4 am to milk her cow and taught us how to make cheese from it,
made pastry and coffee with us, and who also helps the local community and school children
enthusiastic fellow hikers
our wonderful guide who led the way, was endlessly patient, never let us get lost,
and shared his knowledge of the country and its nature, stories, history, and spanish with us
along with our talented and very funny driver who navigated incredibly challenging roads
with the owner of a local medicinal plant and food organic farm
who also shared her homegrown sugarcane liquor
called ‘moonshine’ or ‘contraband”
toasting new friends
observant hikers
fellow traveler crew
costa rican cowpokes
breaking bread (and lots of beans and rice) together
sharing our day
boat adventurers
a shy boy and his rooster.
—
such memorable people all.
i loved meeting strangers who became friends.
the costa ricans were some of the most positive people i have ever met.
—
“it is good people who make good places.”
-anna sewell, british novelist
in all of the my recent time spent in the various forests and habitats
and all of my encounters with flora and fauna
(with each of them having powers much stronger than mine)
i never once had a situation where they were aggressive
or when i had to defend myself against any of them
until
one night in a rain forest hotel
with screened windows for an open cross breeze
perfect for sleeping
i at last laid down exhausted on my bed
only to feel something flying near my face
jumping up and turning on a light
i noticed quite a few flying ants
buzzing around my room
and some walking ants marching around
who i strongly tried to encourage to leave my space
and then every time i would feel like i was in charge
i’d see a couple more casually strolling or flying by
from the corner of my eye
so i tried to figure out how they had gotten in
and to find the source
and i remembered the humans telling us
not to leave our doors open for more than a minute
as all of the bugs, and perhaps a mammal, would feel free to visit
and i remembered talking to a fellow traveler
with my door open
just before going in to sleep
so perhaps the ant leaders and their minions had taken that as a welcome
as i looked around the room
i noticed some of the flying ones stuck inside of my lampshade
no doubt waylaid when trying to ‘go to the light’
and the crawling ants seemed to be heading to my extra pillow
to join others who got their early to hang out in its case
so i knew i had to take drastic measures
survival skills kicked in
and i took the entire ant nightclub/pillow, case and all
and threw it in the shower
turned the water on high for a bit
(was i trying to drown them?)
and then tried to close them in the bathroom
by haphazardly/half-assedly (if it was a word)
closing the door and using bath towels to fill in the cracks
with a small crack to let a bit of light out to watch for others
not the best plan
(was i trying to imprison them?)
and finally went to sleep
with one last solo flyer buzzing by
just to make his point
and when i woke up in the morning
none were to be found walking around or flying by
all was quiet on the front
i’m sure they were resting after all of their late night hijinks
but i’m guessing whoever came to clean my room later
might wonder why i had a drenched bed pillow in a case hanging to dry in the shower
with the door closed and towels all used
and why my lampshade was filled with dried flyers
and if i get a bill for a replacement pillow
one day when i least expect it
perhaps in 3 years and a day
i will happily pay the bill
it would be a small price to pay
for winning my battle
and the ants are probably laughing it off somewhere
knowing they actually won the battle
with only a few downed soldiers left behind
and would find a new place to party the next night.
no doubt with replacements.
and the howler monkeys screeched out ‘good morning’ as only they can do.
“bugs are not going to inherit the earth. they own it now. so we might as well make peace with the landlord.”
-thomas eisner
bonsai for sale
from a creative salesman who clearly always finds a way
in la fortuna, costa rica
i so admire his dedication and out of the box thinking.
—
“how you sell is more important than what you sell.”
-andy paul
I didn't have my glasses on.... 