July was busy month… both for business, and personally. I’m glad I got to slip back up to Michigan City with the family. It’s such a practical place for us and those who know me, know I am *Mr. Practical*.

Serious, I still maintain that the Great Lakes offer just as much beach as any coast. Then again, I’m more of a snowy mountain guy than a sunny beach 🙂 Still, it’s just an awesome 4.5 hour drive from home. I don’t even leave Indiana. Many people argue that the Great Lakes have colder water, but to me, it seems insignificant. It may be true, but it’s freshwater and the “beach community” we stay in is something out of a Walton’s episode. It’s like people come here to love one another. Serious.

It feels like we gained a week back in our life after this trip. It’s perfect for kids and just a short scenic walk to the lake. We took two trips last year and just did our first one this year. Friends Brian Hensley and Jeremy Ostrow rode their bikes up for the day on Sunday to check it out. Since it’s only about a 4.5 hour ride up, it was a good trip for them. We fed them dinner and sent them on their way. We’re told it was a worthy trip for them. The rest of the week was good to us. There was plenty of sun and a slightly overcasted day right in the middle of the week so we could take a break from the sun and hit the local scene. Can’t wait to go back soon.

The garden is running at approximately 75% and we’ve been pulling produce from it since we’ve returned from vacation. We have had our first tomato’s and in less than a week, we’ll be making salsa and canning so they don’t go to waste. I’ve also harvested all the garlic. See it in the garden photos below.

The banana trees, fruit trees, grapes and berries are all doing well. The peach tree has been a total wuss this year. Had to cure it of peach leaf curl first thing this spring and I had it pumping out the serious foliage since then. However, it seems to have another “leaf dropping” ailment that I’m still diagnosing, but I’m not worried. The goal is to get a good year of green growth this year. My cherry trees are going nuts. They look text-book healthy. All for now.

Michigan City (Northern IN at Southern tip of Lake Michigan)

July 2009 Photos

For us, spring is a busy time of the year, not just with all the work and school stuff going on, but the needs of the garden, grapes and other horticultural rituals we love to do. There is grape pruning, garden tilling, seed planting and bringing out the banana plants. I have a habit of propagating anything I prune off my grapevines and jade plants even if it is to hand out to friends. I’m not yet sure of the significance to me of why I do it, but maybe it’s just a friendship thing… from our house to yours. If that grapevine takes off and becomes something significant, someone might say, “we got that from the Morgan ranch back in the spring of ’09.”

Hannah did her school play “Jack and the Beanstalk” and we’ve already been down to Louisville the weekend of the Kentucky Derby to make derby pie with Andy and Debbie… who by the way, made it up the very next weekend to do the canoe and camp trip.

From the wildlife, flora and fauna in our back yard… to the images of all things renewed, Spring just rocks.