One sure sign spring is nearing in west Michigan is that the Foremost’s Butterflies Are Blooming Exhibit is underway. This is one of the most popular exhibits at the Frederik Meijer Gardens, and for good reason. It’s a delightful experience to enter the exhibit and be among fluttering butterflies everywhere. This is the largest temporary butterfly exhibit in the United States.
Joy, that’s what I feel visiting there, I hope you can make it to the exhibit, I think you’ll love it.
This photo is looking at The Weathervane restaurant in Charlevoix from across the canal by the drawbridge. The restaurant is run by Staffords and so far, every place I’ve been to that they own is great.
I was trying to think of what makes the Weathervane so special and it all boils down to its distinct personality, comfortable atmosphere, great food, and wonderful view. After enjoying a meal here, I like to go across the canal and walk to the free public beach. And, here’s a tip, when you’re coming into town, park before you get to the drawbridge.
It’s snowing like crazy so I spent the day cozied up by the fireplace making this poster of my 2008 Essence Series. This body of work is a series of limited edition paintings that I created using a unique combination of techniques. If you’re curious, you can read more about this on my website Anntopia.com.
My work is for sale at several fine art galleries in Michigan including: The Grand Gallery, The Timmel Collection and Syncronicity. The Grand Gallery is open year around and can be reached at 616.676.4604.
This year, I would like to expand the art galleries I’m represented in to include cities outside Michigan. Since I have visitors to this blog from around the world, I thought I’d mention this for those of you who may have connections with art galleries or suggestions for me.
Please feel free to email me at Ann@Anntopia.com if you know of an art gallery that might be interested.
Thanks for all the visits, I love you guys! Ann
I took this photo last year up in the Lelanua Peninsula just before spring. I could smell it in the air and hear the birds singing away… all that was missing was bright sun, greenery everywhere and warm wind blowing off Lake Michigan.
Every winter around this time when the days start to get longer, I get VERY antsy for warmer weather. What makes it especially hard to wait, is knowing what a Michigan summer is like, in a word, incredible.
For those of you who have never been to Michigan, I hope you’ll check our state out this summer. For all the news stories of the troubled auto industry in Detroit, there’s a million moments of joy waiting to be taken advantage of here. For those of you who have been here already, you know what I’m talking about, and I hope to see you around when I’m taking my pics for Michigan Sweet Spot.
Hey there, for all you folks wondering if Rothbury 2009 will be a reality or not, I just got official word. Rothbury Music Festival will happen July 2 – 5, 2009 and will be even better this year. Here’s a link to the official website for the Rothbury Music Festival, they are still working out details of the lineup. The above is a photo of the woods during the daytime. At night Sherwood Forest was lit up with black lights and like nothing I’ve ever seen before… fun! Here’s a link to lots of HDR photos I took at Rothbury in 2008, when you get to the bottom of the page, be sure to click the “older posts” link, which includes shots of John Mayer, Snoop Dog and Trey Anastasio. I’ll be getting a photo pass again this year, so stay tuned.
Today I was just itching to take a picture but couldn’t think of anything and then presto bammo, I thought of getting a shot at the fish ladder. This photo was taken at Fish Ladder Park in Grand Rapids. If I showed you the photos I took facing the other direction, you’d see several fisherman standing out in the freezing cold water fishing… what the heck??? In my book, you’d REALLY have to love fishing to be out in that cold water. Hope they were catching something. The fish ladder is in downtown Grand Rapids, along the Grand River, near the 6th Street Bridge.
I took this photo on Lubbers Farm in the early spring. It won’t be too long before it starts warming up. This is a great place to go for locally grown food, plus, I the Lubbers’ are great to know.
Okay, it’s official. I’m tired of winter. I think I smelled spring in the air two days ago too. I took this photo last summer on White Lake, which, by the way is a great place to go boating. It’s a nice sized lake with a great boat launch and then if you want some REAL excitement, you can blast on over to Lake Michigan through the channel.
So here’s why I stay here in spite of a too long winter:
1. Perfect summer days like the one here.
2. No matter where you live in Michigan, you’re minutes away from an outdoor adventure. Even in the city.
3. Low cost of living so you can have a much nicer home here than most places, and get one on the water.
4. My family, which is close by.
5. Great friends.
6. Great job.
7. Great neighbors.
8. LOVE Grand Rapids, not too big, not too small, big city venues, small city convenience.
9. All the beautiful beaches.
10. Great seaside towns with art galleries galore.
So, how about some other Michigander feedback? What keeps you here?
The day I took this photo, the weather was HORRIBLE. There was a blizzard warning, drifting snow, and on top of that, it was soooo cold salt wasn’t melting anything, so the roads that were plowed still had packed ice on them.
My wild/crazy friend and I decided to go out in her SUV and take pics. As we were driving down this road, there was an elegant wrought iron gate leading into what she thought was a “farm.” “Oh, Annie, let’s drive back into that farm so you can take some pictures,” she said as she pulled into this long, winding, hilly, one lane drive to nowhere. I had a feeling that this was no farm because as I recall, farms don’t usually have gates that are normally locked, as was the case for this place.
We drove waaay down the drive, at least 3/4 of a mile, and noticed a snowplow blasting toward us full speed ahead and there was nowhere to go. So she starts backing up, expecting this guy to slow down. Instead he sped up and just glared at us, practically daring us to stop. She literally drove in reverse the entire length of the windy, snow packed, hilly driveway going at least 30 MPH, without stopping or slowing down. It was the most amazing ride I’ve ever had. By the time we got to the end of the drive, we were laughing so hard we were practically crying.
I took this photo about a block down from the drive where we were unwanted guests. Later, I heard that we had been on the property of one of Ada’s more well known and prominent citizens.
Does it look cold? Well, it certainly was! I took this photo when I was driving back from Lansing and the sky was so beautiful I had to get off the highway and find a place to take a quick shot before the sun went down.
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