It sure is pretty here when the sky is blue, the sun is shining and there’s a ton of snow on the ground.
As part of my boycott of winter, I visited ground zero for my very favorite summer treat, Palazzolo’s Artisan Gelatos and Sorbets. I took this photo of Pete Palazzolo with some of his freshly made gelato, one of the 600+ flavors they offer. Every pan of gelato and sorbetto is made to order european style with premium, pure ingredients and very little air whipped into it. I really appreciate the fact that this is an innovative small company that is known for high standards, a unique product and customer service, where you can easily get the people in charge on the phone.
Apparently I’m in good company of Palazzolo’s lovers, they made Oprah’s “the O’s List” of her favorite things. If you want to try some of their sorbet or gelatto, you can find their products in Michigan at D & W, Forest Hills Foods and many fine restaurants coast to coast.
Big news today, there’s going to be a huge 4 day music festival in Oceana County at the Double JJ Resort over the 4rth of July holiday. It sounds like a blast with Dave Mathews Band headlining and a ton of other well know national acts also participating, like Primus, Modest Mouse, John Mayer, 311, Snoop Dogg and too many more to mention. The tickets, which are $224 for 4 days go on sale February 27. You can find out more here. If I get a press pass, I’ll take some shots of the event when it happens and share them with you.
Okay, Michigan truly is a sweet spot, but I’ve got to admit I’m a little weary of winter now. In fact, I’m boycotting it for a few days on my blog. So, in honor of the sunny, warm Michigan days ahead I’m posting this. I took it on my birthday in Whitehall. The air was fresh, the sky was blue, it was hot and I was happy.
Here’s another popular location in Muskegon. This time of year it is desolate in an awe inspiring way. Here’s a link to some more information about these lighthouses, with directions to get there.
I’ve been wanting to get some photos of Muskegon. So here you go! I was visiting Lake Harbor Park, and as I was walking towards the trails I heard this HUGE commotion past the bridge and decided to investigate. There was a big flock of birds making all the noise. So I scared them so they would fly off and I could get this shot, this is after most of them were airborne and out of the shot. I have some more photos of Muskegon that I’ll be posting over the next few days.
You know how the weather forcasters are always hyping the storms… so eventually no one takes them seriously? Well, um I guess they got it right this time. It’s still coming down hard here in Grand Rapids, but I took this a little while ago while it was still light out. Wonder what we’ll wake up to, I’m planning a trip to Muskegon tomorrow. Yikes!
Typically when I think of lighthouses, it’s in the summer. This weekend, I went out to Grand Haven and shot this in all its icy glory. The lighthouse is in the Grand Haven State Park.
It was sooo cold when I took this all I could think was how on earth can these ducks keep from freezing to death? Tonight we’re supposedly going to get a HUGE winter storm here in Michigan. I have mixed feelings… if we have an ice storm, I might get some great photos BUT we could lose power.
When I was taking pictures at Riverside Park there was a big flock of ducks. When they got sick of dealing with me trying to get the perfect shot, some of them climbed on these chunks of ice and floated downriver.