Backyard farming in Michigan

A couple of weeks ago my new iPhone4 came in and I decided to get it in spite of the reception problems. Truth be told, I have been using Mac products for my entire career and have yet to be disappointed with the company. I LOVE the iPhone4, it is a huge upgrade from the original iPhone, which is what I had. Here’s why:

– The optics are amazing, result, everything is easier to read and a joy to look at.

– I love the movie camera on the phone, it takes great video and is so convenient. I won’t be dragging around my movie camera any more.

– The still camera. Okay, it’s not as good as my SLR, but for crying out loud, it takes great photos and again, it’s convenient.

– All the apps. The scope of truly helpful apps that are free or just $1.99 boggle my mind. Everything from making expense reports easier, to tracking my workout program.

I just thought you might find it interesting that I took this photo with my iPhone. After taking it, I processed it with Topaz Labs software.

About the photo… more and more Michigan residents are raising chickens in their backyard. That would include my friend Ruth, these are her “Chickapees.” They follow her around everywhere and are so cute, she even tolerates them tearing up her amazing flower gardens (at least until recently!) Grand Rapids is considering and ordinance to allow homeowners to keep up to 5 chickens in their backyards. A similar ordinance has been effect in Ann Arbor since 2008. I love visiting her and watching her chickens, they make me laugh.

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One of many clay and sand images.
One of many clay and salt images.

I’ve been caught up in ArtPrize mania as both a participating artist, as well as a spectator. I sure have enjoyed this, and learned a lot. Today, I’d like to share this photo I took of a piece by Young Kim. It’s located downtown but because the venue (47 Commerce) is on a street that’s under construction, it’s a tich off the beaten path.

Young Kim’s work features a body of images (about 50) such as the one to the left of individuals he photographed in Grand Rapids. The images were then developed on site, on the warehouse floor, where they now rest. As you can see by the footprints, they are fragile.

I heard so many positive comments from fellow artists who were disappointed that he didn’t make the Top 10 for ArtPrize, that I had to check this out before it was gone. I hope you will too.

Here’s a link to his ArtPrize page, it will give you a better idea of what the installation looks like.

… and an article by the Grand Rapids Press.

Ice Skating at Rosa Parks Circle
It’s February and Michigan, which makes it the perfect time to go ice skating. Tonight I went to Rosa Parks Circle in Grand Rapids (Happy Birthday Noah!) and what a blast it was. Yep, it was cold but the music that was piped in over the loud speakers and the fun of watching all the people made me totally forget the cold.

The cost is just $1 for admission and don’t worry if you don’t own ice skates, with an I.D., you can borrow some for free! Hours of operation are Monday – Thursday, 6:00-9:30pm; Fridays 6:00 – 10:00PM ; Saturdays noon – 10:00 pm and Sundays 2:00 – 9:30 pm. Here’s a google map link to help get you there.

Big Snow
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!

richmond2mss.jpg
Get out and enjoy the snow before it all melts, go sledding! Here’s the other side of the hill at Richmond Hills Park in Grand Rapids, MI. And, a couple more great sledding places in Grand Rapids, with google map links so you can get there quicker: The hill at Union High School; and Lookout Hill at Belknap Park. Where do you like to go sledding? My readers would love to hear your comments, the last sledding post was incredibly popular, seems like a lot of people are looking for this.

Richmond Hills Park, Grand Rapids, MI
Happy New Year! When I woke up to a fresh blanket of snow, I knew what I had to do today. I blasted off to my favorite sledding spots to take some pictures. This is a picture of kids lining up on the hill at Richmond Hills Park on Grand Rapids’ northwest side, it’s great place to go sledding with a long, sloping hill, beautiful woods and a pond at the bottom of the hill. Here’s a google map link to the park.