Nature journal: Fall wildlife abundant in the backyard

By Jane Greiner Sun staff writer Fall is a great time for backyard wildlife. It seems as if every creature is out and about, busy fattening up for the winter ahead. It’s amazing how many different birds and animals frequent our back yard. We encourage them with bird feeders, suet feeders and bird baths set […]

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Largely forgotten, migrants toiled where others wouldn’t

By Thomas Benn Sun contributor Nestled alongside the highway opposite the Apple Blossom Drive entrance to the Leelanau Orchards top-of-the-line real estate development stands the more modest former seasonal residence of the Chavez and Campos families. Their names are still legible on the doors of the small cinder-block quarters for Mexican migrant workers who were […]

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Leelanau County on the Cheap: Fall Color Tour

by Ashlea Turner Sun staff writer This column is devoted to budget travelers who enjoy fresh food and quality time spent off the beaten path in Leelanau County. Contrary to popular belief, it is possible to visit Leelanau County and be a budget-minded traveler at the same time. Autumn is a favorite time of year […]

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Sabine’s bowls – a chance encounter of the Glen Arbor kind

By Joanne Bender Sun contributor It was serendipity. And also fortuitous, that I should meet Raku ceramic artist Sabine Rodatz just as I was reading Sue Bender’s Everyday Sacred, A Woman’s Journey Home.

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On the Road: Tackling language numero cuatro

By Jacob Wheeler Sun international correspondent XELA, Guatemala — Doris, my new host mother, calls me down to breakfast in her tiny, open-air courtyard that is surrounded by bland, concrete walls but beckons just enough mountain-high sunshine to make me smile. The meal is yet another plate of plain eggs and soupy beans to go […]

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National Park faces major decisions as spotlight focuses on D.H. Day farm

By Jacob R. Wheeler Sun editor At least once a day a curious tourist nudges up to the fence surrounding the D.H. Day farm to snap a photo or draw a sketch of the majestic 116-foot-long dairy barn that dominates the landscape along historic route M-109. This is one of the images that people associate […]

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An Afternoon Drive on South Manitou Island

By Mike Buhler Sun extreme sports correspondent Driving up the Glen Arbor boat ramp at 8 p.m., Hugh Gordon is greeted by a score of laughing, curious onlookers. As he parks and exits his 1967 Amphicar, the crowd immediately gathers, and like a carnival barker, this experienced salesman greets their curiosity with a familiar patter.

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Local wild man raises Santa Claus’ helpers

By Forest Mullins Sun investigative reporter Can Reindeer fly? “Well Duh. That’s why we live so close to the Empire Airport,” says Kevin Kelly, who shakes his head in disbelief at my foolish question. “You skeptics. We have to cover the local district for the Big Man (i.e. Santa Claus).”

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Fresh Food for People In Need: The Story of a New Partnership

By Bronwyn Jones Sun contributor This summer something strange and wonderful is happening at food pantries in Leelanau and Grand Traverse Counties. People in need of emergency food supplies are receiving nutritious, fresh foods grown on farms nearby. From lettuce and carrots to beans and potatoes, healthy food grown by dozens of area farmers is […]

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Decomposition at the Cottage

By Jim Coleman Sun contributor Cottages have piles of crossword puzzle books, boxes of revered games, and dog-eared novels slouched in pine-board bookcases. A good addition to these summer amusements might be poet W.D. Snodgrass’s De/ Compositions (Graywolf, 2001). T.S. Eliot remarked that poetry was “a superior amusement,” and Snodgrass’s book is in that vein. […]

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