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I came across the Woodland Farm Market driving back from dropping the kids off to their dad one weekend. I was in heaven! They have the biggest, most flavorful blackberries for sale here. I bought many quarts for the blackberry jelly that I was making and have every year since!

I had Rose of Sharon bushes at my old house. I wished that I could have taken them with me. Much to my surprise, when I moved into our current home, a Rose of Sharon bloomed in our front yard!

A purplish leaf fell to the ground today. I hope it’s not a sign that fall will come early.

This tire swing in our apple orchard was hours of fun for me! My sisters would see how high we could get it swinging. On windy days, we would look out the window and say the ghost was playing with it that day. My kids love taking turns on it now.

Sometimes as photographers, we like to challenge ourselves to find a photograph with only one specific lens. Today I chose my 85mm prime F1.4 lens. I put that on my camera body, grabbed my tripod, and an extra battery, and left all the other equipment in my truck and then I took a hike at our hunting property along the Pere Marquette River. I found these wildflowers and went to work.

I love the feeling of being among tall trees. It is hard to explain the feeling that I get looking up at them towards the sky.

My stepmom Debbie hates frogs and toads. Tonight while we were having a picnic at her and my dad's house, I found this toad and photographed it with my macro lens. I was tempted to take the toad in the house and scare her, but I knew she would probably get me back some day with a big, nasty spider. F10.0 at 1/250, ISO 320, 105 mm lens at 105 mm

Some of my favorite memories growing up were made in our apple orchard. The tire swing, baseball diamond, and the biggest dandelions were there. Let’s not forget the apples. We would eat them right off the tree, or make homemade apple sauce, pie, crisp, or butter. The apples that were too bruised I would pick up for my brother, Kevin, to put out for deer. This apple tree is in my yard, and we love it.

When I was a little girl, I would pick huge bouquets of flowers from my mom’s garden. I would take them into our playhouse, and using wax paper, I would make them into bouquets that I assumed one would buy from a flower shop. I made handmade cards that customers could include with the flowers. It was a vision of mine to put a sign at the end of our road, and have people come visit us and our garden, and buy bouquets from me.

The kids love gathering the chicken eggs. We hope to set up a stand at the end of our drive one year with fresh produce and farm fresh eggs.

I hadn’t made a photo yet today when I pulled into Brad’s yard. We were all going to watch a movie on the deck with the projector. This white flowering tree with the red blossoms in the background stood out to me.

A doe stood under one of our flowering bushes this afternoon in our backyard when I came home to eat lunch. She just stood quietly eating and looked at me while I walked close to her to make this image.

Jen Satterfield had her three-year-old German Shepard, Bella Carlisle, fetching a water bottle in Lake Michigan tonight near the Loomis Street Boat Ramp. I couldn't resist walking over with my camera for a closer look. F2.8 at 1/500, ISO 800, 70-200 mm lens at 200 mm

With one of her youngsters safely tucked behind her, an adult otter clutched her other baby after a swimming and food hunting expedition on the Leland River at Fish Town. A mooring line ran between them. The scene reminded me of swimmers hugging between lanes after finishing a race. I am certain this was an emotional moment for the otters.

The flowers in my mom’s garden made a great brilliant backdrop to this water-droplet-filled leaf.

A mother otter looks back to make certain her other baby is coming after a swim at Fish Town in Leland, Michigan. The otter family lives on the far side of the Leland River, away from most of the businesses in Fish Town, affording privacy from the hundreds of people usually enjoying Fish Town. F2.8 at 1/800, ISO 800, 80-200mm lens at 200mm

If you have never had one of the homemade cookies at the Old Mission General Store, do yourself a favor, and go visit this Michigan treasure. The owners are the nicest people, and the store is like walking back in time. Rachel and I had the best visit there today. I blew my diet, but it was so worth it!

After Rachel and I finished eating a wonderful dinner outside at the Jolly Pumpkin Brewery on Old Mission Peninsula, we grabbed our camera gear and walked to photograph the setting sun over Grand Traverse Bay. We stopped so I could make this image of the sun dancing between the trees and their shadows on the lawn of the restaurant. I love finding unexpected photographs like this one.

At last, Bespop’s grapes have ripened! I have great memories of picking these with him or drinking the homemade grape juice we made from them on a cold winter day.

I get excited when I see the turning of leaves for the first time each fall, if it is a fall that lasts a few months, and we have time to enjoy it! This tree in our yard is always one of the first to turn each fall.