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Three years ago, we had an orphan heifer calf. The kids helped bottle-feed her. She was named after my daughter, Kasey. To differentiate between the two, we call her Kasey Calf. This year was her first-year calving. She had a little heifer today. The kids decided to name it Pumpkin.

I am driving along Fountain Road when a sunlit grain storage building and barn on Dennis Road attracts my attention. I turn around to check it out. I love the patterns of the structures as well as the patterns created by the evening light and shadow. F6.3 at 1/60, ISO 100, 80-200 mm lens at 120 mm

Growing up on the farm, we only had wood heat. Two wood stoves, and a wood kitchen range heated the entire home. In our home, we too use wood as our main source of heat. There are enough dead or downed trees on the farm that we do not need to buy any, it just takes time and sweat to cut, split, haul, and stack it. The warmth it gives us on freezing Michigan winter days makes it all worth it!

The combination of fog and rising sun makes this huge tree stand out even more than usual in a farm field west of Chase, Michigan. My son Brad spotted the rolling field and tree as we were driving across the state to photograph Lake Huron. We try to be always ready and willing to stop to photograph magic moments that appear anywhere we travel in Michigan. F16 at 1/13, ISO 100, 80-200mm lens at 120mm

Sometimes moments like these are so fleeting that you only get one opportunity to capture the magic with your camera. Seconds after stopping the Suburban alongside the road on M32 today, I captured one image of these sheep grazing in a flowered field as the magic light rained down from above. Moments later, the sheep got spooked and ran for cover and a cloud moved in front of the sun. F6.3 at 1/320, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 24mm

One sheep maintains a lookout while others graze on a farm along M32 between Gaylord and Atlanta, Michigan. I love seeing and photographing farm animals along Michigan's highways and byways. F10 at 1/1250, ISO 1600, 300mm lens at 300mm

I wish I knew more about the history of this old farmhouse near the corner of Morton Road and Hawley Road. One of the coolest features is the rotting couch on the front porch. What a great setting for a horror movie! F22.0 at 0.8, ISO 100, 14 mm lens at 14 mm

How many trees look as spectacular without leaves as this giant maple along Conrad Road? I photographed it on Day 209 with green leaves and on Day 290 when the leaves turned golden. Today the size and symmetry of its branches stand out. F4.5 at 1/640, ISO 100, 80-200 mm lens at 80 mm

Driving rural roads west of Free Soil, Michigan in a frantic search for a country sunrise scene to photograph, Brad and I encounter this lone bull only a few yards from the edge of the roadway. The scene is a showstopper for me. I pile out of the truck, lie down in the grass and make a silhouette portrait before he loses patience with me. F4.5 at 1/250, ISO 100, 24-70mm lens at 70mm

Fountain Road is one of my favorite roads in Mason County to photo hunt on. With the fresh snow we got overnight, I was excited to head out to the countryside looking for new photos. I was on a mission to photograph a barn or farm that I had not ever photographed before. While driving down Fountain Road, I loved how this red barn just popped against the white snow.

Roger and Marcia Hansen's barn looks like a Christmas card to me today, just as I thought it would. The Christmas wreath I noticed a few days earlier, combined with fresh snow, make the beautifully restored barn even more stunning than usual. F7.1 at 1/100, ISO 100, 12-24 mm lens at 24 mm

The kids and I spent time at the farm tonight. It was a rain-snow mix earlier today, creating a puddle in the driveway in front of the barn. I worked hard to have the Christmas lights reflect in the puddle. My nephew, Preston, always does a great job with the lights.

It is beginning to look at lot like Christmas at the Polcin farm. This scene looked like Christmas in the country when I chose to photograph it earlier today. But now I am back because the sun came out and I knew I could make a cheerier Christmas picture. F22.0 at 1/50, ISO 100, 12-24 mm lens at 24 mm

My dad and I used to photograph the black and white “Oreo Cookie Cows” in this field on South Lakeshore Drive near the hydro-electric plant. Now the family that owns this farm has beautiful brown and white cows. The huge old maple trees have always made this farm extra beautiful as well.

While I was making a sunrise photograph this morning along the Pere Marquette River, my uncle, Rod Marble, called to tell me he was looking at the largest double rainbow he had ever seen. I stood up, turned around, and almost fainted. I instantly knew where I needed to head. My destination was Cherry Hill Farm on Conrad Road. F4.5 at 1/250, ISO 100, 14mm lens at 14mm

Nikon D810. F22.0 at 1/30, ISO 3200. 60-600mm lens at 66mm. December 23, 2020 at 4:57pm.

Roger and Marcia Hansen own two donkeys at their family farm on Conrad Road. These donkeys keep me entertained all year long every time I drive by. I used my widest angled lens and got extremely close to this white donkey in order to make his head look twice the size it should. This photograph will always remind me of "Donkey" from Shrek. F14 at 1/250, ISO 400, 14mm lens at 14mm

Ethan and I took an early morning drive today looking for the sunrise. The clouds blocked most of the sunshine and color, but the fog and atmosphere made for a beautiful morning. This old farm on Victory Corners Road looked especially peaceful in the cold, crisp dawn. F8.0 at 1.0, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

It looks to me like this windmill is spinning clouds today. The windmill towers over the animal farm that is one of the added attractions of the Kensington Metro Park Farm Center. I guess in this case KFC does not stand for Kentucky Fried Chicken. F11 at 1/250, ISO 100, 80-200mm lens at 80mm

I have successfully captured “The Triple Trees” in three seasons so far, and I am running out of days in our project. Brad and I were up north shooting today when we could see that tonight was the night for the winter shot. We raced back to the farm to set up. My camera was acting up, and I had to grab Brad’s camera to make the image before the light faded. I was thankful he happened to be there!