Energy efficient compact flourescent bulbs cheaper in Michigan

This is from the AP via the Detroit News.

LANSING -- Michigan officials say now is the time to buy energy-efficient light bulbs because they are being sold at a reduced rate.

Starting Wednesday, about 500,000 compact fluorescent bulbs will be available for as little as 99 cents at Kroger, Meijer and Menards stores across the state. They also will be sold at Ace Hardware stores in the Lansing area and Upper Peninsula.

The bulbs are cheaper thanks in part to a state grant.

I have installed compact flourescent bulbs in all of our heavily-used light fixtures. They give off less heat, use less electricity, and provide a light that I find is no different than the traditional incandescent bulbs. For those not in the know, $.99 per bulb is a really good deal, plus they last much longer than incandescent bulbs.

Just how bad was the rain in Michigan over the weekend?

Bad enough that I need to upgrade my rain gauge the next time any hurricane remnants (such as Ike) come rolling through. I had to dump it multiple times per day and at my best guest we received somewhere in the neighborhood of 8" or so. I heard on the radio that places like Vicksburg reported nearly 12" of rain in the weekend storms. The storms were bad enough that opening day events at the St. Joe County 4-H fair were canceled. The fairgrounds were fairly flooded and by 3pm you could get in the fair for free as they told the folks manning the gates to call it a day. Most vendors were closed so if you did get in for free there wasn't a whole lot to do except eat some Frazee French Fries (yum! My favorite!).

Also, a tornado touched down in Paw Paw and today, many schools are closed due to flooding from the torrential rains. I don't know if I have ever seen rain like this for three days in a row before.

Here's to a sunny and dry week!:)

Watch Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's ouster hearing live

I pulled up the Free Press website just as Gov. Granholm was beginning the hearing for Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick live via streaming video on the main page at the Freep. Whatever the outcome of this historic hearing I have to give a 'thumbs up' to the Free Press for effective use of their website. It's a good step for a newspaper website to embrace other media forms.

Watch the video live

Michigan sweet corn crop is looking mighty tasty

Michigan has been blessed with just the right amount of rain for most areas where sweet corn is being grown. It looks to be a much better crop than last year's which saw too much dry weather in most of Michigan to produce a good crop. I've had a meal of Michigan sweet corn and have been anticipating more, but we got that corn from the other side of the state. The sweet corn here in Southwest Michigan looks like it is just now ripening up. I can't wait.

Of course, everything is costing more this year than last so look for retail prices on sweet corn to be around $4 per dozen. Shop local at roadside stands and farmers markets to keep money in your community and state. We get our sweet corn at Hubbard's Corey Lake Orchard (out near Corey Lake of course) or Brad's Strawberry Farm in Constantine.

Quick Tip Ask the vendor if the corn was picked the day you are buying it. If it is (and is should be for best flavor and texture) then make sure you husk it and cook it that same day. The sweet corn loses it's sugar (the sugar breaks down) over time which also means it loses its flavor.

Read an article on Michigan Sweet Corn at the Detroit Free Press

Some of my favorite summer foods from Michigan

I picked up a pound of Michigan Sweet Cherries today and it got me thinking about all of the yummy fruits and veggies that are grown here in Michigan.

We had a good three week season for our strawberry patch this year and no sooner did the strawberry crop wind down when the red raspberries started ripening. I am still working on expanding our meager raspberry patch, but those juicy red berries are worth it. I picked a handful or so a day this week and hoarded them in the fridge.

Last night I cooked up a batch of tapioca pudding and we had it with red raspberries on top. Oh man, that was good.

Michigan blueberries will be coming on in full force in the next week or two. A couple of small local patches are already producing tasty berries. I have made a note to call our favorite blueberry patch and see how the berries are coming along.

My potatoes are doing great in their containers. I'm eagerly anticipating a wonderful crop of Red Garland taters.

We've got tomatoes galore coming on as well. Sweet 100s, Big Boy, and other plants all have green tomatoes on the vine. In another week or so I'll be harvesting my first crop of cucumbers for this season and brewing up a batch of wonderful homemade pickles.

Yes, life is good (and tasty) here in Michigan. By the way, those cherries were delicious. I almost ate the whole pound of them on my own, but managed to practice some restraint ;).

Grayling theme park looking to purchase state land

The past two years have seen much ado about, well, nothing so far in the case of the proposed $161 million theme park near Grayling. The next hurdle needing to be crossed is the proposed $5.2 million dollar sale of 1,700 acres of state-owned land. It looks like the July 10 Michigan Natural Resources Commission meeting in Munising will decide if the sale will go through. If approved at that meeting, the final approval (don't you love how many layers government has?) could happen as early as August.

Much has been said both for and against this proposed theme park, but with the price of gas how far away will folks drive for this amusement park? Sure, in-state folks will probably check it out rather than driving all the way to Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH, but will there be enough of a draw to make this pay?

Any thoughts?