Very well, if you simply must shop . . .

While I’m obsessing over the weather and the misadventures of the Disreputable Duo, my software tells me a lot of readers are getting here by searching “Torch Lake gifts.” So many, in fact, that the Cowboy suggests we turn the Writing Studio and Bait Shop into a gift shop. I think not, but here are other places where you can order gifts worth giving, all of them made/grown/written/designed within 15 miles of the Writing Studio and Bait Shop:

• Betsy King and her elfish crew will send King Orchards gift packages of Montmorency cherry products anywhere, and if you order by the 19th Betsy says the package will arrive by Christmas. I am a big fan of the cherry juice concentrate and the dried cherries, chocolate covered or not. They’ll also ship apple gift boxes through, ulp, December 15. Hurry up on that one . . . Everyone else in the world loves Honeycrisp apples, although my personal favorite is the Gala. If you visit the market on M-88 you can sniff the handmade soaps, choose a bottle of DeKorne’s maple syrup, pet mascot Daisy, and pile all your loot in a festive Bolga basket.
• You can order a big variety of preserves and salsas from the Brownwood Farms website or visit the retail store on US 31 in Eastport.  My father loves the blueberry preserves and I’m partial to the mustards. There are endless variations of dried cherries (plain, chocolate covered, yogurt covered – you get the idea).
• I love to recommend the Camp Boardgame to families. You can buy it in retail stores—including Sonny’s Torch Lake Market, Adams Madams over in Central Lake, and Barnes & Noble everywhere—but the mail order division of Education Outdoors is temporarily out of stock itself.  Comes of sending every game it can make right out the door to retailers.  If you already have the game, you can purchase packs of booster cards online and the website lists retail locations all over the country. If you want to order the game itself online, your best bet may be the Barnes & Noble online store.
• You can order lots of things from Friske Orchards. I have a passion for Grandma Friske’s Balaton Cherries ‘N Cider. It’s also a great place to visit in person (it’s just north of Atwood on US 31). Lots of Christmas decorations, baked goods, shelves of presents, and a cafe where you can buy good soup and sandwiches to fortify you for the hunt.
• Just down the road from Friske’s is Royal Farms, run by a real Cherry Princess, Sarah (Veliquette) McGuire. When I was in the market I saw balaton cherry juice in a festive wine bottle style container. Check out their online Cherry Store or drop by.
• [Ed. 12/14/08: Katherine Berst told me about this wonderful maple syrup site: Harwood Heritage Gold (see her comment below).]
• Books, books, books. We have poets. We have illustrators. We have writers.
  • When the Bear Came Back: The Whole Story, written by Terry Wooten, illustrated by Louan Lechler
    Order online from The Wordsmith Press, operated by Steve and Deb Marsh, performance poets and longtime participants at the Stone Circle. Buy in person at The Nature Connection on River Street in Elk Rapids – and trot over to Stuff ‘n’ Such to get it autographed by illustrator Louan Lechler!
  • Great Granny’s Sturdy Stable Picnic Tables, written and illustrated by Betty Beeby
    I love this little book. Betty doesn’t have a website, but she does do mail orders, so send a note via the Torch Lake Views “Contact Us” button and I’ll take it to her. Wish I’d thought of this sooner, but there you go.
  • Township resident Nancy Ellison has published a story she used to tell her grandchildren.  Sprucie the Whispering Pine Tree Who Wanted to Shout is available at Sonny’s Torch Lake Market. I don’t know if Nancy’s doing mail order, but I’ll forward requests to her.
• Finally, these art galleries carry a range of high quality work by local artists, including some very affordable pieces.
  • Bier Art Gallery (US 31 between Eastport and Charlevoix)
  • Mullaly’s 128 Studio and Gallery (River Street in Elk Rapids)
  • Tributaries Contemporary Gallery (M-88 in Central Lake)
  • Jordan River Arts Council (the old library building on Main Street in East Jordan) [Ed. 12/14/08: Thanks to Babs Young for reminding me to include JRAC.  It’s a wonderful place and I am ashamed of myself for failing to include it the first time around.]