I’ve lollygagged around far too long, and this week’s posts are lamentably short on new material. I can tell you’re bored. You’re back to looking at the milk hauler in the ditch and writing me comments about muskies. Our two days of spring turned back to winter. Daugherty’s castle collapsed. What to do? National Cherry Month to the rescue!
Miss Sadie, the Cowboy and I went up to Atwood to report on Friske’s 6th annual cherry recipe contest. This year’s categories are Breakfast and Pies. (I had to check twice to make sure these were separate categories. You see how I am.) If you want to compete, you need to get cracking, because your entry is due by February 20. If you just want to taste the entries, plan to be at the February 28 judging. You can have a cherry pancake breakfast, watch the celebrity judges ponder cherriness, and sample cherry pie. Then you can buy cherry products at 25% off. I don’t see how you can go wrong.
We thought as long as we were there, we should investigate the new pizza and pastry selection. The dogs stayed in the car while I consulted with chef Kevin Heard and Cook Susan Cook. (That is not a typo, just a serendipitous name.) Chef Bill Warner was not there, but his Firehouse Pizza on focaccia bread was, and that was what Kevin and Susan recommended.
While Susan baked the pizza the dogs and I went for a walk in the orchard. It was very pleasant, all except for the part where I stepped into a deep puddle of very icy water. The dogs were delirious with all the new scents to follow. I put them back in the car, paid for my pizza and a bag of cherry dog treats (25% off during February), picked up the flyers about the cherry recipe contest, and headed home, stopping to take a picture of the tiny chapel across the road. I thought you’d like it, and it was somehow omitted from the Landmarks post.
Then I had to stop and take a picture of a barn, because the sun was setting and the barn just . . . well, looky here:
While I was off working on the barn photo, the Cowboy got into the Firehouse Pizza. It’s spicy, and I suspect he burned his mouth. He was looking rather thoughtful when I got back to the car, and he was a very good boy for several hours.
Torch Lake Views 
uphilldowndale
February 13, 2009
Poor Cowboy, our cat once gulped down of the skin from a peppered mackerel, minutes later, large tears were rolling down her nose!
Cute church and red hot barn.
Ron Jolly
February 20, 2009
Love your site. I will, once again, be one of the lucky judges of the Friske’s Cherry Recipe contest on Sat. 2-28. Saw your photo of the little Wayside Chapel, and wanted to add an interior shot I took when my wife and were on the road, four years ago, taking photos for The Northern Michigan Almanac. The chapel is among the arhitectural highlights of Antrim County in the book, Buildings of Michigan by Kathryn Bishop Eckert.
[Ed: See Ron’s photo of the interior of the Wayside Chapel. And here are links to more about The Northern Michigan Almanac, by Ron Jolly, and Buildings of Michigan by Kathryn Bishop Eckert.]
Gerry
February 20, 2009
Thanks, Ron. See you over here on February 28. (The Cowboy begs to know how he might be selected as a celebrity judge at some future event. He is confident he has something special to bring to the task. Miss Sadie and I think he just wants to scarf down the treats.)