The drought of 2012 affected plants and animals alike here on the farm. Nick watered both young and old trees weekly, during the worst time of the drought. The parched earth soaked up every drop we gave her. The biggest news this year is we have paid off the farm. Nick promised himself that by the time he turned 60 years-old he would no longer be beholden to the bank. True to his word, we are mortgage free. Better yet, with no more ties and red tape to Wells Fargo, we were able to complete all the paperwork for the conservation easement for a big portion of our 40 acres. We can now rest assured that when we are gone, future owners will never be able to develop the land that we have nurtured and protected for the past 32 years. We continue to share the gifts of the land with schools and groups of adults and kids throughout the year. The eco-tour/painting classes remain as popular as ever, keeping our spring and summer activities on the farm exciting and full of surprises. Daughter Kelly is finally home after a year of traveling cross-country as part of her WWOOF (http://www.wwoof.org/ ) experience. Her last stop was summering on Catalina Island, 20 miles off of southern California. We joined her for 7 days and were able to see her in action instructing marine biology, organic farming, recycling, snorkeling and all manner of island education to young people. She is in St. Johns working in the judicial system through AmeriCorps matching mentors and mentees..kids at risk. True to her character, she has put all her talents into this job and has made quite a name for herself already…winning an "AmeriCorps Member of the Month" award. This gig is over in January and she has her feelers out for a new adventure. November 2011, Heather and family moved from Maine to Ft. Wayne, Indiana. A better job opportunity came up for Ahmed at Manchester College in the school of Pharmacology, so they sold Heather’s business, rented the house, packed up the family and moved closer to grammy and Opa. Noorah turns 4 years-old in November and has started pre-school. She loves it. Zayd was born June 20^th (my mom’s birthday too) 2011. ..and is a joy to everyone he meets. They love their new home and Heather has become the best mom in the world. If a child’s laughter is a measure of their happiness and well-being then these two kids are supremely loved. I have found another new passion. Besides my reiki, yoga, gardening and shamanism, I have totally fallen in love with honeybees. The rest of this newsletter could be devoted to the joys of beekeeping but I fear most folks won’t share my passion. Older sister Karen and I each bought two hives this spring from a well respected beekeeper in Allegan. From the moment we loaded the hives onto the back of the pickup truck to transport them to their new home on Hazel Ridge Farm it has been one learning experience after another. I think I learned more in my first year than many beekeepers learn in 5 years. I also caught 7 swarms this year! Granted, two decided not to stay but that left me with a total of 7 hives by summers end. I just couldn’t get enough of them. So much so, that Nick built me a bench at my "back bee yard" so I could just sit contentedly observing them. He also built a lot of my equipment saving me a chunk of change. I worried that the drought might affect the amount of nectar and pollen production for them, but all is well. They have plenty of honey for them to overwinter plus I was able to harvest 60 pounds of honey for us. Now that winter is upon us, I will probably be going through "bee withdrawal" until spring. Oh and don’t get me started about the different personalities between each hive. If you Events Two exhibits you may find of interest. From Sept. 29, 2012 – Aug. 25, 2013, the Michigan Historical Museum will display Put it on Paper, authentic examples of the process in the work of authors, artists, illustrators, architects and musicians. Mark Harvey (and staff) recreated a portion of Nick’s studio showing his creative work space. Click on: http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-153-54463_54464_18628-286200--,00.html , plus the library of the University of Michigan will be exhibiting "How a Children’s Book is Created". We have created a traveling exhibit from our book, Itsy Bitsy & Teeny Weenie, showing with words and illustrations the creative process of how a children’s book is "teased"out. The show will be exhibited from December 6^th 2012 – January 16^th, 2013. Check out the December events calendar for open hours. http://www.lib.umich.edu/events We did our usual "up north "gig" this summer. Most of the book store owners reported better business this year as compared to last year. It certainly helped when the Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore was voted the number one scenic destination in America. Everyone reported three times the number of people from previous years. Nick was an invited speaker at the University of Texas – San Antonio. The luncheon benefitted the Cancer Therapy and Research Center. In just 4-hours they sold, and he out for a new adventure. November 2011, Heather and family moved from Maine to Ft. Wayne, Indiana. A better job opportunity came up for Ahmed at Manchester College in the school of Pharmacology, so they sold Heather’s business, rented the house, packed up the family and moved closer to grammy and Opa. Noorah turns 4 years-old in November and has started pre-school. She loves it. Zayd was born June 20^th (my mom’s birthday too) 2011. ..and is a joy to everyone he meets. They love their new home and Heather has become the best mom in the world. If a child’s laughter is a measure of their happiness and well-being then these two kids are supremely loved. I have found another new passion. Besides my reiki, yoga, gardening and shamanism, I have totally fallen in love with honeybees. The rest of this newsletter could be devoted to the joys of beekeeping but I fear most folks won’t share my passion. Older sister Karen and I each bought two hives this spring from a well respected beekeeper in Allegan. From the moment we loaded the hives onto the back of the pickup truck to transport them to their new home on Hazel Ridge Farm it has been one learning experience after another. I think I learned more in my first year than many beekeepers learn in 5 years. I also caught 7 swarms this year! Granted, two decided not to stay but that left me with a total of 7 hives by summers end. I just couldn’t get enough of them. So much so, that Nick built me a bench at my "back bee yard" so I could just sit contentedly observing them. He also built a lot of my equipment saving me a chunk of change. I worried that the drought might affect the amount of nectar and pollen production for them, but all is well. They have plenty of honey for them to overwinter plus I was able to harvest 60 pounds of honey for us. Now that winter is upon us, I will probably be going through "bee withdrawal" until spring. Oh and don’t get me started about the different personalities between each hive. If you make it to the open house and want to talk bees, I’m your gal. My oldest sister Karen wanted to add hiking parts of the Appalachian Trail by her 60^th birthday but couldn’t find anyone to join her. It was a no brainer for me. Daughter Kelly and 3 other close friends signed on, making us the Appalachian 6. From September 26 – Oct 5^th we trekked different sections of the trail in New Hampshire and Vermont. We stayed in hostels every night, planning day trips that we found exhilaratingly challenging and gorgeous. The fall colors were spectacular and the magnificent scenery brought tears to our eyes. There were water falls, mountains and lakes around every corner. We are already talking about next year. Jackson, from Adopted by an Owl, has made his youtube debut. Just type in Adopted by an Owl and watch him as he interacts with our family around the farm and walks right into our bedroom to offer Nick goodies.