I love the Pre-Fall Season. Here in Michigan, the days are usually warm,
60-70 degrees, with a slight nip in the breeze. It gets colder at night but
when the sun is shining, it is perfect weather. At the zenith of this season,
comes the Fallasburg Fall Festival in Lowell, Michigan. It is held at Kent
County's Fallasburg Park off Lincoln Lake Road north of Lowell. This is a
large, rambling park with a shelter house, one of 2 wooden covered wooden
bridges in Kent County, and rolling hills full of trees and park settings.
Very pretty, very scenic, a perfect place to have a festival of the arts.
The Lowell Area Arts Council holds their Fallasburg Fall Festival here in late
September. This year is the 40th festival celebrating arts & crafts.
I have been going since the crowds were thin and hadn't yet discovered
this wonderful arts festival.
There is plenty of room to park and wander the park grounds. They usually
have demonstrations of spinning, blacksmithing, leather tooling, origami,
and rug hooking, to name a few. There is a raffle for donated items
donated by the artists and a wonderful hand made quilt that is the grand
prize. There are many tents full of artisans selling their wares, there are
musicians performing on the stage live, and there are many
food booths with local organizations cooking and serving their specialties.
If you would like a weekend activity for September 27-28, come on out to
Fallasburg Park for the Fallasburg Fall Festival. It is always a fun event!
P.S. I'm planning on winning the quilt this year!
Westbrook Realty - Grand Rapids Real Estate
Copyright 2008 all rights reserved
map from Access Kent County
Alright, so I don't live on Elm Street. It is a journalistic right to move around a little.
But the scarlet flame is for real and they are my poppy plants. They light up the yard with
thier brilliant red-orange color and make spring into a thing of beauty. I have peonies
budding, bleeding heart blooming, and clematis vines are starting to strut their stuff.
Columbine is hanging its sweet heads and the iris is showing its ruffled flags to the world.
But when I turn the corner and head my car for home, it is the poppy that draws my gaze
with it's startling siren red call - who can resist spring in all its beauty ??
Can you??
pWestbrook Realty - Grand Rapids Real Estate
photos by Bonnie Westbrook - all rights reserved
Spring has arrived in full force here in my Ada Michigan Flower Garden.
I love this time of year.
The intense colors, the sweet floral scents of daffodils and lilacs scent the air.
The Rococo Parrot Tulips on parade here amid the Muscari and Vinca set a gorgeous picture.
You can see why the Dutch went mad for Tulips in the 16th century and paid thousands
of dollars for specialty bulbs like these.
I invite you to walk in my garden and enjoy the flowers on this beautiful May evening via
the magic of a digital camera and the internet.
Here in Grand Rapids Michigan, we look forward to spring with enthusiasm. The change from
the bleak and colorless winter landscape to a full blown spring color show in just a few weeks
time can be startling. These bleeding hearts and frilled cup daffodils have popped into bloom
in the past 2 weeks.
The next photos are of our crapapple trees in full bloom. They put on a breathtakingly
gorgeous floral show for us each spring, free of charge. Yes, the colors are different,
they are two different varieties.
And last but not least is the little muscari or grape hyacinths. I love the intensity of color in this
little bulb. It demands nothing, procreates like rabbits, and gives that contrast punch to the floral
color scheme like no other flower.
Westbrook Realty - Grand Rapids Real Estate
Copyright by Bonnie Westbrook 2008
photos by Bonnie Westbrook
Within minutes of the 28th Street Strip and Cascade Road here in
Grand Rapids MI is a 60 acre farm that is still producing corn, tomatoes,
garden veggies, pumpkins and flowering plants for the local
citizens for the last 95 years. Wm. Bos Greenhouse & Farms is an
old fashioned operation that requires hand picking the sweet corn
and tomatoes for harvesting.
Many times I have stopped on the way home to get some fresh ears
of corn for lunch, or a few tomatoes or cukes for a fresh salad. They
offer many fresh vegetables and flowering plants for sale in season.
It won't be long and sweet corn will on the billboard out front. Anybody
who has lived here very long can tell you that -
Bos sweet corn is simply " the best".
Even the four legged corn eaters.
They sell their produce to local stores and local citizens at their
own farm stand on site. They are planning a 95 year Celebration
with an Open House May 3rd from 11 am till 7pm, with 95 cent
specials, 5 drawings for prizes, and tours of their farm and
greenhouses.
Most people know that buying local produce and supporting our
local farmers is the smart way to eat well and keep our
environment green. Just how much is an unripe tomato shipped
3000 miles across the country contributing to our carbon pollution?
And they don't even taste that good.
Support your local farmer - eat fresh produce that is locally grown.
Copyright by Bonnie Westbrook 2008
Westbrook Realty - Grand Rapids Real Estate
Photos from Flickr photostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/drumsnwhistles/348657839/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73459975@N00/943175053/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stechschulte/1083183497/
The Forsythia is the unofficial sign of spring for me here in Ada Michigan.
Whether we have a cold, wet spring season or a dry, warm sunny one, this
burst of chromium yellow joy from Mother Nature can lift the heart. While
we were out cruising today on our Monday errands, such as putting up
Open House rider signs on our listings for this coming weekend, we got
to see a whole lot of forsythia bushes in bloom. They are hardy here in
the north and can survive our sometimes brutally cold winters. The
most charming aspect of this shrub for me is the fact that the flowers
come before the leaves. This plant likes to party before it gets down to
the business of photosynthesis! You have to admire the show.
The bushes are covered with thousands of brilliant yellow star flowers,
well just see for yourself.
We did a few drive-by shootings today on our outing:
Copyright by Bonnie Westbrook 2008
Search Grand Rapids Homes for Sale
Greater Grand Rapids Area Information
Contact: 1-888-240-1968 x 0 toll free
Five Star Real Estate, LLC
photos by Bonnie Westbrook
 |
|
|
The Terry Westbrook Real Estate team -assisting clients in real estate in the Greater Grand Rapids MI market. We offer relocation, free home searches for buyers, & extensive internet marketing to sell
Bonnie: Have been a residential Interior Designer for over 25 years. I really enjoy working with clients to enhance their home's beauty and their enjoyment of it. I have joined my husband, Terry Westbrook, and his real estate team to concentrate on marketing and home staging. My many years of experience in the Interior Design field can help clients realize the home of their dreams or assist them stage a home for a quick sale. Blogging is a new role for me and I am looking forward to sharing how wonderful the West Michigan area is to call home.
TERRY knows what it takes to attain success. As a leading real estate professional in Grand Rapids for over 35 years, he has forged a solid reputation based on integrity and quality service. He takes time to get to know his clients and has formed lifelong relationships. In short, he gives his personal best to anything he does. His approach to real estate is actually quite simple, but his years of local knowledge, experience and straightforward advice are what truly distinguish him from the competition. He understands the ins and outs of the building process and knows how to improve the marketability of your home when it comes time to showcase it. We use a team approach to give you the best advantage when buying or selling a home in the Grand Rapids area. Terry's Bio
Home Staging: Many homeowners need help converting their home from the place they live to a marketable commodity. If they can make this leap in their minds, I can help them in accomplishing their goal. I can also assist home buyers with furniture placement, color selection, and I have many excellent contractors, sources and workmen to get that new home looking just like you hoped it would.
On a personal note: Our family of two children, are grown and have their own children, which means we have 2 delightful grandsons to spoil and enjoy, Evan & Jeffy. We take off to see them every chance we get.
Ada, Michigan is a delightful picturesque community adjacent to Grand Rapids. It has a small town atmosphere with big city amenities minutes away. Prestigious Forest Hills Schools, safe neighborhoods, and quality built homes are some of the reasons people choose to live here.
The historic covered bridge which is located in the downtown area on the beautiful Thornapple River just before it enters the majestic Grand River. Great restaurants and shopping are moments away from this park. The rolling hills, heavily wooded areas, and award winning school system in Ada make it an ideal place to live and work.
Cascade, Michigan is a suburb on the southeastern side of Grand Rapids, Michigan. An area of quality, upscale homes, a wandering river, rolling hills, and the Forest Hills school system make this a very desirable place to live in the greater Grand Rapids area.
Caledonia, Michigan was listed as Money magazines' 100 best places to live in 2006. It is a small community with a newer, large school system southeast of greater Grand Rapids. It has many newer suburban homes and developments which continue to draw new citizens to the area and has seen tremendous population growth in the past few years.
East Grand Rapids, Michigan is an established city with predominantly older homes, a downtown area adjacent to Reeds Lake, and an award winning school system centrally located.
A very cohesive city with friendly neighborhoods, quality housing, and many big city amenities with a small town feel. Children can walk to the neighborhood schools, or just bike over and get an ice cream cone at the local shop. Safety and quality of life are high on the list of why people choose East Grand Rapids as the place to live.
Forest Hills, Michigan is not a city but a community school system which encompasses Ada, Cascade, Grand Rapids Township, and parts of Kentwood. It is a prestigious, award winning, well funded school system with great community involvement.
Kentwood, Michigan is a suburban community southeast of Grand Rapids., It is well established and has seen record growth inthe last 30 years. It has a large and well regarded school system, lots of local neighborhoods, and suburban shops and restaurants.
Lowell, Michigan is a charming historic city built on the Flat River. It is a bustling community with businesses, an active arts community, a thriving public school system, and many community features.
Rockford, Michigan is a quaint small town with a larger rural suburban area around it that has seen record growth and has built a world class school system with lots of technical emphasis.
Terry is a very dedicated realtor! Our family can not say enough good about him. He was patient, persistent, creative and very knowledgeable in the selling of our home.
Our home was on the market during the time when homes in Michigan were not selling. We had an old farm house with acreage on a very busy road__ not an easy home to sell even in good economic times. With Terry's persistence and dedication we fortunately were able to sell our house. Terry even persisted on working coming right out of surgery. He completed the buy/sell agreement for our home a day after he was discharged out of the hospital. What dedication!!!
Our family would highly recommend Terry for selling or buying a home. He developed a personal relationship not only with my husband and I but also with our two teenage sons. What a wonderful realtor to have during a "stressfull" time for our family. Thank you so much Terry for all you did for us!!
Mary Beth, Mike, Kenzie & Dalton
I have to thank you for the super job you did getting me so well settled. It could have been a very traumatic time but everything moved as " smooth as glass. " Your preparation was awesome, too. I sold real estate for only 2 years and I wasn't near you in the work you did for me. You sold my house and have me so well tucked in the new one in about one month! Has to be a record. Thank you and Bonnie, too for everythng. I can recommend you very happily -
Loretta M.
ActiveRain Corp. is not responsible for the accuracy of the site's content (which is written by members of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network) and does not endorse the views of the real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and others listed here.
Powered by the ActiveRain Real Estate Network
© 2009 ActiveRain Corp. All Rights Reserved
