Marilyn Harrell

The Gladwin County Ice Carnival is an annual event. It takes place in Albright Shores

across from Wixom Lake and is scheduled this year for the first weekend in February.

The ice carnival grounds and entrance are located on the West side of Weiman - South of Estey Rd.

The ice carnival used to be held on the ice, I remember my father taking me and my siblings there

when we were just little. They used to have a ferris wheel, tilt a whirl and other rides and activities.

What I remember most is getting very very cold! There was even a "jail", that was for the

people who did not buy a badge! The badges were sold on a per day or per weekend price. One year, the

elementary school kids had a badge drawing contest with the winning drawing on the badge!

There are events held at the ice carnival grounds throughout the year!

COME VISIT!

STAY A WHILE ENJOY YOURSELF

AT WIXOM LAKE

Good Morning

Gardening is something I enjoy. As a child we always grew a large vegetable garden and had an apple orchard. I grow mostly flowers now, and I harvest my own seeds from some of the plants. Morning glory seeds are especially easy to harvest and have beautiful heart shaped leaves. If given a trellis or something to grow on they can grow very tall. When they first begin to bloom in the late summer, they are open only in the morning. As the days grow colder, the flowers will stay open all day. They will continue blooming until the frost takes them out in the fall.

I started my morning glories by buying one package of seeds several years ago, I did buy a second package so I could have both pink and purple. They will produce hundreds of seeds and unless you want to add a different color, you never have to buy another package of them again! They are one of the easiest to harvest, because you can collect the seeds in the fall or in the spring. I prefer to pick them in the fall.

"It's morning somewhere" comes from a story told by Lola at the blogging class I attended last fall. It's so true!

Take time to enjoy the flowers you encounter this season.

My son is very fond of big trucks and mud puddles!

His grandmother purchased him a sign for Christmas that says

STILL PLAYS WITH TRUCKS

I hope he always loves both trucks and mud.

There are many trails on the state land that you're allowed to drive your trucks and off road vehicles on.

Remember to purchase your ORV sticker from the DNR before you go out to have fun.

You can also obtain maps with trails from the DNR.

Private property owners also host mud bogs.

I'm usually either working at the office or out showing homes

or they go out too late at night and its past my bedtime! At any

rate I don't get to go too often.

Billings Township, Michigan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search Billings Township, Michigan Billings Township, Michigan

Location within the state of Michigan Coordinates: 43°52′18″N 84°19′26″W / 43.87167, -84.32389

Country United States State Michigan County Gladwin Area -

Total 23.1 sq mi (60.0 km2) -

Land 21.7 sq mi (56.3 km2) -

Water 1.4 sq mi (3.7 km2)

Elevation 689 ft (210 m)

Population (2000) - Total 2,715 -

Density 125.0/sq mi (48.3/km2)

Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) -

Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)

FIPS code 26-08360[1]

GNIS feature ID 1625936[2]

Billings Township is a civil township of Gladwin County in the U.S. state of Michigan.

As of the 2000 census, the township population was 2,715.

Albright Shores (also spelled All Bright Shores) is an unincorporated community in the township situated at a bridge across the Tittabawassee River at 43°52′18″N 84°19′36″W / 43.87167, -84.32667.[3]

Billings is an unincorporated community in the township at 43°50′59″N 84°20′50″W / 43.84972, -84.34722.[4]

Lockwood Beach is an unincorporated community in the township on the west bank of the Tittabawassee River at 43°50′34″N 84°20′08″W / 43.84278, -84.33556.[5]

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of

23.1 square miles (60.0 km²), of which,

21.7 square miles (56.3 km²) of it is land and

1.4 square miles (3.7 km²) of it (6.18%) is water.

Demographics As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 2,715 people,

1,172 households, and 791 families residing in the township.

The population density was 125.0 per square mile (48.3/km²).

There were 2,148 housing units at an average density of 98.9/sq mi (38.2/km²).

The racial makeup of the township was

97.02% White,

0.11% African American,

0.74% Native American, 0.07% Asian,

0.52% from other races, and

1.55% from two or more races.

Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.47% of the population.

There were 1,172 households out of which

24.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them,

54.1% were married couples living together,

9.2% had a female householder with no husband present,

and 32.5% were non-families.

26.2% of all households were made up of individuals and

10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.76.

In the township the population was spread out with

21.1% under the age of 18,

6.2% from 18 to 24,

23.5% from 25 to 44,

31.3% from 45 to 64,

and 17.8% who were 65 years of age or older.

The median age was 44 years.

For every 100 females there were 99.5 males.

For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.0 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $31,677,

and the median income for a family was $37,292.

Males had a median income of $35,817 versus $26,458 for females.

The per capita income for the township was $17,999.

About 10.5% of families and 12.4% of the population were below the poverty line,

including 18.3% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over.

The above information was copied and pasted from Wikepedia - and below is the website address:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billings_Township,_Michigan

Wixom Lake is located in Gladwin County and Midland County.

The townships are Billings, Tobacco and Hay in Gladwin County

and Hope Township in Midland County.

2008 was great! Well, some of it! I am positive that the best part of the year was getting a grand baby. There were days when my spirits were a little low, and just going over to see her if only for a minute was the highlight of many a day! Some evenings her parents were both so visibly exhausted that my husband and I would only stay for a few minutes and just peeked at our precious sleeping grandchild. Other visits were longer and we could take turns holding this precious bundle of joy.

This smile was for me! She came to help make Christmas cookies and candy with her mother.

First I gave her a 4.6 # bag of chocolate chips and then a kiss on the cheek! Then I pulled out my camera and shot this picture!

Her parents are spoiling her rotten! They are so excited to be parents! If all parents loved and adored their baby like they do it would be a better world for everyone - Here's to health wealth and happiness!