The Leelanau Farmers Markets are now in full swing. The Northport market opens this Friday in the parking lot by the marina. The Suttons Bay market has been open on Saturdays since mid-May at the north end of town in the park area across from the intersection of M-22 and M-204. Glen Arbor opened this past Tuesday, Leland opens today, and Empire is on Saturdays. All markets are open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. This should be the last week for local asparagus, with lots of vegetables and herbs starting to appear. The markets also offer beautiful fresh flowers and wonderful local jewelry and crafts.
The May meeting of the Omena Women’s Club (OWC) was held at Saving Birds Thru Habitat (SBTH). Mike Berst, the new President of the SBTH Board, gave a wonderful presentation about native wildflowers and their importance to migrating and other birds. Mike and his wife, Kathie Albright, have been working hard on the SBTH property to restore and enhance wildfl ower and native vegetation. Most of his presentation was a beautiful video that he did chronicling over 160 wildflowers as he and Kathie discovered across Michigan as they appeared. Their goal last year was to find at least one new wildflower a day. While a few of the early spring days didn’t produce one, most days revealed one or more that they had not seen yet.
Wildflowers turn the sun’s rays and the earth’s nutrients into food for many insects, which, in turn, are a critical source of food for migrating, nesting, and newborn birds. The insects provide essential protein. Native plants provide the needed nutrients at the needed times in the birds’ lives and migratory cycles.
In-coming OWC president, Doni Lystra, opened the business meeting following the presentation. The other OWC officers for this year are vice president Linda Kemper, secretary Kathy Spohn, and treasurer Mary Tonneberger, who is wonderfully returning for one more term.
The Northport-Omena Chamber of Commerce is again sponsoring a mobile Blood Drive on Monday, June 24 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. They will be at the marina parking lot, making it the most scenic blood drive in the country!.Your donation could help two lives, so please come donate. It’s close, easy, and a wonderful thing to do. You can sign up at versiti.org.
Everyone is welcome to attend worship at Omena Presbyterian Church at 10 a.m. on Sundays through the summer. This Sunday, Rev. Dr. Robin Carden of the Suttons Bay Congregational Church, will be preaching. Patrick Kuhl will be on the organ, and Emily Cullier from the Interlochen Arts Academy will provide the special music.
The mayor must have eaten the Omena News column again last week. We missed saying Happy Birthday to Whitney Cooper, and we missed a big opportunity to celebrate that Bob DeVries is now a fraction of a century old. But it’s a really big fraction.
Happy birthday this week to mother and daughter, Ellie and Cathy Stephenson, who share the same birthday this Saturday. Happy Birthday also to Kaiden Makowski, Jacquie Johnson, Linda Auer, and to Payton Cooper, who turns 5, Mia Ballard, who celebrates her 21st birthday this Saturday, and to Nana Kennedy who turns 93 (or 39 as she is saying) also on Saturday.
It must be June! Happy Anniversary to Tom and Marsha Buehler, to Cody and Ashley Mayer, and to Calvin and Danica Korson.
