Butterflies in Northern Michigan

When photographing in Iosco County, there is usually an abundance of mink, deer and other great animals. This time, however, the critters seemed to be in hiding. But in their place were these gorgeous butterflies!


Black Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly


Monarch Butterfly

Yummy Coffee

The folks at Madcap Coffee create things of beauty (not to mention tasty coffee). Visit them soon and often!





P.S. - I so want to learn how to do this! :)

I Love Festival

Festival weekend in GR is a can't miss for me. Festival of the Arts is one of the largest, all volunteer festivals in the country and all of the events at Festival are completely free. Delicious food booths (26 of them this year), two museums full of art (with free admission), tons of music (five outdoor stages plus two inside ones), and multiple (free) DIY craft stations for the kids - it can't be beat!

Festival in downtown Grand Rapids.


Bands at Rosa Parks Circle


This was the 40th year of Festival of the Arts.


McKay Tower - reflected in the National City Building in downtown GR.

Little Bandits

As a student at Aquinas College, I had many run-ins with friendly raccoons taking advantage of the trash cans and dumpsters on campus. It's been years since those encounters, but over this past month I've once again had multiple run-ins with these cute little guys, including the opportunity to photograph an adorable baby raccoon.

Check out some of my favorites of these shy subjects:

This guy was visiting my porch and took a nap under the grill!


Spotted this guy watching me as a photographed lilacs


A baby raccoon in our woods. Wow - do they make a lot of noise!