Teddy's Birthday (part 2)

Yesterday, Saturday the 28th, was Teddy's 63rd birthday. So in addition to last Saturday's suprise "Moody Blues" concert at Interlochen we celebrated yesterday afternoon with a beans & brats cookout with Teddy's mom and Fred & Deb. I had previously ordered this cake from Bunting's in Cedar and had Fred & Deb pick it up for me on their way back from work yesterday afternoon.
Teddy had insisted that she did not want a present beyond the MB concert so I presented her with a sealed box to open that contained absolutely nothing. After protesting that I should have not gotten her anything, she open the box and much to her (and Deb & Fred's) suprise there was nothing in the box. I then explained that was exactly what she had asked for. (nervous laughs all around)Then, Presto-Exchango, I pulled a jewlery box from my pocket and presented her with these Ruby & Diamond earrings. Ruby being her birthstone.
If I do say so myself, I think I did good! (grin)

The Moody Blues aka Teddy's Birthday (part 1)

One of Teddy's favorite music groups from the 60s is The Moody Blues. About two months ago, just before we came back to Michigan from Arizona, Teddy's sister, Deb called me with the news that The Moody Blues had been booked into The Interlochen Center for the Arts 4000 seat Kresge Auditorium for a tour concert. The concert date was for Saturday July 21 which coincidently was exactly one week before Teddy's birthday on the 28th. So as a suprise birthday treat I had Deb get tickets. I don't know how, but we managed to keep it a secret right up until Saturday afternoon. Last night was the concert and Teddy was delighted. Oue seats were pretty far back

as you can see from this seating chart, but we could see well and the sound was very good.
Oddly enough, I noticed the the audience contained a lot of "Senior Citizens". ;-)

Knee Update

Yesterday I saw my surgeon for a one month follow-up exam. This is the first time I've seen him since I was discharged from the hospital. He seemed pleased with my progress.
Here is one of the several x-ray pictures that they took. You can see how they drilled a hole in the bone on either side for the knee componets to seat into.
I'm thinking that if I ever get shot in the knee that the bullets will just bounce off like superman.


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The Cherry Harvest (continued)

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Here in Leelanau County the sweet cherry harvest is winding down.
Here is our nephew Freddy Lawrence hauling one of the last loads of sweets.












Teddy's brother, John Schlueter is now finishing up with the sweets and has now started with the "Tart" harvest.
In the nation, Leelanau County leads with the largest Cherry Acreage, with 12,250 acres in cherry production and 1,303,465 trees!
Michigan dominates the red tart cherry marketplace, producing about 75% of the U.S. crop. There are more than 30,000 acres of red tart cherries in the state with a total of about 37,000 acres nationwide. In addition, sweet cherry acreage accounts for 15,700 acres in Michigan; there are about 47,000 acres nationwide.
These facts reflect Michigan's favorable soil and climatic conditions for growing cherries. The climate is unique because of its location on the east side of Lake Michigan. The lake has a moderating effect, which results in long, frost-free autumns and a delayed spring bloom period.
While the sweets are hauled dry, the sours (tarts) are hauled in large one ton tanks of cold water. The shakers remove the cherries from the trees and move them into the tanks of chilled water. As each tank is filled it is then forklifted to trucks for transport to the cooling pad where constantly moving chilled water is circulated through the cherries.

The cooling pad can also hold cherries overnight if necessary.





At the end of the day a large tractor-trailer semi is then loaded with the tanks for transport to the proscessor.

Q: What's Shakin'?

A: Cherries!
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The favorable weather this spring here in Leelanau county has produced a bumper crop that is about a week earlier than usual. Teddy's brother, John started shaking sweets Thursday the 5th and the National Cherry Festival in Traverse City is in full swing.
Here are some of the varieties that he grows.
Photos are by Teddy Page using an Olympus Stylus 800 digital camera.
These are "Golds".
When ripe they are this light yellow color. Although they have excellent flavor they are sold as brining cherries for Maraschinos.
Maraschinos are a preserved, sweetened cherry, typically made from light-colored sweet cherries. They are first preserved in a brine solution (usually sulfur dioxide), then soaked in a suspension of food coloring, sugar syrup, artificial and natural flavors.




These are "Emperor Francis", because of their light color they are also used for Maraschinos.













...and these are "Hedelfingens". Although they are also used in the fresh fruit market, John hauls his to a processor for canning. John also grows "Ulsters" & "Sams" which are simular in appearance.






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