This Week in Leelanau for May 24, 2012

Aurora Borealis ... with star trails

Aurora Borealis … with star trails by Ken Scott

The heat is on!! Summer is underway, with the temperature a heartbeat away from 90 degrees at Leelanau Coffee Roasting and much more sun and 80s on the way. The hot times don’t end when the sun goes down as Ken Scott’s photo from last night shows, so be sure to look up for the aurora borealis!

News from the Week

This week the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore reported that after several years of limited piping plover nesting activity in the Glen Haven area, four pairs of the federally endangered shorebird have made that beach their home for the summer. It’s an easily accessible location provides visitors an excellent opportunity to view a rare bird in its natural habitat, as well as have questions answered by National Park Service employees and volunteers who will be on site throughout the nesting season. Click through for all the details and a video!

We also had a cool video on the history of Leland that includes some great old photos.

Jacob Wheeler of the Glen Arbor Sun writes that in addition to the most beautiful place in America, second healthiest place nationwide, Leelanau County is on the verge of becoming a prime bicycle destination too! He took a ride down the nearly-completed first phase from the Sleeping Bear Dune Climb to downtown Glen Arbor on the brand new Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail. The  trail officially opens on June 20, 2012 and could one day stretch 27 miles, from the Leelanau-Benzie County line to Good Harbor! Click here for the video.

The Sun also notes that Leelanau County will collect household hazardous waste and electronics on Saturday June 2.

Come to the Traverse City Wine & Art Festival on Saturday, June 30th

Coming Events

Leelanau Peninsula BirdFest

The Second Annual Leelanau Peninsula BirdFest takes place May 30 – June 3. It’s a chance to see more than a hundred different species of nesting birds, including the rare Great Lakes Piping Plover. There’s all kinds of field trips and special guests including Jerry Weinrich, “Godfather of the Kirtland’s Warbler” and keynote speaker Greg Butcher, the Director of Conservation for National Audubon.

2012 Leland Wine & Food Festival

The Leland Wine & Food Festival returns to the Leland Harbor on Saturday, June 9, 2012. Come enjoy a day in Leland’s historic Fishtown tasting wines from local wineries and food offerings from local restaurants and vendors. There’s also live music in the park all day and of course plenty of beautiful views of Lake Michigan and the Manitou Islands. Admission is $12 and includes an etched wine glass and two tickets for wine tasting. Click the link for participating wineries and food vendors.

Some other events include the Fiber Frenzy at the Old Art Building (May 25), Leland Wine & Food Festival (June 9)Leelanau Artists at the Old Art Building (June 1), “Pots and Paintings” at Center Gallery (June 1),  HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE collection (June 2), Traverse Colantha Walker Dairy Festival (June 10), Glen Arbor BBQ and Brew Festival (June 16) and the Glen Arbor Solstice Half Marathon & 5k (June 16).

The Bay Theatre in Suttons Bay has the new Tim Burton film Dark Shadows (PG-13) starring Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer and Helena Bonham Carter playing through May 31st.

The Weather

It’s a glorious 89 degrees under sunny skies  at Leelanau Coffee Roasting in Glen Arbor. The record high for a May 24th is 93 degrees from 2010. That’s just out of reach in contrast with the waaay out of reach 25 from 1956. Expect winds to pick up and temps to remain in the upper 80s for the rest of the day. We might get some rain overnight with gusty SW winds at 15-25. Tomorrow will be a little cooler, but beautiful with sunny skies and a high in the low to mid 70s. The weekend outlook calls for a high around 80 on Saturday and then near 90 on Sunday and Monday with a 30% chance of showers all three days but plenty of sun as well!

Chris Johnson shared his photo from last night of the boat launch in Glen Arbor. Click it for a larger view and visit his Facebook page for more!

More weather resources for Leelanau & Traverse City on the Leelanau Almanac!

1 reply
  1. hervé
    hervé says:

    Salut, j’apprend tous le jours de nouvelles chose sur ton blog, et cela fait un moment que je voulait me manifester et te remercier pour tes post régulier et interesant. Donc voila c’est fait un grand merci a toi 🙂

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