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 Sara Swanson

June 2023 Gardening Advice

submitted by Jennifer Fairfield, Garden Mill Here are some things to do in order to stay at least somewhat ahead of the game this month: In the veggie garden:  The main thing we all need to be doing right now is watering. Everything. Constantly. That may be a slight exaggeration, but only a slight one. […]

 Sara Swanson

May 2023 Gardening Advice

submitted by Jennifer Fairfield, Garden Mill The weather will straighten itself out eventually, and once it does, we are going to be so ready to get out and get things done. That’s a good thing, because there is so much to do in our yards and gardens in May! Flowers, Trees & Shrubs: As the […]

 Sara Swanson

March 2023 Gardening Advice

submitted by Jennifer Fairfield, Garden Mill That weather was fun, huh?! Well, no, it wasn’t, actually. I hope everyone came out of it in generally good shape — that your power has been restored, your house didn’t sustain any damage from falling tree branches or limbs, and that you didn’t lose too much of the […]

 Sara Swanson

February 2023 Gardening Advice

submitted by Jennifer Fairfield, Garden Mill Let’s Dream About Gardening! So far, winter hasn’t been too bad in our little corner of the world — not too many bitterly cold days, not too much snow, and the occasional glimpse of the sun to remind us that it’s still out there. Of course, we still have […]

 Marsha Chartrand

Michigan Music: Banjo Mike Evans — Obsession … or passion?

by Steve Girbach Within minutes of stepping into Mike Evans’s home in Brooklyn, Mich., to do this interview, I began to see his obsession with the banjo, its history, music, and culture. I probably should have realized it sooner — after all, he does reference it in his name, Banjo Mike Evans. “When you get […]

 Sara Swanson

January 2023 Gardening Advice

submitted by Jennifer Fairfield, Garden Mill and Manchester Community & School Gardens (Note: The Garden Mill will be closed for the entire month of January doing cleanup and inventory, and getting in lots of new products for the new season. They will reopen on February 1.) It's hard to think of January as a “gardening” […]

 Marsha Chartrand

Chamber Spotlight: Manchester Ag Parts

The Manchester Mirror is partnering with the Manchester Chamber of Commerce to highlight different Chamber of Commerce members. This week we are spotlighting Manchester Ag Parts, located at 10940 M-52. Manchester Ag Parts does repairs, makes hoses, and sells parts. Together, Matthew Benn and Karen Malburg have been involved in agribusiness for over 50 years […]

 Sara Swanson

The Flying Dutchman … a ghost ship?

by Sara Swanson If you ask anyone in the southwest corner of Washtenaw County what a Flying Dutchman is, they would most likely answer a student at Manchester Community Schools. But outside of the Manchester area … their answer might be spookier. The Flying Dutchman is a common name for a ghost ship. Sightings of […]

 Sara Swanson

Michigan music: Juston Brady

by Steve Girbach I feel some of the best kept artistic secrets are hiding in plain sight. Juston Brady, in my view, fits that description perfectly. I first saw Juston perform his music at a local open mic. I was immediately struck by his originality, his honest, heartfelt, sometimes painful personal stories, which hit all […]

 Marsha Chartrand

September 2022 Gardening Advice

submitted by Jennifer Fairfield, Garden Mill and Manchester Community & School Gardens Mother Nature sure has a sense of humor. Immediately after I said, in last month’s newsletter, that the main thing we all needed to be doing for our gardens was watering, she started sending us lots of rain! I think I only watered […]