Glorious bagels, migrating raptors, whimsical cranes … here’s what our editors at Traverse Northern Michigan magazine are obsessed with this month.
This is a web original article from the team at MyNorth Media and Traverse Northern Michigan. Want to read recent print stories? View our print subscription and digital subscription options and have Traverse delivered to your door or inbox each month.
The MyNorth editors visited Bubbie’s Bagels for lunch recently, and we have a serious crush on their seasonal ramp cream cheese—specifically spread on the glorious Green Dream sandwich, packed with micro dill, cucumber, pea shoots and capers. The sharp-yet-gentle wild-foraged leeks mixed into Bubbie’s velvety cream cheese lend an onion-y, springtime flavor that can only be found fresh from the forest floor. Trust us, you need this.
Artist Michelle Tock York uses clay and found objects (think driftwood and antique treasures) to create stunning works that range from ethereal animals to delicate figures that look like they live in a fairytale world. Most recently, I’ve fallen in love with her series of cranes. These (amazing!!) pieces are available at Higher Art Gallery in Traverse City and Twisted Fish Gallery in Elk Rapids.
With Baby Sou making their arrival this August, there is only one thing on my mind … baby gear! From blankets and teethers to the cutest, teeniest clothes, my mind has been consumed with preparing for baby with just about 100 days left. My one issue? Some of the most recommended products are items that exclusively come from big box stores or Amazon. As someone who loves supporting local businesses, I decided to spend a Saturday shopping in downtown Suttons Bay to see what I could find. The verdict? I was pleasantly surprised and walked away with some incredible finds!
Here are three of my stops and a photo featuring some of my finds:
Poppy Things | New to this colorful downtown shop is a cute-as-can-be kids’ corner featuring mobiles, blankets, handmade toys and more. The one thing I couldn’t take my eyes of? The National Parks Quilt by Clementine Kids.
Roost Consignment Boutique | The secondhand baby sunglasses were just one of the cute finds at this new Suttons Bay consignment store. I also picked up (not pictured) a Banana Republic onesie with the sweetest pattern, a Pottery Barn kids beach towel and the most adorable Adidas track suit with the tags still on—everything running me just around $15.
The Front Porch | My final stop was the kids’ section over at The Front Porch. These hilarious teethers and bibs by Bella Tunno stopped me in my tracks. “Food Critic” and “Bite Me” gave me a good laugh, while “Oh Hey Sunshine” was just too cute to pass up.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is thread with so many spectacular trails it’s easy to forget about the main attraction: The Dune Climb. While in the summer it is a virtual anthill of beings, after the snow melts and before Memorial Day Weekend, The Climb is a wilderness of sand and solitude. Big sky, big views—all so inspirational, you might just forget you are scaling 300 feet of sand.
After a decade spent living next to thousands of acres of wilderness I’ve gotten handy spotting raptors, but my heart still speeds up when I catch the glint of a bald eagle’s white feathers against the sky—it’s bucket-list stuff. This month the tip of the mitten turns into an ornithological superhighway: The Straits serve as a vital corridor for migrating raptors, who don’t care for large (and risky) open-water crossings and prefer to keep land in site when they must.
That means that during migration, each March through the end of May, tens of thousands of raptors wheel the skies over St. Ignace, Mackinaw City and the Straits on their way to summer nesting and feeding grounds. Broad-winged and red-tailed hawks top the list, with a steady stream of osprey, merlin, kestrels, golden eagles and bald eagles.
Pro tip: As a gateway to more U.P. adventure (and world-class birding), make St. Ignace your base camp and spend the weekend exploring wildlife preserves, backroads and beaches while snacking on pasties and smoked fish.
More 2023 Picks from Our Editors:
