Cooperative Weather

We can’t complain about Friday’s weather, and we just have to remember that Up North is always quieter pre-4th. The outdoor market down by the depot Friday morning had lots of bright flowers and jewelry, but no “farmers” in evidence. (I’m hoping for a few radishes and strawberries next week.) One of the Northport Future by Design committees has done an excellent job with benches and flowers around town, and these benches won’t be empty for long. It’s easy to forget every time June rolls around that our big season here never really kicks off until the weekend closest to or including the 4th of July.






All that said, Woody Palmer of the Painted Horse Gallery and David Grath of David Grath Fine Arts were happy with the turnout for the Gallery Walk on Friday evening. (I haven’t talked to people from other galleries yet.) Crowds were light but enthusiastic. Ahead of time artist Bonnie Marris, married to W.P., commented, “It’s like Halloween—you never know how many people will come!” As with Halloween, weather is a concern, too, but ours held beautifully. Gallery walk, art crawl—there are various names for it--it was a lovely evening for strolling Northport. There was a silent auction benefit for the Leelanau Children’s Center going on at the Gills Pier Winery, and the second two hours of the Gallery Walk coincided with the first Music in the Park event down by the harbor, so all things considered, we had a successful evening. I hope the Leelanau Children's Center folks also feel their evening was a success.



Much earlier in the day, while Sarah and I were making our morning rounds, Joanne Sahs called me over to see something. This beautiful cecropia moth appeared to have a slight wing injury. Joanne had moved it out of the street to a quiet place, and I hope it recovered enough to resume its brief, beautiful life.


Another of my friends, who is also a regular bookstore customer, recently ordered a second copy of a book he’d read and enjoyed. “This one is for a friend,” he said. Imagine my surprise when Big Steve came to pick up his order and presented the book to me! “How many times do people buy you a book?” he asked. THE PROOF AND PARADOX OF KURT GÖDEL, by Rebecca Goldstein, is as fascinating a story as Steve promised. The story opens in Princeton, NJ, at the Institute for Advanced Study, where we observe Einstein and Gödel walking and talking together. Goldstein uses the friendship with Einstein to begin her exploration of Gödel’s revolutionary ideas, what he took them to mean, and what others made of them. It’s a very different sort of book from MERLE’S DOOR, which I need to write about very soon, but compelling in a different way. Thanks, Big Steve!