Greenfield Village with Indiana friends...

It's been a summer of visitors popping in on an almost weekly basis. And we've loved it! We've shown our friends many of the wonderful sights of Detroit and Dearborn, including diverse food, culture, and good coffee! 

Family friends from Indiana were up in the area in the middle of July for a wedding. They scheduled in a couple of days with us after the event. We enjoyed good food and fellowship together, and took them to Greenfield Village, which was absolutely lovely.

Colourful fabric at the weaving shop.

A volunteer works the historical loom.

The Detroit, Toledo, and Milwaukee Roundhouse and turntable.

Eliza stands in front of one of the display locomotives.

Working the turntable.

The Wright Brothers' home, originally located in Dayton, Ohio. 

The Wright Brothers' cycle shop, where they worked on their plane designs.

Displays in the cycle shop.

Lots of antique bikes.

The wind tunnel for testing the lift of wings.

Statue of Thomas Edison.

The Sarah Jordan Boarding House, built in 1870, where workers from Edison's Laboratory worked. It was also one of the first homes to be wired for electric light.

We caught the train back to the entrance of Greenfield Village.

The Farris Windmill, the oldest windmill in the USA, originally built in the mid-1600s in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

It was a great day at Greenfield Village!

Garden Produce...

It's been another year with a bumper harvest. We have lots of garlic, tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes, and peppers thriving in our garden boxes. And that's not to forget the amazing blackberries growing behind the garage - some of which are pictured in Candace's hand here. We're so grateful that we can grow our own food!

Overgrown garden box with cucumbers, peppers, potatoes, and tomatoes.

The green peppers are fantastic...

As are the tomatoes.

Candace and Eliza work on removing the outer layer of the garlic.

Eliza was so excited!

Breakfast at Belle Isle Beach...

We visited Belle Isle beach early one Saturday morning in July. We took homemade sourdough bagels with bacon and eggs for breakfast. It was lovely to watch the calm waves on this slightly misty morning. The children also enjoyed swimming in the Detroit River. :)

Breakfast was delicious.

A misty morning in Detroit.

Gull flying overhead.

Early morning rower.

The flags of many countries, including South Africa, at an event

A whole host of paddle boarders on the river.

It was a gorgeous morning.

With my lovely wife. :)

Flower Pollinators...

With the summer months, we have welcomed back these helpful butterflies into our garden. We have seen both swallowtail (pictured here) and monarch butterflies, and they are crucial to the ecosystem. We even have swallowtail caterpillars on the dill planted in our back garden, and we are keeping a close eye on the milkweed to see whether we have monarch caterpillars again. :) For now, both butterfly species love the echinacea (coneflowers) in the front.

Female (dark morph) eastern tiger swallowtail.

Monarch butterfly enjoying the echinacea.

Garden Sunflowers...

We have lots of beautiful sunflowers this summer. The birds and neighbourhood squirrels are so thankful! :)

World Cup Action at Peace Park...

I joined my friend Rashad in watching the USA face Belgium in the World Cup's Round of 16 back on July 6th. We met at the fan zone at the Peace Park in West Dearborn, where every World Cup match was being shown on the big screen there. Even though the USA lost this game, it was still a great atmosphere!

Early stages of the match - before Belgium took control. The final score was 4-1 to Belgium.

4th of July Fireworks...

We watched the traditional 4th of July fireworks from the Amtrak station in Dearborn, where you get a nice view of the impressive display from Greenfield Village. We all enjoyed it. :) Happy 250th birthday, America!

A great way to end the 4th of July.