Our network

Public Spaces

Eat lunch at Dwight Lydell Park

Eat lunch at Dwight Lydell Park

COMSTOCK PARK - Need a break at lunch?  Eat outside at Dwight Lydell Park in Comstock Park.

Located right in downtown CP, the park has at least five restaurants surrounding it - Mad Dogz, R&R Cafe, Park View Cafe, Mill Creek Tavern, and Vitales. 

Playgrounds, two picnic shelters, a walking trail, and plenty of picnic tables make for a nice relaxing time.

Nite Lites Holiday Light Show Set to Kickoff its 14th Season at Fifth Third Ballpark

Nite Lites Holiday Light Show Set to Kickoff its 14th Season at Fifth Third Ballpark

News Release:

COMSTOCK PARK, MI -- Christmas light displays are being set-up around Fifth Third Ballpark in preparation for the Nite Lites annual holiday lights display, which is set to return to the ballpark for the 14th season. Michigan's largest Christmas light display will open to the public this Saturday, November 19 at 6:00 p.m. and runs nightly from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. through January 1.

The drive-through Nite Lites display is over a mile long and includes more than 40 life-size animated figures, lighted trees and tunnels. Synchronized lights give life to a waving Frosty, a five-car train full of gifts, Santa carrying a huge sack of presents, Santa and his nine reindeer (a 160-foot long display), Santa bowling, and of course Santa pitching a baseball to an elf who hits it out of the park - every time.

Hackley Public Library releases new books list

Dozens of new books are on the shelves at Hackley Public Library in Muskegon.

The library  has released its new list of books. For a link to the list, visit  the library’s web site.

Comstock Park Rotary Clean Up Day at Grotto Park

Comstock Park Rotary Clean Up Day at Grotto Park

About a dozen Comstock Park Rotarians and friends spent Saturday morning pulling weeds and doing general clean up at the Michigan Veterans Facility in Grand Rapids. The Rotary club continues to remain involved in the appearance of the park following their major renovation project completed in 2008. More renovations are planned for the coming years.

...READ MORE

We trade our Urban Wildlife for a rare sighting -- The elusive badger

We trade our Urban Wildlife for a rare sighting -- The elusive badger

Meet Bella, Bucky and Barry:

We leave the urban wildlife in Forest Hills and head to our cabin in Wisconsin.  In Michigan, you would call our cabin a cottage.  In Wisconsin, they are known as cabins.  Anyway I digress - our cabin is on 10 hilly acres of grassland in the bluff country of southern Wisconsin. 

Wisconsin is known as the dairy state, but the “state animal” is not a cow.  It’s the badger.  Yes, Wisconsinites have seen Bucky the Badger, the University of Wisconsin’s mascot.  But very few of them have ever seen a real badger.  Our property in Wisconsin was invaded by three badgers last year!!!!

The first sign of a badger invasion:

The first sign of the badger invasion was the yard, which was dug up.  Badgers prefer to live in open grasslands, fields and pastures.  My husband mows about four acres of our property and lets the rest of the grasses grow wild.

A break from urban wildlife for a day at the beach

A break from urban wildlife for a day at the beach

LAKE MICHIGAN -  Even a dog has to take a break from all the excitement of his backyard kingdom.  On this sunny summer day, George, my husband, and I head to the beach.  Our friends, Nancy and Don, own a cottage on Lake Michigan, and they have invited the three of us to spend the day at the beach.

This is George’s first visit to Lake Michigan.  The waves were a little intimidating at first.  He would sniff the water, but he would not allow himself to get wet.  He wouldn’t even dip his paw into the water to check it out.  Then something caught his eye.  George noticed the beautiful white birds walking along the water’s edge.  He tried to get close to these interesting critters, but they would simply fly off.

Silly me, I thought seagulls only lived by the ocean, and then I moved to Michigan and discovered the Big Lake is home to a thriving population of seagulls.  I have since learned that seagulls or gulls will live al

Urban Wildlife - Meet Tommy and Henrietta

Urban Wildlife - Meet Tommy and Henrietta

George and his Backyard Critters – Meet “Tommy” and “Henrietta”:

“Tommy” and “Henrietta” are the wild turkeys who live in the neighborhood and visit our bird feeder once in a while. We don’t see the turkeys very often, maybe it’s because they can go 14 to 20 days without food.

Michigan turkeys disappeared in the late 1800’s. In the 1950’s, wildlife biologists reintroduced turkeys in southwestern Michigan and later in the northern part of the state.  Today, there are about 200,000 wild turkeys roaming around Michigan.

Two of those turkeys live in our Forest Hills neighborhood. They are the Eastern Wild Turkey variety.