Today I recieved the Realtor.com Award of Excellence for online marketing of our listings. There were just a handful of Realtors chosen from the Detroit market and I was one of them!  We have been regular Realtor.com users since it was first introduced....well, actually quite a few years ago now! Since over 84% of buyers began their real estate search on line in 2007 we know how important it is that your home can be easily viewed on this popular site. In 2008 we expect the percentage of home buyers beginning their search on line to be over 90%.  These are huge numbers and we know how important great expose is to any property.  Realtor.com is getting ready to launch their 'next generation' site for consumers.  If you would like a preview of what the future looks like click on the Beta Version in the top right hand corner of the search site.  It's pretty awesome.

For those of you who hear me talking about the deer that live in the woods behind our condo...I offer this proof.  This hungry critter could see me sitting at my desk but decided that munching on my pile of bird food was worth the risk.  His/her twin and their mom were eating the corn in my squirrel food feeder.  Any port in the storm this time of year eh?  Earlier this week I video taped the whole herd - about 8 deer - feeding on my neighbors bird food.

Watch this video about how to stop foreclosure on your property before it's too late!  Click on this link and watch the video right now!!  If you have questions, please call us to see if we can help.

At the end of each September I try and visit Mt. Bruce Station in Romeo to attend the Sheep Festival.  It's two wonderful days of food, crafts, animals and flowers.  Last weekend was a perfect one so I made my way out to the festival and decided to share the pictures with all of you. You can take a tour of the farm and festivities here if you like.  Mt. Bruce station is owned by Yvonne Uhlianuk who is originally from New Zealand and the former owner of Tweeney's in Birmingham. She has an amazing green thumb.  The flowers were unbelievable as you'll see in the pictures.  All the crafts available at the festival are wool related, sweaters, yarns, buttons, wools and felted items.  There is a shop at Mt. Bruce where they sell items made from local sheep wool.  This event is for the whole family and there are lots of kid-friendly things to do and eat. Next up at Mt. Bruce is Christmas Weekend (first weekend in December) where you can purchase handmade woolen items for people on your Christmas list.  For more information on Mt. Bruce Stations visit their website or take a drive out to Romeo.  They're located on Boardman Road.  Whether you visit spring or fall or in December it's always a special day for the whole family!

For the last couple of years we've enjoyed the Hummingbirds coming and going.  This year, they seemed to appear right around the beginning of May and we saw the last of them yesterday, September 16th.  Well, we think it was the last of them.  Right around the beginning for September they started getting very crazy, fighting and 'chattering' among themselves over food or whatever.  It was very interesting. The males have been gone for weeks and we've only been seeing the females and juveniles.  No ruby throats. We used to only mark the seasons by the Robin's leaving - they've been gone for weeks now - and the loss of the brilliant yellow feathers of the Goldfinches. When you live on the edge of a wetland environment like we do you learn the bird habits because they're always on your back porch. Too close sometimes. Izzie, our youngest (cat) caught one in her mouth in July and brought it inside as a gift.  When the little bird dropped in my hand (I could have killer her!) I stepped outside where the Hummingbird instantly came back to life and buzzed away. We've enjoyed the Hummingbirds for the past couple of years now and I'm convinced that global warming has coaxed them to our woods in the summer.  We didn't see them ever until 3 years ago. What ever the reason, they are a delight to watch and have provided hours of enjoyment to all of us - including the cats!!