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In the Garden
Some uncommon trees and shrubs have lots to offer in fall
S
ay “fall color” and many minds turn to sugar maple. Aspen, hickory and tupelo are among other well-known trees that fuel autumn's figurative flames. Ask about attractive bark, and many gardeners will think of white birch. But a number of lesser-known trees and shrubs can also contribute to the outdoor show, and — unlike sugar maple and white birch — are adept at doing so in the face of adversity. That is, they grow well in spite of soil that is too wet or too dry, or weather that's uncommonly hot, and they're unbothered by pests. A COUPLE OF RESILIENT HYDRANGEAS Two hydrangeas are in this category. The first, LEE REICH oakleaf hydrangea, is usually planted because of its summer transformation into a giant candelabra holding 10-inch, pyramidal clusters of white flowers upright at the ends of its stems. This hydrangea is native to the Southeast, and northern gardeners — myself included — have shied away from this shrub because its flower buds often winterkill, even though the rest of the plant is quite hardy. But oakleaf hydrangea would be well worth planting just for its foliage: The lobed leaves are dark green through summer, and then ignite to a striking burgundy come fall. This fast-growing shrub does well even in dry soil. And the flower heads, when they do develop, persist well into autumn, adding to the show. The other noteworthy hydrangea is called Praecox, and it’s another variety of the species that gives us the more commonly planted PeeGee hydrangea. Like PeeGee, Praecox is a hardy shrub growing about 10 feet high, blooming in midsummer, and livening fall with its persistent, dried, papery brown flower heads. But while PeeGee’s ice cream cone shape and full flower heads give it a rather formal air, Praecox is less stiff in overall form and in the fullness of its flower heads. LEAVES AREN’T FALL’S ONLY SHOW Then there are plants that color fall with something besides their leaves. Seven-son flower, which first arrived here from China in 1980, graces this season with its rose magenta seeds. It grows as a large shrub or small tree up to about 20 feet high. Another plant, goldenrain tree, has been grown on this side of the Pacific for longer, and is generally most flamboyant in summer, when it’s covered with small yellow flowers. However, the variety Rose Lantern flowers late, in September, and then goes on to an encore performance by dangling pink seed capsules, like Chinese lanterns, from its branches. EXOTIC MAPLES Sugar maple isn't the only maple with flamboyant autumn color. Japanese maples are valued as much in fall as in other seasons, except that Japanese maples are not generally tough plants. Enter Korean maple, also called purplebloom maple. This maple is similar in appearance to Japanese maple, but is more cosmopolitan and a bit more upright. In fall, the leaves of Korean maple turn a See Garden p. 2D
This undated photo shows paperbark maple growing in New Paltz, N.Y. With a bark that shines like polished copper, paperbark maple is sure to capture your attention in fall as well as in other seasons. (AP photo)
In this December 2016 photo, a house is for sale in Coral Gables, Fla. On Tuesday, the National Association of Realtors reports on sales of existing homes in October. (AP photo)
US HOME SALES ROSE IN OCTOBER AS HURRICANE IMPACT WANES By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON — Americans bought more homes last month, as sales snapped back in hurricane-hit Texas and Florida. Yet the market is still suffering from a dwindling supply of available homes. Sales rose 2 percent in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.48 million, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday. That’s the fastest pace since June. Still, sales have slipped 0.9 percent from a year ago. The number of available homes has fallen 10.4 percent from a year earlier to just 1.8 million. That’s the lowest for any October since the Realtors began tracking the data in 1999. The tight supply is pushing up prices and thwarting many would-be home buyers. The median home price jumped 5.5 percent in October from a year earlier. And homes were on the market for just 34 days, down from 41 a year ago. The supply crunch is particularly acute among lower-priced homes. Builders are putting up more expensive houses to maximize profits. “Selection is slim across the board, driving up prices, but even more so for those seeking less expensive and entry-level homes,” Svenja Gudell, chief economist at Zillow, said. “Currently, roughly half of what’s available to buy is priced in the upper onethird of home values, leaving scant
options for those aging millennials and young families trying to get their foot in the door.” Buyers closed more deals in Houston, Orlando and Jacksonville, Florida, as well as other areas damaged by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said. Sales were still recovering in Miami and other areas in south Florida. Steady hiring and still-low mortgage rates are boosting demand, spurring healthy traffic at open houses, Yun said. Yet many Americans are reluctant to sell their houses with so few alternatives available, which perpetuates the cycle of low inventory. Home builders will have to step up construction to relieve the supply crunch, economists say. Home construction jumped nearly 14 percent last month as building activity recovered from the hurricanes. But construction rose just 2.4 percent from a year ago. That's not nearly enough to offset the decline in existing homes for sale. The number of homes for sale has fallen more than 200,000 in the past year. Yet homebuilders started work on just 75,000 single-family homes last month. With the unemployment rate at a 17-year low, builders complain that they can't find enough workers to start more projects. Many also say that zoning rules in some cities limit the amount of available land.
NAR profiles home buyers and sellers for 2017 The National Association of Realtors’ 2017 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers shows that despite strong interest in owning a home, a continued drought in housing supply has led to price growth over the past year. This accelerated price growth has kept many first-time home buyers out of the market, even when the economy has experienced steady job gains and mortgage rates at record lows, a release from the NAR states. “The share of sales to first-time home buyers went backward to 34 percent, from 35 percent in 2016, which is the fourth lowest share since 1981,” Pam Caron, president of the Upper Peninsula Realtors, said in the release. “Individuals who wanted to buy their first home faced roadblocks last year through a rise in home prices and inventory shortages — with the lower end of the market witnessing the worst of the supply crunch.” The 2017 profile identified numerous current consumer housing See Profile p. 2D
RIGHT AT HOME:
Some sweet gifts for the home baker
By KIM COOK Associated Press If you've got home bakers on your holiday gift list, there are plenty of attractive and functional items on the market to help them whip up delectable goodies. Canadian artisan Brenda Watts of Hermitage, Prince Edward Island, makes French rolling pins out of flame birch in her Cattails Woodwork studio. They look like freshly baked baguettes, as decorative as they are useful. "I believe that beautiful things made from wood can have a purpose beyond what pleases the eye, "she says. "They should bring pleasure in use." (www.etsy.com/shop/CattailsWoodwork ) Lisa Van Riper's The Humble Elephant studio in Erie, Pennsylvania, also crafts rolling pins; hers are made of maple, and are embossed to roll out patterns such as flowers, hearts, leaves or farm animals. (www.etsy.com/shop/HumbleElephant ) Get things stirred up with Macy's
This undated photo provided by HomeGoods shows peppermint wheel cake stands. Display sweet treats on one of these festive stands from HomeGoods; three sizes are available. (AP photo) copper mixing bowl set from Martha Stewart Collection. Stainless steel with copper plating, the 1.5-quart, 3quart and 5-quart bowls nest handily.
(www.macys.com ) For exact measuring, Taylor Scale's See Gifts p. 2D
2D The Mining Journal
Friday, November 24, 2017
House to Home Mortgage Index 30-YEAR Rate-Fee/Pts.
15-YEAR Rate-Fee/Pt.
High rate
4.125
1
3.375
1
Low rate
3.625
1
3.000
1
Average rate
3.906
1
3.281
1
This graphic represents a Monday survey of regional lending institutions. Figures are based on rates at Range Bank, First Bank of Upper Michigan, mBank and Marquette Community Federal Credit Union.
Garde n
from 1D
mix of orange and scarlet. Twisted-bark maple, also called threeflower maple, is another Asian maple. Like Korean maple, it grows to about 30 feet high. Fall color varies from bright red to orange to yellow, from plant to plant. Another Asian maple, paperbark maple, gets some red in its leaves. The real show, though, is in its bark, which looks like polished copper and naturally curls back in paper-thin sheets.
So go ahead and be the first on your block to plant oakleaf hydrangea, threeflower maple, seven-son flower or any of the other plants mentioned. You'll be delighted — and not just in fall. Each plant also earns its keep in the other seasons. The bark of twisted-bark maple, for instance, peels off in decorative ash gray strips, most evident in winter. Seven-son flower bears panicles of small white flowers in spring. Enjoy the bark of paperbark maple every day of the year. http://www.leereich.com/blog http://leereich.com
US home construction reaches strongest pace in a year By JOSH BOAK AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON — Construction of new homes climbed 13.7 percent in October, the biggest jump in a year as builders broke ground on more apartments and single-family houses. The Commerce Department said Friday that the monthly gain put U.S. housing starts at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.29 million units. That is the best pace for home construction in 12 months. Housing starts have risen just 2.4 percent year-to-date, largely because fewer apartment complexes are being built. Single-family house construction has driven much of the growth this year in a sign of greater demand from buyers amid a healthy
job market. But recent building trends reversed themselves somewhat in October, with most of the momentum coming from apartment construction. The building of multi-family properties jumped 37.4 percent in October. Construction of single-family houses increased 5.3 percent. Still, the building of new homes has done little to alleviate the growing shortage of existing homes for sale. This shortage has started to stifle the broader real estate market. Purchases of existing homes have fallen over the past 12 months, according to the National Association of Realtors. The decline largely reflects that there are 121,600 fewer homes on the market during the same period, a 6.4 percent
decrease that new construction has been unable to offset. “For a significant increase in new homes, municipalities are going to have to work harder to make more land available for building,” said Robert Frick, a corporate economist with Navy Federal Credit Union. Construction in the South rose 17.2 percent last month, a sign the region is regaining its footing after damage from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Home construction shot up in the Northeast due to ground breakings for apartments. Construction also increased in the Midwest but declined in the West. In this June 1 photo, builders work on the roof of a home under construction at a housing Building permits, an indicator of future construction, plan in Jackson Township, Butler County, Pa. On Nov. 17, the Commerce Department reports rose 5.9 percent in October construction in October of new homes in the U.S. climbed 13.7 percent, the biggest jump in a year. (AP photo) to 1.3 million.
Craftivism: Melding of crafting, activism is having a moment
By MELISSA KOSSLER DUTTON Associated Press Colleen Haraden-Gorski uses her embroidery skills these days to embellish quilts made by students at school and community-center workshops on themes of social justice and working together to make a difference. Recently, she embroidered images of barbed wire and the serial numbers of concentration-camp victims on a square about the Holocaust. Another time, she worked on a square exploring prejudice within the African-American community about skin tone. Working on quilts that address historical injustices and current controversies provides her an outlet to communicate about issues important to her, and she is inspired by the work of the young people. “I found my voice. It makes me feel hopeful,” said Haraden-Gorski, of Richmond, California, who also expresses her concerns by calling and emailing legislators. But “getting an automatic reply to an email or hearing a message that the legislator's voicemail is too full — that's not hopeful,” she said. The combination of crafting and activism — sometimes called craftivism — is centuries-old. AfricanAmerican slaves relayed information about the Underground Railroad through quilt squares. Suffragettes used sewing circles as a means of sharing political views. And women on both sides of the Civil War knit socks for soldiers to support the cause. Early this year, women knit “pussy hats” ahead of Women's Marches in Washington and around the country to protest Donald Trump's election as president. That post-election surge of activism is combining with a years-long trend toward doit-yourself crafts and a step back from technology, said Elizabeth Garber, a professor of art at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Handmade goods also have new visibility because of online sites like Etsy.com and photo-sharing platforms like Instagram. Time spent crafting often leads to problem-solving because it stimulates creativity and provides an opportunity to process emotions, said
This photo provided by the Social Justice Sewing Academy showcases the 'G is for Gentrification' block created by Bianca Mercado and embroidered by Dr. Melissa Johnson, a professor at Illinois State University. This block is just one in Bianca's "Activist ABC's" quilt series. (Social Justice Sewing Academy via AP) Betsy Greer, founder of the website Craftivism.com. Handiwork can be a “softer” way to start political discussions, she said: “It can provide a way to talk about things that are hard to talk about.” Haraden-Gorski volunteers for the Social Justice Sewing Academy in Antioch, California. The organization mails the quilt squares to her and other volunteers to embellish. The finished quilts are displayed to promote awareness and activism. “We're reclaiming these crafts,” said Academy founder Sara Trail. Some crafters seek out such projects to become part of a public effort, while others might knit or sew items that they quietly donate to a homeless shelter, Garber said. “It appeals on different levels,” she said. “Some women want to be strident, but you could also do this in your own home and contribute something good.” Danielle Christensen of Eagle River, Wisconsin, didn't attend the Women's March in Washington but wanted to do something to show her passion for the cause. An avid knitter, she began making pussy hats and selling them online. Profiting from the sales didn't feel right, so she began donating her earnings to Planned Parenthood. “It felt really good,” she said. “I’m not the type of person to approach someone to try and change their political viewpoints.”
Attending a women's march in Lansing led screen printer Marcy Davy to add products to her line that promote feminism and tolerance. She's currently working on a poster for restaurants to hang in their kitchens outlining the rights of foreign-born workers. “This was a big decision. This is how I make my living,” said the resident of Ypsilanti, Michigan. “I want to use the skills that I have to carry the momentum of resistance forward.” Seeing how upset and confused many women were after Trump's election, yoga teacher Tracey di Paolo wanted to do something. After knitting herself a pussy hat, she decided to host a knitting circle after one of her classes at the studio where she works in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania.
Profile
from 1D
trends that affect first-time buyers, including mounting student debt balances and smaller down payments. CHARACTERISTICS OF FIRST-TIME BUYERS The median age of firsttime buyers was 32 years old, and first-time buyers saw their household income grow from $72,000 a year ago to $75,000 in 2017. First-time buyers purchased a slightly smaller home — 1,640 square feet compared to 1,650 square feet in 2016 — that was also more expensive — $190,000 versus $182,500 in 2016. Fewer first-time buyers purchased a home in an urban area —
Gifts
from 1D
glass-topped digital scale is easily cleaned, and operates with a couple of AAA batteries; a useful auto-off feature saves power. (www.target.com ) Silicone mats with printed-on measurements for pie crusts, cookies and other baked treats make it easy to form or dollop out consistently sized doughs, and they roll up for easy storage. (www.surlatable.com ) Bake a handy take-along treat with one of Norpro's "cakesicle" pans that come with a set of wooden sticks.
17 percent compared to 20 percent in 2016. STUDENT DEBT Student debt balances continue to grow, making it more difficult for first-time house hunters to break into the market. The report found that over 40 percent of firsttime buyers had student debt, and the typical debt balance increased in the last year from $26,000 to $29,000. “The homeownership rate has fallen, and fallen more steeply among younger generations, in a large part because of student debt delaying their ability to buy a home, typically by seven years,” said Caron. DOWN PAYMENTS The increase in home prices pulled the typical down payment for first-
time home buyers to 5 percent, compared to 6 percent in 2016. The primary source of funding for a down payment among firsttime buyers was personal savings, followed by a gift from a friend or relative. “More than 50 percent of first-time buyers said it took a year or more to save for a down payment, and 25 percent said saving was the most difficult task in the entire buying process,” Caron said. The report also found that nearly 90 percent of all buyers ended up purchasing their home through a real estate agent. Finding the right property to buy and help negotiating the terms of the sale were the most common benefits that buyers wanted from their agent.
(www.sears.com ) For bakers in tight working spaces, without room for big stand mixers and other countertop gear, consider giving Kitchenaid's powerful, all-in-one, 9-speed hand mixer. Available in silver, black, white or red, it comes with beaters, dough hooks, whisk and blending rod, so you can mix, knead, whip and blend using one appliance. A storage bag keeps everything corr a l l e d . (www.kitchenaid.com ) Fancy Flours has an array of cupcake wrappers
made of laser-cut paper, in poinsettia, snowflake, animal and crown patterns. There's also a smart red and chrome shaker/dispenser for sifting out cocoa, sugar or flour. And for adding flavor or flair to baked treats, there are 6ounce containers of crystallized rose and hibiscus flowers. (www.fancyflours.com ) Present the sweet treats on a fun cake stand painted to look like a peppermint candy; Homegoods has them in three sizes in festive red and white. (www.homegoods.com )
The Mining Journal 3D
Friday, November 24, 2017
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4D The Mining Journal
Friday, November 24, 2017
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W13746 Sandtown Road, Engadine Lovely cabin on just over 36 acres. This homestead features a trout stream and pond stocked with bluegill. The property also has its own operational sugar shack. Plenty of room to garden, hobby farm, process maple syrup, hunt, and fish. The cabin has a large living area and a full-length loft for sleeping. If you are a hunter there is a processing facility for your game as well. Oh and we can’t forget the sauna. Don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity. $160,000 MLS#: 1105519
E5313 Sunset Road, Ironwood Cozy and cute! This 2-bedroom/1-bath home is turn key and move-in ready. The attached one car garage is handy and there are two additional sheds in the back. The heating system was converted from oil to natural gas with a new furnace installed in September 2017. There’s even central air conditioning. The lot is extra deep so you have a great back yard. Other recent improvements have been made and a new kitchen counter and sink are just waiting to be installed. The home features many windows that make it bright and cheery, new flooring in the back porch, and many closets throughout. This is a great home at a great price! $35,000 MLS#: 1105586
Contact Rob Sullivan
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HUNTING PROPERTY !!!
HUNTING PROPERTY !!!
GREAT STARTER HOME!
Lot 3, Horseshoe Lake Rd Republic
TBD Dalton Road Skandia
6784 32nd Road Perkins
119 Hemlock Republic
MLS #: 1085938 $39,000 BRIAN OLSON
MLS #: 1103686 $250,000 ROB SULLIVAN
HIGH ROLLING PROPERTY
WATERFRONT PROPERTY !!!
MOUNTAIN TOP HOME
68 Acres, Co Road 565 Gwinn
Lot D, Perch Lake, Republic
MLS #: 1105118 $72,000 ROB SULLIVAN
MLS #: 1099414 $140,000 BOB SULLIVAN
117 E Sno Dance Wakefield MLS #: 1098251 $165,000 SUE FELDHAUSER
AFFORDABLE PRICE
120 ACRES !!
HOBBY FARM
MLS #: 1099254 $45,000 BOB SULLLIVAN
FN 13843 Co Road SG Northland
120 Acres Hardwood Lane Republic MLS #: 1098151 $84,000 BOB SULLIVAN
MLS #: 1102636 $69,900 BRIAN OLSON
18489 M35, Little Lake
MLS #: 1105168 $35,000 NATHAN BRABON
15025 S US41, Marquette MLS #: 1105429 $1.3 million ROB SULLLIVAN
OWN YOUR VERY OWN BUSINESS!
518 E. McLeod Avenue Ironwood
MLS #: 1105422 $117,000 BRIAN OLSON
MLS #: 1105473 $125,000 SUE FELDHAUSER
440’ OF LAKE SUPERIOR FRONTAGE
CHECK IT OUT!
LAKEFRONT!!!
COZY HOME
TBD Lighthouse Road Big Bay
TBD US41 and near M94 East, Skandia
TBD Holli Blue Road, Champion
MLS #: 1104963 $21,000 BRIAN OLSON
MLS #: 1101091 $99,900 BOB SULLIVAN
380 Hemlock Street Republic
MLS #: 1104235 $125,000 BOB SULLIVAN
Love the Land!
Bob Sullivan
Associate Broker/ Owner Cell: 906-361-4212
Rob Sullivan
Associate Broker, Office Manager Cell: 906-362-3337
Brian Olson
Associate Broker Cell: 906-869-6446
Nathan Brabon Agent Cell: 906-869-8451
MLS #: 1104935 $55,000 NATHAN BRABON
Sue Feldhauser Agent Cell: 906-360-2891
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