How low will Michigan gas prices go?

Michigan gas prices are now averaging $2.181 for regular unleaded. I was up north at the end of last week and even up in Mackinaw City I was able to fill up for $2.19 a gallon. The town with the highest price on my trip? Traverse City clocked in at $2.249 a gallon all over town. Will gas prices dip under the $2 per gallon threshold or will OPEC and the big oil companies squeeze the supply to raise prices?

Gas price data courtesy of AAA's Fuel Gauge Report.

Quick fall maintenance tips your home

If you haven't inspected your home for the fall and winter heating season yet, now is the time. You don't want to be out of luck when you go to fire up your furnace on that first cold day. Also, if there are problems and you need to have a furnace technician come out you will have a much longer wait if you hold off until the thick of the heating season. So, here are a few tips to help you stay warm and save a few bucks this heating season.

• Check caulking/glaze on windows & doors.
• Clean dust/dirt off of carbon monoxide and smoke detectors.
• Replace batteries in smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors.
• Change furnace filter.
• Turn your heating system on now to ensure that it is in proper working order.
• Keep the area around your furnace clear of boxes and other junk that you might have piled up during the non-heating months.
• Always keep the burner area of your furnace clear of obstructions.
• Inspect your vent pipe (you know, the one that goes to the chimney) for any possible leaks or corrosion. If major corrosion is present, you need to replace the entire vent pipe.
• Fire up your furnace and inspect the flame. It should be a nice blue hue. Anything else such as a yellowish flame means you should call a technician and have them clean and test the entire furnace.
• The first time you fire up your furnace this year you will most likely notice a funny dust-like smell. That is just the dust burning off from the combustion chamber. You also should make sure that your furnace filter is clean since that could cause the same dusty smell.
• Any odor that does not go away after a short time or the smell of gas means you have a serious problem and should shut the furnace and fuel line down. Then, call a technician and have the furnace professionally inspected.
• Also, when first running your furnace it might be a good idea to have some windows open and have anyone with allergies leave the house for a few hours.
• Check your venting system for blockages from insect or small animal nests.
• Install an electronic thermostat that allows you to program it. This WILL save you money.
• Check your furnace filters once a month minimum. During heating/cooling season it is best to check it twice per month.
• Insulate. Insulate. Insulate.

Celebrate Banned Book week by reading a banned book

I cannot believe some of the books that are banned by school libraries across the country. This week (9/23 - 9/30) is Banned Book Week. This year marks the 25th anniversary of Banned Book Week. Here are a few of the books that I was surprised to see on this list. Also, it is stated that parents are the group that instigates most of the challenged/banned books. Interesting.

• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain
• Entire Harry Potter series - J.K. Rowling
• A Wrinkle in Time - Madeleine L'Engle
• To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
• A Light in the Attic - Shell Silverstein
• How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
• Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey

You know, I wonder if the parents that are so quick to have books banned because of their content also make sure that their kids don't watch movies and television shows with the same content.

For more information see the American Library Association website. They have a wealth of information on who bans books, why books are banned, and huge lists of challenged/banned books.

Detroit Tigers clinch playoff spot for the first time since '87

Hey, I know this isn't a sports blog, but the Detroit Tigers make the playoffs an average of once very 15-20 years so this IS big news in Michigan. Yesterday the Tigers clinched a playoff spot with their 11-4 win over the Kansas City Royals. The last time the Tigers made the playoffs was in 1987 where they lost to the Twins. Oh yeah, that was also the year they traded away John Smoltz for Doyle Alexander. Until this year, the Tigers had pretty much been a baseball laughingstock.

In honor of this historic win I am posting a video of a song Jeff Daniels wrote called "Lifelong Tiger Fan Blues." It's about 5 1/2 minutes long

If the above YouTube player does not work, simply view this video at YouTube here.

Michigan gas prices continue going down, down, down

The average price for a gallon of gas in Michigan is down to $2.203 as of today, September 25, 2006. Over the weekend I saw gas as low as $2.14 (in Sturgis). On most of our drive down U.S. 12 over to Clinton gas was going for $2.16. One month ago gas was as high as $2.805. Will gas do the unthinkable and dip under $2? How long will this reprieve last?

Gas price data courtesy of AAA's Fuel Gauge Report.

Corn mazes and apple picking time in Michigan

UPDATE: I created a new page with a rather comprehensive listing of Michigan Corn Mazes and Michigan Apple Orchards - Michigan Fall Colors. Cooler breezes are blowing as the seasons are shifting again. Today marks the first day of day of Autumn and we have the temperatures (and in someplaces frost) to go along with it. Where did the summer go?

My wife, son and I went apple picking a week ago at Corey Lake Orchards. We had a great time picking our own bushel of apples and it really didn't take that long. Even with our 2-year-old running up and down the rows of apple trees (he called them hallways) we were still done in about 15 minutes.

Use the Michigan U-Pick online search directory here to find a list of Cider Mills, Farmers' Markets, and U-Pick farms in Michigan.

Here is a list of Corn Mazes in Michigan that I have compiled through a lot of searching. If you know of any others feel free to leave the details in the comments section for this post.

Uncle John's Cider Mill 8614 North US 127 St. John's MI 48879

Talladay Farms 6270 Judd Rd Milan, Michigan 48160

Corn Fun Family Farm, LLC 9391 Lindsey Lane Casco. MI 48064

Amazing Acres Corn Maze & Pumpkin Farm 18430 U.S. 12 Edwardsburg, MI 49112

Benjamin Farms 3770 Noble Rd. Williamston, Michigan 48895

Crots Corn Maze 4800 W. Temperance Rd. Ottawa Lake, MI 49267

Farmer Charlie's Maze Adventure's 6421 N. Stony Creek Rd. Monroe, MI

Depner Farms Corn Maze 5945 Griggs Rd. Caseville, MI

Carpenter’s Dairy Farm 64015 M-43 Bangor, MI 49013

Ripley's Haunted Acres 9580 Carlisle Hwy. Vermontville, Michigan

Westview Orchards 65075 Van Dyke Rd Washington, MI, 48095

A-mazing Acres 18430 U.S. 12 East Edwardsburg, Michigan

Barbott Farms 7155 Cleveland Stevensville, MI 49127

Farmer J's Corn Maze 16405 Pherdun Rd. Dundee, Michigan 48131

Country Corn Maze 450 N. Vernon Rd Corunna, Michigan 48817

Heritage Gardens 7363 School Road Melvin, Michigan 48454

Crane Orchards U-Pick 6054 124th ave Fennville,Michigan 49408

Wick's Apple House 52281 Indian Lake Rd Dowagiac, MI 49047