Photo of the Week: Kirtland’s Warbler in Northern Michigan

small yellow and gray warbler sits on branch of Jack Pine tree

It’s not that Kirtland’s Warblers are shy birds that makes them a bird every birdwatcher wants to add to their life list.

Kirtland’s Warblers are one of the most vocal birds in the spring and are often seen singing on a top, outside branch of a tree or shrub.

It’s that they’re one of the most rare songbirds to find in North America. Continue reading Photo of the Week: Kirtland’s Warbler in Northern Michigan

How to Build a Successful Web Presence with Google Search [Video]

John Mueller on stage at Google I/O

At Google I/O 2018 last month, Mariya Moeva and John Mueller from Google Switzerland shared their insights and knowledge as Google Webmaster Trends Analysts on how you can be more successful with your web projects using Google Search.

I finally had a chance to re-watch their video this week and picked up a number of excellent tips I wanted to share with my blog readers.

In one of the examples Moeva shared during the video, she explained how a Japanese company sharing recipes on their website made changes to their site by adding structured data.

The result?

Almost three times as much traffic as before the site changes. Continue reading How to Build a Successful Web Presence with Google Search [Video]

Photo of the Week: Tree Peonies in Bloom

deep magenta peony blooms against green leaves

With the warm weather over the past couple weeks in southeast Michigan, our gardens are filled with color from mid-to-late spring flowers, including gorgeous deep purple lilacs, brilliant orange poppies, and the soft pink of crabapple flowers.

One of my favorite spring flowers in bloom is the peony, and there’s no better place to view the wide variety of peonies than at the Peony Garden at the Nichols Arboretum in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

People throughout Michigan and beyond travel to the almost 100-year-old Peony Garden to stroll through the 27 beds of the 200+ varieties of herbaceous peonies.

Tree Peonies

And while many people plan a trip to the garden to see herbaceous peonies in late spring, I love taking a tour a few weeks earlier, when the tree peonies are in bloom.  Continue reading Photo of the Week: Tree Peonies in Bloom