2019 OMP Calendars For Sale (May Include Your Dog, Cat, Horse or Barn)

I’ve been a busy bee putting together my annual Old Mission Peninsula wall calendars. We have six this year, and you can find them over at OMPstore.com, the Gazette’s online store that helps to support our mission of bringing you daily news here at the Gazette. The calendars make great gifts – for friends, family or YOU!

A bit of backstory on the calendars. Every January, I start thinking about the calendars and which photos would be good to include. As I move through the year and take photos along the way, I make a mental note of which photos to include in the calendars. Then at this time every year, I carefully choose the best photos of the year, including those that go viral on social media, like this one of the fall colors on the Hogsback. Between Facebook and Instagram, that little photo had about 5000 engagements and 31 shares.

While it would be great if I actually filed all of those best photos into a calendar folder throughout the year, I’m not quite that organized. Thus, sifting through all the photos before I do the calendars is no small feat. You guys know I take thousands of Old Mission Peninsula photos every year.

Honestly, most of the photos that I (or anyone else) takes on the Peninsula are beautiful. It’s tough to take a bad photo out here because everywhere you look is a scenic vista. So there has to be that something extra for a photo to make it into one of the calendars. Like this one where a couple of people just happened to be silhouetted as they sat on the dock watching the sunset over West Bay.

The other thing is that two of the calendars feature “Dogs of OMP” and “Cats of OMP.” These require a little extra thought on my part. First, I need to actually have enough photos of both cats and dogs to create those calendars at the end of the year. I didn’t quite make it with the cats this year, so a few cats got double billing, including Marco, a handsome gold and white cat who lives at the Neahtawanta Inn with my yoga teacher Sally Van Vleck, and Janis Haine’s gorgeous cats, one of whom had to be coaxed out of the basement to participate in a photo shoot. Ninety-nine percent of photography involves waiting for just the right moment.

Below are the six calendars for sale over at the Gazette’s online store, OMPstore.com. The cost for each is $25 plus shipping. Thank you for considering these as gifts. As mentioned, all sales help to support Old Mission Gazette and our mission to bring you daily news, photos, history, interviews and more.

While you’re over there, also check out our other items, including Vinyl Car Stickers, Mugs, Photo Prints, Framed Photo Prints, T-Shirts, Sweatshirts, and our special OMP collections, including OMP History, Old Mission Panthers, OMPeace, M37, Peninsula Redeyes (it’s a long story), and lots more.

Thank you for helping to support our small family business devoted to the Old Mission Peninsula!

DOGS OF OLD MISSION PENINSULA (buy it here)

I had a great time taking photos of these adorable dogs this year, which include: Chelsie Platz’ super-happy dog Duke (who arrived in my yard via her brother Austin); Dave and Linda Sanger’s dog Missy (carefully timed to take place after her grooming appointment); Deb Ott’s dog (photo taken at one of our yoga potlucks), Wunsch Farms’ dog Sonny (who Mom and I picked up one Sunday after church a few years back); Liz and Don Nowka’s dogs (taken at the annual Alzheimer’s Walk in September – Don owns Bay View Insurance and is one of our Gazette advertising partners); Heatherlyn and Cory Reamer’s dog Piper; Ryan Johnson’s dog Sasha; Nick Johnson’s dog Leon; Carol and Ward Johnson’s dog Sammy (my little buddy); Gabrielle Bohrer and Frank Zarafonitis’ dog Bruno (taken at the Boursaw farmhouse one summer day); Terilee Johnson’s dog Jack (RIP, Jack); the big fluffy white dogs at Rebecca Tester’s horse farm on Tompkins Road; and Kevin and Sharron Gay’s dog galloping through the cherry orchard – perfect!

CATS OF OLD MISSION PENINSULA (buy it here)

In addition to the aforementioned cats who live at Janis Haines’ house and the Neahtawanta Inn, cats featured in this calendar include Dean and Laura’s two farm cats; Deb Ott’s cat Abby (taken at a potluck at their house); cats who live in Ted Ayers’ barn on the corner of Swaney Road and Center Road; cats who live on Eastern Road past Haserot Beach; and Ward and Carol Johnson’s cat Crystal.

HORSES OF OLD MISSION PENINSULA (buy it here)

Horses featured in this calendar include Dean and Laura Johnson’s horse Summer (never disappoints as a photographic subject!); Rebecca Tester’s Tompkins Road horses; Glen and Rebecca Chown’s horses; Lenny and Eddie Ligon’s horses; the adorable pony in the 4th of July Old Mission Parade; Debbie Bee’s horses; several horses who live at Johnson Farms; and horses on the north end of Peninsula Drive near Swaney Road.

BIRDS OF OLD MISSION PENINSULA (buy it here)

If you follow my personal page on Facebook (feel free to friend me), you’ve probably seen some of my bird photos posted there. I call them my “office-mates” because the bird feeders are strategically placed right outside the window of Old Mission Gazette’s world headquarters. Not only do the birds keep me entertained, but they also make great calendar pinups.

This year’s “Birds of Old Mission Peninsula” calendar includes an Indigo Bunting, Cardinal, Rose-Breasted Grosbeak, Dove, Hummingbird, Pileated Woodpecker, Baltimore Oriole, Bald Eagle, two Sandhill Cranes on Brinkman Road, the neighborhood turkeys dining at the apple tree in our driveway, and a very curious Red-Bellied Woodpecker who couldn’t take his eyes off me (and, ok, creeped me out just a tiny bit).

BARNS OF OLD MISSION PENINSULA (buy it here)

Barns featured in this year’s calendar include Dean and Laura Johnson’s barn (which got a new roof this year); Shirley (Cosgrove) Miller’s big yellow barn on Peninsula Drive; the Dana barn on Tompkins Road; Flachsman’s barn (Louis Kauer’s barn when I was a kid); Glen and Rebecca Chown’s barn; Debbie Bee’s barn; Ted Ayers/Dennis Bee’s vine-covered barn; the Frederick barn on the corner of Center Road and Island View Road; Lenny Ligon’s barn; the Florence/McManus barn on Center Road; Chris Fifarek’s barn; and Seibold Orchards‘ barn.

Scenes of Old Mission Peninsula (buy it here)

These are the toughest photos to nail down because there are literally thousands that make the grade. So I try to give a good cross-section of the Old Mission Peninsula as best I can.

Photos in this year’s calendar include lavender from Secret Garden at Brys Estate; a sunflower (with accompanying bee) also from Secret Garden; a deer in my front yard; grapes from Chateau Chantal; a West Bay sunset (cue people sitting on a picturesque dock); the aforementioned Hogsback photo with the fall colors; little foxes in my mom’s driveway; apple blossoms in my brother Dean Johnson’s orchard; ice floes on East Bay; Lighthouse Beach at dusk; an ice brontosaurus on East Bay; bees on Johnson Farms; and the Flachsman’s barn, always beautifully decorated for the holidays.

Thank you again for helping to support our small family business on the Old Mission Peninsula!