Valentine on Ice by GR2 Photography
Happy Valentine’s Day everyone & I hope you have a lovely & love-filled Valentine’s Day & weekend!
I’ve featured this awesome shot from Lake Michigan in Empire before & I will feature it again! See more on GR2 Photography’s Facebook.
Three winters ago, Paul shared the bobcat pic that is the first of the collection of his trail cam photos below. In the intervening years he has created some amazing documentation of wildlife activity on his land near Clare. Follow him on Flickr for the latest & check out his yearly Trail Cam albums!!
Rain Comes by Andrew McFarlane
9 years ago I started a Michigan in Pictures Patreon page to allow folks to throw me a few bucks in support of michpics. A big thank you to all who have done so – it means a lot to know you care.
My best friend Ken who has since passed on & I took these photos way back in August of 2007 after an honestly incredible rock stacking event on the Lake Michigan shoreline just north of the village of Frankfort. I still have no idea who did this, but I know that I will never forget it!! I hope you enjoy these photos & the video and also that you’re able to make or discover magic in your corner of the Great Lakes State.
Frankfort Rock Gallery photos by Andrew McFarlane & Ken Lake
Heated Sidewalk in Holland by Discover Holland
One of the stories you read more & more every year is how online shopping is killing downtowns. Discover Holland shares that in the 80s when suburban malls were wreaking similar havoc, downtown Holland business owners & the city created a plan for Snow Free Holland, now the largest municipal snowmelt system in North America:
Joining the conversation was Holland native and Prince Corporation founder, Edgar D. Prince. Prince brought to the table an idea that he discovered while in Europe, a system of underground piping that circulates warm water to keep the snow and ice at bay during the winter months. Using this idea, Prince expanded on the possibilities of snow and ice free access in downtown, and thus began the downtown Holland snowmelt project.
Currently, snowmelt is maintained by the Holland Board of Public Works in collaboration with the Holland Energy Park. Snowmelt was first implemented in 1988 and is the largest municipally-run snowmelt system in North America. By using waste heat from power generation, water is heated and circulated through 120 miles of plastic tubing underneath the streets and sidewalks. The tubes are 3/4″ in circumference; Holland has 600,000 square feet of tubing totaling 4.9 miles and 10.5 acres of heated streets and sidewalks. With the water heating up to 95 degrees Fahrenheit, the system can melt 1″ of snow per hour – even at 20 degrees F with 10 MPH winds!
More from Discover Holland & a big thanks to Mike Karl who shared one of these pics the other day!
Above Kalamazoo’s Bronson Park by William Dolak
I’ve been seeing photos from all across Michigan of communities lighting up for the holidays, and for my money Kalamazoo’s Bronson Park nailed it this year!
The man who nailed this drone shot, Bill Dolak, is one of the Michigan in Pictures Facebook group’s most active photographers, delivering great pics from in and around Kalamazoo, Michigan in good times like this and bad ones like this year’s devastating Kalamazoo/Portage Tornado.
You can click on either picture for a bunch more shots, and you should for sure check out all his posts in the Michigan in Pictures group!
Bronson Park Holiday Decorations by William Dolak
PS: The other day Bill shared a photo from above of snow covered, downed trees near Celery Flats Park in Portage.
Snow Storm at Tahquamenon Falls by Michigan Nut Photography
Yesterday afternoon mLive meteorologist Mark Torregrossa shared that the National Weather Service is so confident about inbound heavy snow that they issued a winter storm watch with a possibility of up to a foot of snow from 7pm today to 7pm Thursday — more than 24 hours before any flakes fall!
In Lower Michigan the winter storm watch stretches from the Kalamazoo area northward through the Grand Rapids area and up the western shoreline through Muskegon, Grand Traverse area and Charlevoix. Cadillac is also in the winter storm watch. The western Lake Superior shoreline counties in the Upper Peninsula are also in the winter storm watch.
You can find this shot from Michigan’s largest waterfall & many others in the Winter in Michigan gallery on the Michigan Nut Photography website. John also shares much more on his Facebook!
Here’s a fall pic by John from the same spot and there is much more Tahquamenon Falls on Michigan in Pictures!
Autumn morning at Tahquamenon Falls by Michigan Nut Photography
Elsie Schuenemann at the wheel of the Christmas Tree Ship
As people head into the woods or to Christmas tree stands, I love to share the story of the Rouse Simmons aka the Christmas Tree Ship for a taste of what it was like back in the day. Way back in 2006, the National Archives shared that the saga of the Schuenemann family and the Rouse Simmons is a microcosm of Great Lakes maritime history:. Their excellent article says (in part):
The 1868 peak in sail-powered ships on Lake Michigan also marked the year the 123-foot Rouse Simmons was launched from Milwaukee’s shipyards. The ship was built by the firm of Allan, McClelland, and Company, one of Milwaukee’s preeminent shipbuilding firms …In the early 1870s, the Rouse Simmons joined the sizeable shipping fleet of wealthy lumber magnate and philanthropist Charles H. Hackley of Muskegon, hauling loads of lumber for Hackley’s fleet from company mills to the various markets around the lake for roughly 20 years.
By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the popular German tradition of decorating an evergreen tree in the home was widely practiced, and it was not uncommon for a handful of lake schooners to make late-season runs from northern Michigan and Wisconsin loaded with thousands of Christmas trees for busy Chicago waterfront markets. Estimates of the number of Christmas schooners vary, but perhaps up to two dozen vessels in any season delivered evergreens to markets in Great Lakes states.
In Chicago, most vessels, including the Rouse Simmons, sold the trees directly from their berths along the Chicago River’s Clark Street docks. Electric lights were strung from the schooner’s bow to stern, and customers were invited to board the ship to choose their trees. In addition to selling Christmas trees, many boat operators, including Schuenemann, made and sold wreaths, garlands, and other holiday decorations. Barbara Schuenemann and her three daughters (Elsie is pictured above) helped make and sell these items as part of the family’s holiday trade.
You can read on for much more about Herman Schuenemann’s long career as “Captain Santa” which tragically came to an end on Friday, November 22, 1912 when the Rouse Simmons, heavily laden with 3,000–5,000 Christmas trees filling its hold & deck, left the dock at Thompson, Michigan looking “like a floating forest.” Sadly, the Rouse Simmons sailed into a powerful winter storm on the lake that sent her and several other ships including the South Shore, Three Sisters, and Two Brothers to the bottom of Lake Michigan.
On November 23, 1912, Back in 2007 Rich Evenhouse shared this video of a dive to the wreck of the Rouse Simmons. The shipwreck lies upright in 165 ft. at the bottom of Lake Michigan & I’ve heard that every year divers place a Christmas tree on the bow.
Detroit Tigers Cy Young Winner Tarik Skubal
Detroit Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal received all 30 first-place votes to become the unanimous winner of the 2024 American League Cy Young Award last night, and as a bonus it was his 37th birthday!
Skubal is the fifth Tiger to win the award, joining Max Scherzer (2013), Justin Verlander (2011), Willie Hernández (1984) and Denny McLain (1968 and ’69). The dominant southpaw capped his pitching Triple Crown season on Wednesday by winning the AL Cy Young Award in a unanimous vote from members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America
His 18 wins were the most by a Tiger since Scherzer had as many in 2014. His 2.39 ERA was the lowest by a qualified Detroit starter since Mark Fidrych’s incredible rookie season of 1976. His 5.9 fWAR trailed only Verlander’s 2009 and ’10 seasons as the most by a Tigers pitcher in his age-27 season or younger since 1971. His 6.3 bWAR not only led MLB pitchers, it ranked seventh among all AL players. Skubal became the 22nd player in Major League history to win a pitching Triple Crown. (and first since Verlander in 2011!)
Head over to the Detroit Tigers website for much more!
Over Tahquamenon Falls by Gary Ennis
9 years ago I shared some photos of kayaking legend Marcelo Galizio plunging over Tahquamenon Falls. I was surprised to learn he had done it previously & even more surprised that he’d done it 19 times since 2012! The Newberry News shares in part:
Believe it or not, it’s legal. Water is in the public domain, and Galizio has a right to be there. What he does is highly unrecommended, however, even by Galizio.
Galizio is a professional kayaker, and he takes on these adventures for a living. He only performs a drop if the conditions prove themselves to be right, and only after his team is in place to assist. That includes a safety person waiting in a kayak downstream from the falls, a drone operator, and a camera person.
“I usually come back to the surface upside down,” he said. When that happens, he rights himself quickly, and no water gets inside his kayak.
…Eric Johnson, lead ranger for the park, has been with the park for 18 years and has concerns about activities like these. “I have the fear that it might get a copy cat attempt by somebody that’s not a professional waterfalls kayaker,” Johnson said.
Gary witnessed the team in action & wrote “Trust and team work! The work between these 2 is unreal… It was awesome to see how well – just amazing!” Click for more pics from the drop (use the right arrow to advance), and see more photos from Gary on his Facebook.
Moon set under Aurora by TP Mann
Thomas shares, “The northern lights and the moon filled the sky above Ellsworth Lake. It was a gorgeous night to be out along the Breezeway.” The Breezeway is his passion which is totally understandable if you take a look:
“The Breezeway” is a rural ride along C-48 from Atwood (U.S. 31) through Ellsworth & East Jordan, and ending in Boyne Falls (U.S. 131) – boasts scenic overlooks, great motorcycle & bicycle rides, recreational amenities galore, working farms & orchards, artist galleries & studios, resale shops, lodging facilities (cottages, campgrounds, B&Bs, motels, and a resort), retail and service businesses with superb customer service, and an epicurean’s selection of dining choices along the route.
Thomas took this photo on October 10th. Head over to his Flickr for his latest photos from this beautiful little corner of Michigan & here’s a daytime photo of the fall color on Ellsworth Lake from yesterday!
Autumn Morning on the Breezeway by Thomas Mann
Michigan in Pictures 