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Michigan Photo Calendars

Posted on December 15, 2015September 21, 2025 by farlane

St. Joseph Lighthouse, photo by John McCormick

Time to get your 2016 Calendars! In addition to being a great way to share a daily dose of Michigan with the people on your gift list, most photographers ship them directly for you making gift-giving easier. If you are a Michigan photographer who has a calendar for sale or know of one who does, please post link to any you know of in the comments below or on this post at the Michigan in Pictures Facebook!

The photo above is for January 2016 from one of my favorites is one that a reader recently asked about: The Michigan Wild & Scenic Wall Calendar by John McCormick of Michigan Nut Photography. You can see them all and purchase the calendar at Michigan Nut Photography. Be sure to follow Michigan Nut on Facebook too!

More about the St. Joseph Pier light on Michigan in Pictures.

Summer in December?

Posted on December 14, 2015 by farlane

Untitled, photo by Alissa Hankinson

While average highs this time of year in West Michigan are in the mid 30s, WZZM-13 reports that record high temperatures were set in many West Michigan locations yesterday:

Grand Rapids has broken the record high temperature of 57°, with a reported observation of 61°. The previous record stood for almost a century, since 1920.

Kalamazoo, Lansing and Muskegon have also surpassed previous records, each reaching 63°. Kalamazoo’s previous record sat at 59° since 1991, Lansing’s at 56° since 1975 and Muskegon’s record of 59° was in place since 1960.

The Freep adds that records were set of 61 in Detroit (topping 60 from all the way back in 1881) and 64! in Flint crushing the old high of 55 from 1991!! A look at Michigan’s current weather readings shows Flint at 61 and Ypsilanti and Benton Harbor at 60. In fact the only location in Michigan at the freezing mark is Copper Harbor!!

View Alissa’s photo bigger and see more in her Michigan’s West Lakeshore slideshow.

The Night’s Watch

Posted on December 12, 2015 by farlane

The Night’s Watch, photo by Jiqing Fan

Of this stunning photo from back in October at Miners Castle in the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Jiqing Fan writes:

Winter is coming! The night’s watch of the North guard the last bit of colors against the white walkers (snow storm) approaching.

It appears that the Watch did its job and turned back winter 2016! View his photo bigger and see more in his Houghton & UP MI slideshow.

Lots more about Miners Castle on Michigan in Pictures!

Detroit’s Buhl Building

Posted on December 11, 2015December 11, 2015 by farlane

buhl building | detroit, michigan, photo by Ryan Southen

Detroit1701.org is an excellent resource for the history of Detroit. Their page on the Buhl Building says (in part):

The Buhl brothers, Frederick and Christian, came to Detroit early in the Nineteenth Century. They made their money in the fur trade and then in the hat business. As Detroit became a leading industrial metropolis, they turned to manufacturing as well as retailing and property development. They founded the Detroit Locomotive Works and then the Buhl Iron Works that later became the Detroit Copper and Brass firm. They added to their wealth by entering the hardware business and then erected an office building at the corner of Griswold and Congress that became an attractive location for prosperous law firms. Frederick Buhl served as mayor of Detroit in 1848, while his brother, Christian, served as mayor twelve years later after holding a variety of other political offices.

The skyscraper building boom in Detroit reached its zenith in the late 1920s, reflecting the demand for office space generated by the vehicle industry. A third generation of Buhls decided to make more profitable use of their prime downtown land by replacing their small office building at Griswold and West Congress with the 26 story building that you see. They selected the Smith, Hinchman and Grylls firm and, fortunately for them, the skilled and imaginative Wirt Rowland was selected as the architect. His most magnificent accomplishment is the nearby Guardian Building but he created a beautiful structure in the Buhl Building, one that has great appeal some eight decades after he first sketched it.

Read on for more and also check out Historic Detroit for more about the Buhl & architect Wirt C. Rowland, avid modernist, supporter of the Arts and Crafts movement, and key contributor to the Art Deco-style skyscrapers along Detroit’s skyline.

View Ryan’s photo bigger, see more in his Detroit slideshow, and be sure to follow him on Instagram. If you’re interested in a great wedding photographer, head over to his photography website!

More architecture and lots more Detroit on Michigan in Pictures!

Where’s Winter? (Hint: ask El Niño)

Posted on December 10, 2015December 10, 2015 by farlane

Where’s Winter?, photo by Daniel Frei Photography

Dan writes:

WANTED: millions and billions and zillions of these pretty things!

Retweet if you want snow too!

#WheresWinter

But how likely is snow? Here’s an in-depth report by Jessica Eggert on the likliehood (or lack thereof) of snow by Christmas Day that draws from a number of sources and pegs Detroit’s chances at just 46%. For the why behind this, check out Jeff Masters’ report on the warmest meteorological autumn on record:

Meteorological autumn (September – November) was the warmest in 121 years of recordkeeping for the 48 contiguous U.S. states, according to NOAA’s national wrapup of November and fall conditions released Wednesday morning. The national average of 56.8°F was a full 3.3°F above the 20th-century average and 0.2°F above the previous record of 56.6°F (Sep-Nov 1963). Only one state (Florida) had its warmest autumn on record, but the nation as a whole still came out on top because of the rare coast-to-coast nature of the warmth. (FYI Michigan was 120 out of 121 years in 2015)

The dynamics associated with El Niño are likely to keep unusually mild weather predominating over the northern U.S. for most of the winter, according to seasonal outlooks from the National Weather Service.

View & share Dan’s photo from his Twitter and see more and purchase prints at his photography website.

More snow on Michigan in Pictures!

PS: Here’s a great article about snow by Jerry Dennis with illustrations by Glenn Wolff titled Nature Baroque Snowflakes & Crystals that I shared in my online magazine the Northern Michigan Journal a decade ago.

Waterfall Wednesday: Quartzite Falls on the Slate River

Posted on December 9, 2015September 26, 2016 by farlane

Quartzite Falls on the Slate River, photo by Amie Lucas

Waterfalls of the Keewenaw’s page on Quartzite Falls says:

Quartzite Falls is a perfect little waterfall high above the rugged gorge on Slate River. The river drops in a sudden crescent onto a large, flat slide of slate before flowing into a deep pool surrounded by cedars. Quartzite Falls may be small, but it’s shape and scenic area makes for an amazing waterfall experience.

This waterfall is a short distance downstream of Black Slate Falls, easy walking distance from the road and about a mile from the slate quarries of Arvon. These three areas make for an excellent little adventure that is fairly accessible for all ages.

You can click through for directions and some pics. Amie took this back in October and writes:

The Slate River is magnificent. I spent an entire day traversing over rough, steep terrain & wading through cold water on slippery rocks to visit places that felt like no one had ever been before. Quartzite Falls, one of the many beauties on this river, is one of the easier waterfalls to access.

View her photo background bigilicious, follow her on Facebook and definitely check out her waterfall gallery and others at her photography website!

Many more Michigan waterfalls and (if you can’t let go of autumn) more fall wallpaper on Michigan in Pictures!

Mackinac Wake

Posted on December 8, 2015December 6, 2015 by farlane

Mackinac Wake, photo by Bill Johnson

Bill took this photo in May of 1987 and writes:

We had been out to the island and were returning via ferry when the captain announced a slight detour in our route. There was some kind of a special group aboard and as a treat, our boat went under the Mighty Mac, something they hardly ever do. It was pretty neat. The five mile long bridge is no longer the longest suspension bridge in the world, but to me it’s still the prettiest. I’ve personally seen several other suspension bridges, including the Golden Gate, and I’ll pick the Mac every time.

View his photo background big and see more in his Michigan slideshow.

Lots more of the Mighty Mackinac Bridge on Michigan in Pictures!

How Pere Marquette 1225 inspired the Polar Express

Posted on December 7, 2015December 6, 2015 by farlane

Pere Marquette 1225, photo by Bob Gudas

The Steam Railroading Institute in Owosso is home station for the Pere Marquette 1225 locomotive aka the Polar Express:

Retired from service in 1951, 1225 was sent to scrap, in New Buffalo, Michigan. In 1955, Michigan State University Trustee, Forest Akers was asked by C&O Chairman Cyrus Eaton if the University would be interested in having a steam locomotive (Eaton did not want to scrap the engines but was having a hard time finding places that would accept them) so that engineering students would have a piece of real equipment to study. Forest Akers thought it a good idea and proposed the idea to University President John Hannah. John Hannah accepted the gift of the locomotive. When he told the Dean of the College of Engineering about the gift, the Dean said that Engineering was not interested in an obsolete locomotive. John Hannah then called up Dr. Rollin Baker, director of the MSU Museum and told him that he was getting a locomotive. The C&O then instructed the yardmaster at New Buffalo to send an engine to the Wyoming Shops for a cosmetic restoration and repainting with the name Chesapeake and Ohio on the side. The 1225 was the last engine in the line, i.e. easiest to get out. It had nothing to do with the number representing Christmas Day.

Baker received the gift of the locomotive in 1957 when it was brought to campus. The locomotive remained on static display near Spartan Stadium on the Michigan State campus in East Lansing, Michigan for a decade. While on display, a child by the name of Chris Van Allsburg used to stop by the locomotive on football weekends, on his way to the game with his father. He later stated that the engine was the inspiration for the story, Polar Express.

Lots more about the Michigan’s largest operating steam locomotive at Wikipedia and information about riding the train and the rest of their collection at the Steam Railroading Institute.

View Bob’s photo bigger and see more in his slideshow.

Michigan Holly or Winterberry

Posted on December 5, 2015December 4, 2015 by farlane

Holly, photo by Third Son

How like the holly in deep winter time
How like the star in the dark night shine
How like a path on the snow driven plain
How like the candle — how like the flame
How like the winter that promises spring
How like the carol we sing.
~Joel Mabus (How Like the Holly)

The Hope College Biology Nature Preserve has this to say about Michigan Holly (Ilex verticillata: Aquifoliaceae):

Michigan Holly is a medium sized shrub not normally growing taller than 12 feet and usually about 6 to 8 feet tall and 3 to 5 feet wide. It has densely branched stems that grow into a round crown and flower in May and June with small yellow-white flowers. The fruits are highly distinguishable and grows in bright red clusters of small berries, forming in September and October and persisting into mid-winter. Michigan Holly (also known as Winterberry) is dioecious, so both male and female plants are needed for fruit production and only females bear fruits.

Michigan Holly is found throughout Eastern and Central North America, but does not grow well in the West, Southwest, or Lower Midwest because of dry winds and heat. It is found naturally in wetlands and will tolerate standing water or swamps, however, it prefers to grow in well-drained, acidic, damp, loamy or sandy soils and full or partial sun.

Click through for photos and a little more information.

View Third Son’s photo background bigtacular and see more in his Early Winter 2015 slideshow.

More winter wallpaper on Michigan in Pictures. Also, definitely check out Michigan sonwriter Joel Mabus’s CD How Like the Holly – one of my favorite holiday albums ever!