![Central Lake Then and Now [Explored]](https://i0.wp.com/farm7.staticflickr.com/6019/6344044955_9e9ff855a6.jpg)
Central Lake Then and Now [Explored], photo by Beccah79
Beccah took this shot of downtown Central Lake, and says the B&W version shows the town as her grandpa would have seen it when he came downtown to do his shopping.
Be sure to check it out bigger and see more in her Flickriver.
Gaze 3903-11, photo by StacyN – MichiganMoments
This month has been pretty owl heavy. More about the Snowy Owl from November 2008 on Michigan in Pictures.
Stacy says that this was her first wild snowy owl sighting. She spent all afternoon watching it and is in LOVE. See it bigger and see all her shots from this encounter in her The Visitor slideshow.
Three Trout, Photo by Christopher Morey
The Watershed Center advocates for clean water in Grand Traverse Bay and protects its 1,000-square-mile watershed across Grand Traverse, Leelanau, Antrim and Kalkaska counties. Today’s photo by Christopher Morey was the winning shot from their 2011 photography contest. You can see a few at that link and see all of them and meet the photographers at the Art of the Watershed opening reception next Thursday (Dec 1) from 5-8 PM.
More of Christopher’s work can be seen at MichiganFreediving.com and at Michigan Freediving on zenfolio. About this photo, he writes:
This picture was taken near the end of October off the north breakwall of Clinch Marina. In fall, as water temps drop into the upper forties, the Lake Trout come in to spawn. They are quite challenging subjects for photography, requiring very long, completely motionless breathholds in cold water.
I spent quite a bit of time observing these fish before I finally figured out how to get near them with some consistency. My first attempt at implementing my strategy took place at the cooling intake cribs from the old power plant, about 300 yards off the open space and about 33 feet deep.
With a school barely in sight near one of the cribs I dove directly down. Kicking perhaps 3 times with my monofin, I let myself slowly glide the remaining distance; like a carp settling to the bottom. The sight of me disappearing behind the crib was too much for them and two large Lake Trout appeared overhead, quickly swimming very close. (click this photo by Alicia Higham to see it bigger)
The one I got the best shot of was so close it would not fit in my wide-angle lens.
Since then I’ve noticed, usually about once a year, that they sometimes inexplicably come very close, as if recognizing me. I wonder about this, since these are always older fish and since they live to be nearly 30.
Beautiful Chestnuts, photo by jpwbee.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Wikipedia’s entry for the American Chestnut (Castanea dentata) explains that this large, deciduous tree of the beech family was once one of the eastern United States dominant hardwoods before it was nearly wiped out by chestnut blight. Curiously enough, one of the few pockets to survive were some 600 to 800 large trees in northern lower Michigan. I couldn’t find much about these trees other than that reference, so if anyone knows something about that, post it in the comments!
I do know that Chestnut Growers, Inc. is a 37 member cooperative based in Michigan with members in Lower Michigan and Washington state. Their page on sweet chestnuts says that:
In Europe, chestnuts are consumed in a wide variety of dishes, from soups, stews, and stuffing to fancy deserts. Matter of fact, chestnut flour is the secret to many of the fancy French pastries. In other parts of the world, such as China, the chestnut is a staple food in the peoples’ diet. Chestnuts have about half the calories of other nuts and have the lowest fat content of all the main edible nuts. Chestnuts have only four to five percent fat as compared to sixty-two percent for the hazelnut and seventy-one percent for the pecan. In composition and food value, the chestnut, with its high carbohydrate content of about seventy-eight percent, is more akin to cereal grains, such as wheat, than to nuts with a low carbohydrate content. Since chestnuts are starchy rather than oily, they are readily digestible when roasted or boiled.
Read on for more and suggestions on cooking. They take orders for fresh chestnuts and ship beginning in October, and are at farm markets through the fall. You can also but them online through Michigan-based Earthy Delights. I found a recipe for Michigan chestnut pie that looks tasty too.
Julie bought these Michigan-grown beauties at Zingermans. Check them out background bigalicious and see more in Julie’s Food slideshow.
Ford Rotunda Building at Christmas 1961, photo by kbreenbo.
Today on Absolute Michigan, we’re featuring the Ford Rotunda and the annual Christmas Fantasy. The feature on the Rotunda in the Detroit News tells how it burned in 1962 and explains:
Over the nine years the Christmas Fantasy was held, almost 6 million people visited it. Thousands of Detroiters had their first visit with Santa at the Rotunda, and memories of Story Book Land and the miniature circus mingle with childhood memories of stockings by the fireplace and cookies for Santa.
Check this out on black and see more in Karen’s Ford Historic Archives slideshow.
“Obviously pitchers are not just written off all of a sudden because they’re pitchers.”
~Tiger Pitcher Justin Verlander
Our feature on Absolute Michigan on Verlander’s MVP victory explains that Verlander is only the second player in baseball history to capture a Rookie of the Year, Cy Young and Most Valuable Player award over his career and finished this season with pitching’s Triple Crown.
Check it out background big!
Pere Marquette 4, photo by kmoyerus.
Here’s one of a fantastic series of black & white photos from Pere Marquette Beach in Muskegon taken after it had been swept smooth by the surf.
In 2011, Pere Marquette Beach was named one of the nation’s Blue Wave Beaches by the Clean Beach Coalition along with Esch Beach & South Manitou Island in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and Sand Point Beach in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Of course there’s no doubt that Michigan has miles and miles more pristine beaches, but this is still something to shout about.
Check it out background big, in kmoyerus’ peremarquette slideshow or on their map.
The People of Detroit: G.R. N’namdi, photo by Noah Stephens.
We’ve featured The People of Detroit before on Michigan in Pictures. Noah Stephens started the project in April of 2010 after seeing a Dateline NBC special on Detroit that profiled a man who shot, ate, and sold raccoon meat. Never having eaten a raccoon or indeed knowing someone who had, Noah decided to chronicle the intelligent, attractive, industrious, talented people who enliven the city and make it a place he’s happy to call home.
Right now, he’s started a petition asking General Motors to exhibit portraits from The People of Detroit Photodocumentary in the Renaissance Center during the 2012 North American International Auto Show. You can read about it here and sign the petition right here.
Regarding this photo, he begins:
The G.R. N’namdi Gallery in Detroit’s Cultural Center is one of my favorite places to view contemporary art. Light flows into the 16,000 square foot facility through skylights set in a 30-foot high ceiling held aloft by exposed wooden beams. The space is populated by works from artists such as Romare Bearden and Jacob Lawrence. The collection is sophisticated and abstract but not so obtuse as to defy intelligibility.
George N’namdi founded the gallery 30 years ago. He’s pictured here in front of Angelbert Metoyer’s “Icon Execution.”
Read on and check this out on black and in Noah’s The People of Detroit slideshow.
Taken today 11/17/2011 This Rose just started to open in my backyard 2 days ago, must like cold weather. Boyne City, Michigan, photo by rickrjw.
Couldn’t resist. Stay warm!
Check it out background big and in Rick’s Flowers slideshow.
Wild UP cranberries, photo by Blondieyooper.
We’re gearing up for Thanksgiving on Absolute Michigan today with two features. One will help you make it a Michigan Thanksgiving and the other has a bowlful of information about Michigan cranberries.
A few years ago Waterland Living wrote about wild cranberries. It’s packed with great advice about finding and harvesting cranberries so check it out!
See April’s photo background bigtastic and in her tasty cups of things slideshow.
Michigan in Pictures 