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Blue Ice at the Mackinac Bridge

Posted on February 22, 2021 by farlane

Julie shares:

Rode up to Mackinaw yesterday and checked out the blue ice. Huge chunks and most phenomenal. The ice, however, is not actually turning blue. The color is a result of the way sunlight is bouncing off this particular ice.

Sometimes, weather conditions — such as a lack of high winds — allow water to freeze slowly and evenly, resulting in ice composed of large crystals (unlike snow, which is formed quickly and made up of small crystals).

When light hits these big ice crystals, it can travel deep into the structures (compare this to snow, wherein light hits a sharp edge and reflects off of it right away, resulting in blinding white). When the light travels deeper into slowly formed ice, some of the red wavelengths of sunlight — which is the longest wavelength of visible light — get absorbed into the ice structure.

The blue, which is the shortest wavelength of visible light, bounces back out, meet our eyes, and results in a deep aqua color.

See more in her Winter gallery on Flickr!

Michigan Beach Fashion: February Edition

Posted on February 19, 2021 by farlane

South Haven Area Fire-Rescue-EMS by William Dolak

We’re getting to the portion of the winter where the ice begins to build out on the Great Lakes. As a person who grew up on Lake Michigan, I’ve enjoyed the ice safely for decades & will undoubtedly continue to do so and also to share photos of the incredible beauty of the frozen lakes. I want to make sure however that folks understand venturing on the ice in winter can be deadly, particularly if you don’t take precautions. Though EMT workers know this and train to help people in peril, if you fall into one of the Great Lakes, you will very probably die. You can read more of my thoughts on this post on Michigan in Pictures.

Bill took this last weekend in South Haven & writes:

It’s 16 degrees at the beach – this is what the cool kids are wearing on South Beach, South Haven. These three are with the South Haven Area Fire-Rescue-EMS and were out to practice a little cold-water rescue, ‘cuz, unfortunately, someone is gonna need it sooner or later.

See the photo bigger in our Michigan in Pictures Group on Facebook & for sure follow him on Flickr!

Perseverance: New Mars Rover Lands Today

Posted on February 18, 2021 by farlane

Milky Way + Mars viewed from Garden Peninsula MI by Daniel Sandin

NASA’s Perseverance Rover will land on the surface of Mars today, Feb. 18, 2021 in a search for ancient life that will test the next generation of exploration tools:

Perseverance is the most sophisticated rover NASA has ever sent to the Red Planet, with a name that embodies NASA’s passion, and our nation’s capability, to take on and overcome challenges. It will collect carefully selected and documented rock and sediment samples for future return to Earth, search for signs of ancient microbial life, characterize the planet’s geology and climate, and pave the way for human exploration beyond the Moon.

Perseverance is also ferrying several cutting-edge technologies to the surface of Mars – including a helicopter named Ingenuity, the first aircraft to attempt powered, controlled flight on another planet.

The landing takes place just before 4 PM EST & you can watch online at NASA.

Daniel took this photo back of Mars in July of 2018 on the UP’s Garden Peninsula. See more great night photography on his Flickr & for sure check out his website – he looks like a very interesting guy!

Here’s NASA’s YouTube stream which goes live around 2 PM today.

Waves at Silver Lake Sand Dunes

Posted on February 17, 2021 by farlane

Silver Dunes Sand Waves by Charles Bonham

In case any of you are feeling like me & longing for a little warmth, here’s a shot from a couple years ago at Silver Lake Sand Dunes. Head over to Charles’ Flickr for his latest!

More dunes on Michigan in Pictures!

Pancake Ice

Posted on February 16, 2021 by farlane

Pancake Ice by Julie

This is one of the best shots I’ve seen showing how the structure of pancake ice is basically “round iceberg”. The Weather Channel explains the science behind pancake ice:

The circular slabs you see can range anywhere from one to 10 feet in diameter and up to four inches thick, typically forming in areas with at least some wave action and air temperatures just below freezing.

Pancake ice can begin as a thin ice layer (known as grease ice) or slush on the water surface, which accumulates into quasi-circular disks. The “lily pad,” or raised-edge appearance of pancake ice, can form when each disk bumps up against one another, or when slush splashes onto and then freezes on the slab’s edge.

Julie caught this picture last week in Charlevoix’s channel to Lake Michigan. See more in her Coronavirus Times 2021 gallery on Flickr.

Rural Winter Morning

Posted on February 15, 2021 by farlane

Rural Winter Morning by TP Mann

TP took this photo of a cold morning scene along the Breezeway near Boyne City as the moon set over a snow-covered field.

See more in his Michigan Winter Scenes gallery on Flickr & have a great week!

Return to Suicide Hill

Posted on February 11, 2021February 11, 2021 by farlane

126 Suicide Jumps by PhotoYoop

I thought I’d bring back this photo from February of 2013 when Cory attended the 126th annual ski jumping tournament at Suicide Bowl in Ishpeming, where skiers have been jumping annually since 1887! Suicide Hill is run by the Ishpeming Ski Club. You can get more photos including shots from last weekend’s USA Nordic World Cup weekend on their Facebook!

Here’s a feature by Bob Garrett of Seeking Michigan about the history of Ishpeming’s Suicide Hill from a on Michigan in Pictures.

See more of Cory’s ski photos on Flickr & Be sure to follow him at PhotoYoop on Facebook too!

More skis and skiing on Michigan in Pictures.

Fighting for Fishing

Posted on February 10, 2021February 10, 2021 by farlane

via leelanau.com…

Fishtown’s Joy by Mark Smith

The Leelanau Ticker reports that the Michigan Fish Producers Association (MFPA) has filed a class action lawsuit against the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to protect the future commercial fishing in Leland’s Fishtown and the rest of the Great Lakes:

In its lawsuit, the MFPA alleges that the DNR is retaliating against the industry’s opposition to a series of bills considered by the Michigan Legislature last year. The complaint also alleges that the imposition of new rules under the DNR’s Fishing Order 243.21, which took effect January 8, was an attempt to punish commercial fishers for their involvement in the political process.

Fishtown Preservation Society (FPS) Executive Director Amanda Holmes says the complexities surrounding the laws for commercial fishing is nothing new for the State of Michigan and for Fishtown. “One of the reasons that Bill Carlson and his family decided to let go of Fishtown was because of the challenges to the commercial fishing industry — they fought long and hard and then decided to let it go.” (In June of 2006, the nonprofit FPS reached an agreement to purchase Fishtown for $2.8 million for the Fishtown real estate and $200,000 for the two fishing boats, fishing licenses and equipment from the Carlson family.) Carlson’s Fishery continues to operate as a processor and distributor, buying fish from commercial fishers and selling it locally and through wholesale channels.

Holmes tells the Leelanau Ticker, “Fishtown the place would continue without commercial fishing, but one the things that makes Fishtown so exceptional and special is its unbroken and documented heritage of commercial fishing for nearly two centuries.”

If the new fishing order rules stand: “The limitations on the fishing depths and the season alone will make it a challenge to fish out of Fishtown. What this means is that…a way of life is at risk of closure,” says Holmes.

Read on for more in the Leelanau Ticker.

Mark took this photo back in December of 2018. See his latest at Downstreamer on Flickr

Michigan’s Snurfer & the roots of Snowboarding

Posted on February 9, 2021February 9, 2021 by farlane

1969 snurfing competitors courtesy Tracy Tebeau Kirksey

The Freshwater Reporter has an interesting story by Stewart McFerrin on the Michigan-invented Snurfer and the roots of snowboarding that says (in part):

Snowboarding has become a worldwide phenomenon. The big air tricks of mega stars, such as Shaun White in the Olympic Half Pipe, rival the traditional Nordic pursuit of Alpine skiing. You may be surprised to know it all began in the dunes of West Michigan, where my friends and I pursued the sport of snurfing, a.k.a. snow surfing.

…The Snurfer was invented by a man with ties to the Brunswick Corporation. Brunswick produced bowling equipment and flooring at its headquarters in Muskegon, Mich. Sherman “Sherm” Poppen created the Snurfer, a shorter and wider version of a ski, and talked his kids into trying his invention on the “Sugar Bowl” at the Muskegon State Park. Friends of friends joined in and rode the deep powder on Snurfer boards all the way to the bottom, in a style and stance that would later become snowboarding. After obtaining a patent, Poppen licensed Brunswick to make the Snurfers.

This all happened in the late sixties and seventies when, after a long afternoon of snurfing, I recall my “bell bottoms,” frozen and encrusted with snow, ringing out as they brushed together during a trick performed from the edge of a steep dune. Lake Michigan loomed large as the lake-effect powder snow piled up to cushion my falls off the Snurfer.

Read on at the Freshwater Reporter for much more!

The photo is courtesy Tracy Tebeau Kirksey & shows Snurfer inventor Sherman “Sherm” Poppen (R) with the 1969 snurfing competitors and their Snurfer boards. From left: Rick Tebeau, Tom Metzdorf, James T., and champion Ted Slater. There are two types of Snurfers. The wooden ones had a metal skeg (similar to a boat’s keel fin) at the rear, to facilitate turns on hard-packed snow or ice.

Blizzard Waves

Posted on February 5, 2021August 26, 2025 by farlane

Michigan Blizzard Creates Ocean Waves – 1972 by Steve Brown

As Michigan gets popped by a winter storm, here’s a look back to 1972. Steve writes:

Quite amazing what a wintry wind can do to fallen snow across an open field. I took this photo in February, 1972 after the winds of a modest blizzard had reshaped the fallen snow on the front yard of the home where I lived near Manchester, Michigan.

See more in Steve’s great Michigan Winter gallery on Flickr & stay safe everyone!

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