Upper Tahquamenon Falls, photo by Erin Bartels
The Tahquamenon Falls State Park page says that the Upper Tahquamenon Falls are one of the largest waterfalls east of the Mississippi. At more than 200 feet across with a drop of nearly 50 feet, the falls have a flow rate that can exceed 50,000 gallons per second!
View the photo background bigtacular, see more in Erin’s slideshow and check out Tahquamenon Falls: Take 4 on her blog for some details about her latest visit.
Amelia’s Graduation, photo by Dan Bruell
Congratulations to Amelia, a 2017 graduate of Baker College, and congratulations to all of the many dedicated students of all ages in Michigan who are graduating or moving up and along!
View the photo on Flickr and see more in Dan’s Spring/Summer 2017 slideshow.
Moons Big and Small, photo by Kevin
Last night I learned that the full moon was at apogee, and with all the love I’ve given to supermoons, I figured that I should throw a bone to the tiny ones as well. Kevin is a regular on Michigan in Pictures with his stunning photos of the night sky. He made a comparison of the perigee and apogee Moons of 2011 and shared this explanation:
The Full Moon of October 2011 was near apogee, which is the furthest point in the Moon’s orbit of the Earth. Back in March, you may recall, the Moon was at it’s closest point in its orbit to Earth, and the media dubbed it the “Supermoon.”
According to several sources, the difference in size between the March Full Moon and the October Full Moon is 12.3%. Why is there such a difference, you may ask?
Well, the Moon’s orbit around the Earth is elliptical, just as the Earth’s is around the Sun. That means that as the object – the Moon in this case – orbits the “parent” object (the Earth) it will never be the same distance away.
The image I put together shows the difference between the size of the Moon at perigee (March 2011) and apogee (October 2011). This comparison makes the size difference quite clear.
Kevin adds that both images of the Moon were taken with exactly the same equipment. View it bigger and see more in his massive The Moon slideshow.
PS: This full moon is the strawberry moon, and you can click that link for more about that and (unsurprisingly) a photo from Kevin!
Killdeer, photo by Jeff Dehmel
All About Birds says that the Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) is shorebird you can see without going to the beach:
These tawny birds run across the ground in spurts, stopping with a jolt every so often to check their progress, or to see if they’ve startled up any insect prey. Their voice, a far-carrying, excited kill-deer, is a common sound even after dark, often given in flight as the bird circles overhead on slender wings.
Killdeer get their name from the shrill, wailing kill-deer call they give so often. Eighteenth-century naturalists also noticed how noisy Killdeer are, giving them names such as the Chattering Plover and the Noisy Plover.
The Killdeer’s broken-wing act leads predators away from a nest, but doesn’t keep cows or horses from stepping on eggs. To guard against large hoofed animals, the Killdeer uses a quite different display, fluffing itself up, displaying its tail over its head, and running at the beast to attempt to make it change its path.
The male and female of a mated pair pick out a nesting site through a ritual known as a scrape ceremony. The male lowers his breast to the ground and scrapes a shallow depression with his feet. The female then approaches, head lowered, and takes his place. The male then stands with body tilted slightly forward, tail raised and spread, calling rapidly. Mating often follows.
View the photo background big and see more springtime goodness in Jeff’s slideshow.
More Michigan birds and more summer wallpaper on Michigan in Pictures!
Manitou Islands in the morning, photo by Glen Arbor Artisans
North and South Manitou Island are part of an island chain that extends north to the Straits of Mackinac and includes the Fox Islands and Beaver Island. South Manitou Island is just over 8 square miles in land area and is about 7 miles from Glen Arbor while North Manitou Island is about 22 square miles and a little over 10 miles from Glen Arbor. More about the Manitou Islands from the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
View the photo bigger, and follow Glen Arbor & Glen Arbor Artisans on Facebook for more photography from Paul!
Splash-in 2016, photo by Gary McCormick
June 16-18, 2017 the Grand Marais Pilots Association will host the 17th Annual Splash-in on Grand Marais Bay on behalf of the National Seaplane Pilots Association. Seaplanes from all over the US and Canada are invited to attend this three day festival with arrivals on Friday, activities and competitions throughout the day on Saturday and departures on Sunday morning. Click the link for details on events including the Water Balloon Bomb, Spot Landing, & Short Takeoff Contests!
View the photo background bigtacular and see more in Gary’s Sea Planes slideshow.
More summer wallpaper on Michigan in Pictures!
Lake Dreams, photo by Francios
I hope your lake dreams come true this weekend!
About the photo Francois writes: A capture taken very early in the morning with fog and mist stretched across the lakes at Leelanau. Processed for a suitable dreamy hazy feel as the light was almost a blue & golden hue. The boat was anchored and just drifting in the fog with wonderful reflections on the water.
View the photo bigger and see more in his Michigan Journeys slideshow.
Siberian Iris, photo by Julie Mansour
Something that you may or may not know is that my mother has some form of Alzheimer’s spectrum brain disease that has progressed to the point where she no longer knows me, or herself. While there’s no really good terminal illnesses out there, Alzheimer’s and related dementias seem to me to be among the worst as they destroy much of the essence of the person you love long before taking their life.
June is Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month and if you click that link, you can see some great photos shared on the hashtags #ENDALZ & #MyAlzStory along with information about efforts to combat these diseases and a way to donate.
View the photo background bigilicious and see more in Julie’s slideshow.
Ballooning VI, photo by Paladin27
View the photo big as the sky and see more in Paladin27’s Spring Hot Air Ballooning slideshow.
Sunset Waterspout, photo by Kyler Phillips
The National Weather Service in Gaylord has a page on the Science of Waterspouts that says in part:
Dr. Joseph Golden, a distinguished waterspout authority with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), defines the waterspout as a “funnel which contains an intense vortex, sometimes destructive, of small horizontal extent and which occurs over a body of water.” The belief that a waterspout is nothing more than a tornado over water is only partially true. The fact is, depending on how they form, waterspouts come in two types: tornadic and fair weather.
Tornadic waterspouts generally begin as true tornadoes over land in association with a thunderstorm, and then move out over the water. They can be large and are capable of considerable destruction. Fair weather waterspouts, on the other hand, form only over open water. They develop at the surface of the water and climb skyward in association with warm water temperatures and high humidity in the lowest several thousand feet of the atmosphere. They are usually small, relatively brief, and less dangerous. The fair weather variety of waterspout is much more common than the tornadic.
Waterspouts occur most frequently in northern Michigan during the months of August, September, and October, when the waters of the Great Lakes are near their warmest levels of the year. Waterspout formation typically occurs when cold air moves across the Great Lakes and results in large temperature differences between the warm water and the overriding cold air. They tend to last from about two to twenty minutes, and move along at speeds of 10 to 15 knots.
Kyler caught this spout when checking out the storm front last Monday evening. View the photo bigger and follow Kyler on Instagram at KingKPhil.
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