Michigan Mushroom Season is here … join a public hunt to know what’s edible!

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

_MG_9261

_MG_9261, photo by jt354.

I’m a year older and a little wiser and pretty sure these are edible honey mushrooms, although I’m not sure about the darker brown bumps. Still a fantastically vital idea to know what you’re picking and eating!!

While morels draw the lion’s share of mushroom coverage, there are a ton of edible mushrooms out in the woods right now. The other day I had some fantastic Oyster mushrooms. Can you eat the mushrooms pictured here? Who knows? One thing is for certain, if you aren’t sure, don’t eat it!!

One way to learn what you can and can’t eat is to join a public mushroom hunt through the Michigan Mushroom Hunters Club. These hunts are held throughout the year and all around the state and offer a chance to tour the woods with a knowledgeable guide.

Check this photo out bigger in James’ Pictured Rocks slideshow!

Flow: Au Train River

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Flow

Flow, photo by John Clement Howe.

John took this shot in Au Train, Michigan where the Au Train River flows into Lake Superior. Check it out bigger in his Lakeshores slideshow.

Speaking of flow, rivers and water, if you’ve never seen Irena Salina’s documentary on the World Water Crisis, I heartily encourage you to check out Flow. The New York Times review has this to say about Flow:

A documentary and a three-alarm warning, “Flow” dives into our planet’s most essential resource — and third-largest industry — to find pollution, scarcity, human suffering and corporate profit. And that’s just in the United States.

Yet Irena Salina’s astonishingly wide-ranging film is less depressing than galvanizing, an informed and heartfelt examination of the tug of war between public health and private interests. From the dubious quality of our tap water (possibly laced with rocket fuel) to the terrifyingly unpoliced contents of bottled brands (one company pumped from the vicinity of a Superfund site), the movie ruthlessly dismantles our assumptions about water safety and government oversight…

Studying the Rouge Complex

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Rouge Remnants: Study II

Rouge Remnants: Study II, photo by Jeff Gaydash.

Jeff writes:

Freighters travel this portion of The Rouge to access Henry Ford’s Rouge Complex, where upon completion in 1928 was the largest industrial complex in the world. The massive facility had the ability to turn raw materials such as iron ore into complete vehicles ready for the showroom. Many buildings within the complex were designed by Albert Kahn and have been subjects for Diego Rivera, Charles Sheeler and Michael Kenna, whose work here has been some of the biggest inspirations in my own work.

Can we see Michael Kenna’s work at the Rouge Plant?, you ask. Just click that link, I answer!

Check this out bigger in Jeff’s slideshow.

More black & white photography on Michigan in Pictures!

Fall at Ransom Lake Natural Area

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

PA223507A

PA223507A, photo by jsorbieus.

As the leaves start to turn in Michigan, I see a steady uptick in the number of people who come to Michigan in Pictures after searching for “Fall” or “Autumn” or “Fall Wallpaper“.For all of you color seekers, I’m sending photo of early fall color from years past at Ransom Lake Natural Area in Benzie County.

You will also like our Michigan Fall Color Tours!

Check this out bigger and in Jim’s My Most Interesting Photos slideshow.

ArtPrize 2010 Flickr Contest

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Prizing the art

Prizing the art, photo by tinney.

ArtPrize is holding a photo contest for photos added to the ArtPrize Flickr group. Click that link for the details and submit your photos to any or all of the following categories for a chance to win prizes!

  • installed art
  • public reactions/interaction with art
  • venues
  • artists
  • events (any ArtPrize related event)
  • voting (all forms)

Check Dustin’s photo out bigger and check out the ArtPrize 2010 slideshow on Flickr.

Much more ArtPrize on Absolute Michigan!

The Nameless Wizard at the Michigan Renaissance Festival

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Untitled, photo by Michael Zz.

The annual Michigan Renaissance Festival takes place Labor Day – October every year. It features jousting and other re-enactments, lots of vendors and people dressing up like this and having fun. This weekend they host the Michigan Longbow tournament and celebrate the harvest, while next weekend it’s a celebration of chocolate and a farewell to the festival.

Check this out bigger in Michael’s portraits & stuff slideshow and have a magical weekend!

More portraits from Michigan in Pictures.

Harvest Moon, Corn Moon, September Moon and the Autumn Equinox

Posted on by farlane

September's "Corny" Moon
September’s “Corny” Moon, photo by Kevin’s Stuff

The Autumnal Equinox took place at 11 PM last night:

An equinox occurs twice a year, when the tilt of the Earth’s axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, the center of the Sun being in the same plane as the Earth’s equator. The term equinox can also be used in a broader sense, meaning the date when such a passage happens. The name “equinox” is derived from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night), because around the equinox, the night and day are approximately equally long.

Today is the full moon, and as it’s the moon closest to the equinox, it’s known as the Harvest Moon. The Harvest Moon is also known as the Wine Moon, the Singing Moon and the Elk Call Moon.

Kevin took this shot last year at the James C. Veen Observatory of a September moon that was actually the Corn Moon as last year had an early October Harvest Moon. Check this out bigger in his Astronomy 2009 slideshow.

Painted Rocks at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, photo by onewildwest.

Here’s a beautiful shot of the amazing colors of the rock at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, likely taken from the Pictured Rocks Boat Cruise. GORP’s page on the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore says:

The name “pictured rocks” comes from the streaks of mineral stain that decorate the face of the sculpted cliffs. The ramparts of the cliffs are composed of 500-million-year-old Cambrian sandstone of the Munising Formation. The Munising Formation makes up much of the angled slopes and formations, such as Miners Castle. Closest to lake level is the Jacobsville Formation, a late-Precambrian mottled red sandstone that is the oldest exposed rock in the park. Covering all is the 400-million-year-old Ordovician Au Train Formation, a harder, limy sandstone that serves as a capstone and protects the underlying sandstone from rapid erosion. The streaks on the cliffs occur when groundwater oozes out of cracks. The dripping water contains iron, manganese, limonite, copper, and other minerals that leave behind a colorful stain as water trickles down the cliff face.

Check it out bigger in Brent’s slideshow.

More Pictured Rocks from Michigan in Pictures!

Autumn

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Autumn

Autumn, photo by mroli.

A lonely road somewhere in Michigan…

Check it out bigger in Oliver’s Here and There slideshow and check out some great fall color tour ideas from Michigan in Pictures.

Michigan Birds: The Belted Kingfisher

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Kingfisher... again

Kingfisher… again, photo by palofmine2.

All about Birds says that the Belted Kingfisher is:

A common waterside resident throughout North America, the Belted Kingfisher is often seen hovering before it plunges headfirst into water to catch a fish. It frequently announces its presence by its loud rattling cry.

It breeds along streams, rivers, lakes, and estuaries with banks for nest holes. The breeding distribution of the Belted Kingfisher is limited in some areas by the availability of suitable nesting sites. Human activity, such as road building and digging gravel pits, has created banks where kingfishers can nest and allowed the expansion of the breeding range.

Check this out bigger in Renee’s Birds slideshow and also check out more of her Kingfisher photos.

More Michigan Birds from Michigan in Pictures.