earth day should be every day, you know

Posted on by farlane

earth day should be every day, you know { 112 / 365 }
earth day should be every day, you know { 112 / 365 }, photo by caterpillars

The concept that protecting the only home we have is something we can afford to focus on just once a year seems crazy to me.

Get out and love this world, people – today and every day. It’s one of the best I bet.

This photo is part of Laura’s 2010 ft. 365 project set. See it bigger in the slideshow and check out more of her work at Ell Dy Photography.

In case you missed it, there was a writeup on Earth Day’s roots in Michigan on Thursday that you might enjoy.

Laughing Whitefish Falls (and hey brother help a brother from Michigan out!)

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Laughing White Fish Falls

Laughing White Fish Falls, photo by John.Dykstra.

I’m goin away, ’cause I gotta busted heart.
I’m leavin’ today, if my TravelAll will start.
And I reckon where I’m headed, I might need me different clothes
way up in Michigan, where the Laughing River flows.
~Greg Brown, Laughing River

Waterfall supersite Go Waterfalling says that Laughing Whitefish Falls looks bigger in person and:

…is in the Laughing Whitefish Scenic Site. This is one of the most impressive of Michigan’s waterfalls. I believe it is the highest waterfall in Michigan that is readily visitable.

The falls can be found off of M-94, about 30 miles from Munising or Marquette, and just outside of Chatham.

…The waterfall is named for the river. The river is so named because the mouth of the river resembled a laughing fish when viewed by the Ojibwe from Lake Superior.

The photo was taken by John Dykstra and John is a high school senior who is near the top of the voting for the Sigma Corporation of America Scholarship. They will award a cash gift & Sigma products for one senior to advance his or her education and goals toward obtaining a career in the photography industry.

John asks you to look at his work as he wants honest support. He writes that he is an:

…aspiring artist with an intense passion for landscape photography, the main point of interest being the innate beauty of the Michigan wilderness. The prize is for $5000 + $1000 in Sigma products, all of which I would be using to get an immense jump start in my fine art photography and nature conservancy career. I would be able to get the equipment I need right now and begin shooting across the state’s forests within weeks of graduating.

You can learn about the contest here and see and vote for John’s entry right here. See this photo bigger in John’s slideshow.

Earth Day at 40, Earth Day in Michigan

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Untitled, photo by Brooke Pennington.

Many folks may not know that Earth Day has deep roots in Michigan, at the University of Michigan to be precise. James Tobin at Michigan Today has the story of the Teach-In on the Environment that UM held in March of 1970 because Earth Day fell right in the middle of exams. Students and teachers formed a group called Environmental Action for Survival (ENACT) and booked Democratic front-runner Senator Edmund Muskie, Ralph Nader and biologist Dr. Barry Commoner.

Over four days, an estimated 50,000 people took part in ENACT’s teach-in—an astonishing success that fueled enthusiasm for Senator Nelson’s national Earth Day, which drew some 20 million participants four weeks later and transformed environmentalism into a movement of historic importance. (A number of ENACT’s leaders went on to influential careers in the field, including Doug Scott, a longtime executive at the Sierra Club who is now policy director at the Campaign for America’s Wilderness; David Allan, who became a professor and associate dean of U-M’s School of Natural Resources and Environment; and John Turner, who served as director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the first President Bush.)

“The Michigan event was by far the biggest, best, and most influential of the pre-Earth Day teach-ins,” Adam Rome, a historian and authority on the environmental movement told the Ann Arbor Chronicle. “It was the first sign that Earth Day would be a big deal.”

Read the rest and see photos and even a documentary from The 40th Anniversary of Earth Day at Michigan.

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality can point you to Earth Day events all across Michigan, from the Get Clean/ Go Green Earth Day Celebration in Twin Lakes to the Michigan Earth Day Fest in Rochester held this weekend (Apr 23-25) where they expect 100,000 people to learn about green and healthy living through earth-friendly alternatives in food, energy, transportation, clothing, wellness, career, home, garden, finances and more.

Brooke took this photo on Earth Day last year. Check it out bigger in his Spring slideshow and view more of his work on Michigan in Pictures.

There’s a whole lot more in the Earth Day slideshow from the Absolute Michigan pool!

It’s Morel Season in Michigan

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Morel

Morel, photo by LadyDragonflyCC -Morel Mushroom Season.

Morels are starting to show up in the woods … and if it would rain, we’d be seeing more!

Like everything else, the morels are way early in 2010. No word yet on whether it will impact the 51st Annual Mesick Mushroom Festival (May 7-9) or the 50th Annual National Morel Mushroom Festival in Boyne City (May 13-16). Check their sites for info and updates (including a listen to the Mushroomers Waltz written and performed by Robin Lee Berry on the Boyne City site!).

Much more about Michigan morel mushrooms on Absolute Michigan and morels on Michigan in Pictures.

LadyDragonflyCC says this is her first find of 2010 – check it out bigger and in her Mushrooms set (slideshow).

Dicentra spectabilis: alias bleeding heart, Venus’s car, Dutchman’s trousers, or lyre flower

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Dicentra-52

Dicentra-52, photo by jakphoto.

Wikipedia says that Dicentra spectabilis is a perennial herbaceous plant native to eastern Asia and also known as Venus’s car, bleeding heart, Dutchman’s trousers, or lyre flower. It flowers from early spring to mid summer. If you’re wondering what to do when these lovely flowers fade, check out Companion plants for bleeding heart from Michigan gardener.

Check it out on black and see more Michigan flowers from Michigan in Pictures.

Michigan Wine & Food Showcase – good times in Detroit

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

intermission

intermission, photo by n.elle.

Disclaimer: I work for the Leelanau Peninsula wine trail that L Mawby is part of and am a total homer for Michigan wine!

From the label: Detroit is to be enjoyed while celebrating the economic revival of Detroit. Now that an appropriate sparkling wine exists for celebrating the good times in Detroit, we’re confident that good times in Detroit will appear in ever greater numbers. A crowd scene, if you will, of goodness and love and prosperity that will be/is Detroit, Michigan [or any Detroit, anywhere] in the 21st century.

Today, L Mawby will introduce its newest sparkling wine “Detroit” to the metro market at The Michigan Wine & Food Showcase at Shiraz Gardens in Bingham Farms. If you’re in the D, this is a great chance to taste wine & food from all over Michigan and meet many of the winemakers who are creating wine country right here in Michigan. Get all the details via Absolute Michigan and follow along with event organizer and Master Sommelier Claudia Tyagi’s Twitter.

For the whole month of April, Absolute Michigan has been kicking out Michigan wine posts & prizes in honor of Michigan Wine Month. There’s still more to come so tune in at absolutemichigan.com/Wine!

You can see this photo bigger, in Nicole’s Traverse City set or in her Detroit slideshow.

Detroit, Old & New

Posted on by farlane

This post is technically for Saturday and Sunday, so I’ll use two photos. Happy weekend, Michigan.

the book cadillc 1960s
the book cadillac 1960s, photo by detroitmi97

This photo must be seen bachground bigtacular, preferably as part of Mark’s old detroit slideshow.

The star of the photo is best met through the awesomely awesome Buildings of Detroit. Their page on the Book Cadillac Hotel begins:

The Book brothers sought to make Washington Boulevard the most opulent, most successful retail destination in Detroit. By 1923, the siblings had built the Washington Boulevard Building and the Book Building and had already cornered much of the real estate on the boulevard. But the Statler Hotel, which opened Feb. 6, 1915, anchored their boulevard on the north and was drawing their tourists. The brothers decided they needed a hotel of their own.

On the south end of the boulevard, bound my Michigan Avenue, stood the venerable Cadillac Hotel. The Book brothers – Herbert, Frank and J. Burgess Book Jr. – were born within its walls and played along the landscaped mall that stood outside it…

Read on to go from the razing of the Cadillac Hotel through many owners to shuttering to the present day when it is once again open as the Westin Book Cadillac Detroit.

I could stop there, but when I read the first post in Noah’s The People of Detroit Photo Documentary, I really felt I had to share it. Head over to The People of Detroit: Outlier on Flickr for a good read (PG for brief language and sexual reference).

The People of Detroit: Outlier
The People of Detroit: Outlier, photo by Noah Stephens

Douglass Houghton Falls

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Douglass Houghton Falls

Douglass Houghton Falls, photo by We Are CS.

These falls are located on private property. Kyle writes that after nearly 10 years in Houghton, he was finally able to visit Douglass Houghton Falls with permission from the land-owner.

The page on Douglass Houghton Falls from Waterfalls of the Keweenaw Area says:

Extremely impressive waterfall, with the water dropping from grassy plains over a hundred feet into a deep, wooded gorge. Falls are almost a true plunge with the a spike of rock splitting the water into two falls halfway down. Smaller drops directly upstream and downstream.

Be sure to check it out bigger and see more in his Douglass Houghton Falls set (slideshow).

Many more Michigan waterfalls on Michigan in Pictures!

hey honey bee: are you enjoying the early cherry blossoms?

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

hey honey bee

hey honey bee, photo by ashley.justine.

On our Leelanau.com web site, we get a lot of requests about when the cherry blossoms will be out. Almost every year, it’s the second week of May. In 2010, however, the warm weather and sunshine have everything well in advance of normal, with cherry blossoms beginning right now! The April 13 report from the Northwest Michigan Horticultural Research Station says:

Pears are at green cluster, and apples are at early tight cluster here at the NWMHRS. Montmorency trees are at early bud burst, and Balatons are at bud burst. There is some variation in different sweet cherry cultivars: bud burst in Hedelfingen, late bud burst in Golds, and early white bud in Napoleon. We expect to be in bloom in sweet cherries by the weekend, and growers are placing bees into sweet cherry blocks at this time. Chardonnay vines at the station are at early bud swell, plums are at green cluster, and apricots are at first bloom.

The blossoms are so far in advance that Leelanau County’s annual Cherry Blossom Tour has been canceled for 2010! If things progress with no killing frost and a normal summer in terms of temperature and sunshine, 2010 could be an amazing year for fruit in Michigan!

Check it out bigger or Ashley’s Spring Fever set (slideshow).

Grand Rapids Founding Day Parade, May 1, 2010

Posted on by farlane

NOTE: This event has been CANCELLED!


Grand Rapids, 1915, photo by Kenneth Spencer

Grand Rapids cruise director Rob Bliss has launched the latest in a series of events, the Grand Rapids Founding Day Parade (view poster). The first annual of this event happens May 1, 2010 and he writes:

May 1st will be the 160th Anniversary of the Founding of Grand Rapids, and to mark that day I am putting on a large scale parade and celebration. Floats, marching bands, and retro cars will all be involved in making this day great.

$5,000 Float Competition: $5,000 will be given away to the best float, decided by a public vote. Anyone can enter a float and be in the parade and possibly win this prize, and there is no entry fee. All floats must have some connection to the greater Grand Rapids area (includes lowell, caledonia, etc.) but are very open ended. A local band playing local music on a float stage would apply! Dance party on the blue pedestrian bridge as a float would work. Whatever idea you have will most likely work.

…This parade is decided by a public vote, with paper voting taking place at the end of the parade, near the Grand Rapids Library and Veterans Memorial. Mayor Heartwell will be speaking to the crowd following the event.

This exciting new community event works to celebrate and to continue to push our city forward. Very few citizens know when their hometown was founded; come downtown and help celebrate our community.

This photo from the Library of Congress is available as a stunning panorama which I hope you get a chance to see. You may also want to explore the photographic history of Grand Rapids through the photographs from the Grand Rapids Historical Commission’s online archive!