Happy Birthday to you, Traverse Colantha Walker

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

The 2010 Traverse Colantha Walker Festival happens on Sunday, June 13, 2010.

State Hospital Memorial Marker For Traverse Colantha Walker (Traverse City, MI)

State Hospital Memorial Marker For Traverse Colantha Walker (Traverse City, MI), photo by takomabibelot.

From World Champion Cow of the Insane at Roadside America:

Northern Michigan Asylum opened in 1885 and gradually became a sprawling complex on the western outskirts of Traverse City. It was so vast that it had orchards of cherries, peaches and apples, vineyards and vegetable gardens, field crops, and livestock from beef to chickens, horses to pigs. And it had its own herd of cows.

The most famous of these — the most famous inhabitant, period, of the entire Asylum — was Traverse Colantha Walker. She was a grand champion milk cow, producing 200,114 pounds of milk and 7,525 pounds of butterfat in her long life. When she died in 1932 the hospital staff and patients held a banquet in her honor. They buried her in a small, grassy knoll, under a marble tombstone, outside of the stately brick dairy barn that had been her home.

The inaugural Traverse Colantha Walker Dairy Festival will take place on Saturday, September 12, 2009 at the Grand Traverse Commons.

See this bigger right here and also check out takomabibelot’s slideshow. The marker reads:

Traverse Colantha Walker
361604
Born 4-29-1916
Died 1-8-1932
World’s Champion Cow
Milk 200,114.9 lbs.
Fat 7,525.8 lbs.
Nine Lactations
Bred, Owned, Developed
By Traverse City Hospital

Detroit Aerial Photography: Above Belle Isle

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Detroit

Detroit, photo by paulhitz.

This photo is part of Paul’s Detroit Aerial Photography set (slideshow).

Be sure to check it out bigger.

Into the light

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Into the light

Into the light, photo by keren8484.

You must be strong now. You must never give up. And when people make you cry and you are afraid of the dark, don’t forget the light is always there.

All I would add is that you remember that rain is our down payment on flowers & green.

textured sailboat

Posted on by farlane

textured sailboat, photo by lisasawesomepics

Be sure to check this out bigger and see more photos in Lisa’s My Town set (slideshow).

While you’re at it, have a great weekend!

Blossomtime in Michigan

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Untitled, photo by Christina**.

We’re headed into the season where trees explode with color in Michigan. It’s celebrated in events like next weekend’s Blossomtime Festival. It happens the first Saturday in May every year in Benton Harbor and St. Joseph and is Michigan’s oldest multi-community festival.

You can view this photo larger (and more blossoms) in Christina’s Natural set and also in her slideshow.

For even more blossoms, check out the blossom slideshow from the Absolute Michigan pool!

A Blue Like No Other: Robin’s Egg Blue

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

A Blue Like No Other

A Blue Like No Other, photo by sl33stak.

Wikipedia’s American Robin entry (that’s Turdus migratorius for all the 3rd graders out there) says:

The American Robin begins to breed shortly after returning to its summer range. It is one of the first North American bird species to lay eggs, and normally has two to three broods per breeding season, which lasts from April to July.

The nest is most commonly located 1.5–4.5 meters (5–15 ft) above the ground in a dense bush or in a fork between two tree branches, and is built by the female alone. The outer foundation consists of long coarse grass, twigs, paper, and feathers. This is lined with smeared mud and cushioned with fine grass or other soft materials. A new nest is built for each brood, and in northern areas the first clutch is usually placed in an evergreen tree or shrub while later broods are placed in deciduous trees. The American Robin does not shy away from nesting close to human habitation.

A clutch consists of three to five light blue eggs, and is incubated by the female alone. The eggs hatch after 14 days, and chicks leave the nest a further two weeks later. All chicks in the brood leave the nest within two days of each other.

The cool blog ColorBuzz has a cool post about Robin’s Egg Blue that has a number of cool tidbits about this unique shade of blue such as the reason that a robin’s egg is blue is to hide it from color blind mammals and that Tiffany has trademarked the hue.

In case you’re itching for a fight with Tiffany and wondering how to make it, in hex code it’s #00CCCC or 0, 204, 204 in RGB. You might just want to buy the crayon.

You can view this larger in Jamie’s Nature slideshow (or check out the set).

Apricot Blossoms

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

108::365 apricot tree

108::365 apricot tree, photo by the little red hen – egg money.

See this bigger in Lynn’s 365 in 2009 slideshow.

The story of the Irish Hills Towers

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Irish Hills Towers

Irish Hills Towers, photo by dt10111.

The Wikipedia entry for the Irish Hills Towers says that these wooden observation towers were constructed along US-12 in the Irish Hills region in northern Lenawee County as the result of a curious competition along the lines of the skyscraper frenzy in New York:

In the early 1920s, the Michigan Observation Company sought places of high elevation to erect fifty foot high enclosed platforms to boost tourism. In southern Michigan, a tower was placed atop Bundy Hill in Hillsdale County, Michigan and officials sought a knoll in the heart of the Irish Hills in Lenawee County. A farmer who owned half of the knoll, Edward Kelly, turned down the company’s offer to purchase his portion of the land. The adjoining land owner, Thomas Brighton, consented the sale of his plat, and construction of the Irish Hills Observatory commenced.

The opening of the Irish Hills Observatory was announced by The Brooklyn Exponent in September 1924. In a gala celebration on October 4 and October 5, hundreds of people ascended the hill and tower to gaze upon the rolling landscape and crystal blue lakes in all directions. Kelly seemed spited by the exploitation of the MOCs venture, and protested by erecting his own tower. By the end of November, 1924, his own observation platform was in place, just feet away from the MOCs structure, and several feet higher.

The Michigan Observation Company responded by adding a second observation enclosure to the top of its own facilities, now designated as the “Original Irish Hills Tower”. Kelly proceeded to add a raised platform to his “Gray” tower (named as such because of its gray-painted exterior), an act which brought the two edifices to an even height. The MOC informed Kelly that if he attempted to compete with more height given to his tower, they would tear down their own and construct a metal observatory so large that Kelly’s efforts would be nullified. He conceded, and turned his efforts instead to drawing more revenue to his creation.

In the 1950s Frank Lamping purchased both and added a gift shop. The towers closed in 2000.

Here’s a cool postcard from the 1930s of the view from Irish Hills Towers, a sweet photo from Matt Callow and a few photos showing different views of the towers. You can see the location on Waymarks.

See this bigger right here and in Daniel’s Buildings set (slideshow).

More Michigan roadside attractions from Michigan in Pictures!

Sunset Season

Posted on by farlane

sunset, photo by smiles7

Sunset season is here – check the Absolute Michigan pool for all kinds of Michigan sunsets.

Moonstruck by Lightning

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

moonandbarn

moonandbarn, photo by Aunt Owwee.

Spring is storm season in Michigan, and where there’s storms, there’s often lightning. One of my favorite blogs, The Everyday Adventurer, has a post about lightning rods that I’ve been meaning to feature. I was waiting for a nice spring storm to rumble through but it looks like the April showers are sleeping in this year.

Wikipedia’s Lightning rod entry explains Ben Franklin’s US invention of the lightning rod (which appears to have been invented in Russia 20 some years before). Like many new inventions, it drew criticism. Here’s what Rev. Thomas Prince, the rector of Old South Church in Boston, said in his 1755 sermon titled Earthquakes the Works of God and Tokens of His Just Displeasure:

“…the more points of Iron are erected round the Earth, to draw the Electrical Substance out of the Air; the more the Earth must needs be charged with it. And therefore it seems worthy of Consideration whether any part of the Earth, being fuller of the terrible Substance, may not be exposed to more shocking Earthquakes. In Boston are more erected than anywhere else in New England; and Boston seems to be more dreadfully Shaken. O! there is no getting out of the mighty Hand of God! If we think to avoid it in the Air, we cannot in the Earth: Yea it may grow more fatal…

Check out this Michigan lightning slideshow from Flickr and be sure to check this out bigger.

Here’s hoping your buildings remain lightning free!