Don’t. Fall. On. Me., photo by DetroitDerek Photography
I think I have some days like this too.
Check it out bigger and see more in Derek’s massive Detroit slideshow. If you’re interested in purchasing this or another photo, email Derek.
For another perspective, try flying above the Penobscot Building in Google Earth!
Untitled, photo by Jeff Caverly
Whatever you’re celebrating, I hope that you get the very best from this holiday season and that your life is filled with at least as much beauty & magic as is in this photo!
View Jeff’s photo background big and see more in his slideshow.
Winter Wonderland, photo by Rodney Campbell
Rodney took this photo on Christmas Eve day last year at the Seven Ponds Nature Center in Dryden.
View it background bigtacular and see more in his Landscapes slideshow.
More winter wallpaper on Michigan in Pictures!
Sorry to mess up your holiday week with a bit of advocacy on the behalf of Michigan’s natural environment, but yesterday via Michigan Radio I learned of the very disturbing Senate Bill 78 that’s headed to Governor Snyder for signature or veto. The bill would forbid DNR from preserving biodiversity in forests and parks:
More than 130 scientists and the state’s environmental groups are calling on Gov. Rick Snyder to veto a bill they call anti-science. The bill would forbid the Michigan Department of Natural Resources from protecting native wildlife and plants on the pure merits of protecting nature.
- The bill would prohibit the Department of Natural Resources from managing state lands for biodiversity.
- It would prohibit the agency from managing forests for restoration.
- It would end work to eliminate invasive species.
- It would strike from the law the finding that most losses of biological diversity are the result of human activity.
Read on for more, and here’s the text of Senate Bill 78. If you’re so inclined, feel free to tell Gov. Rick Snyder what you think. I know that messages to our elected officials really do make a difference.
View Anna Lysa’s photo from July of 2012 at Ludington State Park bigger and see more in her Michigan slideshow.
PS: As I read it, piping plover would not be impacted by this as the species with just 8,000 adults is federally protected. I just picked them because they’re a recognizable species that has benefitted from extensive preservation efforts, some of them in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan.
Here’s the piping plover and more of Michigan’s endangered plants and animals on Michigan in Pictures.
Frozen Hawthorne, photo by Pete Hudeck
I was looking for photos of last December’s ice storm that paralyzed much of Michigan last year, but then I found this photo which seemed like a much better way to start a Monday! If you want to read about that, the Grand Rapids National Weather Service has a recap of the storm.
View Pete’s photo bigger and see more in his slideshow.
More ice on Michigan in Pictures!
The Old Farmer’s Almanac shares that winter begins with the Winter Solstice at 6:03 PM EST tomorrow (Sunday, December 21):
Winter inspires both joy and woe. Some people can’t wait for the cooler weather, snow, skiing and ice skating, curling up by a fire, and the holiday spirit. Other people dislike the frigid temperatures, blizzards, and wild weather.
The word solstice comes from the Latin words for “sun” and “to stand still.” In the Northern Hemisphere, as summer advances to winter, the points on the horizon where the Sun rises and sets advance southward each day; the high point in the Sun’s daily path across the sky, which occurs at local noon, also moves southward each day. At the winter solstice, the Sun’s path has reached its southernmost position. The next day, the path will advance northward. However, a few days before and after the winter solstice, the change is so slight that the Sun’s path seems to stay the same, or stand still. The Sun is directly overhead at “high-noon” on Winter Solstice at the latitude called the Tropic of Capricorn. In the Northern Hemisphere, the solstice days are the days with the fewest hours of sunlight during the whole year.
Definitely check out Liz’s photo bigger and see more in her massive & cool Ice slideshow or (if you prefer) her Abstracts slideshow.
Quiet water of the Presque Isle River. Porcupine Wilderness State Park, photo by Linda Carter
The Porcupine Mountain Wilderness State Park is the area of Michigan where I haven’t yet visited that I’m most fascinated with. One of the cool things for me about putting Michigan in Pictures together is learning new things about places, and Linda’s photo showed me something new about the Park! She writes:
The Presque Isle River (French explorers named it for the little island at the mouth of the river) is the largest and most dangerous flow through the Porcupine Mountains. The 3 waterfalls near its mouth are some of the most scenic in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The river forks at the end as it flows to Lake Superior. This picture is the right side, which is quiet and peaceful.
View her photo bigger and see more (including some of those waterfalls) in her Porkies slideshow.
Ross’s Goose, photo by jsommer2
A few weeks ago there was a bit of a question as to the duckishness of a sleeping duck I posted, so I spent a lot of time looking at ducks & duck-like birds. One of them showed up in the photo group so without further delay…
The All About Birds entry for Ross’s Goose (Chen rossii) says:
A tiny white goose with black wingtips, the Ross’s Goose is like a miniature version of the more abundant Snow Goose. It breeds in the central Arctic and winters primarily in central California, but it is becoming more frequent farther east.
Prior to the 1950s the Ross’s Goose was confined to well-defined breeding and wintering areas, with few seen as strays. Since that time the species has been expanding eastward, both on the breeding and wintering grounds. The change in breeding distribution has resulted in more contact and subsequent hybridization with the Snow Goose.
The female Ross’s Goose does all of the incubation of the eggs. The male stays nearby and guards her the whole time. The female covers the eggs with down when she leaves the nest. The down keeps the eggs warm while she is away and may help hide them from predators.
More including photos and identification tips at All About Birds.
Check jsommer’s photo out background big and view the slideshow for more photos including a shot of this goose with some much bigger Canadian geese!
Many more Michigan birds on Michigan in Pictures!
Harbor Sunset, photo by Heather Higham
View this gorgeous shot of the Elk Rapids harbor at sunset bigger and see more in Heather’s Sunsets slideshow and if you’re interested in purchasing this (or other pics) click to Snap Happy Gal Photography’s Sunrises & Sunsets.
More sunsets on Michigan in Pictures.
“Winter Blues” Rural Michigan Countryside, photo by John McCormick
Editor’s Note: I inadvertently re-blogged a barn photo by John that I posted last year. This one’s a beauty too though!!
After a promising start, the Great Lakes snow machine has shut down leaving us to wonder if a white Christmas is on the horizon. mLive meteorologist Mark Torregrossa seeks to answer that as he looks at three storms headed our way:
The first storm is mostly a rain maker for most of Michigan. As the colder air moves in this Tuesday and Wednesday, some accumulating snow will occur in the U.P. and far northern Lower Michigan. It looks like points north of Gaylord, and into the U.P. will pick up a few inches of snow… Storm number two will be a stronger, moisture laden storm. Right now and for several days in the past, the track has been projected to be to our south.
…The third storm I can see is still quite uncertain since it is about 10 days out into the future. Both of the most widely accepted weather computer models show a storm system dropping southeast out of Canada toward Christmas. This storm could bring a swath of light snow across Michigan around Christmas Day. There is still a lot of uncertainty on the exact track and amount of moisture. Definitely watch this storm with me, as it looks like it is Lower Michigan’s only chance of a white Christmas.
Here’s hoping!
John took this photo in Montcalm County last year on Christmas Day after an 8″ snowfall. View it bigger on Flickr, see more in his Winter slideshow and definitely join 30,000 other fans by tuning into Michigan Nut Photography – it’s one of the best follows on Facebook!
Michigan in Pictures 