Ludington Lighthouse by S Hughes Photos
“You cannot look up at the night sky on the Planet Earth and not wonder what it’s like to be up there amongst the stars.”
– Tom Hanks
I feel this Tom Hanks quotation so deeply. Not many experiences on this earth in my book that compare with gazing into the deep night sky.
The photo was taken at the Ludington Light last year. With apologies in advance to the small but vocal minority of anti-Facebook fans, you can see a lot more on S. Hughes’ Facebook page.
On January 26, 1837 Michigan was admitted to the Union as the 26th state. The Freep has a feature with some fun facts about Michigan a few years ago. One that caught my eye was this one:
What’s a Michigander?
The term many of use and love today was coined by none other than Abraham Lincoln in 1848. Then an Illinois congressman, Lincoln referred to Michigan governor Lewis Cass, who was running for president as a Democrat, as a “Michigander”, meaning he was as silly as a goose. Lincoln was mad at the Democrats for making more than they should have of Cass’ military experience, and the term was meant as an insult. “There is one entire article of the sort I have not discussed yet;” Lincoln said, “I mean the military tale you Democrats are now engaged in dovetailing onto the great Michigander.”
They note that while neither is official, many prefer “Michiganian.” I have always been a fan of Michigander, but I confess this fact is making me reconsider!
Julie took this photo at a big birthday for Michigan, the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Mackinac Bridge which (IMO) is what made Michigan, Michigan. See MANY more photos in her Michigan album on Flickr & enjoy our collective birthday!
Sunrise over Lake Huron by Bruce Bugbee
Is this winter wearing on anyone else? If so, I invite you to sail to summertime with me on this sailboat that Bruce photographed in July 2021 on Lake Huron. He shares:
It was a hazy summer morning in St. Ignace, Michigan, giving a unique hue to the sky and sunrise. The haze was created by the wildfires in Ontario and out west. Captured a sailboat drifting by the red rising sun on a very calm and peaceful Lake Huron.
See more in Bruce’s Michigan photo album on Flickr.
On his Twitter, Michigan’s Sunrise King Bugsy Sailor shared a phenomenon that I’d never heard of – Orehenge! He writes:
Twice a year, for a few days stretch, the sun rises down the center of the historic Marquette ore dock.
And oh boy, does the community loves it! Just as they should. But my introverted self, loving my mornings of solitude and meditation, has to overcome a lot of anxious energy to walk into a crowd during my most cherished time of the day.
Orehenge, as it’s affectionately called, falls in November and January, where the sun is really seen at sunrise. From my January data over three years, there is less than a 20% chance of seeing the sun at sunrise.
There’s more observations & photos of this very cool seasonal happening and the crowd that showed up @BugsySailor on Twitter. For sure check out his Twitter for more & if you’re low on Upper Peninsula swag, his UP Supply Co is a great source!
Grand Haven Lighthouse & Pier by Chris Ahern Photography
Chris’s photo of the Grand Haven Lighthouse from last weekend really shows the power of winds off the Great Lakes. You can click the pic to follow him on Facebook, and also see his pics on Instagram and view & purchase prints & calendars on his website.
Winter morning on Agate Beach by Gary McCormick
Here’s a special Science Term Throwback Thursday from January 14th 8 years ago!
Ernest W. Marshall talks about a common winter feature along considerable stretches of Great Lakes shorelines, the Icefoot, a narrow fringe of ice attached to the coast:
Air and water temperatures must be sufficiently low before an icefoot begins to form. The conditions favorable for icefoot formation are broad open shorelines gradually sloping below water level, and facing so that wind-blown spray is carried inland toward the shore to freeze. The character of growth of an icefoot differs during different periods of the winter. During the course of the winter the icefoot may suffer periods of denudation alternating with periods of accretion. The development of an icefoot can be held at one stage by the early freezing of fast ice offshore. An icefoot can be composed of any combination of frozen spray or lake water, snow accumulations, brash, stranded icefloes, and sand which is either thrown up on the icefoot by wave action or is blown out from the exposed beaches.
Observations of the icefoot along the shorelines of Lakes Superior and Erie indicated that the moderately steep portions of the shore were characterized by narrow terraces composed of frozen slush and brash thrown up by storm winds. The outer edge of this icefoot was often cusp-like in form, resulting from the mechanical and melting action of the waves. The inner portions of the cusps acted to concentrate the wave action, forming blowholes which threw spray back on the icefoot.
You can click to read more.
Gary took this photo at one of my favorite places, Agate Beach on Lake Superior in Grand Marais. In the distance is Grand Sable Dunes & the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. See more in Gary’s Grand Marais Michigan gallery including a shot of a staggeringly huge ice mound & view and purchase his work at Footsore Fotography.
City of Gold IX by Andrew McFarlane
OK here’s one of my pics of the frozen Lake Michigan shore of Leelanau County from back in January of 2009. I chose one with sun because I would like to see the sun! See more in my Frozen Shore gallery on Flickr and STAY WARM!!
Broken ice on Lake Michigan shoreline by Tom Clark
mLive shared yesterday that the coldest air of the season is blanketing Michigan right now, bringing icy temps & dangerously cold wind chills, according to the National Weather Service:
“The coldest air of the winter so far is surging into our area this evening,” according to the NWS meteorologists in the Grand Rapids office. “This is (going to) be the big story for the next 36 hours, how cold it will be. Wind chills will mostly be in the 0-degree to -10 degree range into Tuesday morning. Lows Sunday night will be (between) zero and 10 degrees, and tomorrow we have a secondary surge of even colder air coming in during the afternoon. That will limit our high temperature to the mid-teens.”
…Wind chills are expected to be especially brutal in the U.P. They could drop to 30 degrees below zero near the Wisconsin border tonight and into Monday, the NWS said.
This morning’s Michigan temperature map agrees with a toasty 18 degrees in Detroit dropping to 10 in Mt. Pleasant, 8 by the Mackinac Bridge, -9 in Marquette & all the way down to -15 in Ironwood at the western edge of the Upper Peninsula. Bundle up kids!!
Tom took this back in February of 2018 near Mackinac City. See more in his Michigan Winter gallery on Flickr and view & purchase his work on his website.
Flowing all night long by Mark Smith
While this dam isn’t an actual waterfall, I’m going to overlook it due to seasonal appropriateness. In their excellent overview of the history of Fishtown in Leland, the Glen Arbor Sun shares:
Fishtown is located where there once was a natural fish ladder on these traditional Native American fishing grounds. It is one of only few commercial fishing villages still operating today in Michigan. The Native Americans called this spot Mishi-me-go-bing, or alternatively Che-ma-go-bing or Chi-mak-a-ping, meaning “the place where canoes run up into the river to land, because they have no harbor.”
French Canadian millwright, Antoine Manseau, along with his family, are thought to be among some of the first whites to settle here. They came from North Manitou Island in 1853. The following year Manseau and his family, along with John Miller, built the dam at Fishtown. It raised the water level in the river and in Lake Leelanau by as much as an astonishing 12 feet. Since the dam prevented boat traffic from going back and forth in their daily business, launches were, and still are provided on both sides of the dam.
Lots more in the Sun. You can learn more about the history of the dam from Fishtown Preservation.
Mark took this photo a week ago. See more in his Leland gallery & view and purchase his work at Leelanau Landscapes.
While the last weekend’s record winds were (and remain) a major headache for many Michiganders, there’s at least one group that’s all in favor of the current run of wild weather: surfers. Julie took this photo on Sunday & shares:
Yesterday woke up again to gale force winds. We clock 59 MPH here in town and the waves were churning again. I rode out north and there were 11 surfers. Never seen so many here. Temps rose to 59* and have never seen the likes. But the guys and girls out surfing were having a blast. I was talking to some and some drove over 50 miles to get here because of the way the waves were coming in. We still have so many that don’t have electric out and today it’s 26*. Lots of facilities open for them to come too.
I guess this is yet another reminder that every cloud may very well be someone’s silver lining. Head over to Julie’s Flickr for the latest & have a great week.
Head over to Great Lakes Surfing on Michigan in Pictures for lots more!
Michigan in Pictures 