Phish, photo by Noah Sorenson
View Noah’s photo bigger on his Facebook and follow him at nsorensenphoto on Instagram for more!
More portraits on Michigan in Pictures.
Time for the 2017 Michigan Ice Festival!
dairyland, photo by Wilkinson Visual
Wilkinson Visual writes that this photo shows David Hixenbaugh scrapping up dairyland on a blustery day out on the lakeshore. Great climbing, very unique features formed by the wind making for an exciting top out!
The annual Michigan Ice Fest runs today through Sunday (Feb 15-19, 2017) in Munising. It’s an annual celebration of the sport of ice climbing that brings together some of the world’s best climbers and experts for climbing exhibitions, seminars, guided climbs, get togethers and much more! Click the link above for all the details.
View the photo bigger on the Wilkinson Visuals Facebook and visit their website for all kinds of photos including this cool Michigan Ice Climbing Gallery.
Here’s climbing video from the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore by David (@alpine_elevation on Instagram):
Sturgeon Bay Outhouse & Winter Cabin Camping at Wilderness State Park
Sturgeon Bay Outhouse, photo by David Clark
We’re going to let David Clark of one of my favorite blogs, Cliffs and Ruins, take over today’s post. He writes:
The most scenic walk to an outhouse award goes to Sturgeon Bay Cabin at Wilderness State Park, where this line of wind-blown cedars escorts you to the potty.
I took this photo on the 2nd day of my snowshoe adventure at Wilderness State Park in December 2016, after a heavy snowfall the night before. I enjoyed 3 days of spectacularly good snowshoeing and utter solitude. Read more at my blog: Winter Cabin Camping at Wilderness State Park.
I really encourage you to check out David’s post for photos and a great account of his visit to Wilderness State Park which is located on the northwest shore of the lower peninsula, to the west of the Mackinac Bridge. This is an adventure I really hope to take!!
View David’s photo background bigtacular and see more in his Wilderness State Park 2016 slideshow.
Threepeat: 2016 once again our warmest year
Methdown, photo by Andrew McFarlane
“2016 is remarkably the third record year in a row in this series We don’t expect record years every year, but the ongoing long-term warming trend is clear.”
– NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies Director Gavin Schmidt
NASA reported last week that 2016 was the warmest year on record: You can read about it below, but I would like to offer two thoughts to the people who are getting angry about me ruining their daily photo with “politics”:
This is not politics. This is provable science backed up with excellent data.
While NASA (and I) believe in anthropocentric climate change (climate change driven by human activity) disbelief in that model DOESN’T MEAN IT’S NOT HAPPENING.
Earth’s 2016 surface temperatures were the warmest since modern recordkeeping began in 1880, according to independent analyses by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Globally-averaged temperatures in 2016 were 1.78 degrees Fahrenheit (0.99 degrees Celsius) warmer than the mid-20th century mean. This makes 2016 the third year in a row to set a new record for global average surface temperatures.
The 2016 temperatures continue a long-term warming trend, according to analyses by scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York. NOAA scientists concur with the finding that 2016 was the warmest year on record based on separate, independent analyses of the data.
Read on for more at NASA.
You can view my photo from a thaw in early February 2009 background big and see more in my Frozen Shore slideshow.
Pike on the Ice
Northern Pike Caught while Ice Fishing in Central Michigan, photo by Lee Rentz
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources page on Northern Pike says that they spawn in early spring and are found in the Great Lakes and connecting waters of the Lower Peninsula year-round and that:
Pike are popular quarry of ice fishermen. Though they are primarily pursued with tip ups, baited with live minnows or suckers, they can be taken with rod and reel, either jigging or fishing with bait. Pike are a prime target of spear fishermen as well, who often use decoys or suspend suckers below their shanties to lure pike within range in relatively shallow water.
Pike typically spawn in the weedy backwater marshes; low water levels on the Great Lakes in recent years have probably hampered their reproductive success. Still, the shallow weedy bays of the Great Lakes and connecting waters, such as Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River, the Portage Lake system of Lake Superior and the bays of Lakes Michigan and Huron, remain productive pike waters. winter pike fishing
Inland, the drowned river mouths along the Lake Michigan shoreline – such as Muskegon Lake, Portage Lake and Manistee Lake – are all noted pike waters. Some of the larger inland lakes and reservoirs, such as Michigamme and Houghton, have significant pike populations, though they can be found in many lakes and virtually all the larger rivers in the state.
View Lee’s photo of his caught & released pike background big and see more of his fish & fishing photos on Flickr.
Cracking Ice
Cracking Ice, photo by Jerry James Photography
Jerry writes: As I stood on the Ice waiting for the sun to set ( we was 1 1/2 hours early ) I could here all the ice around me cracking. talk about being paranoid, I wasn’t out to deep but it was still pretty cold and I wasn’t dressed to get wet. but everything ended good though, I stayed dry.
Always a good idea to be careful and know what’s below you when the temperatures rise.
View his photo from Muskegon bigger, see more in his slideshow, and follow Jerry James Photography on Facebook.
Ice is Nice: Tracking Ice Cover on the Great Lakes
Shoreline Ice, photo by Mark Swanson
Ice on Michigan’s Great Lakes has become something of a phenomenon in the last few years, attracting photographers and thousands more to see the ephemeral beauty created by wind, water, and freezing temperatures. But ice has other important purposes, as NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory page on Great Lakes Ice Cover explains:
Ice formation on the Great Lakes is a clear signal of winter. Looking back in time, the lakes were formed over several thousands of years as mile-thick layers of glacial ice advanced and retreated, scouring and sculpting the basin. The shape and drainage patterns of the basin were in a constant state of flux resulting from the ebb and flow of glacial meltwater coupled with the rebound of the underlying land as the massive ice sheets retreated.
Heavy ice cover can reduce the amount of evaporation from the Great Lakes in the winter, thus contributing to higher water levels.
In bays and other nearshore areas, ice forms a stable platform for winter recreational activity such as ice fishing. This stable ice also protects wetlands and the shoreline from erosion.
- 94.7% ice coverage in 1979 is the maximum on record (data began in 1973)
- 9.5% ice coverage in 2002 is the lowest on record
- 11.5% ice coverage in 1998, a strong El Niño year
- The extreme ice cover in 2014 (92.5%) and 2015 (88.8%) were the first consecutive high ice cover years since the late 1970s.
NOAA pegs the current ice cover at 9.9% and you can also watch an animation of the last 60 days of ice formation. You can check out satellite images of the Great Lakes for current ice cover and also this cool animation of Great Lakes ice cover from 1973 – 2016.
Mark took this photo a little over a week ago at Lincoln Township Park near Stevensville. With the warmer weather, there’s probably less. View his photo bigger and see more in his Michigan Winter slideshow.
Turtle Club
Turtle Club, photo by Andrew McFarlane
“Am I not turtley enough for the turtle club?”
-Dana Carvey, Master of Disguise
Pretty sure it’s just sleeping.
I took this photo last weekend on a walk along Lake Michigan in the Leelanau Conservancy’s Whaleback Natural Area just south of Leland.
View it background big and see more in my Lake Michigan, Pearl of America slideshow.
More winter wallpaper on Michigan in Pictures.
Frozen Map of Dawn
Frozen Map of Dawn, photo by Heather Higham
Heather writes: Ice formations trace a map in an inland lake’s surface as a mountain of pink clouds engulfs the sky.
View her photo bigger, see more in her slideshow, and view & purchase photos at Snap Happy Gal Photography.
11th Anniversary of Michigan in Pictures!
Water Spray, photo by Sandy Hansen Photography
On December 30, 2005 I posted the first photo to Michigan in Pictures. 11 years later, it’s still going so I guess I must be doing something right. Thanks to all you photographers and fans for being a part of Michigan in Pictures!!
I figured Lake Michigan popping its cork would be better than champagne.
View Sandy’s photo bigger and see more in her Northern Michigan slideshow.
Michigan in Pictures 