2025 was a great year for Michigan cougars!

Posted on by farlane

Baby Cougar via DNR Michigan Cougar Page

EDITOR’S NOTE: This was originally shared on Leelanau.com & Michigan in Pictures concurs that there unquestionably are breeding cougar populations south of the Bridge. If you have seen one, please share in the comments here on on the Michigan in Pictures Facebook page!

mLive reports that with a month remaining, 2025 is already the third consecutive year of record-setting cougar sightings:

The state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) confirmed there have been 26 confirmed cougar sightings in Michigan so far this year, surpassing last year’s record by three … In a unique data point, those 26 cougar sightings this year in the U.P. added up to 27 animals because a pair of cougar cubs were spotted at the same time March 6 in Ontonagon County.

Here are some pics & info from the DNR’s Michigan Cougar page where you can also share photos & report cougar sightings!

More Michigan cougars on Michigan in Pictures!

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Iced Over on Mackinac Island

Posted on by farlane
Iced Over by Joann's Fudge of Mackinac Island

Iced Over by Joann’s Fudge of Mackinac Island

Today is one of those days when I see the photo first and go looking for the post because honestly WOW! So here are some updates:

When the huge ice storm hit, Joann’s Fudge of Mackinac Island shared this photo & noted they might suffer some shipping delays. In addition to a donation to one of the places above, consider buying a little fudge from Joann’s! Here are some more great shots including one of them taking advantage of the ice storm by playing hockey and some great lilac photos from the upcoming Mackinac Island Lilac Festival (June 6-16, 2025). See lots more of their pics on their Facebook.

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Northern Michigan Ice Is (not) Nice

Posted on by farlane
Deer in the ice storm by Jeremy Bassett

Deer in the ice storm by Jeremy Bassett

From Friday night through Sunday morning, Northern Lower Michigan was hit with a massive ice storm that left tens of thousands without power, closed the Mackinac Bridge with “the worst ice we’ve every seen on the Bridge”, and led Gov Whitmer to declare a state of emergency in Otsego, Oscoda, Montmorency, Presque Isle, Emmet, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Crawford, Mackinac and Alpena counties. Great Lakes Energy shared the status as of yesterday morning

✅ Since the storm began, power has been restored to over 56,000 members.

⚠️ Just over 45,000 Great Lakes Energy (GLE) members remain without power this morning across 15 of our 26 counties.

🌨️ Unfortunately, a new storm system hit our southern territory late yesterday, causing additional damage and compounding restoration challenges.

Here are some more pics by Great Lakes Energy Facebook along with some from the Mackinac Bridge Authority, Interlochen Public Radio, and the deer at the top and the last two of escaped horses and the ice storm in Onaway by Jeremy Bassett via 9 & 10 News.

Got any to share? Post them on our Facebook or in the comments below!!

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(not) Feeding America

Posted on by farlane
Not Today by Mark Smith

Not Today by Mark Smith

“A lot of that food was really good food. It was protein.“

-Ken Estelle, President & CEO of Feeding America West Michigan

Fox 17 West Michigan reported on Monday that Feeding America West Michigan has learned that the USDA has “paused” 32 truckloads of food scheduled to arrive from April to June.

The organization is now working to replace about 600,000 pounds of meat, cheeses and milk that would have come from these USDA shipments. “We’re looking at our current food suppliers, and donors, but we’re also looking at the fact that we’re going to have to purchase food in order to fill in some of the gaps,” Estelle explained.

A USDA grant allowing the food bank to purchase from Michigan farms was also initially suspended but has since been reinstated through October following meetings with elected officials. “We’re just getting into the Michigan growing season and we have made commitments to a lot of these smaller farms of what we would be able to purchase from them. So they were… the farms were also depending on us to be able to be one of their customers for their products,” said Estelle.

No word yet on if hungry folks in West Michigan will be able to “pause” their hunger, so consider a donation to Feeding America West Michigan or your local food bank. Big fan of Forgotten Harvest in Metro Detroit.

Mark took this photo back in March of 2017 when the Popp farmstand on the Leelanau Peninsula was closed as it normally is. See lots more from Northern Leelanau County in his East of Leland gallery on Flickr.

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Blue Ice at the Straits of Mackinac

Posted on by farlane
Blue Ice at the Straits of Mackinac by Martin Hogan Photography

Blue Ice at the Straits of Mackinac by Martin Hogan Photography

Although winter “officially” ended yesterday, the snowy pictures I’m seeing from around Michigan this morning make me feel OK sharing these pics Marty got of blue ice on the Straits of Mackinac last weekend. Click to follow Marty on Facebook & for sure check out some of his past photos on Michigan in Pictures!

If you are wondering Why Ice is Blue, Michigan in Pictures says (in part):

As with water, this color is caused by the absorption of both red and yellow light (leaving light at the blue end of the visible light spectrum) … In simplest of terms, think of the ice or snow layer as a filter. If it is only a centimeter thick, all the light makes it through; if it is a meter thick, mostly blue light makes it through. This is similar to the way coffee often appears light when poured, but much darker when it is in a cup.

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Winter in the shade, winter in da Yoop!

Posted on by farlane

winter, upper tahquamenon falls, michigan by twurdemann

“It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.“

-Charles Dickens

…and it is also winter in the UP! While rains are expected to wash much of the snow from Michigan today, mLive Chief Meteorologist Mark Torregrossa shares that the National Weather Service is predicting 10-15″ of snow for areas of the Upper Peninsula including as much as TWO FEET of snow for the western UP!

twurdemann shares that this incredible winter wonderland is created by freezing spray/mist from the waterfall at Michigan’s Tahquamenon Falls State Park & the brown tannins in the water. Check out more in their Winter gallery on Flickr that includes some KNOCKOUT ice cave photos from the Canadian shore of Lake Superior!

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Frozen Flight: Lake Michigan Ice

Posted on by farlane

Above Lake Michigan by Bill Dolak

With full honor & respect to the absolutely brutal temps across Michigan this morning, here are some sweet photos from a series that Bill took on February 1st at Fennville’s Pier Cove Park. There’s even a shot of a sundog in one of the photos!

See more in his Droneography – Autel EVO Lite+ gallery on Flickr!

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Lake Superior Shoreline Ice: Hasselblad Edition

Posted on by farlane
Hasselblad 501CM w: 180CF-Lake Superior Shoreline (Little Girl's Point) by Kirt E Carter

Hasselblad 501CM w: 180CF-Lake Superior Shoreline (Little Girl’s Point) by Kirt E Carter

One of my favorite things about Michigan in Pictures is seeing some of the incredible cameras people are using.

One man who has some sweet gear is Kirt E. Carter and he has been bringing some incredible Hasselblad pics to the Absolute Michigan group on Flickr for the better part of a decade. I figured today was a good day to bring attention to his amazing work. The large one below of icicles on the Eagle Harbor shoreline – see more in the Hasselblad search in the Absolute Michigan group & for sure head over to his website to view & purchase his work!

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Watching the snow in Michigan

Posted on by farlane
Holstein Cattle in Michigan by Lee Rentz

Holstein Cattle in Michigan by Lee Rentz

mLive’s Mark Torregrossa shares that there is a winter weather advisory for 4-6″ of snow covering most of the southern two-thirds of the Lower Peninsula. He notes that the far southeast corner, including Ann Arbor, Detroit, and Monroe are expected to get some freezing rain as well that will reduce snowfall to 2-4″ in that area. He also shared a little bit about how a storm watch evolves over time:

A winter storm watch is usually issued when a storm system is one to two days from starting. This long lead time is used to help you get ready if you have to make travel or work changes. Eventually as the storm gets closer, the winter storm watch either turns to a winter storm warning or a winter weather advisory.

The map above shows how the large winter storm watch area earlier today has been fine-tuned to mostly winter weather advisories. A winter storm watch still exists for the Thumb and northeast shoreline until the next round of data shows which way to go on the watch. There should be some lake enhancement of the snow totals in the Thumb and northeast shoreline, possibly putting those areas over the six inch winter storm warning criteria.

Latest revision (3:26 p.m. Tuesday) of the winter storm watch to mostly winter weather advisories in purple. There still is a waiting game with the winter storm watch in blue for the Thumb, Oakland county, Macomb County and the northeast shoreline. image by NOAA
Total snow forecast from the North American Model (NAM) through Thursday afternoon.NOAA

Lee shared this photo of Holstein cattle on an Amish farm riding out a winter snowstorm in Mecosta County to the Absolute Michigan group on Flickr last January. When I did a quick Google search because I had forgotten if Lee was a he or a she, I realized that he had a lot more photos in excellent essay entitled FALLING SNOW: A Landscape Transformed on his blog:

When I see snow falling, dissolving the landscape into a place entirely different, I am enthralled by the veiled look of the land. Every surface is softened and sounds are muffled and most people have retreated indoors. The familiar is transformed.

The pictures in this photographic essay were taken near my Michigan home, where I love to venture into the heaviest snow squalls, finding barns and forests transformed by the falling snow. I am fortunate to live near an Amish community, where their barns and buggies and homes are often featured in my winter photography. Enjoy the photographs, and find a new appreciation for winter.

Head over to the Lee Rentz Photography Journal for lots more!

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Delivering a Winter Storm

Posted on by farlane
Winter Mail by Mike Vogel

Winter Mail by Mike Vogel

mLive’s Mark Torregrossa shares that the winter storm bearing down on Michigan overnight is expected to bring a solid band of freezing rain from Jackson to Ann Arbor to Detroit and south to Michigan’s southern border that could have up to one-tenth of an inch of ice accumulation. Based on radar, the iciness will be worst from 4am – 9am Thursday

Mike captured this great shot of a mail truck delivering in Port Huron on a winter day with a Nikon Zfc & TTArtisan 50mm Tilt shift lens 1.4. I hadn’t heard of this lens befor which the manufacturer says transforms ordinary scenes into captivating ‘Lilliput’ landscapes with selective focus and beautiful bokeh.

See more in Mike’s Winter 2025 gallery & for sure follow him on Flickr.

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