southeast

How to see the CPKC Holiday Train this Saturday

Posted on November 19, 2025November 19, 2025 by farlane

Holiday Train Rolling through Detroit by Craig Hensley Photography

The CPKC Holiday Train is set to roll through Michigan this Saturday November 22nd. My post about the train last week generated so many questions and so much interest that I decided to share some more info about this very cool Canadian project. Since its first journey in 1999, the CPKC Holiday Train has collected over 5 million pounds of food and raised more than $26 million dollars for community food banks in Canada and the US!

The estimated time that the train will pass by Michigan Central Station in downtown Detroit is 6pm, but it could be (and usually is) later. The train passes through southwest Detroit including Melvindale, Allen Park (est 6:30 – 7:30pm), Taylor, and Romulus before passing through Adrian (est 10pm – 2am) on its way out of Michigan near Munson. I’ll add updated information & answers to questions on this Facebook post about the Holiday Train.

Craig Hensley has been shooting the Holiday Train for years (check out these 2023 pics!). He put together a sweet Google Map of the Holiday Train’s route through Michigan that includes suggested viewing locations. He notes notes that the train is not making stops in Michigan and will be traveling at night so be smart and keep a safe distance from the tracks!! Head over to his website to view & purchase his work.

Also, Detroit photographer Montez Miller reports that she has a friend in Windsor who is a police officer & will let her know when the train is leaving customs so you should probably follow her for that and also her amazing work as a photographer for the red hot Detroit Pistons!!

UPDATE: Montez adds that cpkcr.com will provide LIVE TRAIN TRACKING, but it won’t go live until the train starts to move. She also shared some good Metro Detroit locations where you can watch the Holiday Train!

CPKC railway, a few minutes from tunnel/bridge in Windsor
Railroad in Windsor
Southwest Greenway/Michigan Central Station
Delay/Southwest Detroit/111 Gates St
Thunderbowl Lanes, Allen Park (parking lot)
Airport (Romulus)
Wayne Rd/94
North Side of airport along 94
Social House Group – Belleville, MI same plaza as the Belleville Secretary of State office and Jet’s Pizza

That Super Beaver Moon is actually a Super Hunter’s Moon

Posted on November 4, 2025November 4, 2025 by farlane

Lake Huron Moonshine by kare hav

I got a lot of enjoyment from walking around the house yesterday saying “Super Beaver Moon” so it is with sadness & regret I share that EarthSky’s Deborah Byrd explains that if a full moon of November falls after November 7, it’s the Beaver Moon but if it’s before the 7th, it’s the Hunter’s Moon. Deborah writes:

Nature is particularly cooperative around the time of the autumnal equinox to make the fall full moonrises special. On average, the moon rises about 50 minutes later each day. But when a full moon happens close to the autumnal equinox – either a Harvest or a Hunter’s Moon – the moon (at mid-northern latitudes) rises about 30 minutes later daily for several days before and after the full moon … The result is that there’s a short-than-usual lag time between successive moonrises around the Hunter’s Moon adding to the brightness of evening twilight.

The moon has for sure been looking huge when it’s risen the last couple of nights! To add to the fun, EarthSky shares that the South Taurid & North Taurid meteor showers are both happening right now! While they aren’t a very active shower with just 5-10 meteors per hour, they can produce really intense fireballs like this one from Monday night over Glen Lake in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

This moon is neither Hunter nor Beaver: it’s the August 2020 Sturgeon Moon as seen over Lake Huron. See more in kare hav’s Point Lookout / Au Gres gallery on Flickr including the first pic I ever shared from this awesome photographer on Night and Light.

Night by kare hav

Michigan’s roads of the future: paid for by cannabis

Posted on October 3, 2025October 3, 2025 by farlane

Cannabis in the Mist by Grasshopper Farms

Jordyn Hermani of Bridge Magazine shares that Michigan lawmakers passed the nearly $81 billion dollar budget early this morning. Highlights include almost $2 billion for roads, cuts of “ghost employees” in government jobs, and continued free meals for Michigan K-12 students. The key to the whole deal is a new 24% wholesale marijuana tax in January that is anticipated to bring in a conveniently estimated $420 million a year. The article is an excellent overview of the budget and says in part:

Marijuana industry advocates have decried the plan, arguing it will lead to higher prices for consumers, force companies out of business and benefit the illegal black market.

“This is going to drive Michigan customers out of the legal market,” said Sen. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, who opposed the bill. “This is telling customers from other states, ‘Stop bringing your money to Michigan.’”

If you’re interested, this story has some thoughts from industry operators & additional comments from Senator Irwin on how this will feed the non-legal market & mirror California’s mistakes, and this one explores the impact on retailers & consumer prices.

...The budget will continue to make school meals free for all students, a top priority of Whitmer and Senate Democrats. It includes $201.6 million to cover meals for students who don’t qualify for no-cost programs through the federal government. The budget includes a record $10,050 in per-pupil funding for Michigan schools, up from $9,608 this year, and also provides full funding for cyber charter schools. Those changes will cost the state $593.5 million. It also adds $321 million for mental health and safety grants that are available to both public and private schools.

These photos are from one of my favorite companies in the Michigan cannabis industry, Grasshopper Farms. One of the reasons for this is how lovely their outdoor cannabis farm looks, and another huge one is how they work to be a part of their community in the Paw Paw area! Here are some more photos from the farm – follow them on Facebook & Instagram for more.

Happy National Jiffy Mix Day!

Posted on October 1, 2025October 1, 2025 by farlane

Jiffy Mix – Your Cornbread Comes From Right Here by Steve Brown

October 1st is the first ever National Jiffy Mix Day, a celebration of the family-owned Chelsea Milling Company that got its start in 1901 and launched the iconic Jiffy thanks to the vision of Mabel White Holmes:

When a friend of her twin sons Howard and Dudley visited their home, Mabel noticed the biscuits in the boy’s lunch were flat and unappetizing. She set out to find a way to create a pre-made mix which would assist the boy’s single father in the kitchen.

In 1930, with the support of her husband Howard Samuel Holmes, Mabel’s home-grown project became the first prepared baking mix sold to the public. The convenient, simple to use mix only required the addition of milk to produce perfect biscuits every time. By keeping their “JIFFY” brand baking mixes affordable, the Holmes’ new venture was able to help many families who were recovering from the effects of the Great Depression.

Read lots more from Jiffy & cheers to everyone who looks at a child’s lunch with an eye towards making it better!! There’s a poster from the Chelsea Area Chamber of Commerce below with info about the festivities on tap today that include games & prizes, a treasure hunt, food trucks & a visit from Detroit Lions Mascot Roary.

Steve passed on a couple years ago, but his photos and his love of history remain (click for his Michigan in Pictures features). Here are a few more pics of Chelsea – see more great shots from Chelsea in his Chelsea Michigan gallery on Flickr!

Mabel White Holmes inventor of Jiffy All Purpose Baking Mix

Michigan making a run at 100

Posted on June 19, 2025June 19, 2025 by farlane

Sea and Sky by Walter E. Elliot

mLive’s Mark Torregrossa shares that a heat dome will cover much of Michigan beginning Saturday that is expected to keep temps in the 90s until at least next Thursday!! Mark shares that Michigan hasn’t hit 100 degrees since 2012 since our highest heat in recent years has been coming from the northwest:

This won’t be the case with the weekend’s and next week’s heat. The coming heat is going to build in from the southeast. This means what should be the hottest corner of Michigan will be the hottest. When all of the concrete and pavement of southeast Michigan gets hot it can get really hot.

It will get really hot. Detroit, Ann Arbor and Monroe will make a run at 100 degrees. If so it would be the hottest temperatures in those cities since 2012. (see the temperature map below)

Walter took this yesterday in Grand Haven as a storm rolled across Lake Michigan, and I’ve shared a couple more sizzling shots! See many more at Images by Walter E. Elliot on Facebook and view & purchase his work on his website.

Wednesday’s windstorm leaves Southeast Michigan powerless

Posted on March 9, 2017 by farlane

Storm Damage, Ferndale Michigan, photo courtesy DTE Energy

The Detroit Free Press reports that millions of people in Michigan lost power in yesterday’s crazy winds and many are still without power:

A barrage of high winds Wednesday cut power to a record 700,000 DTE Energy customers and 290,000 customers of Consumers Energy across southeast and south-central Michigan, utility officials said.

A number of customers had been restored by about 10 p.m., bringing DTE’s outage number down to about 650,000 and Consumers’ down to 210,000.

…The total number of customers equates to an even higher number of people because the utilities’ term “customer” refers to electric meters, not individuals. “During the height of the storm, we were seeing 1,000 customer outages a minute,” said Randi Berris, a communications manager for DTE Energy.

As utility crews from Michigan began 16-hour shifts, and crews from four other states were due to arrive around dawn Thursday, families in the dark faced forecasts of possible snow and sliding temperatures for southeast Michigan, with a low of 12 predicted in Detroit by early Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.

Across the region, as winds clocked as high as 68 m.p.h. at Metro Airport, the weather knocked down even more trees and power lines than usual because the ground, instead of being frozen at this time of year, was soft and super-saturated with this winter’s unusually heavy rains, DTE Energy said.

View DTE’s photo bigger on their Facebook and thanks to the crews from both companies and elsewhere for their hard work – stay warm everyone!

Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus catenatus)

Posted on September 9, 2013January 3, 2025 by farlane

Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake by Jonathan Schechter/Earth’s Almanac

In Season of the Massasauga Rattler!, Jonathan Schechter writes that the massasauga likes our sun-soaked trails in the waning days of summer and early autumn, so you may catch a glimpse of one if you’re out and about in Lower Michigan. The Michigan DNR page on the Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus catenatus) explains:

Michigan’s only venomous snake is a rare sight for most state residents. Historically, they could be found in a variety of wetlands and nearby upland woods throughout the lower peninsula. During the late spring, these snakes move from their winter hibernation sites, such as crayfish chimneys and other small mammal burrows in swamps and marshlands, to hunt on the drier upland sites – likely in search of mice and voles, their favorite food.

Females give birth to 8 to 20 young in late summer. The young snakes have a single “button” on their tails; a new rattle segment is added at each shedding of the skin, which occurs several times per year.

The massasauga can be characterized as a shy, sluggish snake. Its thick body is colored with a pattern of dark brown slightly rectangular patches set against a light gray-to-brown background. Occasionally, this coloration can be so dark as to appear almost black. The belly is mostly black. It is the only Michigan snake with segmented rattles on the end of its tail and elliptical, (“cat like”) vertical pupils in the eyes. The neck is narrow, contrasting with the wide head and body and the head appears triangular in shape. Adult length is 2 to 3 feet.

These rattlesnakes avoid confrontation with humans; they are not prone to strike – preferring to leave the area when they are threatened. Like any animal though, these snakes will protect themselves from anything they see as a potential predator. Their short fangs can easily puncture skin and they do possess a potent venom. It is best to treat them with respect and leave them alone. The few bites that occur to humans often result from attempts to handle or kill the snakes. Any bite from a massasauga should receive prompt professional medical attention. When compared to other rattlesnakes found in the United States, the massasauga is the smallest and has the least toxic venom.

Massasaugas are found throughout the Lower Peninsula, but not in the Upper Peninsula (thus there are no poisonous snakes on the Upper Peninsula mainland.)

They stress that Massasaugas are listed as a “species of special concern” and are protected by state law, so don’t kill or harm them. Read on for more including some lookalike snakes.

Jonathan adds that almost all rattler bites are on the dominant hand of the offending human! He took the photo above two years ago on a popular Oakland County hike-bike trail and notes that much of Oakland County is ratter habitat. Visit Earth’s Almanac to read more and be sure to subscribe to his blog when you’re there!

PS: Nick Scobel of the Herping Michigan blog has a great video of some Eastern Massasaugas that you should check out!

More Michigan snakes on Michigan in Pictures!

Oh Beans! (Michigan Green Beans that is)

Posted on September 10, 2009September 10, 2009 by Michigan in Pictures

Oh Beans!, photo by Larry the Biker.

Taste the Local Difference says that although a 1/2 cup of green beans packs only 22 calories, it’s a great source of fiber and Vitamins A,C, K, folate, and manganese. I’m guessing that there’s a few more than 22 calories here but think of the manganese!

Click to read more including recipes like French Green Beans With Lemon.

Larry took this photo of the green bean harvest in Ray Township (in Macomb County). Be sure to check it out bigger … and also what the truck looks like en route!