Ice on St Joseph Lighthouse by Michigan Native Photography
These photos of the St. Joseph North Pier Outer Lighthouse on Lake Michigan taken just four days apart provide a dramatic example of how fast cold weather & high winds can build ice! For sure follow Michigan Native Photography on Facebook for their latest & more great Michigan photos.
When I was looking through the many haunted tales on Michigan in Pictures the other day, I realized that one of the many things I enjoy about Halloween is how it draws you into history since so many of our spooky tales are rooted in the long ago. A number that I’ve shared are from our friends at Mysterious Michigan including the brief tale of Crying Mary of Oak Hill Cemetery:
Established in 1844 and over 160 years old, Oak Hill Cemetery in Battle Creek, Michigan has a lot of history. It’s the final resting place of famous people such as Sojourner Truth, C.W. Post, W.K. Kellogg, his brother John Harvey Kellogg, Bill Knapp, Ellen & James White, founders of the Seventh Day Adventist Church and others. Among the many famous people slumbering within the grounds of Oak Hill, another famous person exists above ground. While Crying Mary may not be a living, breathing person, she does happen to be a beautiful statue of a Greek goddess at the grave site of Johannes Decker and is well known by the residents of Battle Creek.
The legend of Crying Mary says that at the stroke of midnight every Sunday, the statue cries. People have claimed to have seen and felt her tears. Some say she only cries at night and never during the day.
The photo makes it appear to be a natural effect of water on the greening bronze, but whatever the cause, I doubt she’s crying about the view – what a gorgeous little cemetery.
Bill took these at Oak Hill Cemetery in Battle Creek. The top one is an infrared photo & you can see more in his Battle Creek Michigan gallery and for sure follow him on Facebook for his latest!
PS: If you need a spooky Michigan cemetery story, allow me to recommend the haunting tale of The Ada Witch!
Click on Detroit shares that State Representatives Alicia St. Germaine and Ron Robinson have introduced a bill to establish a “Brown Alert” system modeled after existing emergency notification systems like Amber Alerts:
“Right after a raw sewage discharge, we shouldn’t have people paddleboarding on the Clinton River or launching kayaks. They need timely notifications so they can make an informed decision whether they want to go on that waterway,” St. Germaine said.
The proposed system would require county drain or public works commissioners to notify local emergency managers within 12 hours of the water reaching dangerous contamination levels.
“If something like this were to happen, people should be notified in real-time, and in a lot of cases, it’s not reported for weeks or sometimes months afterwards, and by then, what are you going to do about it?” Robinson said.
Many Harrison Township residents have witnessed signs of water contamination firsthand. “The other day, when we had a big rain and you could see chunks of what I’m going to call ‘things’ floating down the river that appeared to be untreated sewage. It was awful,” said Jim Constantino.
That’s a big no from me on floaty things in our rivers & lakes!! The other day I saw a green heron fishing in a containment pond that had a posted “Don’t Eat These Fish” warning. It always makes me sad when I see animals oblivious to our pollution, but hopefully making more people aware of it will lead to generating less of it.
Kevin took this shot of a young green heron last month in a marshy area at the Grand Ravines. See lots more in his Birds gallery on Flickr.
You can read more about Green herons on Michigan in Pictures!
Lake Michigan Ice Mounds by Mark Swanson
The Lansing State Journal reports the National Weather Service says that a triple threat of subzero temperatures, high winds and ice-free Great Lakes really piled up the lake effect snow last week:
“This snowy week is nearly at an end, including a visit from real Arctic air, and many towns near Lake Michigan and Lake Superior got a foot or two of fresh snow as a result,” the NWS said. “Clearly, the vast majority of snow was a result of lake effect, as plenty of other parts of Michigan only saw an inch or two at best.”
Air temperatures in Michigan fell below zero Jan. 18-22. In some cases, the thermometer didn’t read above zero for two days. The coldest reading in the state came Monday night when Stambaugh, in the western UP, registered minus 30 — before wind chill. The town also saw minus 28 on Tuesday night while Ironwood’s NWS observer recorded minus 27.
You can see that the conditions have also piled up shoreline ice in these pictures that Mark took over the weekend at Lincoln Township Beach just north of Grand Mere State Park. Here are some more recent ones and a shot from summer of 2016 below. More in Mark’s 2025 gallery on Flickr!
Another Angry Sky by Jeremy Vohwinkle
Beryl is the earliest category 5 hurricane since we classifying them 100 years ago & a pretty clear indication that climate change continues apace. Since we’ve all probably formed an opinion on that which can’t be changed, how about some other science? mLive meteorologist Mark Torrregrossa shares that the storms in Michigan due to Hurricane Beryl are NOT your ordinary rainstorms:
Tropical rain such as the heavy rain we are having tonight and Wednesday originates from a different part of the globe compared to most all other rains in Michigan. The rain now has some moisture in it from Africa, the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and the deep southern states of the U.S. Most of our rain has moisture gathered from the air over the Pacific Ocean or the western and central United States.
…. The tropical clouds typically have a lower base, sometimes only one thousand to two thousand feet above the ground. You may feel like you can reach up and touch the clouds. Our ordinary rains would have a low base at five thousand feet and many bases are higher than five thousand feet.
…Now think about the different things that can be in a raindrop from Africa and the tropics. I haven’t seen any actual research on this but tropical rains can carry more and different nutrients within the drop. I call this rain, “the great green-up.” Look at your grass. Look at your vegetable and flower garden after the rain. If it’s not drowned out, your garden with go through robust growth this week. It will be like you fertilized it. It’s about to get nature’s “Miracle-Gro.”
Lots more in this fascinating article!
Jeremy took this way back in the summer of 2011 in Edwardsburg, way down in southwest Michigan. See more in his Landscapes gallery on Flickr & stay dry!!
Hoffmaster State Park Rainbow by Lillian Dotzlaf
The West Michigan Tourist Association invites you to participate in their 2024 West Michigan Photo Contest. Prizes include packages from some great businesses & they are looking for traveler photo submissions from the entire west half of Michigan – all the way from the Indiana border to Mackinac Island and into the Upper Peninsula.
“We love getting to see all of the amazing photos from all throughout West Michigan – it’s a highlight of the summer!” said Kaylie Pomper, Marketing Manager. “We love seeing so many different perspectives from the photos shared with us. It’s a great way to see involvement from the communities that make up our beautiful state.”
Pomper also noted that photos do not need to be taken this month in order to submit them to the photo contest. “If you have West Michigan photos from your past visits to the area, we encourage you to enter those as well! West Michigan is photogenic all seasons of the year, so don’t feel that you’re only limited to submitting summer photos.”
All photo entries must be received by July 29th, 2024. Judges will be awarding prizes in the categories of “Beach/Lake Photo; Travelers Exploring Iconic West Michigan Destinations; Downtown Photo; Fairs & Festivals Photo” with an additional prize awarded via public voting by WMTA’s Facebook audience.
Lillian won the public vote last year & shared “I am elated I won the public vote category with the rainbow photo I took just after my Dad passed away. I am so blessed to call this place home. Thank you WMTA for giving me the opportunity and to Mackinac Island for the phenomenal prize package. I know I’ve got an extra angel looking out for me.”
Indeed!! Check out Lillian’s work on Instagram and at Little Lill’s Photography on Facebook!
Warren Dunes State Park, Sawyer Michigan, photo by Charles Edward Miller
Beautiful scene earlier in November at Warren Dunes State Park in southwest Michigan, just north of the state line. The History of Sawyer from HarborCountry.org explains:
Edward K. Warren, of Three Oaks, was a pioneering conservationist. Long before he acquired his enormous wealth, Warren bought 300 acres of woodland in an effort to preserve a forest primeval. Wildlife abounds around the trails, which meander through Warren Woods that remains undisturbed and a natural treasure. Not surprisingly, Warren Woods can be found Warren Woods Road between Three Oaks and Lakeside. Warren Dunes State Park is a 1500-acre preserve located on Red Arrow Highway between Sawyer and Bridgman. Warren bought this land at the turn of the century again with conservation as his goal. Although most in the area saw the land as worthless, Warren wanted to preserve the majestic dunes that soar to more than 240 feet. The Park has a pristine two-mile beach as well as wildflowers and mature forests. Over a million people visit Warren Dunes annually [the state’s most popular park].
View Charles’s photo background bigtacular and see more in his massive Warren Dunes State Park Sawyer Michigan slideshow.
More about Warren Dunes and more dunes on Michigan in Pictures.
Simplicity – Sand and Stones, photo by PhotoJacko
Michigan comes from the Chippewa language where “Michi-gama” means “great water” or “big lake”. With 3,126 miles of PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE Great Lakes shoreline and countless public beaches, there’s no excuse not to get out to beaches like the fabulous one at Grand Mere State Park near Stevensville in southwest Michigan this weekend!
View Jackie’s photo bigger, see more in her Long Exposures slideshow and be sure to follow her on Facebook.
More great beaches & beach photos on Michigan in Pictures.
_MG_8420 Golden Dunes Grand Mere State Park, photo by cemillerphotography.photoshelter.com.
Sleeping Bear Dunes have been soaking up all the love in the media lately courtesy Good Morning America naming them the most beautiful place in America.
When I saw these photos I thought they were from Sleeping Bear, then I realized they were from Grand Mere State Park near St. Joseph, which the state of Michigan says is characterized by magnificent sand dunes, deep blowouts and one mile of Lake Michigan shoreline. Another page adds:
The magnificent high-relief dunes in Grand Mere were formed approximately 10,000 years ago during the recession of glacial lakes. They are a natural phenomenon not found anywhere else in the world. Located between Lake Michigan and several inland lakes and unique wetlands, the dunes afford an excellent perspective of the surrounding region. The lakes and wetlands provide a unique ecological area that encompasses the full range of open water aquatic to closed forest terrestrial communities. The wetlands and lakes are significant waterfowl and songbirds migrating areas.
More about Lake Michigan coastal dune structures in this really great Sand Dune Inventory.
Check this out background bigtacular and in Charles’ Grand Mere State Park slideshow.
Greeny Goodness, photo by sgs_1019.
The sun, with all those plants revolving around it and dependent upon it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else in the universe to do.
~Galileo Galilei
The sun is working away on the 2011 vintage in Michigan’s vineyards, and today I’m working away on the lawn of the Grand Traverse Commons in Traverse City on the 3rd annual Traverse City Wine & Art Festival. It’s a celebration of the culture & cuisine of northwest Michigan that brings together 24 wineries from Leelanau, Old Mission, Traverse City & Benzie with over 100 wines from 2010 and other years along with a slew of artists with work for show and sale, great food & music and some incredible performance art!
If you’re in the neighborhood, please come by as I think it’s going to be amazing! If not, definitely pick up a bottle of Michigan wine – you will be happy to learn what the sun has been up to! If you’re looking for some suggestions, check out the medal winners from the 2011 Michigan Wine Competition!
Check this out bigger and in Sarah’s slideshow.
Michigan in Pictures 