Reflected Blue Circle, photo by Mac Girl.
Wyoming Public Library, Wyoming, Michigan. You can view several more shots of this brightly tiled library. and this wildly cool Amazing Circle created from the photo. (information on creating amazing circles using photoshop)
Henderson Castle, photo by Kalamazoo Richard.
Richard posted several shots of this Kalamazoo landmark to the new Historic Michigan pool on Flickr. One of his shots is of the Michigan Historic Marker which tells us it was built in a neighborhood designed by Kalamazoo military regalia manufacturer Frank Henderson.
The Kalamazoo Public Library goes into a lot more depth (and has a cool old photo of the castle):
The Queen Anne style house–always called “The Castle” by local residents because of its ornate style and imposing hilltop location–was designed by C. A. Gombert of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and cost $72,000 to build. With seven baths, a thirteen-head shower, an elevator, a third-floor ballroom, and a hot tub on the roof (added later) the 25-room castle exemplifies high society and expensive tastes. The castle’s exterior is made of Lake Superior sandstone and brick, and the interior wood includes mahogany, bird’s eye maple, quartered oak, birch, and sycamore.
Henderson Castle is currently a bed & breakfast (visit Henderson Castle B&B site).
Orange & black, originally uploaded by aricee.
Aricee writes: That flash of bright orange stripes were something amazing when he was flying. From my visit to the botanical garden.
From March 1 to April 30, Frederick Meijer Garden in Grand Rapids is hosting Butterflies are Blooming featuring 6000 tropical butterflies from Asia and South and Central America flying amongst the plants. Can you say “Cabin Fever Cure”??
Full disclosure: Aricee took my all time favorite butterfly photo. Be sure to view the above photo large.
Photo by Robinson Studios of Grand Rapids
March is Women’s History Month and while the idea that the legacy of accomplishment of 50% of our population can be handled with a single month seems a bit of a stretch, it’s a good excuse to check out some great historical photos.
The web site of the Grand Rapids Public Library features an online exhibit of images and information of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). According to the site, the AAGPBL was the 1942 brainchild of Chicago Cubs owner Philip K. Wrigley, intended to serve as close-to-home entertainment for fans limited by World War II travel restrictions and as a temporary replacement should the war-time draft force cancellation of major league baseball. The Grand Rapids team was known as the Grand Rapids Chicks and your really need to go to the site to look through all the photos in their gallery.
You might also want to read The Girls of Summer from Michigan History Magazine for more details on the league like this passage:
Many of these women set records any major leaguer would treasure. Racine Belles player Sophie Kurys, dubbed the Flint Flash for her amazing ability to steal bases, stole a total of 1,114 bases during her career. Racine Belles pitcher Joanne Winter set the record for consecutive scoreless innings at 63, one even Los Angeles Dodger pitcher Orel Hershiser fell shy of with his record of 59 in 1988. Grand Rapids Chicks pitcher Connie Wisniewski earned her nickname Iron Woman because in 1945 “she once pitched and won both ends of a doubleheader, started forty-six games, and ended the season with a 32-11 record,” according to historian Barbara Gregorich. Wisniewski’s performance as a pitcher made her a natural choice as the league’s Player of the Year.
Iceberg, originally uploaded by SpringChick.
A photo of icebergs in Lake Michigan at Muskgeon taken early this morning. Have to love the immediacy of the internet…
A Time For Family Reflection, originally uploaded by Rhino and Bird.
The photographer called this “A Time For Family Reflection” and then wrote: just kidding, that’s a terrible title for this picture.
Today’s mission (should you choose to accept it) is to come up with a better one! Post below…
sunset, originally uploaded by curlyson.
Photographer Roger Johnson recommends to view this photo large and writes Two wet feet and mud up to the knee but I found this one and it was all worth while!
He also took this beautiful photo the same evening.
Fire exit, originally uploaded by Nathanael.Archer.
The above photo is part of a nice set of photos of the city of Grand Rapids, Michigan that look to have been taken in 2000-2001.
St. Joe North pierhead light, originally uploaded by Robin of Loxley.
Brian writes:
Today I actually ventured all the way out to the end of the pier. I saw that the pierhead light had all this ice on it yesterday but there was too much ice to get across – I really didn’t want to go for a swim. Still a great deal of ice to navigate over but the sun had come out and melted some of it. I think it was worth the trip.
No argument here!
Old boat, originally uploaded by Robin of Loxley.
Pere Marquette Lake, Ludington Michigan. Drive around the back side of the Father Marquette memorial and you will find this little gem.
He tweaked the photo in Photoshop. I can’t decide if I like this or the original photo better. I guess it’s good that both are available…
Michigan in Pictures 