More Sunrise This Morning, photo by jacalynsnana.
As she says: view large (or check this and a few other shots out in her slideshow).
More wintry goodness on the Michigan Winter Wallpaper page.
The Islands of Isle Royale
Little Dean Is., photo by yooper1949
Wikipedia lists islands in Isle Royale National Park (but not this one):
- Amygdaloid Island – has a ranger station
- Barnum Island
- Beaver Island – has a campground
- Belle Isle – a small island just off the north shore of Isle Royale at the head of Belle Harbor. It is the site of a primitive campground and is visited every second day during the peak season by the island-circling ferry.
- Caribou Island – has a campground
- Grace Island – has a campground
- Johns Island
- Long Island
- Menagerie Island – has a lighthouse
- Mott Island – summer park headquarters
- Passage Island – has a lighthouse and short trail
- Raspberry Island – has a nature trail
- Rock of Ages – has a lighthouse
- Ryan Island – the largest island in the largest lake on the largest island in the largest freshwater lake in the world
- Tookers Island – has a campground
- Washington Island
- Wright Island
Learn more from Isle Royale National Park (U.S. National Park Service) and check this out bigger (along with many more) in Carl’s spectacular Isle Royale Natonal Park slideshow.
youth
barn in morning light, Allegan, MI
barn in morning light, Allegan, MI, photo by Mike O’C.
Sometimes, there’s nothing you can add.
Have a great weekend folks … and try to keep each other warm.
The Sun will rise.
The Sun will rise., photo by Hooks Pix.
About this photo of an October sunrise in Northern Michigan Hooks Pix writes:
A fall shot that I just got around to, I have been scanning negatives for a while now. Thought this was nice, added a ND filter, that’s it. Best seen large.
Well, here’s the large view and (in case you were wondering) here’s information about Neutral Density filters (aka ND filters).
Timber Cruising and Hulbert Lake
Hulbert Lake, photo by Joslynan.
Josie took this photo in August of 2006 and you can also check out this satellite view of Hulbert Lake and the UP.
Exploring the North’s page on Hulbert Lake says that the lake was also named Lake Glimmerglass by William Hulbert. The page tells an interesting story of William’s grandfather, Francis, who was a “timber cruiser” and raced a fellow cruiser to file for title to the lake in Marquette. He won the race.
When Pine Was King (excerpted from Larry B. Massie’s “Voyages into Michigan’s Past) tells a little more of timber cruising:
The logging cycle began with the timber cruiser. Armed with a map and compass he would tramp the wilderness for weeks seeking prime stands of white pine located near a stream, then race to the nearest U.S. land office to register the find.
A Challenge for Michigan
Dead River Fog, photo by bgreenlee.
Brad took this photo at Dead River Basin, north of his hometown of Ishpeming, Michigan.
I saw this photo several days ago and was struck by its richness. For me – maybe for anyone who has ever stood next to a glass calm and still Michigan lake on a late summer morning – this picture holds an armload of images. The way the shore floats in and out of focus in the slowly moving mist … the haunting call of a loon … the splash of fat trout. All of this and so much more.
Further to the north – too far to walk in a day but not all that far – are the Yellow Dog Plains, one of the fronts in a battle that if lost, would change this image of Michigan forever.
The Yellow Dog is not the only front though. Consider White River, where Michigan’s water is poured out to the rest of the world, never to return. Or all the inland lakes where exotic zebra mussels have poured in, sterilizing them of other life. And countless other places and ways that our rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, wells and wetlands face the pressure that comes where a resource is not valued.
This is probably the point where right around 50% of brains will want to shut off and wander off, thinking “Here comes another environmentalist rant.” While I am a huge fan of the environment (which I like to think of as my life support system) this isn’t about politics.
This is about money.
Tourism is Michigan’s second largest industry. Unlike extractive industries like acid mining or water bottling that send most of the revenue away from Michigan, tourism sends income rushing through our local economies, generating business profits (and tax revenues) along with many jobs in hotels, motels, B&Bs and cabins, restaurants, shops, outfitters, galleries, musicians and countless other industries. Economists talk about “the multiplier effect”, describing how one dollar pays for a room for the night, then morning coffee, afternoon canoe rental, evening dinner and fifty more things before it moves along.
That dollar has a future from the moment it is laid on the counter. The other dollar doesn’t.
This is not only about money though.
I have chosen to make my lifelong home in Michigan for the same very simple reason that I made this web site: I am hopelessly in love with the beauty of Michigan. From the towering face of the Pictured Rocks to the corn stalk stubbles in the next field, I am head over heels for Sweet Mama Michigan and I cannot bear to see her carved up and sold off.
Even in our hour of need, I hope we can all agree that it is precisely this beauty, this richness of water and wild that is among Michigan’s greatest treasures.
It’s in that hope (and also for pay) that I worked with others to make a challenge to all of you: Make a short video that tells why we should protect Michigan’s water.
We call it the Save the Wild UP Video Challenge and I invite you to learn more about it.
PS: Apologies to Brad for tacking all on this on to what could have been a simple post of a great photo.
PPS: Those of you who are Flickrites might want to check out the Save the Wild UP Challenge group.
PPPS: Apologies also for any over-preachyness. I promise to try and keep it to a minimum.
Sunrise and ice sheets on Lake St. Clair
Lake St. Clair, Michigan, photo by radiospike.
This photo is part of a set of photos of the annual ice break-up on Lake St. Clair. Spike writes:
The ice started making deafening cracking noises and “glass shattering” noises as the sun’s first rays hit it. This was probably the last day to catch the ice blowing over from Canada as today was expected to reach 65 degrees.
The ice starts as a sheet on the lake’s surface, forming with days of sub-freezing temperatures. Strong winds crack the ice and break it into large floating pieces. Then the winds push the ice until it hits something to stop it… in this case, the Michigan shoreline. Some of the ice floes were standing 15 feet up in the air. What you see is entirely frozen lake. I’m standing up on the bank in Grosse Pointe Farms where the ice completely shattered and moved the concrete barrier.
Spike says that the Freakish Freeze feature in the Freep inspired his trip to the shore of Lake St. Clair. I confess that the same article has inspired me to keep an eye on photos from that area!
Almost Frozen, heavy on the “Almost”
Almost Frozen, photo by suesue2.
Sue says that Stony Creek Lake (at the Huron-Clinton Stony Creek Metropark is not quite ready for ice skating or ice fishing.
“Just because a lake or stream is frozen doesn’t mean the ice is safe,” said Lt. Creig Grey, marine safety and education supervisor for the DNR Law Enforcement Division. “Ice fishing has its own set of safety rules that if not followed, can cause a day of fishing to end in tragedy.”
According to Grey, you can’t always tell the strength of ice simply by its look, its thickness, the temperature or whether or not it is covered with snow. New ice, he said, generally is much stronger than old ice; a couple of inches of new clear ice may be strong enough to support you, though a foot of old, air-bubbled ice will not.
“Clear ice that has a bluish tint is the strongest,” Grey said. “Ice formed by melted and refrozen snow appears milky, is very porous and very weak.”
Michigan Christmas Wishes
Fishtown Christmas, photo by farlane.
I’m wishing for…
snow
blue skies
more snow
the time and wisdom to get out and play in all that snow
music
beauty
laughter
a bit more snow
and, if it’s not too terribly much trouble, peace on earth.
Hope the season, the year, your life or the fat guy in the red suit brings you what you’re wanting, needing and hoping for.
Michigan in Pictures 