December 1st … Back into the Woods Day

Posted on by farlane

Sit for a Spell

sit for a spell, photo by Doug Jonas

Longtime readers may know that I celebrate December 1st as “Back into the Woods Day” because for my money, the hardest 15 days for the year for the non-hunting lover of the outdoors in Michigan are November 15-30th. Enjoy as you will – orange clothing not required!

The photo was taken in Michigan State University’s W.K. Kellogg Experimental Forest in Augusta, midway between Kalamazoo & Battle Creek:

Established on abandoned agricultural land, the 716-acre Kellogg Experimental Forest is known worldwide for research on tree breeding and genetics, planting techniques, and plantation establishment and management. Much of the research that developed the Spartan spruce, a hybrid that combines the color and drought resistance of a blue spruce and the softer needles and rapid growth rate of the white spruce, was done at the Kellogg Forest. The forest is open to the public for biking, hiking, horseback riding and cross-country skiing, and has several interpretive trails.

Click for visitor information and there’s also some videos of what researchers are up to that show some of this beautiful spot.

Doug says this was an enchanted afternoon in the woods, with sun, shadow, snow and reflected sky. View his photo background bigilicious and click for more of his great Michigan photos.

More winter wallpaper and lots more parks & trails on Michigan in Pictures!

Beating the Winter Blahs at Elizabeth Park

Posted on by farlane

Winter's Beauty

Untitled, photo by mballen89

Several of my friends shared this very appropriate article today about how Norwegians in the far north of the country deal with the dark and cold of winter:

First, Norwegians celebrate the things one can only do in winter. “People couldn’t wait for the ski season to start,” says Leibowitz. Getting outside is a known mood booster, and so Norwegians keep going outside, whatever is happening out there. Notes Leibowitz: “There’s a saying that there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.”

Norwegians also have a word, koselig, that means a sense of coziness. It’s like the best parts of Christmas, without all the stress. People light candles, light fires, drink warm beverages, and sit under fuzzy blankets. There’s a community aspect to it too; it’s not just an excuse to sit on the couch watching Netflix. Leibowitz reports that Tromsø had plenty of festivals and community activities creating the sense that everyone was in it together.

And finally, people are enamored with the sheer beauty of the season. Leibowitz grew up near the Jersey shore, and “I just took it as a fact that everyone likes summer the best.” But deep in the winter in Norway, when the sun doesn’t rise above the horizon, multiple hours a day can still look like sunrise and sunset, and against the snow, “the colors are incredibly beautiful,” she says. “The light is very soft and indirect.”

Most likely you can’t cross-country ski straight out of your house, and while Norwegian sweaters may be catching on, restaurants and coffee shops in more temperate climates don’t all feature the fireplaces and candles common to the far north. Still, there are little things non-Norwegians can do. “One of the things we do a lot of in the States is we bond by complaining about the winter,” says Leibowitz. “It’s hard to have a positive wintertime mindset when we make small talk by being negative about the winter.”

Read on for more good advice on battling the winter blahs – I hope it’s helpful to you!

The photo was taken in Elizabeth Park in Trenton which I just learned is Michigan’s first county park!

This 162-acre family estate was bequeathed to the Wayne County Park Trustees in October of 1919 by the children of Elizabeth Slocum.

The acceptance of this special gift marks the beginning of the Wayne County Park System. Elizabeth Park sits like an emerald jewel along the banks of the Detroit River, and features over 1,300 feet of riverwalk for fishing and river watching. In addition Elizabeth Park also offers activities such as softball, cycling, in-line skating, hiking, cross-country skiing and ice skating.

View the photo background bigtacular and see more in mballen89’s slideshow.

More winter wallpaper and more straight-up winter on Michigan in Pictures!

Snowvember in Michigan

Posted on by farlane

Thanksgiving Snow - Pine Cone Edition

Thanksgiving Snow – Pine Cone Edition, photo by Tom Hughes

Much of Michigan, particularly the southern 2/3 of the Lower Peninsula, is bracing for significant snowfall – as much as 6″ by Sunday morning according to mLive’s Mark Torregrossa:

Snow, possibly mixed with rain, will start in the southwest corner of Lower Michigan after 2 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 21. This includes Muskegon, Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo. By 8 a.m. Saturday, wet snow, mixed with rain, will have spread into southeastern Lower Michigan, including Lansing, Jackson, Ann Arbor, Detroit, Flint, Saginaw, Bay City and Midland. Snow should make it into northern Lower Michigan, including Traverse City, Houghton Lake and Alpena by early Saturday afternoon.

The morning will have temperatures between 32 degrees and 35 degrees. Snow will probably struggle to accumulate during the morning.

All of the model data is now consistent that the storm center will intensify during the afternoon. Precipitation will be heaviest during the afternoon and early evening Saturday.

That’s when the driving conditions will likely worsen dramatically and possibly quickly.

The colder air, with temperatures of about 31 degrees will move in to southern Lower between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. At the same time there could be a fairly heavy rate of snow.

Read on for more at mLive. If you’re feeling sad, remember that last November was the snowiest since 1897 in much of Michigan!!

View Tom’s photo bigger and see more in his Rochester MI slideshow.

Also tune in to November snow in the Absolute Michigan pool on Flickr for photos at they are added!

Red Jack Lake Sunrise

Posted on by farlane

Red Jack Lake Sunrise

Red Jack Lake Sunrise, photo by John Dykstra

View John’s photo background bigilicious and see more in his Michigan slideshow.

Here’s a map to Red Jack Lake near Munising and here’s more Michigan lakes and more fall wallpaper on Michigan in Pictures.

PS: Trying out Facebook’s new photo carousel on the Michigan in Pictures Facebook…

 

On Down the Road

Posted on by farlane

On Down the Road

On Down the Road, photo by Doug Jonas

Miraculously, there’s still pockets of fall color out there, so how about one more before November closes in?

View Doug’s photo background bigtacular and see more in his amazing slideshow.

More fall wallpaper on Michigan in Pictures.

Autumn Squared: Fall Color at Tahquamenon Falls

Posted on by farlane

Tahquamenon Falls fall 2015

Tahquamenon Falls, Luce County, Michigan, photo by twurdemann

We’ll return to the fall color farewell tour with a photo from Michigan’s largest waterfall, Tahquamenon Falls (pronounced as spelled – tah-qua-me-non). It’s located in Tahquamenon Falls State Park which:

…encompasses close to 50,000 acres stretching over 13 miles. Most of this is undeveloped woodland without roads, buildings or power lines. The centerpiece of the park, and the very reason for its existence, is the Tahquamenon River with its waterfalls. The Upper Falls is one the largest waterfalls east of the Mississippi. It has a drop of nearly 50 feet and is more than 200 feet across. A maximum flow of more than 50,000 gallons of water per second has been recorded cascading over these falls. Four miles downstream is the Lower Falls, a series of five smaller falls cascading around an island. Although not as dramatic as the Upper Falls, they are equally magnificent. The falls can be viewed from the river bank or from the island, which can be reached by rowboat rented from a park concession. The island walk affords a view of the falls in the south channel.
This is the land of Longfellow’s Hiawatha – “by the rushing Tahquamenaw” Hiawatha built his canoe. Long before the white man set eyes on the river, the abundance of fish in its waters and animals along its shores attracted the Ojibwa Indians, who camped, farmed, fished and trapped along its banks. In the late 1800’s came the lumber barons and the river carried their logs by the millions to the mills. Lumberjacks, who harvested the tall timber, were among the first permanent white settlers in the area.

Rising from springs north of McMillan, the Tahquamenon River drains the watershed of an area of more than 790 square miles. From its source, it meanders 94 miles before emptying into Whitefish Bay. The amber color of the water is caused by tannins leached from the Cedar, Spruce and Hemlock in the swamps drained by the river. The extremely soft water churned by the action of the falls causes the large amounts of foam, which has been the trademark of the Tahquamenon since the days of the voyager.

Read on for more and maps & camping information. I’ll add that November through April are great months to visit Tahquamenon Falls – very few people!

twurdemann shares that this view of the the Upper Tahquamenon Falls was a three second exposure with a B+W ND106 six stop solid neutral density filter on a Fuji XT1 + XF 55-200mm. View it bigger and see more in his Waterfalls slideshow.

Lots more fall color and waterfalls on Michigan in Pictures!

Walking into an Autumn Rainbow

Posted on by farlane

Walking into an Autumn Rainbow

Walking into an Autumn Rainbow, photo by Owen Weber

Perfect title!

I feel like I didn’t get a chance to say farewell to fall, so I’ll do it this week. The first is from my backyard, on the trail that leads to the Empire Bluffs in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

View the photo bigger, see more in Owen’s Michigan slideshow. and also check out his website at owenweberphotography.com to view & purchase prints.

More fall color on Michigan in Pictures.

The Colors of Omena

Posted on by farlane

The Colors of Omena

The Colors of Omena, photo by Elijah Allen

Here’s a shot by a friend taken just north of me showing the incredible fall color that’s still out there along the Lake Michigan coast. It was taken from off Omena Point at the northern part of the Leelanau Peninsula, so how about a little Omena history courtesy the Omena Historical Society?

The Omena settlement had its beginnings when Aghosa Indians started arriving in 1850. In 1852, the Reverend Peter Dougherty and a band of Ottawas and Chippewas led by Chief Ahgosa moved from the present-day Old Mission Peninsula to a beautiful little bay on the Leelanau Peninsula’s eastern side. Chief Shabwasung and his Ottawa band were already encamped on the point to the north of the bay, on land Chief Ahgosa and his families from Old Mission had purchased. Ahgosa settled a little to the north, and his village became Ahgosatown. Both bands became part of the New Mission, soon to be called Omena.

Young George A. Craker came with Dougherty and taught farming to students in the mission school, and he and his descendants became active workers in Dougherty’s Grove Hill New Mission Church. Now called the Omena Presbyterian Church, it was dedicated in 1858 and has stood as the oldest Protestant Church in Leelanau County and one of the oldest historical landmarks in Northern Michigan. The Ahgosa family was also very active and some are now buried in the mission cemetery.

Click through to read more and for some historical photos of Omena.

View Elijah’s photo bigger on Facebook and scroll though when you get there for more!

More aerial photos, more history and more Leelanau on Michigan in Pictures.

Healy Lake Reflections

Posted on by farlane

Healy Lake Fall Color

Healy Lake Reflections, photo by Dorn Gallatin

Hope everyone has a great weekend and gets out there to take a big bite out of autumn before winter eats it all!

Here’s a map to Healy Lake, located not far from Onekama. Lake Link’s entry for Healy Lake says:

Healy Lake is located in Manistee County, Michigan. This lake is 39 acres in size. It is 50.00 feet deep at its deepest point. Anglers can expect to catch a variety of fish including Bluegill, Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Sunfish and Yellow Perch.

Click to view it bigger and see more in Dorn’s Fall slideshow.

More Michigan lakes on Michigan in Pictures.

Fiery Fall Foliage at Fenner

Posted on by farlane

Fiery Fall Foliage

Fiery Fall Foliage, photo by David Marvin

Let’s head out of autumn with a with a bang and this firework of a maple! I hope you get a chance to get out and enjoy what remains of the 2015 fall color touring season in Michigan. mLive updated their color report with some pics from readers:

The colors are fading fast and the leaves are falling, but there are still some Michigan areas with peak color. The inland areas of the Upper Peninsula and the inland areas of northern Lower Michigan are past fall color peak now. The leaves are falling fast.

But the shoreline areas and the peninsulas are warmer. Some of those areas are still at peak, or even just peaking now.

It will still be well worth the trip to the Leelanau Peninsula and the Old Mission Peninsula this week and probably even this weekend.

We took the drive of M-22 along the shore of Leelanau County Sunday, October 18, 2015. Along the shore there was still some green and was a few days away from peak. Old Mission Peninsula was 50 percent green still on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2015. So if you are going north this weekend, take the routes near water and you’ll be pleased.

The southern half of Lower Michigan is peaking now through the next few days. This weekend will still be real nice to take that last fall color drive.

Also have at these aerial photos of fall color from a U.S. Coast Guard MH-65D Dolphin helicopter they shared a week ago.

Check this photo out big as a tree and head over to Dave’s blog for more photos & writing from Fenner Nature Center.

More fall wallpaper on Michigan in Pictures.