Fire & Ice, photo by Charles Bonham
I keep thinking to myself just one more winter photo … and then there’s one more.
Charles shot this at Gills Pier on the Leelanau Lake Peninsula last week. View it background bigtacular (for real – the detail on the ice in the foreground is staggering) and see lots more Lake Michigan ice and beauty in his awesome slideshow.
More winter wallpaper, more Lake Michigan and more sunsets on Michigan in Pictures.
Feeling Green, photo by Joseph Snoweart
This weekend features many St. Patrick’s Day celebrations around the state. I hope that if you’re taking part you have a lot of fun, stay safe and remember to be kind to any leprechauns you happen to meet!
View Joseph’s photo from the Eben Ice Caves background bigtacular and see more in his slideshow.
More winter wallpaper and more about the Eben Ice Caves on Michigan in Pictures.
Ice Curtains on Grand Island, Munising, MI, photo by Carl TerHaar
Seems fitting to stay at Grand Island for another day. With a few exceptions, most of Michigan is above freezing even at this early hour, which means it’s time to say goodbye to winter and icy excursions. What a winter!!
View Carl’s photo background bigilicious and see more in his slideshow.
Haven’t had enough? There’s more winter wallpaper on Michigan in Pictures!
Grand Island Ice Curtains, photo by Neil Weaver Photography
Neil says that seeing these in person was such an awesome experience. View the photo background bigtacular on his Facebook page, purchase a print right here, and check out lots more icy goodness at neilweaverphotography.com.
Except for a tiny sliver, the entirety of this Lake Superior island just off Munising is open for public access as the Grand Island National Recreation Area. You will definitely want to check with locals regarding ice conditions. With a warming week of weather ahead, this is probably something to put on your 2016 agenda.
More winter wallpaper on Michigan in Pictures!
Whitefish Point Ice Cave, photo by David Marvin
If you’re collecting Michigan ice caves, you should know that Whitefish Point (up past the Tahquamenon Falls on Lake Superior) has ice caves right now.
View David’s photo background bigtacular and see more in his absolutely stunning Taqhamenon Falls & Whitefish Point – February 28, 2015 slideshow. (seriously, run, don’t walk to see this slideshow!) Lots more from David at his Marvin’s Gardens blog.
More winter wallpaper and more ice caves on Michigan in Pictures.
it’s magic you know, never believe it’s not so, photo by Lake Superior Photo
Shawn says the ice formations of Munising are amazing right now and says she’ll be sharing more soon.
She recommends you check with Munising CVB, the rangers at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore or the Alger County Sheriff to learn if the ice is safe. Ice conditions are constantly shifting, and as you can see, these are massive structures of ice that you want to be pretty darned careful around.
View her photo background bigtacular, visit LakeSuperiorPhoto.com for galleries like Blue Ice and to purchase pictures, and definitely follow Lake Superior Photo on Facebook.
Now about that title, here’s Pilot singing “Magic” … never believe it’s not so.
Standing against the Greatest Lake, photo by Jay
The Grand Rapids Press reports that February 2015 was the coldest recorded for the city:
If you were alive in 1978, perhaps the similarity was striking.
Grand Rapids’ average temperature last month was 13.3 degrees, making it the coldest February in the city’s recorded weather history — a record dating back 37 years, according to the National Weather Service. The previous record was a balmy 14.3 degrees.
Overnight low temperatures dipped below zero eight times throughout the month, with highs not able to warm too much beyond the teens. In fact, the thermometer touched the 30-degree mark only four times when the seasonal average is just around freezing.
The Great Lakes region can thank the frequent blasts of arctic air for these records. Visitors to area beaches, too, should give the colder than normal conditions credit for some spectacular scenes of ice formations and caves along the shore.
Much of the state saw a near record cold as well, which has also pushed Great Lakes ice coverage near 90%.
View Jay’s photo big as the biggest lake and jump into his slideshow for some absolutely stunning shots from the Pictured Rocks shoreline in mid-February.
More winter wallpaper and also more about the Pictured Rocks.
Fence in the sunset, photo by Noah Sorensen
It looks like we have a little bit of warmer weather on the way, and I hope that everyone has a great weekend!
View Noah’s photo from Frankfort Harbor background bigtacular and follow him at mcsorensens on Instagram for lots more!
Sunsets, snow or winter wallpaper? Michigan in Pictures has them all!
Round Goby, photo by Dave Brenner, Michigan Sea Grant
The Great Lakes Echo reports that although a study has found that invasive round goby are “one of the most successful aquatic invaders” ever in the Great Lakes, smallmouth bass appear to be feasting on gobies:
25 years after their discovery in the Great Lakes, “we’re not documenting specific harms from gobies,” Popoff said, referring to feared environmental, economic and human health concerns.
In fact, there are indications of possible benefits from their presence, he said. For example, “we are seeing amazing smallmouth bass,” as well as some “amazing walleye,” while lake trout have modified their diets from sculpin to round gobies.
One possible exception, according to Popoff, is a decline in sculpin population as documented in Lake Michigan’s Grand Traverse Bay because they compete with round gobies for space and food. However, scientists haven’t determined whether the lake’s overall sculpin population is down or whether they’ve merely moved to deeper areas with fewer round gobies.
…However, the study found the round goby is now a widely available food source for many native fish because of its “extreme abundance, tolerance to a variety of habitat conditions and relatively small size.”
In lakes Erie and Ontario, round gobies accounted for 75 percent of the smallmouth bass diet, Crane said. If all other species have maintained stable populations, that means the bass are putting less pressure on other food sources.
Nice to see the Great Lakes winning a battle – read on for lots more.
View the photo background big and see more in Michigan Sea Grant’s Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) slideshow.
173316390006, photo by Steve Swartz
Just love this shot. It’s always good to remember that we get to go back to this before too long…
View Steve’s photo background bigtacular and see more in his Vivitar slideshow.
More summer wallpaper and more camera fun on Michigan in Pictures.
Michigan in Pictures 