Stop! Cherry Time., photo by nasunto.
The National Cherry Festival is underway here in my hometown of Traverse City with all kinds of parades, family fun and (of course) plenty of delicious cherries!
Learn about Michigan cherries from Absolute Michigan and remember that Michigan tastes better!
See this background boomtacular and in Nina’s slideshow.
Surf_3883, photo by ON THE MOON STUDIO.
The Great Lakes are receiving more and more attention as a surfing destination, and hot spots like Frankfort, Marquette and Grand Haven (where this kiteboarder is tearing it up) are becoming destinations for kayakers, surfers, paddle boarders and kite boarders.
We have some great videos at Michigan: Great Lakes Surfing Capital on Absolute Michigan. See more surfing on Michigan in Pictures. There’s also Northern Michigan Surf on Facebook and in the Surfing slideshow from the Absolute Michigan pool!
Check this out background big and see more in Paul’s slideshow.
Dad and daughter, photo by Dr. Farnsworth.
Tomorrow is Father’s Day, a time to celebrate dads and fatherhood. Also fishing & golf. ;)
Hope all the dads out there have a great weekend (everyone else too!)
See this photo big as the one that got away and in Dale’s The Best of West Lake slideshow.
Pile-o-Pigs, photo by Kensington slideshow.
Safe Harbor, photo by 13Miles.
Copper Harbor, July 3rd, 2010
Check this out background big and in Dixie’s slideshow.
I’ve died and gone to berry heaven, photo by yodraws.
Over on Absolute Michigan we got word Ann Arbor blogger Ed Vielmetti that strawberries season is kicking off in southern Michigan. Click through for all kinds of strawberry goodness!
Yolanda took this at the Fulton Street Farmer’s Market in Grand Rapids a couple of years ago. View it background bigalicious and in her Fulton Street Farmer’s Market slideshow.
PS: Speaking of farm markets, farms and food, if you’re not hooked in to Real Time Farms, you’re missing out!
Boulderdash, photo by hausfrau23.
A few month’s ago on Absolute Michigan we featured the quirky & amazing Earl Young and his Charlevoix cottages. One of the articles we linked to from the Freep in 1973 said:
Stone houses seem to sprout as naturally as dandelions from the soil of this pleasant Lake Michigan resort community.
And they do because of an already legendary 84-year-old man named Earl A. Young, who built them all.
For more than half a century Young has combed lonesome fields and dusty quarries searching for the odds and ends of nature. He blends stones and timber with an architect’s skill and a geologist’s respect for his raw material, and so far he has fitted more than 40 local landscapes with his art.
“l have a very strong feeling for stone,” Young explained recently as he sat in his wood-paneled office on the lower level of one of his most flamboyant creations, the Weathervane Inn, a local restaurant.
“Stones have their own personalities. People say I’m crazy when I say so, but they really do. Why I found a stone that weighed 160 tons. It was formed 350 million years ago at the bottom of a warm sea and was carried here 10,000 years ago by glaciers.”
Click through for lots more and links to great resources for seeing some of these architectural oddities including the Earl Young Collection at the Charlevoix Library and Park Avenue Prowl, which has a walking guide.
Check this out big as a boulder and in hausfrau23’s Up North Vacation – September 2010 slideshow.
Blue|Green|Black, photo by MightyBoyBrian.
Brian writes that this is the same technique I used with one of his most popular pics.
Check this out background bigtacular and in Brian’s SQUARE slideshow.
Lots more cool Michigan Wallpaper on Michigan in Pictures!
The Michigan DNR says that White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are the smallest of the three members of the deer family found in Michigan – the others being elk and moose.
“White-tailed” refers to the distinctive white tail that when raised is a flag and provides a flash of white, signaling other deer when there is danger. Deer are graceful and swift runners (up to 35 miles per hour), but do not generally run long distances, preferring to seek the nearest shelter whenever possible. Male deer are called “bucks”, females “does” and baby deer “fawns”. These deer tend to live in female-led family groups of up to 25 deer and may live to ten years or more.
Their size ranges between 125 to 225 pounds, although really healthy bucks may be even larger. Their coat is a reddish-brown color in the summer, but becomes much more gray in the winter. This change helps to hide them as the colors of their environment change. Their tubular or hollow hairs provide insulation, allowing them to lie on snow without melting it, as well as creating enough buoyancy for swimming.
Check this out background big and in Andrew’s giant and cool Whitetail Deer slideshow.
Agate Falls 1939 and Agate Falls, photo by Marty Hogan
Dear Everybody
having a swell time
tried a different lake today and caught some nice bass.
-Nick
Marty posted this postcard of Agate Falls that Nick mailed at 1pm on the 14th of July,1939 to Kenosha along with a modern-day look. No word on if Nick’s last name was Adams. ;)
GoWaterfalling.com says that Agate Falls is a pretty waterfall that is relatively easy to get to on your way to or from Bond Falls. They write:
Agate Falls is a Michigan State Scenic Site 6.5 miles east of Bruce Crossing on MI-28. There is a roadside park (Joseph F. Oravec roadside park) just past the bridge over the Ontonagon River. Unfortunately the provided trails and overlooks are somewhat limited. With some effort you can scramble down to the river to get some very good views of the falls, which seems to be popular with local fishermen, or scramble up the river banks to get to the old railroad bridge over the falls. The bridge is now part of a snowmobile trail.
Marty’s Agate Falls slideshow has several more photos including the roadside sign.
Also see Michigan Wild & Scenic Rivers: Ontonagon River on Michigan in Pictures.
Michigan in Pictures 