Joyriding, photo by GH Patriot.
Michigan has been socked with the first big blizzard of Winter 2009-2010. Hope you get a chance to enjoy it somehow!
Check it out bigger or in Kevin’s Sports set (slideshow).
Michigan Big Tree Hunt and the White Ash
White ash canopy, photo by vaprwere.
A couple of weeks ago mLive featured an article on the 2008-09 Michigan Big Tree Hunt.
The contest, run by Global ReLeaf of Michigan, tries to find the biggest tree in each county every two years, as well as the largest white pine (the state tree), and the largest overall tree in the state — which this year is a 306-inch weeping willow in Van Buren County.
A forester who verified Nelson’s tree said that going by only circumference (206″), it is the largest white ash in a five-county (Grand Rapids) area. But it’s not the largest in the state. The Michigan Botanical Club, a partner in the contest, lists a 247-inch white ash in Leelanau County.
Learn more about the contest (and neighborhood tree planting) from Global ReLeaf of Michigan and more about the White ash at Wikipedia.
Check this photo out bigger and in Joseph’s Tree Images set (slideshow).
Interestingly enough, Joseph is a plant pathologist and writes that this large white ash was photographed in northern lower Michigan, and that like its brethren, it’s threatened by the emerald ash borer, a pretty but destructive insect. The article says that this tree was judged free of the pest.
There’s more about the Emerald Ash Borer and also more tree photos on Michigan in Pictures.
Lines
Lines, photo by Ralph Krawczyk Jr.
If you don’t know Ralph, you should.
Be sure to check it out bigger or in his Digital Goodness slideshow.
Chapel Rock in the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Chapel Rock (8-15-09), photo by Brevort.
Yesterday we featured a very interesting article about Smart Archaeology in the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on Absolute Michigan. It explains a very innovative 3-year archaeology project by Northern Michigan University geography department researchers, and you should definitely give it a read. Today I came across this view of Chapel Rock and was surprised to see that I didn’t have a feature of Chapel Rock on Michigan in Pictures. The Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Scenic Sites page says that Chapel Rock and Chapel Beach are:
Located about 15 miles east of Munising off Alger County Road H-58, then about 5 miles north to the end of Chapel Road (drive), then 2.5 miles (hike) to Lake Superior.
Trails to the beach overlook Chapel Lake with views of the beautiful Chapel Falls on the west side.
The Chapel area was named by early European explorers and is found on early maps as La Chappelle. Chapel Rock is a remnant of Cambrian age sandstone. The archway between the rock and the mainland collapsed in the 1940’s. It and the remaining arch were carved by Lake Nipissing high waters some 3800 years ago.
You can read the Geology field notes from the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore for detailed information about the different layers of sandstone in the park that form these incredible structures. Chapel Rock is representative of the 40 to 60 foot thick Chapel Rock Member.
See it bigger and view more in Doug’s Brevort Lake (2009) set (slideshow).
As a person who spent some time trying to capture to totality of this unique formation, I have to say that hiking to it is the only way to fully appreciate Chapel Rock. I can offer the next best thing: the Chapel Rock slideshow from the Absolute Michigan pool.
Explore many more Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore features on Michigan in Pictures.
(back) Into the Woods
Into the Woods, photo by jimflix (busy).
With deer hunting season over, that’s where I’ll be going this afternoon.
Jim took this photo on the trail at the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy’s Ransom Lake Natural Area.
Be sure to check this out background bigtastic and in Jim’s Fall Colors set (slideshow).
La Grande Vitesse by Alexander Calder
I was in the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art on Wednesday and saw some whimsical sculptures and mobiles by Alexander Calder. It didn’t seem like the delicate structures could have come from the same hand. Turns out they did. The Alexander Calder entry on Wikipedia explains:
Alexander Calder (22 July 1898 – 11 November 1976), also known as Sandy Calder, was an American sculptor and artist most famous for inventing the mobile. In addition to mobile and stabile sculpture, Alexander Calder also created paintings, lithographs, toys, tapestry and jewelry.
…In June 1969, Calder attended the dedication of his monumental stabile “La Grande Vitesse” located in the city of Grand Rapids, Michigan. This sculpture is notable for being the first public work of art in the United States to be funded with federal monies; acquired with funds granted from the then new National Endowment for the Arts under its “Art for Public Places” program.
You can get up close with La Grande Vitesse at West Michigan Sculptures (includes a cool 360 degree walk around) and also check out the Calder slideshow from Absolute Michigan pool on Flickr. You can also read this article about the dedication from the National Endowment of the Arts.
Be sure to check this out bigger or in his Grand Rapids 09 set (slideshow)
The Fantastic Mr. Fox … Michigan Red Fox that is
The Sly look, photo by taterfalls.
A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.
~Roald Dahl
Wes Anderson’s film Fantastic Mr. Fox (based on the book by Roald Dahl / view trailer) opens tomorrow, so I thought it a good time to take a look at the red fox. The Michigan DNR’s Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes fulva) page says:
Red foxes can be found in every county in Michigan but are especially common in areas with fallow and cultivated fields, meadows, bushy fence lines, woody stream borders, and low shrub cover along woods and beaches. They can also be found in suburban and, less commonly, urban areas where food is readily available. Foxes are highly mobile, which means they can use a large area to find food and shelter.
Red foxes resemble slender, small dogs, with the head and body typically around two feet long. Red fox tail is long and bushy, usually around 15 inches. The size and weight of foxes are commonly overestimated, because their long fur masks a bone structure that is slighter than that of most domestic dogs. Red foxes have a characteristic red coloration (hence their name), with the face, top of head, and neck having yellow or orange coloration. The tail is reddish mixed with black, and always has a white tip. The outer sides of the ears, lower parts of the legs, and feet are dark or black, while the insides of the ears, and the lips, chest, and belly are creamy white.
Much more about red foxes at Wikipedia and at Vulpes vulpes (red fox) on the UM Animal Diversity Web.
Be sure and check this out bigger also have a look at Tate’s slideshow of this brave fox in action.
Before the Mackinac Bridge: City of Munising
Mackinac MI UP Great Lakes Passenger and Auto Ferry City of Munising connecting Mackinaw City and St Ignace before the Mackinaw Bridge was built, photo by UpNorth Memories – Donald (Don) Harrison.
Before the Mackinac Bridge was built (check Absolute Michigan for lots more on that), going to or from the UP was by ferry. The City of Munising was the last of the breed:
Built by the American Ship Building Company of Cleveland in 1903 for the Pere Marquette Railway Company, the “Pere Marquette 20” became the “City of Munising” in 1937. The Michigan Department of Highways used the ship to ferry autos across the Straits of Mackinac until 1959. The ship was used for potato storage by a Washington Island, Wisconsin firm until 1973.
Michigan State Ferry Album has some photos of the City of Munising and other ships that plied the Straits.
Check this out bigger and see some shots of the old ferry docks in Don’s slideshow of old Mackinac photos
An Ill Wind
An Ill Wind, photo by MightyBoyBrian.
Be sure to check this out bigger and in his sky, my friend set (slideshow).
Hope the winds blow fair for you this weekend!
November on Old Indian Trail
November – Old Indian Trail, photo by cedarkayak.
Last November Todd wrote:
In November, the Michigan sun has dropped low to the horizon, and the first hints of snow are starting to lace the ground. The forest belongs to the deer hunters who have waited all year for hunting season. The approaching Winter is getting hard to ignore.
It’s a little sunnier and warmer now, but you can feel winter approaching almost every day. If you decide to head out to the amazing Old Indian Trail in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, do be aware that the Park allows hunting in most areas. FYI, this trail offers amazing views of Sleeping Bear Point and Platte Bay all year long!
You can see this photo bigger. It’s also part of Todd’s cool One Year in Michigan set and his Sleeping Bear Dunes set (slideshow).
Here’s a few more shots of Old Indian Trail from the Sleeping Bear Dunes group and here’s a video from the trail.
Michigan in Pictures 
