Dan took this photo yesterday in “perfect frog weather”. See more in his Pond Life gallery on Flickr.
More frogs on Michigan in Pictures!
“Some day, all of this will be yours”
Falling Skies in October: Draconid & Orionid meteor showers
Neowise and meteor by Gary Syrba
In addition to being the season of cider, changing leaves, and Halloween, October also brings a pair of meteor showers. Our friends at EarthSky give you all you need to know to see the Draconid & Orionid meteor showers:
The Draconids, October 8th
In 2021, watch the Draconid meteors at nightfall and early evening on October 8. You might catch some on the nights before and after, as well. Fortunately, the thin waxing crescent moon sets before nightfall. It won’t hinder this year’s Draconid shower … This shower is usually a sleeper, producing only a handful of languid meteors per hour in most years. But watch out if the Dragon awakes! In rare instances, fiery Draco has been known to spew forth many hundreds of meteors in a single hour.
The Orionids, October 21st
Unfortunately a full moon accompanies 2021’s Orionid shower. Try watching for these meteors in the wee hours before dawn on October 21. You won’t escape the moon, though. On a dark, moonless night, the Orionids exhibit a maximum of about 10 to 20 meteors per hour. More meteors tend to fly after midnight, and the Orionids are typically at their best in the wee hours before dawn. The Orionids sometimes produce bright fireballs, which might be able to overcome a moonlit glare. If you trace these meteors backward, they seem to radiate from the Club of the famous constellation Orion the Hunter.
Gary took this shot last summer. Head over to his Flickr for the latest!
Morning Barn Silhouette
Morning Barn Silhouette by T P Mann
T P got a gorgeous morning view near East Jordan. See more in his Sites Along the Breezeway gallery.
Riding out the storm on Poe Reef Lightship
Poe Reef lies just eight feet beneath Lake Huron’s surface between Bois Blanc Island and the Lower Peninsula mainland. Terry Pepper’s Seeing the Light shares the story of Poe Reef Lightship LV62, launched on this day in 1893:
In 1892 two contracts totaling $55,960 were awarded to the Craig Shipbuilding Company in Toledo for the construction of four lightships. Designated as Lightships LV59, LV60, LV61 and LV62, all four vessels were built to similar specifications. Framed and planked of white oak they measured 87′ 2″ inches in length, 21′ 6″ inches in the beam, with a draft of 8 feet. In a cost-cutting effort, the vessels were un-powered, outfitted with only a small riding sail carried on a short after mast. Equipped with a cluster of three oil-burning lens lanterns hoisted on their foremasts, each was also equipped with 6″ steam whistles and hand-operated bells for fog use. Work was completed on the four vessels the following year, and after sea trials, all four were commissioned by the Board and placed into service, LV59 being assigned to Bar Point, LV60 to Eleven Foot Shoal, LV61 to Corsica Shoal and LV62 to Poe Reef.
With the words POE REEF brightly painted in white on her fire engine red hull, LV62 was towed to Poe Reef by the lighthouse tender Marigold, and anchored on station to begin her vigil on September 29, 1893. For the next seventeen years LV62 spent every shipping season faithfully guarding the shoal. With the end of each shipping season, one of the lighthouse tenders would make the rounds of all lightship stations in the Straits area, and tow them into Cheboygan harbor for winter lay-up. While in Cheboygan, necessary repairs and improvements would be made in preparation for the following season. At some time in March or April, the ice would break up sufficiently to allow the vessels to be towed back to their stations to stand guard for yet another season.
Head over to Seeing the Light for more about Poe Reef Lighthouse & the stories of all Michigan’s lighthouses compiled by a champion for their preservation who has gone too soon.
Follow the Yellow Brick Road to ArtPrize
Art Prize – Tin Man by Daniel L
The annual Grand Rapids Art Prize is once again underway, running through this Sunday, October 3rd. The event was started back in 2009 & has become one of the nation’s leading public art competitions. This year nearly 900 entries are available to view & vote on. Here’s hoping you get a chance to visit!!
Daniel took this photo the other day – see more on his Flickr!
More ArtPrize on Michigan in Pictures.
PS: The Tin Man sculpture was created by Bill Secunda.
One Thousand Michigan Sunrises
“Every single day, sunrise provides a tiny opportunity to celebrate life, and it’s available to everyone of us. Today will be a good day to celebrate life.””
-Bugsy Sailor
Bugsy shares that on January 1, 2019, he made the ambitious resolution, to watch and photograph every sunrise of the year:
I sought the sun, but what I found was so much more. So much in fact, that I have yet to miss a sunrise.
What started as Year of the Sunrise has grown into life of the sunrise. To date I have photographed 1001 consecutive sunrises, primarily from the Lake Superior shoreline in Marquette County, Michigan.
Along the way, sunrise has slowed my approach to life, opened my heart, introduced me to love, navigated me through a global pandemic, and given me witness to more beauty than I can express. There have been -30º windhills, downpours, thunderstorms, blizzards, and no matter how gray the day, the sun still rises.
Photographs have been the tangible output of this journey, but it has never been about the photos, it has always been about the wind on my face, the sand between my toes, and feeling the sunrise. I stand by the notion that, no photograph of a sunrise is better than a sunrise in person.
You can purchase a commemorative print & learn much more at Year of the Sunrise.
PS: Bugsy is one of the founders of the awesome Fresh Coast Film Festival which takes place October 14-17, 2021 in Marquette and celebrates the outdoor lifestyle and resilient spirit of the Great Lakes Region!!
The Weather & Fall Color
Mirror Lake in Autumn by Julie Chapa
In their excellent article on The Science of Fall Color, the US Forest Service explains the role of the weather in the annual seasonal show:
The amount and brilliance of the colors that develop in any particular autumn season are related to weather conditions that occur before and during the time the chlorophyll in the leaves is dwindling. Temperature and moisture are the main influences.
A succession of warm, sunny days and cool, crisp but not freezing nights seems to bring about the most spectacular color displays. During these days, lots of sugars are produced in the leaf but the cool nights and the gradual closing of veins going into the leaf prevent these sugars from moving out. These conditions – lots of sugar and light – spur production of the brilliant anthocyanin pigments, which tint reds, purples, and crimson. Because carotenoids are always present in leaves, the yellow and gold colors remain fairly constant from year to year.
The amount of moisture in the soil also affects autumn colors. Like the weather, soil moisture varies greatly from year to year. The countless combinations of these two highly variable factors assure that no two autumns can be exactly alike. A late spring, or a severe summer drought, can delay the onset of fall color by a few weeks. A warm period during fall will also lower the intensity of autumn colors. A warm wet spring, favorable summer weather, and warm sunny fall days with cool nights should produce the most brilliant autumn colors.
Julie took this photo at a small lake near Fife Lake back in 2014. See more in her Michigan gallery & follow Julie Chapa Photography on Facebook.
TONS more fall color on Michigan in Pictures!
Good to the last drop
Good to the Last Drop by Rudy Malmquist
Rudy got a stunning shot of the view from the Pierce Stocking Overlook in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Head over to his Flickr for more!
Waterfall Wednesday: September 22nd at Overlooked Falls
Overlooked Falls by Jim Sorbie
GoWaterfalling’s page on Minor Waterfalls has this to say about this pretty little waterfall in Porcupine Mountains State Park:
Overlooked Falls is a small falls on the Little Carp River. The scenic falls consists of two drops, each about 5′ in height. This is the most easily accessed of the falls on the Little Carp River, big or small. It is only a few hundred feet from the parking area. The trailhead to the falls is at the end of Little Carp River road. This is also the trailhead to Greenstone Falls, which is about 1/2 mile away. The trail also leads to the much larger Trappers Falls, which is three miles away.
I found this great shot by Jim this morning in the Absolute Michigan group on Flickr which just happens to be from September 22nd way back in 2014! See more in Jim’s Color Tour 2014 (UP & Ontario) gallery.
Many (many) more Michigan waterfalls on Michigan in Pictures!
Reaching for Summer’s Light
Reaching for the light by Mike Carey
In just over a day – 3:20 PM tomorrow at the vernal equinox to be precise – Summer 2021 will be in the books. Here’s hoping you get a little of that summer light before it’s all gone!
See more in Mike’s Lake Michigan 2021 gallery on Flickr.
Michigan in Pictures 