This week I’ve started to see people posting their finds in the various morel hunting groups I’m in, so it’s time to declare the 2021 season officially underway! Michigan in Pictures has a ton of information about Michigan morels, including hunting tips & how to avoid the mildly toxic false morel.
He was the second generation to lead Better Made, and the family-owned Detroit potato chip company said he took the business to new heights. Even amid the pandemic, Better Made has been rolling out new flavors.
“He was loved by everyone at Better Made and those that knew him,” said his sister, Cathy Gusmano, chairwoman of the snack food company’s board, adding he “will be missed tremendously.”
…”Our family has always taken pride in how we make our products with quality being paramount,” Cipriano said at the time. “From our humble beginnings when Detroit had over 20 potato chip manufacturers, we’ve tried to make the best product possible, and that hard work paid off as we’re the last one standing.”
Better Made started in 1930 as the Cross and Peters Co., named after the founders, Cross Moceri and Peter Cipriano (Salvatore’s father), but incorporated a few years later to reflect the goal that the two men had set: To make a better potato chip.
This spring has been big for fans of the aurora borealis. Shelby took created this photo of five, 1-min tracked shots blended with an untracked foreground shot the night of March 13/14th in Copper Harbor. It shows a phenomenon I’d never heard of, a Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement aka STEVE about which Space.com says (in part):
A typical aurora — sometimes called the northern lights or the southern lights, depending on the hemisphere in which it’s located — occurs when charged particles from the sun interact with Earth’s oxygen and nitrogen molecules. This interaction excites the molecules and causes them to glow.
But STEVE, formally known as Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement, is different. In the Northern Hemisphere, the phenomenon is visible from areas farther south than a typical aurora, and it looks like a ribbon of pink or mauve light. Sometimes, STEVE even has a “picket fence” appearance, with green columns of light passing through the ribbon. Auroras, by contrast, usually are shimmering green ribbons.
…The new study examined satellite data gathered above STEVE events in April 2008 and May 2016. The measurements included information about Earth’s magnetic and electrical fields in the magnetosphere, the region of Earth’s atmosphere where the planet’s magnetic field is stronger than any influence coming from the sun. Then, scientists compared the satellites’ findings with amateur photos of STEVE taken from the ground at the same time.
When STEVE was on display, the study authors realized, energetic electrons were pouring into Earth’s ionosphere, the layer of the planet’s atmosphere where atoms lose electrons due to solar and cosmic radiation. The friction that flood creates heats particles, which creates the pinkish glow, almost like an incandescent light bulb.
Satellite information further revealed how the “picket fence” aspect of STEVE develops. The data revealed waves moving from Earth’s magnetosphere to the ionosphere. In this region, the waves can both energize electrons and move them out of the magnetosphere, creating the picket-fence appearance, which happens simultaneously in the Northern and Southern hemispheres.
Depending on who you ask, there’s as few as four Great Lakes because Michigan & Huron are sort of the same lake, and as many as six if you include Lake St. Clair. Whatever the case, we’ll allow it for the purposes of this photo of the blue waters of St. Clair. Have a great weekend & see more in Emanuel’s Michigan gallery on Flickr!
Joel took this photo 7 years ago in Eaton County’s Roxand Township. I’ve shared it before, but it’s too good not to share again! See more in his Fog & Mist gallery on Flickr.
The Detroit Tigers open the 2021 season at Comerica Park today at 1:10 PM. MLB shares:
Cleveland heads into the season looking to lean on its stars to keep its window of contention open for another run at the postseason. The Tigers return to Motown with a new manager looking for a fresh start and an influx of young talent looking to turn the corner on their rebuild and begin the climb back toward contention.
…It’ll be a different-looking opener due to the pandemic, but the 20 percent capacity allowed marks the first game with fans at Comerica Park since Sept. 26, 2019. Fans will be greeted with a familiar division rivalry that Cleveland has owned in recent years, including 18 wins in 19 meetings in ’19, and seven of 10 games last season.
…manager A.J. Hinch will make his first appearance in a Tigers uniform since he was Detroit’s backup catcher on the 2003 team. He’ll also manage his first Major League game since he led the Astros in Game 7 of the 2019 World Series. Hinch sat out last year under suspension from Major League Baseball stemming from the Astros’ sign-stealing investigation, a controversy that led to his dismissal as manager in Houston.
Back in August of 2007, Linda & her husband took one of their many trips to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula & visiting Grand Marais, Ishpeming and Copper Harbor. She visited the Jasper Knob just outside of Ishpeming & writes:
It is a banded iron formation. The layers consist of jasper (the red rock) and hematite (the silvery rock). I’m delighted to tell you that some biogeologists believe that banded iron formations were formed by my old pals, the iron bacteria.
Head over to her photo blog for a lot more pictures and for sure check out her book They Breathe Iron for more about iron bacteria.
Michigan in Pictures 