June is Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month, and I really encourage you to do what you can to support research into this horrible disease that is responsible for two out of every three cases of dementia (or more).
I took these photos over the years. The top one shows the purple flowers that would spread across my mom’s yard every spring, and I hope they help you remember the folks who can no longer remember 💜
Spring Blossom by diane charvat
I created the Absolute Michigan photo group on Flickr way back in April of 2012. Since then, the group has grown to nearly 4,000 photographers and earlier this week, one of them added the three hundred thousandth photo was added to the group which I think is pretty darned cool!!
Diane Charvat took the photo the other day at Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids, and I was very happy when I learned that the 300,000th picture posted was by a longtime contributor to Michigan in Pictures whose work has been featured so often. You can see more great shots in her Frederick Meijer Gardens gallery and for sure view her latest on Flickr.
Speaking of the Absolute Michigan group, it’s a great place to check out photos of literally anything in Michigan with just a search. Here’s the most interesting pics shared of May in Michigan!
Holland’s Tulip Time Festival takes place May 1-10, 2026. This iconic Michigan festival is nearly 100 years old, and I can’t tell you how delighted I am to learn that it was started by a biology teacher who was in love with the area’s natural beauty:
The idea of Tulip Time was introduced in 1927 at a Woman’s Literary Club meeting. Miss Lida Rogers, a biology teacher at Holland High School, suggested that Holland adopt the tulip as its flower because of its close ties to the Netherlands, and set aside a day for a festival. She titled her talk that day “Civic Beauty” and spoke at length about the area’s unique sand dunes, its fine trees, safe water supply, pure milk, and ample playgrounds. She advocated planting more trees, and because the Chamber of Commerce was seeking something appropriate, suggested planting tulips in every yard. She concluded with reading a poem, “Come Down to Holland in Tulip Time.”
In 1928, City Council, under Mayor Ernest C. Brooks, appropriated funds to purchase 100,000 tulip bulbs from the Netherlands. These bulbs were to be planted in city parks and other areas. Initial plans called for a “Tulip Day.” Bulbs were available to Holland residents at one cent a piece.
Thus, it was in 1929 that thousands of tulips bloomed, and Holland invited visitors to come during a week in May. Because of interest shown, it was decided to make Tulip Time an annual event with Mrs. Ethel Telling as the first chairman. Under Mrs. Telling’s leadership, the Festival was organized emphasizing Dutch costumes and wooden shoes. The revival of old Netherlands customs and traditions naturally followed, and visitors and townsfolk found the Festival both unique and picturesque.
Sean shared a hype video of his Tulip Time pics to our Michigan in Pictures group on Facebook & writes: “Tulip Time 2025 broke records with nearly a million(976,000) flower-chasers flooding Holland—up 30% from last year. 4.5 million tulips. $50 million in impact. One word: blooming! 
”
Indeed!! Follow along with Sean at Tulip Time ’26 on his Facebook or Instagram.
More tulips & Tulip Time & on Michigan in Pictures and I have to say that this photo by Sean looks like it’s straight out of Oz!!
I had a whole post almost ready to go about the massive 17″ rise in water level of Lake Michigan/Huron due to this round of storms & runoff, but after a week of weather induced brutality, I think we could all use this beautiful picture of an Eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly that Diane took last summer in the U.P.
See more in her Butterflies gallery on Flickr & have a safe weekend everyone!
Tomorrow morning our seasonal window moves from winter to spring regardless of what the weather decides to do.
I am a firm vote for “Spring stuff” aka flowers, baby animals, duckies, etc, but to prepare you for whatever lies ahead, here are some flowers just minding their own business from Bill. See more in his massive Flowers gallery on Flickr & follow Bill’s Pictures on Facebook for his latest!
A Rose for My Valentine by Joel Dinda
Longtime Michpics followers will recognize Joel’s name and may remember his enduring photo series of a Flower a Day for February. It’s now the 20th year of one of my favorite Michigan photographers dedicating an entire month to helping folks feel better about a hard time of year. Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you!
In honor of two decades of being awesome, here’s a selection of the photos Joel has shared over the years, You can see more Flower a Day for February/January posts on Michigan in Pictures & view lots more pics in Joel’s huge A Flower a Day for February (x19) gallery on Flickr!
Cathy Griffin of the Traverse Area Historical Society shared a little news from 120 years ago in 1905:
FRANK CARTER, local resident who had been in Chicago and Grand Rapids during the summer, returned Monday night being ill from the poisonous effects of a spider which walked over his arm, leaving a poisonous track at every step. Last week, while lying on the ground at Grand Rapids, an immense yellow spider jumped on his arm near his elbow and ran down to his wrist. Mr. Carter smashed his poisonous body on his arm and it immediately began to swell from the poison. The arm was inflamed and swollen with white spots. Under the advice of a physician, Mr. Carter went home to care for his arm.
It’s been a minute since I’ve featured a photo from Gowtham. He shares that while driving through the back roads of Huron Mountains from Houghton to Marquette, “I took a few wrong forks in succession and one of those forks had a plethora of Blue Vervains (the flower in the picture). Taking one wrong fork after another, driving slow and paying attention paid off – as one of those blue vervains had an uncommon yellow tinge. I stopped to look carefully and much to my surprise was this tiny little Golden Rod Spider.”
…These spiders may be yellow or white, depending on the flower in which they are hunting. Especially younger females, which may hunt on a variety of flowers such as daisies and sunflowers, may change color “at will”. Older females require large amounts of relatively large prey to produce the best possible clutch of eggs. They are therefore, in North America, most commonly found in goldenrod (Solidago sp.), a bright yellow flower which attracts large numbers of insects, especially in autumn. It is often very hard even for a searching human to recognize one of these spiders on a yellow flower.”
See more in his Michigan Wild Flowers gallery on Flickr & be sure to keep an eye out for the little things!
I want to be very clear that this spider is not venomous (and no spider has “venomous tracks”). Only the Northern Black Widow and the Brown Recluse have bites that endanger humans. The rest are out there happily dispatching harmful pests. My guess is that it was a Brown Recluse as their bites have sort of a bullseye pattern with a white center.
The Midwest Invasive Species Network shares that Shasta daisy (Leucanthemum xsuperbum) is a hybrid cross between Portuguese daisy (Leucanthemum lacustre) and Max chrysanthemum (Leucanthemum maximum) that was created in 1890 by the famed American horticulturist Luther Burbank. While not officially an invasive plant, it is considered invasive in Michigan due to its ability to aggressively spread & outcompete native species.
Joel Dinda is one of Michigan in Pictures’s most enduring supporters. I shared the first photo from him way back in June of 2006, and he’s an active member of the Michigan in Pictures group on Facebook with a penchant for flower photography. See more in his The Showcase gallery on Flickr!
Summer officially begins with the summer solstice at 10:42pm tonight, and to make sure we get the memo, Mother Nature is including a weeklong heatwave that starts today!
Sue took this way back in 2007. See more in her Superb Skies gallery on Flickr!
More summer fun on Michigan in Pictures!
The Chickadee and the Apple Tree by Michigan Nut Photography
Some gorgeous springtime pics from John along with a reminder to enjoy it while it’s here! See his latest on Facebook or Instagram and for sure view & purchase his work on his website.
