Beavers are primarily aquatic animals, and the largest rodents in North America. They have a waterproof, rich, glossy, reddish brown or blackish brown coat. The underhairs are much finer than the outer, protective, guard-hairs. The ears are short, round, and dark brown in coloration. A beaver’s hind legs are longer than its front legs, thus making the rear end to be higher than the front end while walking.
Beaver skulls and teeth are disproportionately large. This is crucial for cutting through hard woods like maple and oak. Most noteably, the upper incisors, bright orange in color, are at least 5 mm wide and 20-25 mm long. These teeth grow throughout the animal’s lifetime and are a necessity to survival, just as the animal’s closable nostrils, closable ears, and transparent eye membranes are for aquatic existence.
Beavers live in lodges, of which there are three types: those built on islands, those built on the banks of ponds, and those built on the shores of lakes. The island lodge consists of a central chamber, with its floor slightly above the water level, and with two entrances. One entrance opens up into the center of the hut floor, while the other is a more abrupt descent into the water.
Stephen took this at Lac la Belle Marina WAAAAYYYY up north in Michigan on the Keweenaw Peninsula. You can click to see this on the Flickr photo map and see more in his Boats gallery on Flickr.
Hope you get to spend at least a little time hanging out before summer is gone!
Today is the 55th Earth Day, and this holiday that is celebrated across the planet was born right here in Michigan! I hope that you are able to take a little time today or this week to think about how you and your family, friends & neighbors can help create a future where humans live in harmony with the world around us because it really is the only one we’ve got. 🌏✌️💙
Paul took these at the Reid Lake Foot Travel Area near Harrison in the Huron-Manistee National Forest in the northeast Lower Peninsula. The US Forest Service says the 3000-acre area includes 13 miles of gently rolling trail around Reid and Little Trout Lakes, the shoreline of Big Marsh, and views of Fanny’s Marsh and Mossy Bog. There are also 9 designated first-come first-serve campsites available. Check out his photos from last Earth Day & many more in his Reid Lake gallery and for sure follow him on Flickr for more!
Thomas shares, “The northern lights and the moon filled the sky above Ellsworth Lake. It was a gorgeous night to be out along the Breezeway.” The Breezeway is his passion which is totally understandable if you take a look:
“The Breezeway” is a rural ride along C-48 from Atwood (U.S. 31) through Ellsworth & East Jordan, and ending in Boyne Falls (U.S. 131) – boasts scenic overlooks, great motorcycle & bicycle rides, recreational amenities galore, working farms & orchards, artist galleries & studios, resale shops, lodging facilities (cottages, campgrounds, B&Bs, motels, and a resort), retail and service businesses with superb customer service, and an epicurean’s selection of dining choices along the route.
Thomas took this photo on October 10th. Head over to his Flickr for his latest photos from this beautiful little corner of Michigan & here’s a daytime photo of the fall color on Ellsworth Lake from yesterday!
Pure Michigan’s Fall Color Forecast for October 11 (see below) shows that the Upper Peninsula will be at or passing peak this weekend while most of the Lower Peninsula will be in the 20-60% range. Remember that leaf color can vary significantly even locally, and in addition to producing different colors when they turn, trees change at different times. Typical patterns have more color change the further you are from the Great Lakes. You can see this in the graphic below where much of the UP’s Lake Superior shore hasn’t hit peak yet.
Julie shares the story behind this gorgeous shot: Luckily I got up early this particular morning and the water was like glass! I was able to catch this awesome autumn reflection shot at Mirror Lake in the village of Fife Lake, Michigan. The nice mist coming off the water was definitely a bonus making it a truly serene and beautiful experience.
… “the comet of the century.” They say it will outshine everything but the Moon in the night sky and that it will stretch its tail over a huge portion of the sky. In that case, people around the world would be able to see the comet without trying at all. On the other hand, some people, like astronomer Dr. Zdeněk Sekanina, have predicted that the comet will break apart around the closest point in its orbit to the Sun, or “perihelion.” Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas shows no clear signs of fragmenting right now, but that could always change.
…During late September and the first few days of October, you can find Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas in the constellation Sextans. Look to the east, where the comet will rise about an hour before the Sun if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere. If you’re in a Southern Hemisphere, the comet will rise a bit earlier and be easier to see.
For most of early October, Tsuchinshan-Atlas will be too close to the Sun to be easily visible. Then, starting around Oct. 10 — if all goes well — the comet should be visible after sunset near the horizon in the west. With every passing day, Tsuchinshan-Atlas will start the evening higher in the sky and be easier to spot, unless it gets too dim.
Ethan shares that he captures this sweet shot of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS rising over Lake Leelanau early morning on Sunday. For more follow him on Facebook. View & purchase his work at capturesbyethan.com.
What really piqued my interest was learning that that this isn’t the first time sinkholes have been found in the Great Lakes! In 2001, scientists found sinkholes at the bottom of Lake Huron in Michigan’s Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, and I was able to find an award winning Great Lakes Now segment with Steve Ruberg, an observing systems researcher with NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory exploring the Lake Huron sinkholes in this very vessel!!
The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (NOAA GLERL) is dedicated to scientific research on the Great Lakes and coastal ecosystems. They share a lot of amazing photos of their work on Flickr & you can see more from this trip in their Buildings & Vessels gallery on Flickr.
via Leelanau.com… The Glen Arbor Sun shared this photo a year ago, and I think it’s the perfect reminder for everyone to pay attention to your driving & traffic laws as we head into the Labor Day Weekend. Have fun and please don’t drink & drive – you simply don’t want to end up as a traffic statistic.
And yes, Jeep lovers, we know that you can deflate the tires to get out of a mess like this. The point is don’t break Federal law by driving on the beach in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore or any of the other idiotic things that might seem like a good idea at the time!!
…also known as sun rays, are a mesmerizing atmospheric optics phenomenon that captivates the imagination. These ethereal beams of light, streaming through gaps in clouds, create a breathtaking display of nature’s beauty. The parallel columns of sunlit air, separated by darker cloud-shadowed regions, give the impression of diverging rays, much like the parallel furrows of freshly ploughed fields or a road that appears to narrow with distance.
The visibility of crepuscular rays is made possible by the scattering of sunlight by various atmospheric components. Airborne dust, inorganic salts, organic aerosols, small water droplets, and even the air molecules themselves all play a role in scattering the sunlight and making the rays visible.
I shared this photo several years ago and I’m not gonna say I won’t share it again! 😅 John took the pic at Sunday Lake in Wakefield. For more, follow him on Facebook & view and purchase his work at michigannutphotography.com.
Michigan in Pictures 