While a lot of cherries in the lower half of the Lower Peninsula have already bloomed, cherry blossoms in Michigan’s Cherry Capital of Northwest Lower Michigan are just getting going!
Mark Smith shared the first picture below with me last Thursday from the western side of the Leelanau Peninsula along with a couple recent pics & several more from years past. Cherry blossoms should be great up there for a few weeks at least – follow Leelanau.com for the latest and for sure check out Mark’s Leelanau Landscapes website to view & purchase his work!
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!
“It is always safe to dream of spring. For it is sure to come; and if it be not just as we have pictured it, it will be infinitely sweeter.” ― L.M. Montgomery
Paul has been a member of the Absolute Michigan group on Flickr for a long time. He shared this incredible photo from May 2024 that makes me long for spring a few weeks ago. He took it in , so in the interests of being seasonally balanced, here’s one of his most popular photos on Flickr from way back in 2013 at the Grand Haven Lighthouse. Head over to his Flickr for lots more!
The storms rolled through around 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., causing thousands to lose power. Some of the heaviest damage was concentrated around Westnedge Avenue, Centre Avenue and Oakland Drive, according to Portage city officials.
The FedEx building at 6701 Portage Road sustained a direct hit from one of the reported tornadoes. The roof of the building caved in, leaving the interior exposed. After the storm passed, 50 employees were trapped inside as crews worked to remove dangerous wires so rescue efforts could commence. First responders eventually helped them all out of the building, Tuesday night.
Another spot with major damage was Pavilion Estates Mobile Home Park, 6830 East N Ave. in Pavilion Township, just east of Portage. About 17 of the homes were totally demolished and 173 had some degree of damage, according to the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office.
The Bardenhagen Berries Farm shares: The sweet cherries 🍒 are in full bloom & it’s a beautiful 🤩 sight all around! What a beautiful day! Strawberries 🍓 usually start blooming around a week or so after cherries. All things considered, this past winter was reported as the warmest on record- and there is a very good chance many fruit crops (assuming they don’t get frosted out) will be a week or more earlier than usual. Follow along right here for updates on the 2024 growing season!
“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.” -Albert Einstein
Julie shared this photo back in April of 2021, but I wanted to make sure everybody saw these sweet little fox babies. She has more great photos of these foxes & others having fun on Flickr.
Have a great weekend everyone, and if you have an extra dollar or three & enjoy Michigan in Pictures, consider clicking the Patreon button below to help me reach my current goal, an asiago bacon croissant at Cannelle Detroit! 😋
William shared this pic to our Michigan in Pictures Group on Facebook back in April of 2021, writing Dicentra cucullaria, or Dutchman’s breeches, is a perennial herbaceous plant, native to rich woods of eastern North America, with a disjunct population in the Columbia Basin. The common name Dutchman’s breeches derives from their white flowers that look like white breeches.
He is one of the leading participants in the group, sharing great updates from Kalamazoo & southwest Michigan. He has also been featured lots through the years on Michigan in Pictures – check him out and for sure share your photos with us there or to the Michigan in Pictures Facebook (where we just added one of his new pics as the cover!)
A Michpics reader shared that the blooming of redbuds was one of her favorite signs of Spring & I heartily agree!
Lee got this shot of Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis) in bloom last week. For sure check out his blog for some great travel stories including a Michigan bear encounter & view and purchase his work on his website.
Tom swung by Tahquamenon Falls over the weekend and shares:
Amazing! I have never seen it with such a large volume and flow as today. It’s supplied by the spring melt-off and rain. Another benefit of the run-off is the intensity of color – again, never seen such deep rich color. That is why it’s aptly referred to as “root beer falls”.
mLIve’s Mark Torregrossa shares that although it might be a little cool today, much of Michigan’s lower peninsula will leap into the 70s and even low 80s on Saturday. In the Upper Peninsula and within a few miles of a Great Lake, you’ll only have temps in the 60s. Still, nothing to sneeze at right?
Julie got this great shot of the melting ice at Mackinac last April. See more in her Spring & Summer gallery on Flickr.
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