Another Amazing Sky, photo by Ben Thompson
Gotta love Spring!
View Ben’s photo bigger and see more in his Weather/Clouds slideshow.
More Michigan weather fun and more Ann Arbor on Michigan in Pictures.
May Tulips at Belle Isle Conservatory
Belle Isle Conservatory – Detroit, Michigan, photo by David Marvin
Dan Austin of Historic Detroit has an excellent article on the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory on Belle Isle that begins:
If Belle Isle is Detroit’s crown, then the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory is its brightest emerald, full of brilliant green ferns, palms and cacti and plant life from all over the world.
The conservatory, opened in the center of the island on Aug. 18, 1904, the same day as its next door neighbor, the Belle Isle Aquarium. Both were designed by Albert Kahn, who for the conservatory turned to Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello for inspiration. It sits on 13 acres and features a lily pond on its north side and is fronted by formal perennial gardens on the west. These gardens are home to theLevi L. Barbour Memorial Fountain. For the first 51 years of its existence, the building was known as simply the Conservatory or the Horticulture Building. Today, the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory is the oldest, continually operating conservatory in the United States.
The building covers about an acre and has five areas, each housing a different climate, and features a north wing and a south wing and a 100,600 cubic feet dome 85 feet high to accommodate soaring palms and other tropical plants. The north wing houses hundreds of cacti and desert plants, and just beyond that is a room packed with ferns from floor to ceiling. The south is home to hundreds of tropical plants and the Children’s Christian Temperance Fountain. The collection also includes perennial gardens and displays of annuals. The show house, remodeled in 1980, features a continuous display of blooming plants.
Definitely read on at Historic Detroit on for how the Conservatory got its name and became home to the largest municipally owned orchid collection in the country. There’s also a great historic photo gallery.
Here’s the official site for Belle Isle Conservatory. The hours are Wednesday-Sunday, 10 AM – 5 PM and the Belle Isle Aquarium is open Saturdays and Sundays as well.
View David’s photo background bigtacular and see more in his slideshow.
More spring wallpaper on Michigan in Pictures.
Tranquility at Pictured Rocks
Tranquility, photo by Michigan Nut Photography
John McCormick aka Michigan Nut shared this gorgeous shot from the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore showing Lake Superior at its calmest.
View John’s photo bigger on Facebook, view & purchase photos at michigannutphotography.com and definitely follow him on Facebook for many more photos of the Great Lakes State.
PS: John’s Pictured Rocks gallery will knock your socks off!
Finally Friday: Michigan Morel Edition
Reports of morels are coming in from all across the state. They’ll be celebrating our delicious woodland friends this weekend (May 8-10) at the Mesick Mushroom Festival and next weekend (May 14-17) at the National Morel Mushroom Festival in Boyne City.
If you’re looking for Michigan morel photos and features, click that link for a ton from Michigan in Pictures. Happy hunting!!
Julie says these plus a few others will make a great topping for a ribeye! View the photo bigger and see more in her Spring/Summer slideshow.
Spring at Tahquamenon Falls
Tahquamenon Falls, photo by ptrefftz
Hey beautiful!
View the photo background bigtacular and see more including some beautiful night sky photos in ptrefftz’s slideshow.
More Spring wallpaper on Michigan in Pictures.
Welcome to May
Untitled, photo by Amy Holley
Hope your May brings you promise and new growth.
Amy took this photo on May 1st last year. View it background big and see more wide-ranging goodness in her Outdoors slideshow.
Ice bound, Whitefish Bay
Ice bound, Whitefish Bay, photo by Thom Skelding
Here’s a cool shot from last Saturday on Lake Superior’s Whitefish Bay. I hope that you’re shaking off the ice and getting out to enjoy whatever spring is serving up close to you.
View Thom’s photo background big and see more great shots from Whitefish Bay and elsewhere in his slideshow.
Michigan Morel Alert: Morels in Honor Edition
Morels at the Honor Motel, photo by Honor Motel
In spring, a young Michigander’s fancies turn to … morels! Here’s a shot from Honor in the northwest Lower Peninsula showing a handful of black morels found on Tax Day. It’s earlier than I would have expected but hopefully it signals a good, long season for these woodland treasures.
Lots more Michigan morel photos and information on Michigan in Pictures!
View the photo bigger on Facebook and follow the Honor Motel for more.
PS: If you’re finding morels anywhere, post a comment here or two our Facebook.
Get growing.
Apple Tree Budding, photo by Kim Nixon
Kim took this on April 1, 2012. View it bigger on Flickr and see more in her April 2012 slideshow that includes photos from the Yellow Dog River and some of the coolest clouds ever!
Standing Iceboater
Standing Iceboater, photo by Mark Smith
It’s 8 degrees right now in Traverse City, and while the weeklong run of wintry weather hasn’t been good for such popular pursuits as getting the garden ready, boxing up winter clothes and keeping your house from being declared a Cabin Fever Disaster Area, it has left the ice in many parts of the state just perfect for the sport of ice boating.
Northern Michigan AP News photographer John Russell is a Michigan in Pictures contributor and wrote Ice Boating: An Ancient Sport in a Modern World a few years ago. It begins:
Sailing on frozen surfaces is believed to have its roots in Northern Europe, where goods and people moved around the region on frozen rivers and canals, using simple sails and handmade boats.
The Dutch and others brought iceboating to the Hudson River valley and other places along the East Coast, where miles of frozen rivers made for great sailing during the winter months. Freight and people were commonly moved up and down the Hudson River in huge, slooped-rigged boats.
Ranging in length from 30 – 50 feet, the stern-steering boats are still raced today by the Northwest Ice Yacht Association, having recently celebrated its 100th anniversary.
The ancient sport of sailing on frozen lakes and rivers is alive and well in our state, which has a long and involved history in the sport. Innovations developed in Michigan have enhanced and improved iceboating.
During the winter of 1936-1937, in the hobby shop at the Detroit News, boat builder Archie Arroll, along with Norm Jarrait and Joe Lodge, designed an ice boat they called the Blue Streak 60. Designed to be small enough to build in a garage, and easy enough to be built by anyone, the 12-foot hull design became known as the DN 60, for Detroit News and the 60-square-foot sail.
It is now the largest one-design boat class in the world, with over 8,000 registered boats around the world.
Read on for more including our state’s role in international ice boat racing, some state clubs, safety tips and a couple of photos from John.
Mark took this shot earlier in the week on Lake Leelanau. View it background bigtacular and see more photos (and a couple videos) in his Ice Boats slideshow.
More Michigan iceboating on Michigan in Pictures!
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