An old couple at the Thoreson Farm

Untitled, photo by jenny murray.

The Thoreson Farm page at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore says that the

John Thoreson and Ingeborg Sakariasdatte emigrated from Norway in 1877. Although they crossed the Atlantic on the same boat, family lore has it that they never really met on the boat. Ingeborg resided with the higher-priced ticket-holders, while John remained below deck with the lower-fare travelers. They first settled in Suttons Bay, and arrived in Port Oneida in 1880. The family initially rented the Kelderhouse/Baker farm until 1883, when they moved to Minnesota for one year. After returning to Port Oneida, they rented the old Burfiend house. Around 1900, along with their sons Ole and Fred, they built their farm on 160 acres of land purchased from the Andersons…

The Thoresons operated a general farm with livestock, small grains, and hay. With 75 trees, they were the first Port Oneida farm to raise cherries for market. They also owned sheep, pigs, chickens, and a few dairy cattle.

You can see some more photos of the farm (including a volunteer working on these buildings) at Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear.

Check this out bigger and in Jenny’s Holga slideshow.

Giant Ski Bunny & Snowpocalypse How?

Boyne Falls MI RARE 1950s Ice Sculpture at Boyne Mountain Snow and Ice Sculptures were a popular attraction at Ski Resorts in the 50s and 60s Bob Miles Photo Card S24328 Unsent, photo by UpNorth Memories – Donald (Don) Harrison.

In In Snowpocalypse Now Redux: When the weatherati cry wolf, what do we believe next time? Jeff Wattrick says that while we don’t want forecasts as understated as the “Snow, potentially heavy at times” that preceded the monstrous blizzard of ’78:

At some point we may actually get one of death storms with historic barometric pressure readings and the like. The forecasters may even predict it – that’ll happen when every dusting of wintery precipitation is a potential holofrost – but no one will care.

In essence, too much coverage can be as bad as not enough.

It’s like waking up every morning and predicting your own death. Eventually, you’ll be right. So what?

The wall-to-wall coverage – complete with live blogs, non-stop primetime school closure scrolls, and reports about panicked supermarket shoppers – doesn’t inform. It is absurdist theater that ignites in some a delusion that middle class life in 21st century Michigan can be a harrowing fight for survival.

…from such terrifying hazards as:

Thundersnow Is Go!: From beyond any known galaxy and bringing with it the laws and ideals of its home planet of Fontara…Thundersnow! As best as anyone can tell, it’s like a regular thunderstorm but with snow instead of rain because it’s winter. Like Murrow covering the London Blitz, the WXYZ liveblog bravely reported thundersnow rumbled through Southfield at 3:15 this morning.

As a resident and business owner in a resort destination I have railed about sensationalism in weather forecasts in the past. Definitely click through for the choice Simpson’s clip Jeff found!

Check this out bigger than a blizzard and in Don’s slideshow.

Auto trail coming to Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge

Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge, photo by Wigwam Jones.

The Great Lakes Echo has a feature by Emma Ogutu about a 7.5-mile auto trail through Saginaw County’s Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge that opens in May (assuming the eagles cooperate).

“Everything will depend on a pair of eagles which built a nest just 50 feet off the road. It all depends if they start nesting early or late– it’s critical that we do not disturb them,” DeVries said (Ed DeVries, assistant manager of the refuge).

The gravel trail, which was completed in November, will be the second of its kind in the state, after one in the Upper Peninsula’s Seney National Wildlife Refuge.

Along the trail are two new observation decks with spotting scopes to assist visitors in viewing more birds, DeVries said. The refuge has also constructed a parking area to accommodate the anticipated larger amount of traffic and a new fishing and canoe access site along the Spaulding Drain.

“Previously we had only one day in September where tourists were allowed to drive in the refuge,” DeVries said. “With the new trail, it’s going to be possible for more people to view a wider variety of birds and other wildlife throughout spring and summer seasons.”

The Shiawassee refuge was established in 1953 to protect and increase the breeding of migratory birds and other wildlife. The refuge includes marsh areas, swamps, bogs, grasslands and forests and has one of largest and most productive wetland ecosystems in the state, according to the service.

Learn more about the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge.

Check Wigwam Jones’ photo out background big and in his Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge slideshow.

Heading into the storm: Michigan braces for blizzard

providence road, photo by heinrick05.

Much of the Mitten is bracing for a major winter storm that is predicted to drop well over a foot of snow from Grand Rapids to Detroit tonight and tomorrow. Meteorologist Bill Steffen has some great stuff on the storm and on Michigan weather in general. He’s named the storm the Groundhog Day Dump and writes that Punxsutawney Phil:

…has looked at the models and he’s definitely forecasting six more weeks of winter, maybe seven…and that this coming summer will be a couple degrees cooler than last summer.

The heaviest snow Tuesday night into early Weds. with snowfall rates of over an inch an hour. The heaviest snow looks to be across the southern half of Lower Michigan, with lighter amount as you go north toward Traverse City. The model data is in pretty good agreement. The models are in the 10-16″ range, a couple up to 18″, but I didn’t go quite that high. Winds will blow he snow into 3-4 foot drifts. All the models think this is going to be a very significant snowstorm and if they are right, some places will be approaching or exceeding all-time February record 12 or 24-hour snowfalls. And…if the models are right, there won’t be many schools open Weds. from Kent Co. to the south at least and maybe all the way to Cadillac. The GFS gives us a steady 25 mph wind with gusts to 35 (850 mb wind to 78 mph!). That’s at least “near blizzard” conditions for Tuesday night and Weds. AM.

Keep in mind that’s snowFALL not snow cover. The numbers have been pretty consistent. CAUTION: Numbers from these models are often too high and sometimes WAY too high. The heaviest snow ever in G.R. in a single day was 16.1″ during the blizzard of ’78. The 24-hour snowfall record for G.R. in any February is 11.4″ ON 2/3/2007. With records going back to the late 1800s, Grand Rapids has NEVER had a foot of snow in 24-hours during the month of February. This storm will be moving, not backing up and stopping like the blizzard of ’78. So, feel free to get excited, but don’t go overboard.

So panic … but keep it in perspective. More blizzards on Michigan in Pictures and also see Great Blizzard of 1978 on Absolute Michigan.

Check this photo out bigger and in Heinrick’s Michigan slideshow.