Surfing Superior, photo by PhotoYoop.
Cory writes:
A mid spring storm brought cold temperatures and about 4 inches of snow to the U.P. But it also brought waves, and when she builds them, she calls them, and they come. These surfers traveled all the way from from Chicago and Milwaukee to surf the Great Lake.
Lake Superior, 4-17-11
Check this out bigger and in his The Yoop – U.P. slideshow. See many (many) more in his Surfing Superior 2011 set of photos on Facebook.
Rodin’s Thinker, Detroit Institute of Art, photo by Robert Yanal.
The Detroit Institute of Arts has a collection of over 60,000 works of art across a wide range of media. One of the most visible is their cast of sculptor August Rodin’s iconic sculpture, The Thinker. More than twenty monumental size bronze casts of the sculpture are in museums around the world. Rodin made the first small plaster version around 1880, but the first large-scale bronze cast was not completed until 1902.
The DIA’s version sits outside the museum’s main entrance. It was cast in 1904 and donated to the museum by Horace H. Rackham in 1922. The bronze sculpture weighs about 2000 pounds and sits on a 12,000 pound granite base. You can see more views of The Thinker at the DIA.
Check this out bigger and in Robert’s Detroit slideshow.
Strategizing, photo by Mario.Q
This morning’s Roar of the Tigers provides a humorous but insightful look at Detroit Tiger Manager Jim Leyland’s 1500th win. This is a huge milestone for a manager, something that only 18 other coaches in Major League history have done The Detroit News reports that Leyland is:
…only the second active one to reach that level, his good friend Tony LaRussa being the other.
Leyland eyes glistened too much and too often not to be able to tell. After quite a game for the Tigers, it was quite a moment. “It just means we’re old,” Leyland said. “But we’re not going to talk about that. Good win, that’s what you have to do — win tough games on the road.”
Age aside, a tremendous accomplishment for Leyland. For more on his career, check out his page from the Detroit Tigers and the Jim Leyland entry on Wikipedia where we learn:
James Richard “Jim” Leyland (born December 15, 1944) is a Major League Baseball manager for the Detroit Tigers. He led the Florida Marlins to a World Series championship in 1997. With the Tigers victory in the 2006 American League Championship Series, Leyland has become the seventh manager in history to win pennants in both the National and American Leagues. He is a three-time Manager of the Year Award winner, twice in the National League (1990 and 1992), and once in the American League in 2006.
Check this out on black and see hundreds more great shots in Mario’s Tigers slideshow!
The First Morels this Year 05/02/2010, photo by rickrjw
The TIME Magazine feature Mushroom Nation linked over to our feature on yellow chanterelle mushrooms. In it, James Beard Award–winning food writer Josh Ozersky takes a look at how wild mushrooms are becoming as American as apple pie. He writes that:
…for all their exoticism, they’re still pretty cheap. Even a mom-and-pop restaurant can make a mood-altering dish with some woodsy mushrooms, roasted up with salt and served along side a gelatinous hunk of braised short rib. A few fresh chanterelles in a little omelet with some small spring asparagus, and you’ve got an appetizer of unsurpassable elegance. Unlike their fetishized cousins the truffles, people still use mushrooms as staple items and not luxuries — a practice that might not persist if they become more popular. They add a level of flavor and texture to everything they touch, and there’s a variety for nearly every use, from the delicacy of enoki to the almost obscene potency of portobellos.
Compared with the crappy little button mushrooms you see at the supermarket, de-natured and nude, and grown somewhere far from the forest floor, they represent an instant ticket to a better vision of life. If a restaurant, you can charge for that; if cooking at home, you can brag on it. Either way, it costs little. And of course there are no calories to speak of in mushrooms, so even the most ascetic of eaters can consume them with abandon. They’re apparently loaded with various unpronounceable anti-oxidants too, so that’s another benefit.
Read on at TIME and find more about mushrooms on Michigan in Pictures. It won’t be long now before morels make their appearance in Michigan woods!
Rick bagged his first blonde morels in 2010 on May 2nd and says (with true morel hunter evasiveness) that he found them “in the woods”. See this photo background bigilicious and check out more in his Boyne City, Michigan slideshow.
Fishing in Bay, photo by ETCphoto.
Betcha goin’ fishin’ all of your time, baby’s goin’ fishing too
Bet your life, your sweet life, catch more fish than you
Many fish bites if ya got good bait, here’s a little tip i would like to relate
Big fish bites if ya got a good bait, I ‘a goin’ fishin’
Yes i’m goin’ fishin’, and my baby’s goin’ fishin’ too.
~Taj Mahal (check out this sweet video)
There’s a boatload of Michigan fishing information at www.michigan.gov/fishing. They note that Michigan has about 146 kinds of fish, ranging from tiny minnows to giant lake sturgeon – hope you get a chance to tell a couple fish stories this year!
Check this out bigger than the one that got away and in Terry’s West Bay slideshow
Stanley Cup Finals Game 1, photo by canuckr.
Tonight the Detroit Red Wings open the 2011 NHL Playoffs at home vs the Phoenix Coyotes. Absolute Michigan has the whole story – let the octopi fly!!
See this and more in Ryan’s Joe Louis Arena slideshow and get much more in the Red Wings slideshow from the Absolute Michigan group!
Panorama Kent Lake, photo by ansonredford
In the Absolute Michigan pool on Flickr, Charles posted an announcement of a spring photo walk taking place this Saturday (April 16) at Kensington Metro Park in Milford:
The walk is hosted by Southeast Michigan Digital Photography group and will take place on the Kensington nature trails with a raffle and optional lunch afterwards. Spring is a beautiful time of year for local photographers to enjoy photography together. The event is free though a permit is required to enter the park, permit prices can be found in the event details at Southeast Michigan Digital Photography or at our Facebook group site.
I have hazy but fond memories of my grandmother taking me here to feed the carp Ritz crackers when I was little. The Huron-Clinton Metroparks page on Kensington Metropark says:
Kensington’s 4,481 sprawling acres of wooded, hilly terrain surrounds beautiful Kent Lake, and is home to an abundance of wildlife and waterfowl. Kensington Metropark offers a multitude of recreational activities throughout the year, from biking and boating to cross-country skiing and tobogganing. In addition to striking sunrises and sunsets, 1,200-acre Kent Lake offers plenty of fun activities: swim at Martindale or Maple beaches, get soaked at the Splash ‘n’ Blast, or just spend the day fishing, boating or picnicking along the water. Take a tour of the lake aboard the Island Queen II in the summer and fall. Or, enjoy a winter day ice-fishing or skating on frozen lake waters.
This first-class recreational area also features an 18-hole regulation golf course, 27-hole disc course, nature center, farm center, beautiful picnic areas and scenic hiking and biking trails for hours of enjoyment. With two and a half million visitors every year Kensington Metropark is a favorite place to enjoy Michigan’s natural treasures.
Donald took this photo a couple of weeks ago. Check it out background big and see a lot more photos in his Kensington Metro Park slideshow!
There’s even more photos that show the diversity of wildlife and scenery in this slideshow from the Absolute Michigan group!
“Bond Falls In Spring, photo by siskokid
More about Bond Falls on the Ontonagon River from Michigan in Pictures!
Check this out bigger and in Jim’s waterfall slideshow!
Wilderness State Park Sky, photo by McPhloyd
This morning I should be waking up in a rustic cabin at Wilderness State Park. I found another website as well which has some pictures of their cabins.
You can see this photo bigger and in Matt’s Wilderness State Park slideshow.
Here’s some shots from the day!
Superior Dome Skate, photo by Tim Rossland
The North Wind at Northern Michigan University in Marquette reports on an attempt this Sunday (April 10) to break the Guinness world record for largest skateboard parade:
The parade is sponsored by NMU Skate & Snow and the Marquette Informal Longboarding Federation. NMU President Les Wong will be the Grand Marshall.
The current record is 250 riders. Co-founder Jeremy Johnson believes that number will be shattered.
…The parade will start near the Thomas Fine Arts building, running through the Academic Mall, along parking lot 17 toward Whitman Hall before finishing on Elizabeth J. Harden Drive. Riders can register in the Academic Mall and at Whitman Hall the day of the event starting at 11 a.m. and are encouraged to bring extra longboards and skateboards for other participants.
The organizers have planned a big day with live music, prizes, free stuff and after party. You can get the details on Facebook where over 1400 are attending or maybe attending.
You can see this photo bigger right here and see more photos from their skate at the Superior Dome here.
Michigan in Pictures 
