Making an Elf at the Michigan Renaissance Festival

Making an Elf, photo by corinne.schwarz.

The Michigan Renaissance Festival is underway in Holly. It happens weekends & Labor Day through October 2nd from 10 AM – 7 PM, rain or shine. They explain:

For 32 years, the Michigan Renaissance Festival has provided Holly with a unique venue that regularly attracts more than 220,000 visitors from Michigan and surrounding states. When the Festival first began back in 1979 on the grounds of Columbiere in Clarkston, Michigan, the Renaissance Festival attracted under 11,000 patrons during our 5 weekend event. Years later the Festival found a more permanent home where it currently stands, just 12 miles south of Flint on Dixie Highway. The pageantry of a 16th century village is evident in the wide variety of activities.

Entertainment is not only featured on sixteen stages, but in the lanes and on an interactive level with the patrons. From peasants to royalty, the people of the village of Hollygrove visit with guests to provide a day to remember! Highlights include the thrilling full contact joust with armored knights and horses, the intensity of the Human Combat Chess Match and the hilarity of acts like the Washing Well Wenches, Ded Bob and Ample and Trite. The Realm is filled with amazingly talented artisans who offer their unique wares and often share their skills in craft demonstrations. Beautiful glassware, crafted leather, exotic jewelry and Renaissance clothing are just a few examples of the masterpieces that can be found in the marketplace.

Visitors are advised to skip breakfast and save their appetite for the fresh baked goods, soup in a bread bowl, Scotch eggs, apple dumplings and of course, the famous turkey legs that are cooked over an open flame. The array of foods is overwhelming and sure to satisfy any cravings! It is truly fun for the whole family since the Renaissance Festival also offers games, human-powered rides, and a Children’s Realm that features a castle playscape as well as free activities for younger visitors.

Check it out background big and in Corrine’s Mich Ren Fest slideshow.
Also see the photos on the Michigan Ren Cen Facebook!

Kayaking Under the Mighty Mac (and walking over it)

Kayaking Under the Mighty Mac, photo by Kathleen Swinehart

This Monday (September 5th) it’s time for the annual Mackinac Bridge Walk. 2011 is the 54th annual and the walk is open to all. It starts at 7 AM and you can leave any time up to 11 AM. They have a blog with information for and about the 400 runners who won the lottery for an opportunity to take part in the early morning Mackinac Bridge Labor Day Run. It includes information for how to enter next year and I have to imagine that for a runner, the 5 mile span from the Lower to Upper Peninsula would be a pretty special memory!

Michigan in Pictures has a TON of Mackinac Bridge photos and information.

Kathleen posted this photo to the Michigan in Pictures wall on Facebook. You can see more photos that people have shared with us in our photo album. See it big as the Mighty Mac and see more in Kathleen’s My Pure Michigan album.

 

Big Bay Point Lighthouse

Big Bay Point Lighthouse – Big Bay , Michigan, photo by Michigan Nut.

Probably the most unique thing about Big Bay Point Lighthouse is that it’s a bed & breakfast! A friend of mine ran it for a while, and take it from me: there’s few better places to stay on the shore of Lake Superior!

As always, Terry Pepper’s Seeing the Light has great information & photos on the history of Big Bay Point Lighthouse:

The lighthouse was built as a two-story brick duplex dwelling, 52 feet by 52 feet with 18 rooms. The light tower rose from the center of the house 105 feet above Lake Superior. There were also two small brick outhouses, a brick oil storage building, and a 20 foot by 15 foot brick fog signal building. The first fog signal consisted of two steam operated ten-inch train whistles that protruded from the roof of the building.

…The duplex dwelling housed the Head Keeper and his family on one side, and the Assistant Keeper and family on the other. There was an office on the lower level of the tower; accessible only from the head keeper’s side of the building. Each dwelling had six rooms consisting of kitchen, parlor and dining room on the first floor, and three bedrooms on the second.

Read on for more including its peripheral role in the film Anatomy of a Murder.

Check this out bigger and in Johns’ spectacular Michigan lighthouses slideshow.

Many (many) more Michigan lighthouses on Michigan in Pictures!

Golden Dunes at Grand Mere State Park

_MG_8420 Golden Dunes Grand Mere State Park, photo by cemillerphotography.photoshelter.com.

Sleeping Bear Dunes have been soaking up all the love in the media lately courtesy Good Morning America naming them the most beautiful place in America.

When I saw these photos I thought they were from Sleeping Bear, then I realized they were from Grand Mere State Park near St. Joseph, which the state of Michigan says is characterized by magnificent sand dunes, deep blowouts and one mile of Lake Michigan shoreline. Another page adds:

The magnificent high-relief dunes in Grand Mere were formed approximately 10,000 years ago during the recession of glacial lakes. They are a natural phenomenon not found anywhere else in the world. Located between Lake Michigan and several inland lakes and unique wetlands, the dunes afford an excellent perspective of the surrounding region. The lakes and wetlands provide a unique ecological area that encompasses the full range of open water aquatic to closed forest terrestrial communities. The wetlands and lakes are significant waterfowl and songbirds migrating areas.

More about Lake Michigan coastal dune structures in this really great Sand Dune Inventory.

Check this out background bigtacular and in Charles’ Grand Mere State Park slideshow.

More dunes on Michigan in Pictures.

Stormy August

IMG_3470, photo by ahknaten.

Here’s hoping that Hurricane Irene spares folks her worst…

Check this out bigger and in Kai’s Late August Ann Arbor Storm slideshow.

Check out the latest storm photos from the Absolute Michigan pool too!

Restoring the Irish Hills Towers

2 towers, photo by riot jane

The newly formed Irish Hills Historical Society has launched a campaign to restore and reopen the Irish Hills towers and to open an Irish Hills museum. You can learn more at that link and read about the history of the Irish Hills towers on Michigan in Pictures.

See this photo bigger and in Bethany’s Irish Hills slideshow.

 

Tannery Falls

Tannery Falls, photo by trumansnare.

GoWaterfalling.com says that Tannery Falls:

…is not as well advertised as the larger Munising Falls, but as a result it is somewhat wilder and less visited. Like other waterfalls in the area, it suffers from a lack of water in the summer.

Click through for information on finding this out-of-the-way gem.

Check the photo out on black and see more including Tahquamenon Falls and the Pictured Rocks in Nick’s Upper Peninsula Michigan slideshow.

Michigan’s State Fish: The Brook Trout

MI Brookie, photo by mickey-finn.

Last week on Absolute Michigan I posted a sobering article on how we are losing the battle to control sea lamprey in Michigan.

One of the fish that lamprey prey upon are brook trout. Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis from the Michigan DNR says:

Brook trout have a long, streamlined body with a large mouth that extends past the eye. Color variations include olive, blue-gray, or black above with a silvery white belly and wormlike markings (vermiculations) along the back. They have red spots sometimes surrounded by bluish halos on their sides. The lower fins have a white front edge with black and the remainder being reddish orange. The tail fin is square or rarely slightly forked. During breeding time in the fall male brook trout can become very bright orange-red along the sides.

The brook trout is native to Michigan’s waters and is the state fish of Michigan. They can be found throughout most of the state in many creeks, streams, rivers, lakes, and in the Great Lakes. Brook trout require cool, clear, spring-fed streams and pools. They can be found under cover of rocks, logs, and undercut banks and have been described as stationary. Larger brook trout often inhabit deep pools moving to shallow water only to feed. They prefer temperatures from 57–60 degrees F.

…Brook trout have been described as voracious feeders with the potential to consume large numbers of zooplankton, crustaceans, worms, fish, terrestrial insects, and aquatic insects. Ephemeroptera, Trichoptera, and Diptera often make up a large component of their diet. However, they will often feed on whatever is most readily available.

Brook trout are avidly sought after by sport anglers, for food as well as for the sport. They can be caught by using various bait and lures including worms, crickets, grasshoppers, wet and dry flies, spoons, and spinners.

Also see Brook Trout at Wikipediaand also Brook Trout from Trout Unlimited, where they add that brook trout:

…are the only trout native to much of the eastern United States. Arguably the most beautiful freshwater fish, brook trout survive in only the coldest and cleanest water. Brook trout serve as indicators of the health of the watersheds they inhabit. Strong wild brook trout populations demonstrate that stream or river ecosystem is healthy and that water quality is excellent. A decline in brook trout populations can serve as an early warning that the health of an entire aquatic system is at risk.

If you have the time, Saving Michigan’s Coaster Brook Trout from Jeff Smith at MyNorth.com is a great read about a strain of brookies that grow to massive size that are probably one of the world’s most endangered fish that aren’t protected.

Mike writes that this is a typical brook trout from Michigan’s Au Sable River system. Check it out bigger and in his big old Fly Fishing slideshow.

More fish & fishing on Michigan in Pictures.

Watching the Water

Watching the Water, photo by derekspacelewis.

I can have 2 photos of the most beautiful place in America in a week, right?

Check it out background big and in Derek’s Sleeping Bear Dunes slideshow.

Greeny Goodness from Michigan’s Vineyards

Greeny Goodness, photo by sgs_1019.

The sun, with all those plants revolving around it and dependent upon it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else in the universe to do.
~Galileo Galilei

The sun is working away on the 2011 vintage in Michigan’s vineyards, and today I’m working away on the lawn of the Grand Traverse Commons in Traverse City on the 3rd annual Traverse City Wine & Art Festival. It’s a celebration of the culture & cuisine of northwest Michigan that brings together 24 wineries from Leelanau, Old Mission, Traverse City & Benzie with over 100 wines from 2010 and other years along with a slew of artists with work for show and sale, great food & music and some incredible performance art!

If you’re in the neighborhood, please come by as I think it’s going to be amazing! If not, definitely pick up a bottle of Michigan wine – you will be happy to learn what the sun has been up to! If you’re looking for some suggestions, check out the medal winners from the 2011 Michigan Wine Competition!

Check this out bigger and in Sarah’s slideshow.