Weird Wednesday: Tic Tac Timber!

Tic Tac Toe in the Woods by Laurent Fady

One of the nice things about drone photos is that they can reveal cool things that are lurking just beyond our perception. Laurent shares that he asked his brother who “makes” trees for a living as a biology engineer, and his brother said that it could be an effort to mark growing areas for growers.

Laurent says that the next time he drives by, he’ll investigate. Stay tuned & see more in his Aerial Photos of Northern Michigan gallery on Flickr & follow Laurent Fady Photography on Facebook!

Slip & Splash at Black Rocks

Slip & Splash by Rudy Malmquist

“Black Rocks is one of Marquette’s coolest attractions, in my opinion. There are many, to be sure, but cliff diving into a frigid Lake Superior is a rush. And if you wait until the middle of August, the water isn’t too cold by most people’s standards. Which is to say not too cold. Not warm, but not cold.”
~ Jesse Land, Awesome Mitten’s Resident Yooper

Awesome Mitten shares tips & directions to Black Rocks in Marquette’s Presque Isle Park:

As one of the coolest attractions in Marquette, the Black Rocks are an ancient rock formation that stands 20-30 feet above Lake Superior. Aside from the height, the dark color of the cliffs adds a dramatic landscape to the shoreline along the tip of Presque Isle Park.

Rudy took this photo last summer. See his latest on his Flickr!

Michpics Rewind: There’s one in every crowd

There’s one in every crowd by Bill Dolak

I’m seeing photos of Michigan sunflower fields in my feeds, so I figured I’d reach back 7 years for one of my favorite sunflower shots! Bill got this photo of a field of sunflowers east of Vicksburg back in 2014. See moore in his massive Kalamazoo County, Michigan gallery on Flickr & have a great week!

First Overall Friday: Cade Cunningham Edition

Motor City Cade by MR Design

Last night the Detroit Pistons selected Cade Cunningham #1 overall in the NBA Draft, their first top overall pick since the selection of Pistons legend Bob Lanier in 1970. To read about Cade & how he fits, check out this article from Bryce Simon on Detroit Bad Boys.

MR Design creates fantastic digital artwork, much of it NBA focused. See more @mrprodesign on Twitter & at mrprodesign.com.

Corn Days

Corn Days by Mark Smith

Mark got this gorgeous shot on the Leelanau Peninsula. Here’s hoping you get a chance to bite into some delicious Michigan sweet corn! Head over to Downstreamer on Flickr for his latest!

Wide Car Wednesday: 1964 Caddy

1964 Cadillac by Charles Bonham

I can never get enough of these great old cars!! Charles took this earlier this month at the Cool City Car Show in Bay City. See more on his Flickr!

Falling Skies: August is Meteor Season!

Falling Skies by Heather Higham

Our friends at EarthSky share that August is THE month for meteor watching, with two major showers:

The Delta Aquariid meteor shower is long and rambling. You might catch a Delta Aquariid anytime from about July 12 to August 23 each year. The nominal peak falls on or near July 29. But don’t pay too much attention to that date; the shower typically provides a decent number of meteors for some days after and before it. In 2021, a bright waning gibbous moon will wash out a good number of Delta Aquariids in late July. As we move into early August, a much fainter waning crescent moon will be less intrusive. As always happens, when the Perseid meteor shower is rising to its peak (mornings of August 11, 12 and 13), the Delta Aquariids will still be flying, too.

In the Northern Hemisphere, we rank the August Perseids as our all-time favorite meteor shower … No matter where you live worldwide, the 2021 Perseid meteor shower will probably produce the greatest number of meteors on the mornings of August 11, 12 and 13. On the peak mornings in 2021 – in the early morning hours, when the most meteors will be flying – there’ll be no moon to ruin on the show.

Click those links for viewing tips & happy sky watching!

Heather took this photo back in 2016 on Loon Lake in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. See more in her Night Skies gallery. For sure follow her on Instagram @SnapHappyMichigan & view and purchase her work on her website.

Michigan Lake Appreciation: Glen Lake edition

via Leelanau.com…

Sunglow over Glen Lake by Owen Weber

While Minnesota gets a lot of mileage out of their “Land of 10,000 Lakes” slogan, Michigan has over 10,000 lakes larger than 5 acres. Clean Water Action of Michigan has been working to draw attention to our incredible good fortune with an incredible Twitter thread of Michigan’s largest lakes.  

Michigan has over 10,000 lakes larger than 5 acres. Let's appreciate as many of them as we can! ♥️💧#LakesAppreciation#ProtectCleanWaterpic.twitter.com/cvPWhb2f3A

— Clean Water Action (@CleanWaterMI) July 24, 2021

Big & Little Glen Lake check in at #18 on the list of Michigan’s largest inland lakes or 23 if you include the 4 Great Lakes & Lake St. Clair. Glen Lake is 6265 acres (9.8 square miles) with 17 miles of shoreline and a maximum depth of 130 feet. The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore page on Glen Lake says:

Glen Lake, with its remarkably blue waters, is famous for its beauty. The lake appears divided into two parts by the constriction at the “narrows” bridge. The two parts are Little Glen Lake in the foreground, only 12 feet deep, and Big Glen Lake, beyond the M-22 bridge, about 130 feet deep. Glen Lake used to be connected to ancestral Lake Michigan. Glacial erosion carved out both lakes during the Ice Age. In post-glacial times, a sand bar developed, separating Glen Lake from Lake Michigan. Both the D.H. Day Campground and the village of Glen Arbor are located on that sandbar. The flat terrain and proximity to Lake Michigan made it a desirable site for these developments.

Check the lakes out at #LakesAppreciation on Twitter! & learn more about Clean Water Action Michigan on their website.

Owen took this photo a few years ago from atop the Sleeping Bear Dunes. See more in his Michigan gallery on Flickr & view and purchase prints at OwenWeberPhotography.com. 

Happy 320th Birthday Detroit!

the lamp post by kare hav

320 years ago tomorrow on July 24, 1701, Antoine de la Mothe, Sieur de Cadillac realized the success of his plan with mentor and Governor General of New France, Louis de Buade, Comte de Frontenac, to found a new settlement at the south of Lake Huron to increase the security of French interests on the Great Lakes. Frontenac died, and his successor was not fond of Cadillac so, as History Detroit explains, the story of Cadillac took matters into his own hands:

Cadillac set sail for France in 1698 in order to convince King Louis to allow him to found a new settlement lower in the Great Lakes. Specifically, he was interested in the area south of Lake Huron known as le détroit, or the straits.

The area known as le détroit was ideal for a new settlement because the land was fertile, the location on the river was felt to be easily defended against the British and the climate was more hospitable than that in the more northern settlements like Michilimackinac.

Cadillac returned to Quebec, then travelled to Montreal where he gathered canoes, farmers, traders, artisans, soldiers, and Native Americans to accompany him on his quest. The men set sail on June 4, 1701.

Cadillac and his men reached the Detroit River on July 23, 1701. The following day, July 24, 1701, the group traveled north on the Detroit River and chose a place to build the settlement. Cadillac named the settlement Fort Ponchartrain du Detroit in honor of King Louis’s Minister of Marine.

Kare hav took this photo of the Detroit skyline from across the Detroit River back in 2017. See more in their Detroit gallery & have a great weekend!

Lots more Detroit photos & history on Michigan in Pictures!

Roseate Spoonbill in Michigan

Roseate Spoonbill in Michigan by Bill VanderMolen

The Detroit Free Press reports that bird-watchers are flocking to Saline in hopes of seeing this rare roseate spoonbill:

This is the first record of a roseate spoonbill in Michigan, said Molly Keenan, communications and marketing coordinator at Michigan Audubon in an email to the Free Press.

Michigan DNR biologists believe the bird either escaped from a local zoo or is very confused, according to a Facebook post from Saline police.

Roseate spoonbills are typically found on the Gulf Coast, in the Caribbean and in Central and South America, but they have been spotted in neighboring states, said Benjamin Winger, curator of birds at the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology and an assistant professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.

“It was really only a matter of time before one was documented in Michigan,” he said.

In the late summer, it’s normal for young water birds such as spoonbills, herons and storks to wander, Winger said.

“Sometimes, they wander a bit too far,” Winger said.

I’m not gonna definitively tell you to believe the zoologist over the DNR, but I am gonna look hard at the DNR & ask if they remember their decades of denial around cougars in Michigan.

Bill took this photo at Washtenaw County Wilderness Park. You can see another angle (with an egret) right here & see 211 more feathered finds in his Bird Life List gallery on Flickr.