Must Be Something in the Water by Diane Charvat
Here’s some sunny sunflowers to start your week that Diane captured near Montague. See more in her Flowers album & head over to her Flickr for more great shots!
If you’re in a sunflowery mood, there’s more great Michigan sunflower shots on Michigan in Pictures!
The Sky Grew Darker… by Fire Fighter’s Wife
“The sky grew darker, painted blue on blue, one stroke at a time, into deeper and deeper shades of night.”
― Haruki Murakami, Dance Dance Dance
Beth shared this lovely photo & sentiment. See more in her Landscape album on Flickr.
Also, don’t forget to look for Perseid meteors tonight & for the next week or two!
Julie writes:
Sunday evening the winds picked up and we rode down to the pier and I watched this boat come from the harbor out the channel and head towards Petoskey north. He hit some huge waves coming in and I don’t know how he ever made it.
Here’s hoping he did and that you’re able to overcome the waves of 2020 as well!! See more in Julie’s Coronavirus Times 2020 album on Flickr.
Milky Way over Bond Falls with a dash of Perseids by Sathya
“I am beginning to love the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.”
~Sathya R.
EarthSky explains that the annual Perseid meteor shower is one of the most beloved meteor showers of the year, especially in the Northern Hemisphere, where the shower peaks on warm summer nights:
No matter where you live worldwide, the 2020 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 2020, the moon will be at or slightly past its last quarter phase, so moonlight will somewhat mar this year’s production. Still, there are some ways you can minimize the moon and optimize your chances for a good display of Perseids this year. Here are some thoughts:
The Perseids tend to be bright, and a good percentage of them should be able to overcome the moonlight. Who knows? You still might see up to 40 to 50 meteors per hour at the shower’s peak, even in the light of a bright moon. Will you see over 100 per hour, as in some years? Not likely. Still …
Try to watch after midnight but before moonrise. If fortune smiles upon you, the evening hours might offer you an earthgrazer – a looooong, slow, colorful meteor traveling horizontally across the evening sky. Earthgrazer meteors are rare but memorable. Perseid earthgrazers appear before midnight, when the radiant point of the shower is close to the horizon.
Watch in moonlight, but place yourself in the moon’s shadow.
Consider watching after the peak. People tend to focus on the peak mornings of meteor showers, and that’s entirely appropriate. But meteors in annual showers – which come from streams of debris left behind in space by comets – typically last weeks, not days. Perseid meteors have been streaking across our skies since around July 17. We’ll see Perseids for 10 days or so after the peak mornings on August 11, 12 and 13, though at considerably reduced numbers. Yet, each day as the moon wanes in the morning sky, less moonlight will obtrude on the show. Starting on or around August 17, moon-free skies reign all night long.
You can read about the taking of this photo & purchase a print from Sathya in Chasing the Perseids at his blog Like the Ocean & see more in his awesome Showcase album on Flickr.
There’s more Bond Falls & more Perseids at Michigan in Pictures.
Canadian Tiger Swallowtail by David Clark
Butterflies & Moths of North America says that Canadian Tiger Swallowtails are typically smaller than Eastern or Western Tiger Swallowtails. They are found in Canada as well as Alaska and the northern Great Lakes states.
David captured this gorgeous butterfly feeding on his coneflowers. Head over to his Flickr for more and definitely check out his blog Cliffs & Ruins too!
Spray Falls by Michigan Nut Photography
Just can’t get enough of John’s photos from the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The Pictured Rocks’ Waterfall page says:
Located about 1.75 miles northeast of Chapel Beach.
Spray Falls plunges about 70 feet over the Pictured Rocks cliffs directly into Lake Superior. This remote waterfall is best viewed from the water as there is limited viewing access from the North Country Scenic Trail (from the Chapel trailhead it’s a 9.6 mile round trip hike; from the Little Beaver trailhead, it’s just under 8 miles round trip.) The 1856 shipwreck “Superior” lies at the base of the falls in 20 feet of water.
The waterfall varies in flow & it’s flowing pretty strongly right now. A great way to get there IRL is the Pictured Rocks Boat Cruises, but you can get the next best thing including an awesome video of Spray Falls on the Michigan Nut Photography Facebook page!
Badger Departing Ludington by Mark Zacks
Mark got this photo of the SS Badger leaving Ludington last fall. See his latest on his Flickr & enjoy your weekend!
not too late for an evening swim by ctaylor1987
The Benzie Record-Patriot has a story about a dog that went overboard in Lake Michigan in heavy swells & miraculously made it to shore:
“We are so happy. It’s just a miracle. We can’t believe it. We are calling her ‘The Miracle Dog,'” said Kim Oberman, who has been on a boating vacation with her husband Nick, their children and Roxy.
…According to Oberman, their boat was about two-miles from shore when they figure Roxy must have gone overboard. Thankfully, Roxy had several things in her favor to make it back to shore alive.
“She’s young, and she was wearing a life jacket. She’s a good swimmer, and she’s smart. The current was pushing her to the north and west into the shore,” Oberman said. “Usually when we are cruising we take the life jacket off of her, because we stay down below or by the helm, but this day I hadn’t taken it off, and thank God.”
Read on for the full story at the Record-Patriot & for sure make sure your pups are protected when on the water!
The dog in this pic (and much safer waters) is named Hobie. See more in ctaylor’s On the Lake album.
Big Boy Graveyard by Charles Peace
One of the weirdest & most popular posts on Michigan in Pictures is the Big Boy Graveyard. The UP Supply Co. went to the mysterious Big Boy Graveyard & shares:
Many of you have read my previous post of the old post regarding the “Legend of the Big Boy Graveyard”. Since, it has been one of our most popular journal entries, resulting in a lot of search traffic and people trying to find the statues. But we won’t be giving out any locations here.
…I feel that what used to be called the “Big Boy Graveyard” can no longer be dubbed as such. As the previous photos showed there was a third Big Boy lying on the ground with a hamburger alongside it. It was more of a dump site.
Now however, it is less of a graveyard and more of an entrance to a chained off driveway to the dump site. Rather than lion guardians to the driveway, they’re old, deteriorating Big Boy statues. They don’t quite fend you off as much as the lions. But I think most people would agree there’s still a bit of creepiness (and delight?) when seeing this great Michigan icon out of context.
Head over to the UP Supply Co for photos & more!
Charles received his BFA in Photography from Northern Michigan University but I haven’t been able to find his current work.
Sugar Loaf Mountain by David Marvin
The Michigan Aerospace Manufacturers Association has announced that findings from a site-selection process for a vertical space launch site identified a location just north of Marquette:
Conducted by spaceport consultants BRPH and Kimley-Horn, the site-selection process has been a yearlong effort. Sites were ranked based on several factors, including existing commercial and public infrastructure, geographic and terrestrial mapping, living standards and workforce development. Operations are expected to begin by early 2025.
…The announcement for the vertical space launch comes just months after MAMA identified the Oscoda/Wurtsmith Airport outside of Oscoda as the top candidate for a horizontal spaceport. Licensing through the Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, has begun for that site with operations projected to begin in late 2023 or early 2024. The two launch sites in Marquette and Oscoda, along with a yet-to-be-identified command and control center, will create more than 2,000 jobs. These sites will be instrumental in creating a space ecosystem in the state that is projected to top 40,000 new jobs by 2025.
“Michigan has a real opportunity to support a space-based ecosystem,” said Gavin Brown, executive director of MAMA. “The Marquette location will be a critical component, bringing low-earth orbit vertical launch capabilities to the state to meet the domestic and global demand. By integrating sophisticated infrastructure with first-rate human talent, Michigan can be one of the leaders in the space industry.
Could Michigan become a space leader? Read lots more at the Michigan Aerospace Manufacturers Association website including renderings of the site!
David took this two summers ago, looking over Lake Superior from Sugar Loaf Mountain towards the area of the proposed site. Head over to his Flickr for the latest!
Rendering of the proposed launch site by MAMA
