Otherside of the Tail, photo by John Rothwell
Be thou the rainbow in the storms of life.
The evening beam that smiles the clouds away,
and tints tomorrow with prophetic ray.
-Lord Byron
View John’s photo background bigilicious and see more in his slideshow.
More summer wallpaper on Michigan in Pictures.
High Dive into Lake Superior, photo by Craig
I want to say some things about this photo.
First and foremost, how incredibly awesome is someone to leap into Lake Superior any time of the year? Pretty doggone awesome is the answer, and if you’re wanting to go into Michigan’s coldest lake, August (when this photo was taken) is a pretty good time!
On Michigan in Pictures I post a lot of photos of people doing amazing things in this four-season playground we are blessed with. While summertime is certainly the best season for flamboyant fun, in June especially, the waters of Michigan’s Great Lakes can get very cold. Cold enough to kill as this tragic story from Marquette earlier this month illustrates.
My safety tips would be to really check water you’re leaping into for depth, obstacles, temperature, and whenever possible ASK A LOCAL what they think about whatever ridiculousness you’re considering. Chances are they know a thing or two about currents, weather patterns, or at least a good place to grab a bite and a beverage after your epic stunt.
Remember – having fun is what it’s all about, so figure out how to do it right and then DO IT!
View Craig’s photo bigger, view & purchase work at Craig Sterken Photography, and be sure to follow him on Facebook.
Grand Haven MI, photo by Cyndie M
Summer 2016 is here, and as it’s the only Summer 2016 you’re ever gonna have – I recommend you get the most out of it!!
Cyndie took this last week at the sand dunes by Grand Haven. View it background bigtacular, see more in her slideshow, and check out more of her work on her website.
PS: More summer wallpaper on Michigan in Pictures!
Untitled, photo by Todd Richter
Happy Leap Day everyone and here’s hoping that this quadrennial occurrence adds a little fun to your life! Borgna Brunner lays down Leap Year 101:
Leap years are added to the calendar to keep it working properly. The 365 days of the annual calendar are meant to match up with the solar year. A solar year is the time it takes the Earth to complete its orbit around the Sun — about one year. But the actual time it takes for the Earth to travel around the Sun is in fact a little longer than that—about 365 ¼ days (365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds, to be precise). So the calendar and the solar year don’t completely match—the calendar year is a touch shorter than the solar year.
It may not seem like much of a difference, but after a few years those extra quarter days in the solar year begin to add up. After four years, for example, the four extra quarter days would make the calendar fall behind the solar year by about a day. Over the course of a century, the difference between the solar year and the calendar year would become 25 days! Instead of summer beginning in June, for example, it wouldn’t start until nearly a month later, in July. As every kid looking forward to summer vacation knows—calendar or no calendar—that’s way too late! So every four years a leap day is added to the calendar to allow it to catch up to the solar year.
Read on for more and enjoy your day.
Todd took this shot back in August of 2009 at one of my favorite spots for hiking (and jumping) – the Pyramid Point overlook in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Lake Michigan is hundreds of feet down a steep bluff from the point where she’s jumping, and many is the person who wished they didn’t run down that bluff after toiling up it!
View Todd’s photo background bigtacular and see more in his digital slideshow.
More dunes on Michigan in Pictures!
But if you really hold me tight, all the way home I’ll be warm, photo by brockit inc
Still looking for some of that frightful weather so we can enjoy the delightful parts of winter!
View the photo bigger and tune into brockit’s Facebook for lots more creative portraits (that sometimes wander into the NSFW realm).
Free Birds, photo by David Clark
Here’s a pretty cool shot taken last weekend from high above the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and Lake Michigan. For reference, if he took this from where I think he did, those people are above a dune bluff that’s several hundred feet high.
View David’s photo big as the sky and see more in his Sleeping Bear 2015 slideshow.
The Waltz Strings, photo by Myrna Jacobs
Next weekend I will be on my way to the annual Earthwork Harvest Gathering at Bob Bernard’s Earthwork Farm near Lake City to help the incredible crew of people who put together this uniquely Michigan festival.
It’s a weekend packed full of tremendous musicians on 4 stages, engaging workshops and a wide range of activities for all ages. As Myrna writes, the Waltz Hour held in the farm’s cozy and acoustically amazing barn is definitely one of the highlights:
This whole thing was so absolutely wonderful. The floor was full of people waltzing. I felt like I was in a dream.
View Myrna’s photo bigger on Facebook and definitely check out her #EarthworkHG album.
