Eastern Redbud Blooming in Michigan by Lee Rentz
A Michpics reader shared that the blooming of redbuds was one of her favorite signs of Spring & I heartily agree!
Lee got this shot of Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis) in bloom last week. For sure check out his blog for some great travel stories including a Michigan bear encounter & view and purchase his work on his website.
Valentines Skies #2 by Gary Brink Photography
Gary took this stunning shot at Holland’s “Big Red” lighthouse on Valentine’s Day back in 2017. Head over to his Flickr for the latest & I hope that you all have a lovely week!
Life is like a mirror by Fire Fighters Wife
“Life is like a mirror, we get the best results when we smile at it.”
As usual, Beth shares a beautiful thought to go with her equally beautiful photo. See more in her Hello Fall! gallery on Flickr.
Neowise and meteor by Gary Syrba
In addition to being the season of cider, changing leaves, and Halloween, October also brings a pair of meteor showers. Our friends at EarthSky give you all you need to know to see the Draconid & Orionid meteor showers:
The Draconids, October 8th
In 2021, watch the Draconid meteors at nightfall and early evening on October 8. You might catch some on the nights before and after, as well. Fortunately, the thin waxing crescent moon sets before nightfall. It won’t hinder this year’s Draconid shower … This shower is usually a sleeper, producing only a handful of languid meteors per hour in most years. But watch out if the Dragon awakes! In rare instances, fiery Draco has been known to spew forth many hundreds of meteors in a single hour.
The Orionids, October 21st
Unfortunately a full moon accompanies 2021’s Orionid shower. Try watching for these meteors in the wee hours before dawn on October 21. You won’t escape the moon, though. On a dark, moonless night, the Orionids exhibit a maximum of about 10 to 20 meteors per hour. More meteors tend to fly after midnight, and the Orionids are typically at their best in the wee hours before dawn. The Orionids sometimes produce bright fireballs, which might be able to overcome a moonlit glare. If you trace these meteors backward, they seem to radiate from the Club of the famous constellation Orion the Hunter.
Gary took this shot last summer. Head over to his Flickr for the latest!
Reaching for the light by Mike Carey
In just over a day – 3:20 PM tomorrow at the vernal equinox to be precise – Summer 2021 will be in the books. Here’s hoping you get a little of that summer light before it’s all gone!
See more in Mike’s Lake Michigan 2021 gallery on Flickr.
Baby Blue and Storms by Jamie MacDonald
One of the defining factors of Summer 2021 in Michigan is a four letter word: rain. In addition to being one of our warmest summers on record, it’s also been one of the wettest as the Detroit News reports:
Flint notched its third wettest summer with 15.84 inches of rain. Detroit took seventh with 15.28. Saginaw ranked eighth with 13.30.
Detroit’s total included the 2.73 inches recorded Aug. 12 amid severe storms that left more than 900,000 residents across the state without electricity, some for up to a week.
Although only one daily rainfall total was broken July 16, when 2.20 inches were recorded at Detroit Metro, at least four significant flood events doused the region this summer, the weather service said.
Among them was the June 25-26 episode that flooded thousands of homes, resulting in a federal disaster declaration.
The Traverse City Ticker adds that summer 2021 was the wettest ever for Traverse City & Gaylord with Gaylord, Alpena, and Sault Ste. Marie notching their hottest summers ever.
While the rain has been a major headache for many, as Jamie writes, the skies can get pretty amazing when storms come rolling through around sunset! See more stormy goodness in his Stormy Weather gallery. You can also check out his podcasts on photography & his photography workshops at Mirrorless Minutes.
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!
Another Look at Our Rainbow Last Sunday Evening by Steve Brown
One of my favorite websites, Atmospheric Optics, says that secondary rainbows or “double rainbows” feature a secondary bow that is nearly always fainter than the primary, with colors reversed and more widely separated:
Light can be reflected more than once inside a raindrop. Rays escaping after two reflections make a secondary bow.
The secondary has a radius of 51º and lies some 9º outside the primary bow. It is broader, 1.8X the width of the primary, and its colours are reversed so that the reds of the two bows always face one another. The secondary has 43% of the total brightness of the primary but its surface brightness is lower than that because its light is spread over its greater angular extent. The primary and secondary are are concentric, sharing the antisolar point for a center.
Steve took this photo last month & you can see more in his Michigan Skyscapes gallery on Flickr.
Lots more rainbows on Michigan in Pictures!
I Dream of Clouds by Mighty Boy Brian
My heart is heavy this morning after watching a day of chaos in our nation’s Capitol & realizing that there’s nothing I or anyone can really say to those who reject the principles this country was founded upon. Stay safe everyone.
Brian shared this photo ten years ago. See more in his The Top Thirty album on Flickr & view more from him at brianwolfey.com and on Instagram.
Michigan in Pictures 