Random Photo #36

Living in a Snow Globe World

Most people on Mackinac Island enjoy using snowmobiles for getting around in the winter, but I prefer to walk - it may take longer but you can't see the little details that make winter so beautiful.

Join me on my walk to work:

Hey, It's Cold Out Here!

Mackinac winters are typically cold and we often have bright blue skies that make the "crisp" temperatures almost pleasant.

The random snowmen are appearing again this year; this one is beside a path through the woods - where else will they show up this winter?

And we have some days that are liking living in a snow-globe: big, fat flakes floating from the skies:

Very occasionally, we have an ice storm; it's amazing how a coating of ice can transform everything it touches.

Only a tiny bit of shore ice so far:

It doesn't seem likely that these Christmas trees will be used to mark the ice bridge this year!

Cold temperatures, snow and ice don't stop a thing here, and what a pleasure to NOT have to drive in it!

Random Photo #22 - Coming Home

Places of Mackinac Exhibit

I'm very pleased to have had  a piece accepted into the 2014  "Places of Mackinac" art exhibit at the Richard and Jane Manoogian Mackinac Art Museum... and a photograph no less, the first time I've had a photo on public exhibit.

My photo is entitled "Winter Blues" and depicts foot thick slabs of ice, piled on the shore of the Island. This ice is bright blue and glows against the gloomy grey sky, absorbing and reflecting every bit of ambient light.  

How is this a "place" of Mackinac?

Well, every island is ultimately defined by water and for the year round residents of Mackinac, winter's ice and it's impact on our lives,  is most certainly a "place"!

If you're visiting Mackinac Island this summer, do try and make time to visit our art museum - the permanent collection is fabulous and the seasonal, juried exhibit is always a pleasure too!

Random Photo #11

Do You See Me?

Cause I see you!

This coyote was out on the ice on the north side or the Island and seemed to be playing a game of tag with us - running ahead until we caught up and then running ahead again. I invited it to come up our way - lots of rabbits available!

Wishing You a Bright, Shiny New Year!!!

And the Ice is Here!

We are officially ice-bound:  Arnold Transit suspended service TODAY, due to ice in the harbor in St. Ignace.

In the eleven years we've lived on Mackinac, this is the earliest ending of ferry service - should be a good winter!

We will be dependent on the planes now for mail, freight/groceries and for moving people on and off Island, unless an ice bridge forms - seems likely given the frigid temps we've had lately.

There is a long tradition of delivery via ice to Mackinac, here's an excerpt from Godey's Lady's Magazine, circa 1863:

                                                                                                                            Mackinac, Mich.

Dear Sir: Would you like to know the mode of conveyance by which the Lady’s Book reaches these almost Arctic Regions? It is by dog-teams. From Saginaw to this place, a distance of over two hundred miles, our mail matter, in the winter season, is brought to us on men’s backs and dog-teams. We have a weekly mail; and each weekly party consists of two man and three dogs with a long traine de glisse, to which the latter are harnessed. This traine is generally made of an oak board two or three-eighths of an inch thick, about a foot wide, and eight or ten feet long, with the forward part nicely turned up. On this are strapped mail-bags, and the provisions for the men and dogs. This would sound strange to those who live in well-improved parts of the country. Yesterday the thermometer ranged between four and twenty degrees below zero; and this morning it stood twenty-four degrees below. The ice in these straits, and Lake Huron in this vicinity, is from eighteen to twenty-eight inches thick; no sign of an early opening of navigation. I hear that your subscribers at this place are much pleased with the Lady’s book.

And thus, the ladies of the Island were able to keep current on the latest fashions!

Icing Early

Ice is always a topic of Island conversation this time of year - "will there be an ice bridge?" or "how much longer will there be boats (ferries)?"

Well the answer to that last question is, probably not much longer! The ice is making quite early this year, as can be seen by the path left by the the freighters making their way through the Straits.

The ferry is wearing it's own coating of ice:

And also leaving a trail, as it slowly makes it's trip to the Island.

The heavy steel hull can still break through the several inch thick sheets of ice so far, making a a rough, crunching sound, but that probably won't be the case for too much longer.

The rocks on the breakwall carry their own ice coating:

And the harbor is starting to fill too:

How many more days???? Better make one more trip and stock up on necessities - Spring is a long ways away!

Random Photo #9

Random Photo #7

Lingering

Winter will just not leave this year, it just keeps lingering on and on and on...

As of May 4th, there was still a pile of lake ice on the shore and you can hear it creaking and moving in the sun.

The texture of the ice has changed; it's very crystalline and brittle.

The slightest tap, and it breaks into shards.

There are a few signs of spring in the woods, despite the snow which is also lingering - new leaves pushing up and through the old:

Buds, waiting for a bit of warmth to open:

And a few not willing to wait, open despite the cold:

Temperature's Dropping!

This particular thermometer is actually showing a rather high temperature compared to the last several days!

So cold, the lake has been steaming - the old timers say the lake has to steam seven times before the ice will make.

There's a bit of ice in the harbor, but not enough to stop the boats just yet (but every trip across has the potential of being the last!

And there's a thick coat of ice on the boat itself.

The few remaining horses are still at work, wearing frost beards!

We even have some snow, which has been in short supply the last couple winters - it goes a long way towards making winter on Mackinac more enjoyable!