Don't Forget to Stop and Smell the Wild Flowers of Northern Michigan

We have a friend who knows everything to know about wild orchids in Michigan. He knows about all the wild flowers in Michigan and many other things. We are lucky that he gives us tips every now and then about what is blooming and where to find it. We even get details like “make sure to pack your muck boots and bug dope for this one…”

We don’t know the Latin names and all the details but we do love to photograph these wild beauties. We look forward to each species each and every year. This might seem boring to photograph the same things each year but every time is different. Lighting is different, conditions are different (rain or sun), and sometimes we have a new lens to try out.

So far this year we have found several variety of trillium, dutchman’s britches, yellow and pink lady slippers, and more. I will let the images speak for themselves so scroll through and enjoy!

Photo Camp (well, that's what I call it anyway...)

Each year at the Campground and Retreat Center that my husband and I manage and live at there is a Photography Workshop. It is lead or taught by Jim Doty Jr. who authored the book Digital Photography Exposure for Dummies

This is Jim:

I call it Photo Camp because everyone stays at the Camp together and eats in the dining hall together and in the end we all get to know each other as friends the way you do at summer camp when you were a kid.

I have been involved in Photo Camp for five years now and I keep learning new stuff, and making new friends!

Jim doesn’t pussy foot around about leaning either. He starts right in on Friday afternoon when everyone gets there teaching and before long we are on the Lake Michigan shoreline photography the night sky. One year we were treated to Northern Lights. Another year we got lightening. This year is was a beautiful calm night with a lingering sunset and crescent moon. It takes a little bit of knowledge to get good night shots and there we all are lined up with tripods while Jim yells out settings and tips.

The second day is a LOT of learning. Composition, exposure triangle, hyper focal distance, white balance, jewel box lighting, circles of confusion….All mixed with many beautiful images as example and engaging stories and inspiration.

Saturdays field trip is to a nature preserve on Lake Michigan where we found and photographed wildlife, wild flowers, and a gorgeous sunset.

I have to stop for a minute and talk about the food. My husband, Bill, does the cooking. The meals are fantastic. People say they come to learn photography but there is a good chance they come for the food!

We take a field trip to Michigan’s U.P. to Seney Wildlife Refuge. Some years we have sunshine and some years rain but whichever doesn’t matter it’s just a different kind of shooting. This year we got rain. So soft light. We saw an amazing amount of wildlife.

Click on the images below to scroll through:

Photo Camp is over now for another year. Next years workshop will be June 12-15, 2020. It will also be the Park of the Pines campgrounds 100 year anniversary. Maybe Photo Camp will do something really special…

If you have a camera and want to learn how to get the best results out of it, make some new friends, and gain 5 lbs. consider joining us.

You can find information at JimDoty.com I highly recommend it!

Scroll/click through more photos form photo camp:

Winter in Northern Michigan, depressing or magical?

Once November hits Northern Michigan it’s like someone stole the sun. The clouds roll in and sit on top of your head. The days grow shorter and for many people they head to work in the dark and drive home in the dark missing any hope of a sunshine sighting.

Many who live in Michigan leave for the winter and those who can’t work hard at finding ways to combat seasonal affect disorder by snowmobiling or skiing/snowboarding. We used to have a small team of sled dogs that we would race in the winter.

One of the things Bill and I found that brings us some joy during the long winter is to grab our cameras and go for a ride. It’s fun to find any wildlife to photograph but the most exciting find is our Arctic visitors the Snowy Owls.

There are a few places in Michigan where the Snowy Owls tend to migrate to for the winter. Bill and I have watched for them for many years but the past five or six years have been amazing. They call it “irruption” years, meaning there are more owls than usual. A recent article I read said that climate change is causing the Arctic to be less harsh and the Snowy Owls are having more successful breeding seasons with better than average food to eat. There is such a large population of Snowy’s that they are migrating earlier and further South to find territory.

Whatever the reason, it is magical!

The Snowy’s are often found on top of utility poles. A safe place to rest, and a great view for hunting. An owl on top of a utility pole is not exactly the most artistic image though. If I had a nickle for every photo we have of a beautiful Snowy Owl on top of a utility pole we could retire yesterday!

If you are patient though you can see them on fence posts, on the ground, or if you are lucky flying.

We sometimes get so caught up spotting owls and getting the one great photo that we forget to pull back and notice some of the locals who are watching us…

If you are patient, put in your time, and respect the owls sometimes you are rewarded with something special. Last year we photographed a Snowy Owl bring up an owl pellet. (look it up)

This year we were fortunate to have the sky open up in time for the sunset just as an owl came down off his utility pole, landed on the ground, then flew up directly toward us! The sun was setting behind us and lighting up the owl in the most beautiful warm glow. Magic! Makes you forget that a Northern Michigan winter can be depressing!

"GOD GAVE ME PHOTOGRAPHY SO I COULD PRAY WITH MY EYES." ~Dewitt Jones

Bill and I don't get a lot of time to just do whatever we want. Certainly we don't have time to waste. So when we have a free day we think long and hard about how we are going to spend that time. Recently, with the summer camping programs coming to an end we have had a couple of those very precious days to decide what to do with.... And it's late in August...and the monarch butterflies are starting to migrate....sooooo we used our first free day to go see if they were gathering in the U.P. on the shore of Lake Michigan waiting to make their long journey across the big lake. Oh, and Clydes Drive Inn in St. Ignace is on the way...

Perhaps many people would find it a silly endeavor to take a three hour drive on the chance that you might see a few (or a lot) of monarch butterflies, but that's how we roll. We like each others company and time in the car where we can only visit, listen to music or podcasts, and enjoy each other is something we look forward to. 

This is what we listened to this trip 'This American Life' NPR "The Feather Heist" a must listen. We love a few other podcasts too but that is a blog for another time. 

Dewitt Jones who's quote I have named this post is someone I was introduced to by my mentor Jim Doty. He is a retired National Geographic photographer who now does really great inspiring talks. In one of Jones's most famous talks he quotes another famous photographer Minor White who says "Don't ask what will I take today, ask what will I be given today". 

We set out to find and photograph the monarch migration but when we got to our destination we found only three butterflies. 

So we would not "take" many photos of the monarch migrations instead we were given...Pelicans! 

I have never seen Pelicans in Lake Michigan before. I've seen them in Yellowstone National Park, which surprised me as I think of them as being a very southern bird. According to our friend Steve Baker (experienced birder)  White Pelicans actually nest in Michigan on the islands in Lake Michigan off of Escanaba. Who knew (well he did) 

We also saw these cool things. (be sure to click on the image to scroll through the images) 

We then moved on to the Seney Wildlife Refuge, a favorite place. And boy were we treated to a show by the loons and juvenile loons there! 

Almost a week later I read that many areas had reported over night monarch "roosts". Surly they were close to migrating. So, call us insane if you like, but after Bill was done working at the bakery we took another drive up to see what was going on. 

This time we saw TWO monarchs! 

So off we went to Seney again. More loons, some sandhill cranes, and a gorgous sunset! 

Dewitt Jones says that God gave him photography so he could pray with his yes. I get that! As Bill and I sat at the edge of a pool of water in the Seney Refuge, quietly watching an adult loon care for it's young one and call to it's mate you could not feel help but feel some sort of spiritual experience. In some way you could not be closer to the center of the universe. It's hard to put into words so I would suggest you try it! Go outside and be still and see what you see and feel what you feel. I would like to hear about it later! 

WE LIVE AT SUMMER CAMP! (be jealous)

Four years ago we moved to the same summer camp we went to growing up to be the campground managers. So, we get to live at summer camp all year long. 

Park of the Pines is a camp and retreat center located on Lake Charlevoix near Boyne City Michigan. The camp is nearly 100 years old. It is open year round but summer is the busiest time. The Park hosts three youth camps each July, junior, junior high, and senior high. It also hosts a family camp which is summer camp for any age. 

Junior Camp

Junior High Camp

Senior High Camp

There are so many reasons why going to summer camp is a great idea! First it helps kids learn to be independent. One week away from mom and dad where kids can choose what classes to take, who to hang out with and what activities to participate in helps them grow and become more confident.

Kids learn to love the outdoors. Most of what happens at summer camp happens outside. They swim, play, and gather around a campfire under the open sky.

In today's world of every kind of computer devises kids experience a week "unplugged". They learn to have real conversation with each other, laugh, sing, and connect in reality.

Camp is a time for kids to just be kids. No pressure to achieve all A's or be the best pitcher, or worry about the SAT's. One week to have fun and just be.

Probably the most important reason for going to summer camp is for the friends you will make that last a lifetime. PS: I married my camp friend :-)

Oh and did I mention that it's just so much FUN! 

PHOTO CAMP 2018

Each year Park of the Pines camp and retreat center (where I live and work) hosts a photography workshop lead by Jim Doty author of DSLR Exposure for Dummy's. 

This is my photography mentor, adviser, coach, guide, instructor, teacher, tutor, or my personal favorite descriptor YODA (one who knows) Jim Doty, photographer and author. He is my Mr. Miyagi and I am Young Grasshopper. Without him I would not be the photographer I am today or will be in the future. 

Jim is also an animated story teller which makes his workshops interesting and personal. 

Each year Jim accepts ten photographers who want to learn and improve their photography and artistic skills. I get to make ten new friends who share a passion for photography. 

This may be my favorite weekend of the year. 

Click on the photos below:

This years "photo camp" was the 4th annual. I learn and understand more each year. PLUS Jim adds photos to his presentation each year that not only demonstrate photography technique but showcase beautiful places around the country. 

Jim, is a very accessible teacher and helps each individual photographer no matter their skill level.   

Because Park of the Pines is a camp and retreat center everyone stays on site and my talented husband is the chef for the weekend. We eat well and get to enjoy a beautiful photogenic setting on Lake Charlevoix. 

During the weekend we take some field trips to Thorn Swift Nature Preserve, Lake Michigan, the Mackinaw Bridge, Tahquamenon Falls, Whitefish Point on Lake Superior, and Seney Wildlife Refuge. 

Click on the photos below:

This year the weather was perfect. Our last night was spent watching the sun go down in the Seney Wildlife Refuge. You could hear the loons, trumpeter swans, and sandhill cranes. The sky showed colors from warm orange hues to cool vibrant pinks. It was magic. Can't wait to do it all again. 

HUMMINGBIRDS

At the Desert Museum in Tucson Arizona there is an aviary with at least five species of hummingbirds. We visited it in May and I could have stayed there for days! 

Broad Bill Hummingbird

Anna's Hummingbird

Black Chinned Hummingbird

Costas Hummingbird (I think)

Rufous Hummingbird

The thing that thrilled me the most was that there were two hummingbird nests! What good timing. I have always wanted to see a nest but when they are the size of a golf ball it is nearly impossible to find one in the wild. 

Can you see a glimpse of the tiny egg?

The eggs are the size of a jelly bean and when they hatch the babies are the size of a raisin! 

I read that in the early days of the Desert Museum Aviary the hummingbirds were having a hard time making nests. The nests were loose and often failed. A "keeper" realized that the new clean facility was missing a key ingredient for a healthy nest, spider webs! So she collected webs on sticks and left them in the aviary. She also collected spiders and left them in there too. Before long the hummingbirds were making more efficient nests and hatching baby hummingbirds! 

Click on the photo above to see more images...

When we forced ourselves to leave the aviary we stepped out of the building and there in the plants was a wild hummingbird! So we stalked it and got what I think was the best photos of the day. 

If you are ever in Southern Arizona a visit to the Desert Museum is a must. Not just for the Hummingbird Aviary but that is a highlight for sure! 

A Montana Ghost Town...

Bannack State Park in Montana is a real Ghost Town.....

Bannack State Park is a ghost town in west Montana. It was established in 1863 as a gold mining camp. People either looking to strike it big or who were fleeing the civil war ended up in Bannack. A large portion of the population came from Minnesota. Imagine traveling in a wagon over 1000 miles only to find a little ramshackle camp to make your home in. 

This was an honest to goodness wild west community. Whenever I'm in Montana I feel drawn to the past and what it must have been like and here are the remains of that past. Authentic little cabins and buildings that saw hope and hardship. The town had those wooden sidewalks you see in the movies, a church, a store, a jail, and of course a saloon. 

Click on photos to scroll through more...

This was a tough place to be. One story tells about a man who made it to Bannack carrying a human leg as he had been eating human remains on his trip to survive. 

Bannack was well known for it's lawlessness and criminals. Many hangings happened here. One man was so hated by the community for his crimes that they hung him, burned his house with his dead body thrown into it, then panned the ashes for any gold he may have had. 

Click on photos to scroll through more....

Mining continued in Bannack off and on into the 1950's. Some of the buildings were still inhabited into the 1970! I wish I knew more about who actually lived here in the 1970's but what I do know is they loved their wallpaper and linoleum.  

There are other ghost towns in Montana, I hope we get to visit more of them. Bannack however is said to be the most "intact" and maybe the most haunted......

Once A Year....

Once a year on average we get to visit our daughter! 

Our daughter, Loren, lives in Montana. At least she chose a beautiful place to live. Once a year we are fortunate to go and visit her and explore the state that she lives in. 

This year we took a vacation within a vacation! After a few days in Montana Loren, her boyfriend Cole, Bill and I went to Tucson AZ for a weekend. Loren said she has always wanted to see the giant Saguaro Cactus, so we saw them! 

We had a great time but I'm confident we would have had a awesome time no matter where we went with these two. I bet we would have enjoyed, say, Sedona AZ. 

Perhaps the best part of visiting the desert early in May was that the cactus were blooming. It's amazing to see these prickly uninviting plants with beautiful flowers. 

There is a lot to share from our trip to Montana and Arizona so I will split it into multiple posts. For today I had to start with our daughter who has lead us to so many places we never thought to go. How much fun to spend time with her and see life through her eyes and listen to her world outlook. No millennial bashing found here..... 

May Day

May 1, celebrated in many countries as a traditional springtime festival or as an international day honoring workers..... but not really here. 

I can assure you that the above picture was not taken recently. It was taken early in May last year. This year spring has gotten a very late start. April 14 through to the 17th we had a historic spring snow storm that dropped three feet of snow and ice. Some of it is still with us because it also stayed cold! Yesterday it reached 70* and my body didn't know what to do so my ankles decided to swell, what?! Today it promises to get well into the 70* range and tomorrow some warm spring rain. Maybe the lake will melt! There is HOPE! So for today, I will share with you some lovely spring flower images from a year ago. A month from now I will show you this years offerings! Enjoy:

There is a place in Michigan's UP that has a variety of trillium in unusual colors. We drove by it this last month and found that many of the trees are marked to be logged. I sure hope they don't spoil this magical little patch of flowers! 

Dutchman's Breeches

Jack in the Pulpit 

Marsh Marigolds 

Stay tuned for Spring 2018, it's on it's way. 

Spread Your Wings

I never take Snowy Owls for granted. 

The snowy owls will be migrating to the Arctic soon. Yesterday was a lovely warm sunny spring day, finally! We took a ride and found lots of migrating birds but the snowy visitors are still with us, but not for long. 

It is tricky to get good images of these big birds in flight. Conditions need to be just so and camera settings and skills need to be right on. Bill took these pictures. Although I have enjoyed photography since childhood, Bill picked it up when we were dating. I love that we enjoy doing the photography thing together. Some of our best days are spent in the car and on the trail looking for interesting things to photograph. 

I love that this owl never took his eyes off of the photographer as he did a fly by. It's a weird and amazing feeling to make eye contact with such a beautiful and wild animal. I have read that the strength of an owls claws/talons is equal to the bite of a German Shepherd dog. Imagine...

This snowy owl ended up landing on the top of a farmers silo. He looks pretty pleased with himself eh. I wonder if the fly by was intended to intimate, show off, or was he just as curious of us as we are of them. I do believe these Arctic birds are fascinated by us. Their normal home is isolated and they don't often come into contact with humans. 

They will be heading home soon. The Sandhill Cranes, Canadian Geese, Hawks, Ravens and even the Crows are crowding them right now. So Bon Voyage our Snowy friends, safe travels....

The Elusive Great Grey

Do you get nervous when you start checking things off your bucket list? 

It's a good thing that our bucket list is long, very long, and we keep adding things to it. Lately we have been checking things off the bucket list like today when we found and photographed a GREAT GREY OWL! 

Although Great Grey Owls are not rare they seem to be hard to find. Last week we got a tip about where one, maybe two of these majestic birds might be. We were ready to jump in the car and go looking BUT then Mother Nature took a wild hair and gave us a new 3+ feet of snow in the middle of April! 

So after five days of "inclement" weather we found a little time to take a drive north to see what we could find. This required crossing the Mackinaw Bridge which although closed in the morning because of falling ice was re-opened in time for us to cross. We were sure surprised when a chunk of ice which was like thin pane glass fell from one of the bridge towers and smashed against our windshield. They re-closed the bridge after we crossed. (not to worry it was open again by the time we headed home) BUT IT WAS WORTH IT! 

This owl is so magnificent! 'He' is the Wilfred Brimley of owls. Or maybe the Nick Offerman. It is hard to tell from the photos but he is big. The Great Grey's can be as tall as 33 inches and have a wing span of 5 foot! They are the largest of all owls. 

I could have spent all day and all night watching this owl. However he looked anxious to go find a whisky and a cigar and relax, so we l left him alone. 

Why We Love Snowy Owls

It might be Michigans best kept secret but in the winter the state becomes the winter home for hundreds of snowy owls and we can't get enough of them. 

Thirty plus years ago when Bill and I were dating we traveled up and down I-75 a lot. I lived in Sault Ontario and Bill lived in the northern part of the lower peninsula. Occasionally we would see these beautiful big white birds hanging out on fence posts on the side of the highway. I always felt like it was a good omen to see one. 

After doing some research and talking to a ornithologist friend we learned that Michigan has some of the best wintering areas for Snowy Owls. So although we do not consider ourselves "birders" we do love to photograph these gorgeous raptors. 

We have logged many hours slowly driving slowly watching closely to see if we can find a white owl blending into a chunk of white snow, or tucked into a rusting piece of farm equipment, or high atop a utility pole. 

We have taken hundreds (maybe thousands) of photos of snowy owls. Just when we think we should maybe say we have enough, we see something we have never captured before. Recently we were able to capture something that is very unique to owls. 

Owls will eat their prey whole. They eat rodents, small birds, small mammals. During digestion the parts that can not be dissolved, bones, beaks, claws, etc will form a 'pellet' which the owl will regurgitate. 

We have seen this before but this past weekend we actually caught the moment that a real beauty 'hacked up' a pellet. You may not think this is pretty but we could not have been more excited! 

So, I don't think we will ever give up on seeking out and watching snowy owls. There is always going to be something interesting and beautiful to see. 

The Passion Project

Many photographers who do, or try to make a living with their artistic skills will have a personal project they work on simply for their own gratification. These are often referred to as "Passion Projects".

Bill and I do not make art and photography our full time jobs. We actually have a couple of other jobs (each). We both are campground managers for Park of the Pines, a church own camp and retreat center in Northwest Michigan. This job in a way is also a passion project as we grew up going to summer camp at POP, we met at POP, and now we live and work at POP. We love this place and will work hard to keep it in good order. Bill is also a professional baker. He manages an in-store bakery close by. Bill has been a baker for over thirty years and loves it. I have a second job with our church (Community of Christ) working with youth camp directors for three Community of Christ camps in Michigan, another thing I am very passionate and dedicated to. We are lucky that we have reached a time in our lives where the jobs we are doing feel like they are meaningful and important. 

We love photography and have made time to turn this into a "micro" business for ourselves. We do a couple weddings a year, a few senior high school photo shoots, and the occasional head-shots. We really love to photograph nature and wildlife and sell prints at a local artists co-operative and our online print shop. 

We have an idea! We would like to become the photographers that are known for taking pictures of SENIORS! I mean senior citizens. 

This idea is born out of an experience Bill and I had several years ago. A person Bill went to high school with contacted us to go over to her in-laws house and take some photos of them for their upcoming sixtieth wedding anniversary celebration. We had so much fun spending time with this couple taking their pictures and getting to know them that we thought why not so more of this? 

If you think about it, there are never many pictures taking of a person after they graduate, get married, or have a family. Once they become empty nesters or retirees there aren't many picture taking opportunities. We would like to change that. We would like to make all stages of life a time to celebrate and document. 

So this year we are going to work on a personal "Passion Project" of documenting some of the seniors we know and love. We want to share their stories and hopefully capture their true essence in some beautiful images. Stay tuned, I hope to blog and eventually add a category to our portfolio to showcase this project. 

The Dance of the Sharp Tail Grouse

Last year on a tip from a friend we got up super early and made a trip to Michigan's Upper Peninsula before the sun rose to find a "Lek" of Sharp Tailed Grouse who were in the middle of their riotous matting season. It was amazing! 

 

The sharp tailed grouse are one of the larger grouse.  They have sharp pointed tails which stick straight up when the birds are displaying.  They are often mistaken for their cousin, the prairie chicken.

One of the more interesting details of the sharp tailed grouse relates to their matting dance.  The males gather on a group breeding ground called a lek and strut their stuff for the females. The males point their tails up, spread their wings, hold their heads low, and stamp their feet in  a way that makes them look like wined up toys.  The males all dance at the same time as a part of their fight over territory and to impress females.

This past weekend we made the trip to the U.P. again to check things out. It is a bit early (there is still snow on the ground) but some of the grouse are gathering and starting to dance. 

Imagine if you can, sitting in your car on the side of a country dirt road, the sun coming up, frost on the ground and a couple dozen grouse dancing like wined up toys, and make sounds that range from cooing, clucking, rattling, and clucking. It's a symphony of sounds. They vibrate, posture, run, and fight. It is an awesome display. For me it is a phenomenon that make me marvel at nature and how things work.