looks like Spring has Sprung

First off, our thoughts and prayers out to everyone that was affected by the fires. We are unable to answer everyone's questions about areas affected by the fires, TV6 and the DNR I would say are some possible sources to find out that info. Also the township halls could probably provide more in depth info as to specific areas affected... And again, thanks to all the people that fought the fires, including our friend Chris Lamere and others in the volunteer depts. Lets hope things stay quiet tonight, red flag warnings AGAIN in the western UP.

On to happier things, the hummingbirds are back, and they closely guard their feeder. Here's a lucky shot of a hummingbird dive bombing another not so lucky bird just wanting a little drink of that yummy sugar water.

Wildfires break out in UP

map showing approximate area of black river falls fire
Update 5/22/09- TV6 has said the fire is contained and roads are reopened. Our hearts go out to those that lost all. We know some on the volunteer fire dept that didn't get much sleep the past couple days... thank you so much for the hard work in getting this beast under control. The link for continuing coverage on the Black River Falls and other fires is here:----continuing fire coverage

Update:05/21/09- The fire in Ishpeming,the Black River Falls fire, has burned 770 acres, taken at least 33 structures and homes. Black River Falls obviously must be pretty scorched as well, looking at the fireline map. Looks like the homes lost are on the west side of 581 between a little north of CR CG to CR CS. I hope they can keep this fire from jumping 581 when the winds pick up today out of the W NW. Now they say the fire is 65% contained.


05/20/09-
As of now there are two near L'anse,(one near Pinery location) one in Ishpeming Township near Co Rd. 581 and one near Champion (Fish Lake Grade). My husband just drove thru L'anse and Ishpeming and said the smoke was thick. They are evacuating homes on 581. These firefighters are up against hellish conditions today. Pray for these fires containment. Just saw firefighting equipment drive by, looked like a fireline grader.
It will be interesting to see the cause of these fires. Red Flag warnings have been issued well in advance of these incredible weather conditions, and common sense says you don't burn when it's 90 degrees with a 40mph gusting wind out of the south......(btw, we had the largest degree swing in high temps from day to day- today !- 44yesterday, 89- officially today).
Funny, when I lived in places like Cincinnati, I worried about tornados. Here, it's definitely fires. We have nothing but miles of woods to the south of us... tinder dry right now.

it's time

The great morel mushroom hunting season is upon us. They started finding them in the southern UP last week. With this crazy forecast, high of 40 today, 86! tommorrow, that should get em sprouting, although that warm of air might wilt ones already ripe to pick.

time capsules

oak leaf etchings

Sometimes you find interesting subjects in the wierdest places. This oak leaf was held captive for months by it's stem stuck between two timbers on my back porch. When the gales would come, this thing would flutter in a perfect circle, creating these etchings in the wood of the porch floor. The snows came and covered it up. When the snow melted, the mangled leaf was still there. Finally the stem broke and the oak leaf etching ended. This piece "Oak Leaf Etchings", will be available for sale in my art booth under one of our new collections called "Time Capsules"- a wide variety of subjects showing an era long past, as well as subjects simply showing the passage of time, such as this crumbling oak leaf.

If you haven't noticed, yooperdaily is being neglected due to the onslaught of the art show season. I'm going to find a way to update on the road, but during these past couple shows, it just hasn't been possible.

We will be at the East Lansing Art Festival on the corner of Abbott this coming weekend. - if you're in the area stop by say hi.

wierd day

Can't say that I've ever seen this before. We had some good size thunderstorms roll over the lake today, complete with hail. As the storm moved slowly across the horizon, this really dark fog would bubble up on the edge of the horizon, then dissapear. It was really wild looking. Any meteorologists out there, I'd be interested to learn what causes this, I imagine an extreme temperature differential. Got some very dramatic sky photography out of these isolated storms. There might be a keeper or two.

Sugarloaf starkness

a view from Sugarloaf Mountain
Just got back from downstate where the trees are in full bloom, some with leaves on them already, and the grass is oh so green. I guess they've had record rains and it shows with rivers crested over their banks.
This time of year is so fleeting, and the newness of Spring evenmoreso. Up here, the maples are just starting to bud, and there's some patches of grass to be seen here and there. Pictured above is a view from Sugarloaf Mountain. I chose black and white for constrast between the sky, rocks and trees, as there's really not much of anything for color yet. It is pretty amazing on some days, when everything starts to bud, how there can be close to as much color in the trees as in autumn. We're still a couple weeks away.