Sunrise Sunset

A couple miles east of my home.

Imagine, if you will, hundreds of four-foot-tall birds all landing at the same lake on a perfect October evening. This photo will help. Since we missed the 2003 Crane Fest, we spent this evening at Big Marsh Lake and watched the cranes come in with perhaps a hundred other mid-Michigan bird watchers. It was wonderful. If you live anywhere near where these birds congregate, I urge you to spend an evening with Sandhill Cranes. The sights are sublime; the sounds are incredible. Camera: Nikon N90s

Joan and I spend a couple weekends each year in St. Ignace, on the Straits of Mackinac. This is why.

McLain State Park is west of Calumet, in Michigan's Copper Country on the Keweenaw Peninsula. While there are many other reasons to visit the area, the sunsets alone can justify the trip. This photo was taken in July of 1998 with my Nikon N90s

The first day of spring had this marvelous ending. Photo taken on Saginaw Highway between Mulliken and Sunfield.

Joan took this lovely photo of the Mackinac Bridge a few years back from the lighthouse grounds in Mackinaw City. If you compare this pic with mine from a few weeks ago , you'll see they were taken from opposite ends of the span. This photo looks toward St. Ignace. Camera: Minolta point-and-shoot Photo by Joan Bennett in June, I think in 2000

The sun sets over Lake Michigan, near Leland, Michigan. The Manitous are on the horizon in this photo. Joan and I had hiked down the beach from Jolli Lodge. This picture was taken with a "free" Vivitar point'n'shoot camera on Labor Day weekend in 2002. Jolli was one of my parents' favorite places. Mom and Dad started spending summer weeks in Leland in the eighties, and after Dad passed away Mom made a practice of spending summer's last week there. We "kids" would join her for the final weekend. A fine resort, beautiful on the lake's shore.

Central Michigan had a glorious sunset last night. Three times I stopped on the way home from the ballyard in an effort to capture it. This photo from Nixon Road, just off Saginaw Highway (M43). If anyone actually cares....

This evening was dominated by a rather dramatic storm; it had Andy Provenzano, Channel 10's weather guy, talking about "Funky Clouds". Besides the impressive clouds, the wind was a bit frightening here, and rain fell. Lots of rain fell. And a nearby high school had significant storm damage. Then, this....

The sun sets over Mulliken Meadows.

Took this from my bike, which is not really something I recommend.

CO Brown Stadium, Battle Creek, Michigan. Not as crisp a picture as I'd hoped, but it hints at what I intended.

Lansing, Michigan.

Another gull floating above the Straits of Mackinac. Photo from our June weekend in St. Ignace.

A couple years back we spent Joan's birthday in South Haven. As you've maybe guessed, I've been sorting through the pictures I took that weekend.

Rails, of course: The Pere Marquette mainline from Mulliken, Michigan. Long since part of the Chessie system, and now also in regular use by Canadian Pacific

From the beach at Petoskey State Park.

Shot from Oldsmobile Park. That large building is the Board of Water and Light's retired downtown power plant.