Let’s just wander here and there ~~ like leaves floating in the autumn air and look at common little things ~~ stones on the beach ~~ flowers turning into berries… From the winds we’ll catch a bit of that wondrous feeling that comes ~ ~~ not from seeing ~~ but from being part of nature… ~Gwen Frostic Today is (thanks to Gov. William Milliken) Gwen Frostic Day in Michigan. Frostic was born in 1906 and passed away in 2001. We heartily encourage you to read the fascinating story of one of Michigan’s best known artists in from the Detroit Free Press (via archive.org).
Michigan Walleye & Walleye Season
Walleye season opens today in Michigan (May 15 – March 15), so here’s a little bit about this tasty sport fish. The Michigan DNR page on walleye (Sander vitreus) explains that they are the largest member of the perch family: Walleye Glory Days by UpNorth Memories They lack the distinctive vertical bar makings of the yellow perch and have fan-like canine teeth. These battling fish are exciting to catch, delicious to eat and because they feed actively all winter, they provide a fine year-round sport fishery. …Walleyes are greedy predators. They eat small bass, trout, pike, perch and sunfishes. Prime feeding times are early morning and evening. Although in turbid waters walleyes are active throughout the day. Walleyes often associate with yellow perch, smallmouth bass, northern pike and muskellunge. In April and May, walleyes spawn over rock shoals. Males mature at age two to four years, females at three to six years. The average walleye caught by anglers is three years old and weighs from one to three pounds. Northern pike and muskellunge prey heavily on walleyes, while yellow perch, smallmouth bass and lake whitefish compete with walleyes for food. We found a nice list of the top 10 walleye lakes in Michigan. They say that experts believe Holloway Reservoir in Genessee County holds the most walleyes per surface acre of any lake in Michigan. One reason – something you can use when fishing for walleye – is that the movement of the water attracts baitfish which in turn attracts walleye. If you’re in the Saginaw area this weekend, you can check out the Michigan Walleye Tour tourney on Saginaw Bay. There’s also the Marbleye Classic on the St. Clair River (May 18-20). If you manage to land any of these tasty fish, you’ll want to cook them up. MyNorth.com has a great [...]
L. Frank Baum, The Goose Man of Macatawa
L. Frank Baum, author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, was born on May 15, 1856. The Holland Sentinel has an excellent feature on Baum’s Michigan connection, explaining that this multi-talented man was Louis F. Baum as an actor and playwright, L.F. Baum as a newspaper editor, and (of course) L. Frank Baum as one of the most popular children’s book authors ever. In the resort community of Macatawa, however, Baum was known by another name: ”The Goose Man.” The Wizard of Oz rolled off the presses on May 17, 1900, but Baum actually had the top selling children’s book of the year one year earlier: In 1899, Baum published “Father Goose: His Book.” The collection of children’s poems exploded in popularity and provided Baum with wealth and prestige for the first time in his life, his great-grandson, Bob Baum, recalled. The author used the profits from his book to rent a large, multi-story Victorian summer home nestled on the southern end of the Macatawa peninsula on Lake Michigan. The home, which he eventually purchased, came to be known as the Sign of the Goose, an ever-present reminder of the fame that came along with “Father Goose.” Definitely read on for more, including a little about Baum’s 1907 novel Tamawaca Folks: A Summer Comedy, lampooning the resort community. You can also read the complete text of Father Goose right here. This summer, Oz comes to Macatawa and Holland. The area will host the International Wizard of Oz Club Convention August 17-19, 2012 (click for program). This year the convention will focus on the homes of L. Frank Baum and the lakeside retreat he loved. They will even stage Tamawaca Folks: A Summer Comedy and explore Holland’s Castle Park. Also see the Oz Club Facebook page for all kinds of photos & [...]
North Country Dreamland: Northern Lights and the skies of Northern Michigan
I am going to guess that the video below is the most incredible thing you will see today, and quite likely for many days. There’s lots more about photographer Shawn Stockman Malone of Lake Superior Photo and this project below, but first please settle back, click the full screen view at the bottom right and enjoy her amazing video, North Country Dreamland.
Walking on the Beach with Loreen Niewenhuis
“I’d rather do 20 miles on soft sand than 10 miles on the side of the road. There is something about being where water meets land. I feel very clicked-in there. I feel like I can go forever.” ~Loreen Niewenhuis USA Today has a feature on Loreen Niewenhuis, a Battle Creek resident who has hiked a good deal of the shorelines of all the Great Lakes. As to why, she explains: “Our older son had gone off to college. The nest was emptying. I’d gotten my” master’s of fine arts degree … “but I felt I could stack up novels and not have an agent and be in my office writing novels forever,” says Niewenhuis, 49. “So I thought, let me do something completely different and get out of my office.” So she put on her hiking boots. She got out the office. Boy, did she ever. Click through to read more about her journey and what she learned along the way. You can keep up with Lorraine’s latest including a planned walk on 1000 of Michigan islands on her Facebook page and at laketrek.com. This photo is “Footprints”, Twelvemile Beach, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore by Michigan Nut. Twelve Mile is certainly one of the state’s best beaches. See John’s photo out on black and see more in his My Favorites slideshow. Lakes Michigan, Huron, Superior & Erie? Michigan in Pictures has them and all kinds of beach photos!
Invasive Lobsters overrun Lake Michigan Coast
EMPIRE, MICHIGAN APRIL 1, 2013 – Residents of the sleepy Michigan shoreline villages of Empire, Glen Arbor and Leland were surprised as they awoke to see the Lake Michigan beach covered with the latest Great Lakes invasive species to threaten our shores, lobsters. Dr. Molly Trapp, director of Michigan Sea Grant’s new Invasive Species Rapid Response team (ISRR), is heading the team and was one of the first to arrive on the scene. “There are a variety of ways that invasive species enter the Great Lakes,” Dr. Trapp explained. “Many come in in ballast water of freighters are are dumped, while others are pets that people release when they can no longer care for them. That’s likely what happened here, and I just wish people would think a little bit before they take on the responsibility of an exotic pet.” Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Under Superintendent in Charge of Beach Security, Stan Daround offered comment as well, “We want to assure everyone that we remain the most beautiful place in America despite this crustacean invasion. Park staff is working on a plan to combat this menace.” While Mr. Daraound was unable to provide specifics, he offered that the Park would probably be asking for “a lot of bibs and some of those claw cracker things” in their emergency appropriation request. The village of Empire, already overtaxed preparing for their annual Asparagus Festival next month, has called all residents to an emergency eating in the Empire Town Hall at 6 PM. Area resident Michael Buhler offered a simple plea: “Send butter.” For more on invasive species in the Great Lakes (including actual facts) visit Michigan Sea Grant’s Invasive Species pages.
Please Stand By!
As I perform some much needed updates to Absolute Michigan, please enjoy one of my all-time favorites photos, Racing Down the Dunes by Diann.
About Absolute Michigan
Absolute Michigan is a web development, marketing and new media firm in Traverse City, Michigan was founded in late 2003. We started the popular Leelanau.com web site in January of 1996 and have always tried to “Think Globally, Surf Locally” over the years. Michigan is our home, and we work every day to make Absolute Michigan a rich resource that promotes the state of Michigan as a place to visit, celebrates the natural beauty we are blessed with, highlights the businesses, organizations, communities and events that make our state what it is, and most importantly to celebrate what makes Michigan one of the best places in the world to live your life with the people you love. We hope to bring together people who feel the same as we work to solve the problems our local, regional and statewide communities are faced with. If you have thoughts on how we can do this better, how you could help (including sponsorship) please email publisher Andrew McFarlane. If you want to talk with someone about Absolute Michigan or websites and marketing & public relations projects in Michigan, please call us at 231-421-1172 or send an email. Thanks for visiting!