Lake Michigan

I am very fortunate to live near one of our great lakes. I am about 40 minutes away from Lake Michigan. I love this great lake!

New Buffalo, Michigan.  The closest part of Lake Michigan to me.

Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. The other four Great Lakes are shared by the US and Canada. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron (and is slightly smaller than the U.S. state of West Virginia). To the east, its basin is conjoined with that of Lake Huron through the wide Straits of Mackinac, giving it the same surface elevation as its easterly counterpart. Lake Michigan is bounded, from west to east, by the U.S. states of Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. The word "Michigan" originally referred to the lake itself, and is believed to come from the Ojibwa word mishigami meaning "great water".


History
Some of the earliest human inhabitants of the Lake Michigan region were the Hopewell Indians. Their culture declined after 800 AD, and for the next few hundred years the region was the home of peoples known as the Late Woodland Indians. In the early seventeenth century, when western European explorers made their first forays into the region, they encountered descendants of the Late Woodland Indians: the Chippewa, Menominee, Sauk, Fox, Winnebago, Miami, Ottawa, and Potawatomi. It is believed that the French explorer Jean Nicolet was the first non-Native American to reach Lake Michigan in 1634 or 1638.
With the advent of European exploration into the area in the late 17th century, Lake Michigan became part of a line of waterways leading from the Saint Lawrence River to the Mississippi River and thence to the Gulf of Mexico. French coureurs des bois and voyageurs established small ports and trading communities, such as Green Bay, on the lake during the late 17th and early 18th centuries.
The first person to reach the deep bottom of Lake Michigan was J. Val Klump, a scientist at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. Klump reached the bottom via submersible as part of a 1985 research expedition.

Geography 
Lake Michigan is the only one of the Great Lakes wholly within the borders of the United States; the others are shared with Canada. It has a surface area of 22,400 square miles (58,000 km²), making it the largest lake entirely within one country by surface area (Lake Baikal, in Russia, is larger by water volume), and the fifth largest lake in the world. It is 307 miles (494 km) long by 118 miles (190 km) wide with a shoreline 1,640 miles (2,640 km) long. The lake's average depth is 46 fathoms 3 feet (279 ft; 85 m), while its greatest depth is 153 fathoms 5 feet (923 ft; 281 m). It contains a volume of 1,180 cubic miles (4,918 km³) of water. Hydrologically it forms a single body of water with Lake Huron, the whole being called Lake Michigan–Huron; the two sides are connected through the Straits of Mackinac and share an average surface elevation of 577 feet (176 m).



I was last there a few days ago. I was in South Haven, MI. About an hour from me.

this is one of my favorite beaches on Lake Michigan altho there are many I like.
I have been to many beaches along the lake. In Indiana, Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin. All are beautiful.
This is Tower Hill in Warren Dunes State Park - Sawyer, MI

As beaches go, Warren Dunes State Park is an excellent example, boasting two miles of sandy, Lake Michigan shoreline. Its impressive and abundant dunes are what make Warren Dunes really unique — and may explain its #1 ranking among state parks in Michigan. Up for a challenge? Try fighting against slipping sand to climb Tower Hill, which stands 240 feet above the lake. (Your reward? Running — or rolling — back down again.) 

I went to Tower Hill often growing up. Both with my family and friends as a teenager.  I took my kids there also.

In Chicago Illinois there are many beaches. I have taken boat tours on the lake. Here is the boat I rode on:

See all of Chicago's fabulous lakefront sights and attractions with a convenient half-hour Lake Michigan boat tour from Shoreline Sightseeing's Navy Pier dock. Learn about Chicago's colorful history and famous landmarks as you enjoy the panorama of Chicago's famous lakefront! Chicago Skyline Lake Tours run from April 1 to October 31. We want your Lake Michigan cruise from Navy Pier to be a wonderful experience!

I also took the Lake Express high speed Ferry across the lake from Muskegon, Michigan to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

This high-speed auto ferry is the only one of its kind operating within the Continental United States. It is equipped to comfortably transport nearly 250 passengers, 46 vehicles and 12 motorcycles. Conversions may be made to accommodate a total of 114 motorcycles.

The Lake Express crosses Lake Michigan in just 2-1/2 hours, just a fraction of the time it takes to drive through Chicago by car.

It was an great adventure. I went with a friend and we sat on the top deck. It was very windy that day so we sat right on the floor with our backs up against a wall for support.

Approaching Milwaukee, Wisconsin from the ferry:

Wisconsin beaches are just as lovely as any other Lake Michigan beach.

this is
Whitefish Dunes State Park, one of the nicest Lake Michigan beaches I've seen in Wisconsin.

Then there are the beaches in Indiana. I probably have been to those the most since I grew up in Indiana.

Indiana Dunes State Park in Chesterton, Indiana

 Another beach I went to more then I could count is Washington Park Beach and Zoo in Michigan City, Indiana

The Zoo

I took my kids here several times when they were growing up. Now I take my grandkids. Just an hour away from me.

Well you have taken a little tour of Lake Michigan. A very little one. There is so much to do and see all around the Great Lake I love.

One finally note...

My beautiful lake in the winter...

Actually frozen waves in mid air. They are almost indescribable.

I will go back soon.....I am drawn to it's beauty. This magnificent lake calls me.

Squirrels, Ducks and......Noises

Yesterday was a overcast balmy day. Almost 70 degrees. Great for a November day. We went to the grocery store in the am.  Now you know I live on a lake but surrounding all the lakes in the area are farmers fields. Lots of fields. The whole area is lakes, fields and a few horse farms. Going down the country road before we reach the next town (there are no grocery stores in my town) we saw a small group of turkeys grazing where the other day we saw the Sandhill Cranes.

I don't think these turkeys have heard most people in the USA eat turkey on Thanksgiving day.  They didn't seem concerned as they slowly walked around.

We also saw many Fox Squirrels running around playing. There is several empty fields by my house and they were just running everywhere. Here is where the Fox Squirrels were hanging out!

 Before the Black Squirrels moved in we had a lot of these rascals in our yard. They moved on I guess since the others have moved in. And that is alright with me!

I enjoy these little squirrels. They mind their own business, stay out of the feeders and the holes they dig in the yard are small compared to the damage the Fox Squirrels do.

After the groceries were put away we went outside and sat for awhile.  I was so surprised to see 3 black squirrels in our yard. They too were running and playing and chasing each other.
They were so funny. One squirrel was sitting with it's back to another when another squirrel came running up to it and jumped right on it. Scaring the sitting squirrel.  Another time they chased each other and bounced from tree branch to tree branch having a great time.

Along came 2 Chipmunks. They too were running all around. One jumped right up into the air like it was on a spring.

With the balmy temps maybe the animals thought it was Spring instead of fall!

Back in the house I was sitting at the computer watching the bird feeder. A bird flew right into the window screen bounced off and fell down. I ran outside in time to see it get up, stagger and fly away.

I have been hearing noises outside the computer window for days. But when I look outside I don't see anything.  But something is walking thru the leaves on the ground. But gosh darn it I can't see what it is. By the time I get outside it is gone. So it must be sparrows or maybe the chipmunks eating the bird seed that falls to the ground. But you know how sound echos...it sounds loud.

 The Mallards are busy too. They have been out in front of our house all week.  The Mallard Duck is the most recognized duck in the northern hemisphere.

 Mallards select their mates (“pair bonding”) in the fall but do not begin to breed until late March or
early April of the following year. The female, accompanied by her mate, searches for a territory
which is usually one close to where she herself was hatched. Sometimes the female will return to
the same nesting site year after year. The nesting site is sometimes close to a source of water
but more often a small distance away in an area lined with bits of rushes, grass, weeds, and other
organic material. The nest, built solely by the female, is usually somewhere with good cover such
as thick grass or shrubs or in the hollow of a tree up to 12.2 m (40 ft.) off the ground.
The Mallard Duck is approximately .6m (2 ft.) long with a wing span of 82-95 cm (32-37 in.) The
male duck (or “drake”) is brightly colored from September to June during breeding season.
During this time, the drake stands out with a brilliant glossy green head and upper neck,
separated from a light grey breast and a rusty colored back by a white ring resembling a collar.
Its bill is yellowish green. The drake exhibits two distinct black feathers in the center that curve
back, giving the male his characteristic curly tail. After breeding season, the drake starts to lose
his colorful feathers and is unable to fly. Until breeding season returns in August, the male will
more closely resemble the female.
The female Mallard (or “hen”) is much less colorful and smaller than the drake. The hen’s back
and breast is a darker brown than the drake’s, and she does not have the same distinct curly tail.
The hen has an orange bill, occasionally marked with black spots, and orange legs and feet.
Both the drake and hen have a distinguishing speculum (a bright blue rectangular spot of color)
and a white bar on the bottom edge of the wing at the point where it meets the body.

Isn't that interesting?

That's a Wrap For 2012

That is what my hubby said as he pulled into the garage on the rider mower.  The season has come to an end. We are done with raking, mowing and weeding for the year. Now bring on the snow blower and the shovels.

The boat is put to bed too

OOPS! Hubby bought the new winter cover too short.  He says that will do.

Hoses are put away, all lawn furniture put away. Looks pretty bare out there.  Walking around the yard today I saw we will have to replace the wren box.

The Wrens haven't used the Wren house for 2 seasons now.  This is the first time we haven't had Wrens.  It must be at least 20 years old so maybe it has outlasted it's usefulness.

The Wrens still come every Spring but build their house elsewhere.

These are House Wrens. Some call them Jenny Wrens. I don't know where that term comes from. Wrens are medium-small to very small birds. I think they are so cute. And they are such good singers.






Once we had a Carolina Wren that made it's nest in our Boat Shed. They are cute birds too.

The Carolina Wren is noted for its loud song, popularly rendered as "teakettle-teakettle-teakettle".

It is a fairly large wren; among the United States species it is second largest after the Cactus Wren.

We had to fill the feeders today. Every 2 days they are empty.  I fill them all myself except the feeders hanging in front of the computer window.  I can't reach it as it hangs from a wire from the roof eavesdrops.  My hubby is going to fix it so I can refill it without calling him to come help.

I don't know how he will fix it but he is a handy man so I know he will do it up right. I have 2 finch feeders hanging from a metal pole he made me. It is about 12 feet from the ground. Now I can't reach that either but he made me a hook to reach up and grab the feeders. I fill them back up and re hook.
Pretty clever how he did that.

Feeder pole hubby made.....

He also made my potter bench from scratch. Plans right out of his head.  I just love it too.

Potter Bench up next to the house

 I heard we were to get snow in 3 days. We will see. They often say that and we don't. But it is coming. We are almost ready.

While sitting in the garage after we were all done with yard work. Guess who showed up?

Didn't I say I never saw it in the garage this year? Well it ran right in and under some boxes. Hope it makes it back out before hubby puts out the mouse traps. We usually get at least one in the garage over the winter. They can do so much damage in a garage or home. Never had one in the house thank heavens.

Nothing different at the feeders lately. Soon the feeders will look like this

BRRRR!!!

On the Road Again

My grand kids had a couple of days off from school which gave them a long weekend. So they were coming for a visit. While on my way to pick them up at the half way meeting point which is 50 minutes away I was wondering what I'd see along the way.

I saw a Hawk on a dead tree branch.  I saw it out of the corner of my eye but could not get a good look at it.

As I continued on my way there was a small group of Sandhill Cranes eating corn from a plowed field. I could hear them before I saw them.

They are quite noisy. Sandhills are very big birds. 2.6 to 3.9 ft high with a wing span of 5.4 to 6.9 feet.
This crane frequently gives a loud trumpeting call that suggests a French-style "r" rolled in the throat, and they can be heard from a long distance. And believe me, you can hear them long before you ever see them. And sometimes you never do.

They will be going South soon. New Mexico is a favorite winter hang out. There is an annual Sandhill Crane Festival in November in New Mexico.

A deer had been hit. Not much of it was left. I felt bad for the person, the car (and the deer) who hit it. Going 70 does a lot of damage to a person, car and deer along a freeway. The deer looked like it was beheaded, skinned and left in pieces. I never saw such a mess on the highway or anywhere.

A tiny little black kitten was in the weeds along the road. I so wanted to stop and pick it up. It was facing the woods. It looked to be only about 5 or 6 weeks old. I hoped it hadn't been just dropped off along the road.  But knew it had. There were no houses or city life along that stretch of the highway. Just road and woods. Poor thing.

There was an unusual amount of tire blow outs on the freeway. They seemed to be everywhere along the highway. I have never had that happen nor seen a tire blow. It must be so scary.  Some pieces were the size of the whole tire.

Not something enjoyable along the highway. Very dangerous too.

I reached the meeting point which is a car share parking lot. I picked up my grand kids and back we went. I didn't see anything all the way home but then I wasn't paying much attention with me keeping an eye on the road and listening to the kids, singing Christmas songs I forgot to look for anything interesting along the way.

We get to my house right when a group of Sandhill Cranes are flying over head. Making the racket they make. Very loud, noisy birds as I said.

So my journey ended as it had began...with the Cranes. Beautiful birds.

Feeders

We just filled the feeders in the rain. Now that is a bird lover. It wasn't pouring but still raining.  Oh the birds are so happy. They are flying all over the place like they just got something special to eat. I guess even birds think a full plate looks better then a half plate.

I have 10 feeders. Some are summer feeders but most are winter feeders and some are all year round feeders.

Some look like a house type feeder and some are platform feeders, some are tube type feeders, some suet feeders that look like a small cage. Most are wood but a few are plastic. And one a net bag. I once bought a copper feeder that was expensive. It was $35.00 and only lasted a year. The copper all rusted and it didn't hold up. I went back to the cheaper types. They seem to last for several years.

a platform type

Some of the feeders hang in trees, some are on a pole and some hang from shepherd hooks and some hang from the roof on wire. I have from time to time turned onion bags into feeders.

Tube type feeder

Then there are the Hummingbird feeders. I have two. One hangs from the house and one in a tree. The trouble with the one hanging in the tree is it is always full of ants. The ants get inside and drown in their own sugar fix. The one hanging from the roof attracts bees. I once watched the bees chase the Hummingbirds away all afternoon. I have one feeder that looks like this red one and another that looks like a light house. This is the one that the ants get in and drown.

This is the Lighthouse feeder I have

I have made nature feeders too. Taken pine cones and rubbed peanut butter and seed all over them. Birds like those. I hang them from tree branches. I also nail a half of an orange to a tree trunk. Citrus attracts Orioles for one. We have a lot of Baltimore Orioles in the Spring and Summer.

Male Baltimore Oriole

One of my feeders is both a seed feeder with a suet holder on both ends

A plastic type feeder

 The copper type I had that I spent alot of money on and didn't last at all. All the copper rusted.

I have a couple separate suet feeders. By that I mean not attached to another seed feeder.

You have to wire the top shut to keep animals and Hawks from running off with the suet cake.


Hanging from shepherd hooks

My husband has modified several of the feeders to try to keep the squirrels out. The platform feeders are up on a metal pole with squirrel baffles. Others hang by a wire.  Some by hooks. It is worthless to but a a feeder in a tree unless you don't mind the cost of buying huge amounts of seeds and refilling 2x a day. Animals love seed too.

How the baffles work.

However squirrels are rascals. They can think of many clever ways to get into a feeder. I have seen some jump over the baffle and also climb metal. How they did this I have no idea.  But I was very upset when I saw that squirrel in the feeder.

 I have a log feeder given to me by a friend. It is packed away for the winter now so I can't take a picture.

Net bags make good thistle seed feeders. I know my finches love them

And onion bags make good feeders

 There are so many ways to feed the birds. From planting trees or bushes that produce some kind of seed or berry to home made feeders, to fancy bought ones, to very simple to just spreading seed on the ground.  You feed them they will come. 

Woodpeckers

The other day I was at the feed store looking at all the kinds of suet to buy. I have 3 suet feeders hanging here and there in my backyard.  But the main one I enjoy is the one I can see from my computer room window. The others are on the other side of the back yard.

Anyway, I was looking at the suet cakes wondering which to buy. Fruit? Nut? Fruit and Nut? For song birds? On and on...the one that I was interested in said " For Woodpeckers" It then went on to say it would attract all types of those little pecker birds.

I thought sure it would. What is so different that this type would attract them  over the other types of suet. It seemed to have the same things in it as the other suet's. Seeds, berries nuts. Why was it so special?

Well I bought the Woodpecker suet cake and a couple of others for the other feeders.

Later in the day I went out to hang the suet cake that would attract all the peckers from the neighborhood.

Since it was later in the day I didn't sit and watch the feeder. By the next day I had forgotten I was going to sit and watch that woodpecker feeder.

That afternoon I was on the computer when out of the corner of my eye I saw movement. I looked up and low and behold I had a tree full of wood peckers. Several kinds of woodpeckers. In fact as I write this there is one at the suet feeder and one waiting it's turn in the Lilac Bush.

There is a female Hairy Woodpecker at the feeder.

Here are both male and female Hairy Woodpeckers

There was some Downy Woodpeckers also

A male Downy

a female Downy


So similar it is hard to tell the difference. The Hairy Woody's are bigger then the downys are.

The suet attracted a Flicker also

 

 Later in the day the Red-Breasted Woodpecker came to visit

But my all time goal for Woodpeckers is Woody Woodpecker......a Pileated Woodpecker

a Flicker and a Pileated Woodpecker at a feeder.

I saw one at a State Park close to me this Fall.
But I want to see one in my yard. And they do visit backyard feeders. I know people who get them.

All in all me buying a Woodpecker suet cake was a huge success!