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Lighthouses - South Haven and Holland

3/23/2015

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When I headed home today, I decided to stop by a couple of lighthouses on Lake Michigan that were not too far out of the way. The first was the lighthouse at South Haven. It was snowing while I was there, so the photos did not come out as well as the ones from St. Joseph.
Snowy Lighthouse
Underwater Ice
The keeper used the catwalk to get to the lighthouse when the water was rough
Great weather for ducks and lighthouses
The next lighthouse was in Holland, home of the Tulip Festival. No tulips in sight today. The snow stopped by the time I reached Holland, but it was still overcast. 

It took longer to get the photos than I had planned. My GPS tried to take me there, but I could only follow the directions so far. It turns out the lighthouse is in a gated community. It is accessible by foot two days a week. (Not today) I had to drive around Lake Macatawa to get to Holland State Park on the other side of the inlet. At least it gave me more than one perspective.
The little red lighthouse
There were quite a few gulls flying around
A different perspective
South breakwater light
North breakwater light
The historical marker with the lighthouse in the background
A closer look at the marker
Thanks for stopping by.
Rob
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Thawing Lake Michigan - Southwest Michigan

3/22/2015

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Most of the snow has melted in the lower half of the lower peninsula. What is left is either in heavy shade or the remnants of big piles from the parking lots. Lake Michigan is beginning to thaw, but when that much water freezes, it takes a long time to thaw. I decided to drive out to see how it looks in late March. The first photos are from the beach at Van Buren State Park.
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This is the view when I first walked out on the beach.
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This piece almost looks like it is floating in mid air.
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A frozen sand bar. The water was lapping up against it.
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There was quite a bit of this stuff on the beaches. It looks a little like tumbleweed.
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An iceberg. I don't think this one could sink a ship.
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It looks like someone forgot there is no alcohol on the beach.
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One lone piece of ice.
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It is only driftwood, but it looked really cool.
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The flat looking area is still frozen. The rippled area is open water.
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If the other piece of ice got together will all of its friends, it could cause some problems for a ship.
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Looking back toward the beach as I walked out.
When I left Van Buren State Park, I drove south toward Benton Harbor. Along the way, I stopped at a Roadside Park in Hager Township.
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This was a small river running in front of the small dunes in the next photo.
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There are quite a few smaller dunes near the water. I could not get close to them, so I don't know if they are all sand, or if they are sand covering ice.
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Looking north along the beach toward Van Buren State Park. The steam is from the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant. Later I realized that is probably why there was so much open water there.

The last stop was the St. Joseph North Pier Lighthouse. I would like to have seen the lighthouses a few weeks ago before the thaw, but I am not sure I could have made it out to see them. There are two lighthouses. I made it to the first one with no problem. As I was walking between the two lighthouses, the piles of snow encroached more and more on the walkway. Even though there was a person at the outer lighthouse I decided to turn around. I did not want to take a chance on going for a swim in the St. Joseph River with all my camera equipment. :-)
The inner lighthouse.
People fishing on the other side of the inlet. They are hard core.
Closer look at the inner lighthouse.
Ice surrounding the two lighthouses.
The inner and outer lighthouses.
A closer look at the outer lighthouse.
There was more ice here than near the State Park.
Where the water and land meet.
An open area in the ice.
Take a closer look at the open water. There are ducks and gulls swimming.
Thanks for stopping by.
Rob
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Hillside Cemetery - Delta Township

10/19/2014

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Saturday, we went on a cemetery tour at Hillside Cemetery in Delta Township led by two retired archaeologists. They talked about the different types of headstones and the art on those headstones.

We started in the oldest part of the cemetery. The graves went back to the 1860's. Before the Victorian era, cemeteries were not an inviting place. The Victorians began the tradition of garden cemeteries that were landscaped and park-like. It was a place you wanted to go to visit the dearly departed. Also during this time, the headstones became more elaborate and adorned with symbolism of the time.
The first headstone I saw is below. The back has a weeping willow carved into it. The willow was a symbol of sadness or mourning. The front of the stone shows hands clasping. When I have seen these in the past, I thought it was people shaking hands. If you look closely, you can see from the clothing depicted one hand is female and one is male. It appears the male hand is clasping the female hand while the female hand appears limp. This indicates the live husband clasping his dead wife's hand for the final time as she bids farewell to earthly existence.
Photo of tombstone with willow tree
Weeping willow
Photo of tombstone with clasping hands
Clasped hands
The photo on the left below shows another example, but in this one, the female hand appears to be clasping the limp male hand. The photo on the right has another hand motif. In this case, the hand is pointing up, toward heaven. The scroll above it says "At Rest." 
Photo of tombstone with Clasped Hands It reads In Memory of our Parents
Clasped Hands - In Memory of our Parents
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Hand pointing to heaven
I find it sad to see the graves of children in a cemetery. The idea of a parent losing a child is heartbreaking. During the late 19th century, it was not unusual for young children to die. The children's headstones often have a symbol of youth. The stones below are adorned with lambs as a symbol of innocence.
Photo of a Child's grave with a lamb lying down
Child's grave with a lamb lying down
Photo of a Child's grave with a lamb lying down
Another lamb
The three stones in the photo below on the left have flowers in various states of bloom. None are fully opened symbolizing the young lives that did not fully mature. 
The photo on the right shows two headstones. The left headstone is another child with a dove motif. The dove is a symbol of peace. The stone on the right is someone who served in the 7th Michigan Cavalry during the Civil War. This headstone was provided by the U.S. government. He probably died after the war, since he was buried at home.
Picture of Photo of a Child's grave with a lamb lying down
Three children's graves with floral motifs
Picture of two tombstones one with a dove motif and one is a civil war veteran
Dove motif (left) Civil War Veteran (right)
The photos in the gallery below are taller monuments. We were not able to stick around for the full talk, so I can't tell you the meaning of these.
The rest of the photos are headstones I found interesting.
Watson with military symbol
Closer view of military symbol
"At rest" and "We miss thee"
Headstone with lichen
Abigail Adams aged 15
John Quincy Adams aged 21
Symbol of the Freemasons
Freemason symbol on back of stone
Larger Freemason symbol on front of stone
Thanks for stopping by.
Rob
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Autumn Day - Williamston

10/12/2014

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Saturday was a beautiful autumn day in Williamston, Michigan. We were outside enjoying the scenery. Peak color is still at least a week away, but we enjoyed what we saw.
Thanks for stopping by.
Rob
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Celtic Festival - Saline

8/2/2014

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These photos are late getting on the blog, but better late than never I suppose. The annual Saline Celtic Festival took place Saturday July 12. I was there with the Irish Dance Company of Lansing. (Sarah is a dancer, not me.) Between shows, I walked around the festival and took in some of the Celtic culture. It was a fun day! There are some links at the bottom of the page to related websites.
Celtic band Runa sang the U.S. & Canadian national anthems
The color guard presenting the flags
Millpond Millie
Fiddlers Restrung
Weight over bar
Weight over bar
Weight over bar
Weight over bar
Weight for distance
Weight for distance
Hammer throw
Runa singer Shannon Lambert-Ryan
Runa
Ross Holmes and Shannon Lambert-Ryan
Fiddler Ross Holmes
Multi-instrumentalist Dave Curley
Fionán De Barre
Caber Toss
Caber Toss
Caber Toss
Caber Toss
Irish Dance Company of Lansing
Links
Saline Celtic Festival
Runa
Fiddler's Restrung
Irish Dance Company of Lansing

Thanks for stopping by!
Rob
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WildFlowers - Williamston

7/29/2014

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If you walk through McCormick Park in Williamston, you will find an amazing display of wildflowers planted along the Red Cedar River. They are really beautiful this time of year. 
Thanks for stopping by,
Rob
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Summer Solstice - Sanilac Petroglyphs

6/30/2014

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June 21 is the summer solstice, also known as midsummer. It is the longest day of the year. This year on the Solstice, we were had the opportunity to attend a celebration at the Sanilac Petroglyph or Ezhibiigaadek Asin (written on stone). It was a day of cultural teaching hosted by the Saginaw-Chippewa Indian Tribe. We felt honored to have the privilege of attending. 

The photos did not turn out as well as I had hoped. The petroglyphs were not accessible, so I could not light them the way I would have liked. I had to use a flash and try to fix the photos in Lightroom. The first photo is the only one that turned out well enough to tell what it is. It is a person with a bow.

The next photos are from the ceremonial cleansing. The women pour some cedar water over the stone (Asin). There was also some traditional songs.

On the way out, I could not resist taking a few taking a few photos of the flowers and other flora.

The last few photos were taken about a mile from the Petroglyph site. The vista wit the farm buildings and windmills was really beautiful.
Rock carving of a person with a bow
Ceremonial cleansing of Asin
The water has been infused with cedar
Singing a traditional song
Wildflower on the trail to the site
Windmills and farms about a mile from the site
Closer view of the farm buildings
An abandoned barn
Miigwetch (Ojibwe for Thank you)

Rob
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Spring Wine tour 2014 - Southwest Michigan

4/27/2014

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In October last year, we went on a wine tour in Southwest Michigan We decided to take the tour again in the spring. We visited some of the same vineyards and added a couple of new places. It looked a lot different Saturday than it did six months ago. This was a hard winter for the vineyards as well. There were still some nice signs of spring.
Tabor Hill Winery was our favorite
Daffodils are one of the signs of spring
This sounds like a good idea
Round Barn Winery - A view from the back
A view from the front
The dinner bell
A great view from the deck at Round Barn Winery
A little different angle and lighting
The Chocolate Garden
A view toward Contessa Winery from the Chocolate Garden
The fruit trees are growing a cell phone tower
Along the picket fence
Old building by the road at the Chocolate Garden
A closer look at the sign
The tank says "Prescription"
An interesting cloud formation
Grandpa's Cider Mill - watch out for dinosaurs
A sure sign of spring - the fruit trees in bloom
Here are links to the wineries we visited.

Tabor Hill Restaurant and Winery - Great wines and a wine education as well

The Round Barn Winery - Not only wines, but fantastic spirits and a terrific place for lunch (try the roasted eggplant sandwich)

12 Corners Vineyards - Lovely wines and some terrific dark chocolate almond bark with sea salt

The Chocolate Garden - No wines, but rich decadent truffles

Contessa Wine Cellars - Beautiful views and vineyards
Thanks for stopping by.
Rob
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Red Cedar River - Williamston

3/25/2014

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It's hard to believe it is March 25 and it is still this cold. We had snow this morning, and the low temperature tonight is supposed be 5 degrees Fahrenheit. We are beyond the six more weeks of winter the groundhog predicted. We are somewhere around week eight. 

The good news is the temperatures have been warm enough to melt most of the snow. Of course, the snow melt caused the rivers to rise. From the ice on the bottom of the trees, it looks like the Red Cedar has crested. That left some cool looking ice formations for me to photograph. 
The rapids are becoming visible again.
I wonder if the ice will pull this tree down
An ice creature with orbs suspended beneath it
Another ice creature crawling out of the river
Without context, this could be on the ocean
At least there is a little green
These trees show how high the water got
Part of the flood plain is still frozen
The red branches provide a little more color in the rather bleak landscape
The branches all have icicles
Thanks for stopping by.

Rob
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Snow - Williamston

2/9/2014

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We have had a lot of snow and brutally cold weather this winter. Most people are probably tired of the cold and the snow. I know I am. However, I decided to take the dog for a walk today and look for the beauty in the snow. Here are a few photos.
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These are very short snow dunes, but they cast long shadows this time of year.
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The river flows under overhanging ice and snow.
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The river is frozen over once it gets past the rapids.
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The Red Cedar River is frozen until it reaches the rapids.
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The river gathers a little momentum here.
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The Red Cedar River flowing into the sunset.
Thanks for stopping by.

Rob
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    Robin Roberts

    This is my photo blog. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

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