A seasonal back road near my home offers a variety of habitats, including woods and wetlands. I’ve found several keyhole meadows behind the woods. I love them because deer often feed in these protected areas. On this particular morning, I found a doe and her fawn just outside one of them.
These sunflower images were taken along U.S. 31 N between Traverse City and Elk Rapids. They invited car stoppers and gawkers.
I’ve been itching for a good sunset, but the Canadian wildfires created too much haze. When I saw some blue skies yesterday, I got my hopes up. As sunset time approached, I headed west for a Lake Michigan sunset. I started at Tiesma Beach on Platte Bay, but the view was over the dunes. So I moved on to Platte Point, where I got the water scene I was looking for. While the hazy skies still occluded the sun as it approached the water, time at the Lakeshore is always good.
The Canadian wildfires have dimmed our sunny days to hazy gray-browns. And cast a pall over some of my photography, too. Undeterred, I headed to the Lakeshore with friends Don and Diana Burton to share another backroads adventure. I introduced them to Thoreson Road with its rolling meadows, historic farms, and abundant plein air painters capturing the scenery. We all agreed that the jewel of Thoreson was the secluded beach off Sunset Trail. Several pathways led to the beach, but we chose one with stairs. Even though it was Saturday in high summer, the beach was nearly empty with lots of room to roam the fine sugar sand. The smoke occluded many of the lake views. Sleeping Bear Point was barely visible across the bay. Still, we spent a peaceful morning enjoying the water as we walked the beautiful beach.
I see my non-breeding pair of sandhill cranes from afar almost every time I visit farm country. They’re either grazing in the wildflowers or across the street in the hayfield. I keep waiting for them to reach maturity and breed. Sometimes it takes seven years for that to happen. The other pair in the area has remained out of sight, probably nesting and raising a colt. I finally photographed them through my dirty windshield as they crossed a busy road with their young one. Luckily, the parents ushered their colt safely into the underbrush before a fast-approaching car reached them. On Monday morning, I saw the threesome again on a distant hillside. I’d love to get some close-ups of the youngster before it grows up. Stay tuned.
