The Birches at Seven Points Farm

I'd been looking to photograph a stand of birch trees this fall, but hadn't found one sizable enough to my liking.  Birches are my favorite kind of trees, especially in the autumn when their yellow-gold fall colors stand out against their striking, white bark.  I learned that Seven Points Farm, owned by a friend and her husband, had several large stands of birch trees.  So I spent an afternoon there, dodging raindrops and snow squalls, and being fortunate enough to take advantage of the beautiful vistas and many birch trees.

 

Thank you, Kate and Halley, for sharing your beautiful property with me.  But a special thanks goes to my tour guide Farley, who romped at my side the whole afternoon.  What a good boy he is!

Sleeping Bear Reopens to Sunshine and Awesome Clouds

 Alligator Hill and the Glen Lakes

D.H. Day Farm in the foreground with Pyramid Point in the background

 Lake Michigan Overlook

Clouds tell the story

North Bar Lake Overlook

D.H. Day Farm

Glen Haven Cannery Boathouse Museum

While I'd hoped to see some good color on my trip down M-22 to Sleeping Bear, the colors weren't as vibrant as we are currently seeing in Northport.  Perhaps there aren't the number of maples as we have here, or perhaps being so close to the Lake, peak color season is yet to come.  Still, sunshine, cerulean skies and amazing cloud formations made the trip "down south" very worthwhile.

Northport Coloring Up

Incredible Lights!

I was sound asleep when I got a text message on my phone Wednesday morning at 1:13 a.m.  Aside from a family emergency, I knew exactly who was texting me and what the message would be.  It said:  Incredible lights tonight!  Since this year is supposed to be "solar max", and thus far it's been more like "solar minimum,"  I was very eager to photograph the aurora borealis, or the Northern Lights.  I jumped out of bed, threw on outdoor clothing, grabbed my camera gear and tripod, and headed to a beach in my neighborhood.  As soon as I cleared the woods, I looked toward the sky.  Huge swatches of milky white were everywhere.  That's what auroras typically look like to the naked eye.  I was shaking with excitement as I set up my gear set and took my first long exposure. 

 

I was not disappointed.  The whole northern sky was ablaze with shades of yellowish-green Lights.  The sight was especially stunning as reflected in the bay.

 

The Lights were every where!  Straight up overhead...

Across the bay to the east...

And even to the west.  Imagine my surprise when I noticed I'd also captured a shooting star, or meteoroid.  That was especially sweet after spending many August nights trying to catch the Perseids and getting nothing.

Solar max or not, it was truly a night to remember. 

Sunset and Afterglow from the Magic Carpet