Gracie at 14 Weeks

With the temperatures and winds still largely inhospitable to outdoor photography, I turned my camera indoors to Gracie, my mini-Goldendoodle puppy, now 14 weeks old.

 10-year old big sister Oakley poses with Gracie after her first puppy grooming.

But for Gracie, life is all about play.  Here she chews on her favorite ball.

Stretching out frog style, is one of her favorite positions.

Here Gracie cuddles with big sister Oakley, who is catching a nap.

Like most puppies, Gracie loves to chew.  Here she is with her favorite bone.

But the treat ball is the best toy ever for both Gracie and Oakley.  Filled with kibbles, the dogs roll it around the house and treats fall out as a reward for rolling it the right way. 

While Gracie has many moods from playful to bitey to sleepy, she's mostly one adorable puppy.

Iced Over

With news agencies reporting that West Bay was iced over from one end of the peninsula to another, I grabbed my camera gear and headed out for an early morning meeting in Traverse City.  I hoped to capture some images along the way.

I passed the Bight just as the sun was trying to break through the heavy cloud cover.  Blue skies had been predicted, but there was little sign of them yet.

Approaching Omena Bay, the sun and clouds seemed to be competing for dominance:  Clouds 1, Sun 0.

I passed Lee Point Road and could barely see Power Island, the point at which the Bay is considered frozen.  Today it appeared desolate and barren, almost monochromatic.

I pulled over one last time to photograph the end of the Bay in Traverse City before going to my meeting.

Meeting over, I headed back towards Northport.  The sky was still cloudy, but it was considerably lighter than it was before my meeting.  I noticed cars pulling into the West Arm Public Access and I followed.  It was good to see these ice boaters setting up to take advantage of the frozen bay.

 

 As I passed through Suttons Bay, the sky was beginning to show some blue.  Yes!!

By Omena, the blue sky helped create this picture perfect image of the frozen Omena Bay.

For the last stop on my way home, I headed towards Braman Hill, hoping the road to the top was open so I could capture an expansive view of Northport Bay.  The road had been plowed one lane wide so I was able to cap off my journey along frozen West Bay, from one end of the Leelanau Peninsula to the other.

The Snow Falls...

 smooth and curvaceous.

       It can come down in clumps...

and blobs...

 and even nests.

It creates scenes both pristine...

 and stark.

FROZEN!

Cold temperatures and snowy driving conditions have kept me from outdoor photography these past few days...or is it weeks?  But the forecaster's promise of some sunshine during the afternoon hours teased me out of my warm cocoon.  I'd heard Lake Michigan was 60% frozen over, but I wanted to see that for myself.

My first stop was at the Bight, which was clearly frozen over as far as I could see.  While it wasn't snowing or blowing, whiteout conditions prevailed, with the gray-white sky blending perfectly with the white frozen bay and mounds of snow on the beach.  The promise of sunshine seemed rather hollow at this point.

But as I approached Omena Bay, I could see the sky lightening and small patches of blue were beginning to appear.  The challenge for the photographer, however, was finding a break in the tall piles of snow so I could capture an image of this bay, also frozen over.  I was lucky to find an opening, however, where this swing beckoned children for play in the spring, an idea that currently seems far into the future.

From the other side of Omena Bay, I could see the cloud cover breaking apart even more.  Might we have a sunset tonight?

From Foxview Drive, near Peterson Park, I could see that Lake Michigan was frozen as far as I could see.  And yes, there was a sunset, but clouds occluded most of it.  The pink skies above the horizon made the drive to the other side of the peninsula worthwhile.

With the darkening skies of nightfall approaching, I had to grab one more vista, this one from the top of the Onominee Road hill.  But the skies, darkening with purple, signaled the end of my photography opportunity for another day.