SO MUCH TO BE GRATEFUL FOR

A wonderful, loving brother.  Two nieces who are beautiful people in every way.  Many adorable great-nieces and great-nephews.   An amazing circle of supportive, fun-loving, and valued friends.  Good health.  Life in an area abundant with wildlife and dazzling scenery.  A group of loyal blog-followers who enjoy my photography.  Thank you, all.

TUNNEL VISION

I was headed to a movie at Bijou by the Bay.  But seeing the movie wasn’t the only thing I was looking forward to. 

I took my camera with me because I wanted to photograph the new art murals honoring the Grand Traverse Bank of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians on display in the Clinch Park Tunnel.

The 19 colorful panels depict wildlife, specific animals that are important to the Anishinabek culture, including the bald eagle, wolf, otters, and turtles.  There are also images of people, plants, regalia, and various symbols significant to the tribe.

The murals were hand-painted by Denver, Colorado-based artist Bobby Magee Lopez.  The artist applied a “glyphiti” style he’s developed through the years, using symbolism and mixed styles to create a more dynamic work.

The tunnel used to contain Anishinabek art but was painted over in 2013 when the tunnel was remodeled.  This art exhibit will likely last between three and five years before replacement with another exhibit.

The tribe supported the location of the exhibit because of its proximity to water, a very sacred space for the tribe, especially the Boardman River and the mouth of the Boardman.

Hopefully, the project will inspire both locals and visitors to learn more about the region’s history.

From concept to finish, the whole project was a deep collaboration between the Traverse City Arts Commission and the Grand Traverse Band of the Ottawa and Chippewa Indians.

Because of my personal interest in diversity, especially Native Americans, I'd followed this project by reading various articles published in the Record-Eagle and The Ticker, which I used again in this blog.

Another reason I was looking forward to seeing this exhibit was an opportunity to use my new 8 mm fisheye lens.  A fisheye lens is an ultra-wide-angle lens that produces strong visual distortion to create a wide panoramic image.

I liked the fisheye lens results and think this exhibit was the perfect place to try it out.  I hope you’ll get the chance to come downtown and see this art exhibit.

WINTER'S COLD AND SNOW BLANKET THE AREA

Winter’s come early this year, but I have to admit I love the season’s quiet beauty.

INCHING TOWARDS WINTER

I headed out towards farm country to see what changes had occurred since I’d shot fall color there a couple weeks ago.  As I turned onto Hammond Road going west, the sky was dark and ominous.  I clicked on my phone weather apps and it looked like precipitation was going to hit in twenty minutes.  Turn back or keep going? 

Of course, I kept going.  I noticed changes right away.  The vibrant colors were gone.  Many trees had lost their leaves, and the ones with remaining color had turned dull.

The trees in the farmhouse yards had left their golden beauty on the ground, ready for raking.

I came to a large pond, usually teeming with ducks and other critters.  Today, it was completely devoid of critters.  The precipitation began to fall but in the form of fluffy snowflakes. 

I drove on and saw a sure sign of winter’s approach.  Christmas trees were being cut and baled at a tree farm on my route. 

Finally, I saw the first sign of life, two young deer grazing in a far meadow.  It was evident that the color changes to their coats were happening.  Gone were their reddish coats of summer, and, in their place were coats of brown designed to better camouflage them in forested areas.

Cranes had been on my mind the whole time I drove, and I hadn’t seen any evidence of their migration.  I was nearing the farm where I often saw my family of four, and I was fairly certain they’d be gone.  But there they were, feeding and watching in the lightly falling snow.

I was excited to see the family, as always, but I was also disturbed.  Shouldn’t they be on their way south by now?  Cold weather and snow were on their way, after all.  Shouldn’t they have joined the large migrating flocks I’d seen earlier?  You know, safety in numbers.

And then I had another thought.  I’d seen a pair of cranes dancing and mating in this farm’s cattle pen late in the spring, before the cattle had arrived.  I’d wondered all season whether those two cranes were the parents of the two juveniles.  Could it be that this farmer was providing a safe habitat for these cranes, and they weren’t migrating cranes at all?  I hoped to find out.