Sunday, March 24, 2019

Tales From Northern Michigan


Tales from Northern Michigan is a new feature that will appear irregularly here on the blog. The point of it is to share cool stuff from one of my favorite areas- northern Michigan. As many of you are aware Michigan actually has an Upper and Lower Peninsula, linked by the Mackinac Bridge, and I'll be showcasing the area that we in lower Michigan affectionately call "Up North." It could be anything from music to wildlife to bookstores- you never know what you'll find Up North, so who knows what will turn up here? 

So without further ado, here's a look at the beauty of northern Michigan. 

A snowy owl where the owl, as it turns out, didn't need rescuing.  



And here's a rescued eagle being released into the wild after recovering from an injury. It was a victim of icing- literally part of its lower quarters were frozen and it would probably have died- if not for the diligent efforts of some rescuers. Some have wondered why they made such a big production of freeing it- after all there are Native Americans drumming and quite a crowd- but I guess the eagle is sacred to the Native Americans and this was ceremonial for them. 

On the other hand, does all the activity aggravate the bird? I don't pretend to know, but to me the takeaway is- the bird is free. 

Here is the rescue video, and then the release. 



And here's some pics of favorite moments for me Up North. 


A butterfly on the sand


River and Main in Leland (aka Fishtown)- nice place to relax on their gliding picnic tables or wooden chairs


Leelanau Books in Leland, MI


They have a little cafe -  and you can read here about their book club.


Brilliant Books in Traverse City- another fabulous indie bookstore. 


Shopping in Traverse City 


A fun place to grab coffee and a snack


Pizza- one of my favorite places and a nice place to eat pizza on the back deck

32 comments:

  1. We're very short of good bookshops over here. In my area there is one Waterstones and a second hand bookshop but I rarely find anything I want in them!

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    1. Aww... there are a dearth of bookshops I think these days, especially used bookstore, which I love and used to find everywhere- not so much now.

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  2. I wish they had some homey book stores here. If you drive at least 30 miles or so you can go to B&N - that's about it. There might be a christen book store in town but that is it. Love the photos.

    Mary

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  3. That snowy owl is so gorgeous!

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  4. I have sat many times at those wooden tables and on that glider! I love Fishtown. :) I haven't gotten to spend as much time in TC - that pizza place looks amazing! Is that at the Morsels place? My brother does a beer-kayak tour of Traverse City every year and loves it, although last year he did drop his phone in the bay! Oops.

    Loving your new feature!

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  5. That eagle is gorgeous!

    In all my years in living in MI, I never got to go Up North. :( Maybe when I'm ready to visit I'll make a special trip up there.

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  6. Yay for really good people being out there still and helping all manner of life during these crazy storms and conditions we are having all over the country right now. Thanks so much for sharing this Greg!

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  7. I've never been up north, but a friend is trying to talk me into moving up there with her after college- it would help if she quit changing her mind about which state though.

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  8. Lauren for Shooting Stars does something like this monthly and I was planning on giving it a go as I explore my new home in the PNW.

    I love learning about new places.

    Karen @ For What It's Worth

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  9. Eagles are such beautiful animals. I've never been there but I enjoyed the pictures.

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  10. Lovely. We have a raptor center nearby me and they do lots of releases. Sometimes the public is invited.

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  11. Fun pics! I love bald eagles; they're so beautiful. And I'd really love to see a snowy owl in person someday. But sadly, they don't live where I do.

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  12. Greg I love this feature. We've been in Michigan for a New York minute. We attended a conference and were in and out. It was winter, and we didn't explore, because COLD.

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  13. I love that deck at the Pizza place!

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  14. This is adorable, I am so jealous of all the cute cafes and bookstores! I imagine it is so, so pretty in the summertime. Obviously hard pass on any bird-trapping snow, because if it can trap the bird... well, it can probably trap Shannon too. The owl cracked me up cause she was just like, making snow angels and they're bothering her 😂

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  15. Love, love Fishtown and TC! I need to get back there.

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  16. I love this! I have to find some other old(er) single ladies to travel with now that I'm retired. All of my close friends are married and I always feel like a third wheel. Ha ha. These places look wonderful and the rescue videos are right up my alley. 👍✨

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  17. Great feature and amazing content. It brings the nature and interesting places closer to everyone who cannot visit!

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  18. Wait! The name of the pizza place is Pizza? Very direct. Maybe MI people are my tribe.

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  19. Haha, the owl just got so much food it couldn't carry it properly. I suppose as long as the eagle is free and safe, it's all good. I've never seen an eagle fly in slow-mo, so that was pretty cool! And all those pictures look like such a nice town!

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  20. How fun to see some pictures and video's from the region where you live. That last picture looks like a nice place to eat picture on the deck.

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  21. So beautiful! Yeah, I sort of wondered why they were taking so long to release the poor eagle, but I get that it's their custom. Thanks for sharing, Greg😁

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  22. Oh I love this! The furthest north I've ever been is Muskegon! But I've always wanted to explore farther up north. It's so pretty there, you're so lucky to live there! We have a ton of bald eagles here and my kiddos even have a field trip where they get to watch them and have telescopes looking at the babies in the nests. They're such beautiful birds!
    Jen @ Star-Crossed Book Blog

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  23. I would love to sit on the back deck and eat Pizza or just hang out at River and Main. Poor eagle.

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  24. Wow! You make me want to travel to Michigan! You have some really cool places over there! Fishtown looks neat, and I love checking out new bookstores!

    Lindy@ A Bookish Escape
    http://www.abookishescape.com

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  25. I loved the video and the pictures! It seems like a great place to live Greg! Sophie @ebwareofthereader

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  26. My goodness, I'm all in love with the bookstores in Michigan now! I love show and cold weather, but the downside is that animals and pets can suffer so much. I'm glad that everything worked out so well. This new post looks like it will be lots of fun, and I'll find lots of new places and events. Hope your weekend is fantastic! Hugs...RO

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  27. I love northern Michigan! Can't wait to see more.

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  28. I'm going to pretend that I'm 100% certain Michigan is in the US... hang on... *googles 'Where is Michigan?'* - OK I'm sure now! I knew Detroit was in the US, but not Michigan... partly because I didn't know Detroit was in Michigan!

    Looks pretty! And very, very, different to what I'm used to! :)

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  29. Very neat. And good job rescuers. Poor babe going through that. Glad he was released :)

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