Winter Solstice for 2023 will be arriving here in EST within a short time of this posting. I have often wondered about a world that could be united around the solstices instead of any particular religious holiday. It does celebrate something that all life on Earth has...
Notes from the Woods
seeing · environment · exploration · photographyShowing Results for: winter
Michigan Ice Storm
Last night we were hit with a pretty big ice storm, just as forecasted earlier in the week. The weather folks can take the win on this one - they warned us well in advance. At first, it didn't seem like it would be so bad. But as darkness fell, I noticed the tree...
Seeking Pathways to Light
Mycologist Paul Stamets often refers to the mycorrhizal network within the Earth's soil as "nature's internet." Through these mycelial pathways, author/scientist Dr. Suzanne Simard explains how trees communicate with each other. Director James Cameron portrays...
Snow-covered River Birch
We had our first good drop of snow here in Southeast Michigan this week. Despite some brutally cold temperatures we had prior to Christmas, winter around here seemed a bit delayed - at least visually. The lakes are behind in freezing over. And it just never feels like...
Sticky Snow
While archive mining today, I came across this undeveloped photograph from New Year's Day in 2008. It is difficult to remember the specifics of that day, but the photo does offer some strong hints as to what drew me outside. It is what I refer to as "sticky snow." We...
Strange year for Great Lakes ice cover
We've had a bit of a roller-coaster ride here in the Great Lakes region as far as ice cover this year. For the vast majority of the 2020/21 winter season, the lakes remained largely open. Then a big cold burst hit us in Feb 2021, and ice started forming very fast....
Meteorological Spring
It is probably safe to say my season of winter photography has come to a conclusion. While March brings some highly unpredictable weather, and freezing temperatures are still in the forecast in the coming week, it is unlikely to create any big shifts now that the...
Black Ice
Over the many years of photographing ice on Lake St. Clair, I've certainly learned that you have to take what you can get when you are out there. It isn't a very welcoming environment unless you are into ice fishing. It is usually quite windy making the wind chill a...
Blue Ice in the Great Lakes
Blue ice is in the headlines of various news stories about Great Lakes winters over the past 5 years or so. While it is often referred to as "rare," I haven't found any substantiating studies explaining why that is other than articles trying to gain attention in...








