Although it maybe the opening of deer hunting here, this Ring-necked Pheasant keep his head down and stay camouflaged since the pheasant hunting season is still open too.
Camouflaged Pheasant
Picture of the Day for November 20, 2015
The work week ended a long time ago for these kilns. These towers located in Schoolcraft county, Michigan, are the remains of kilns used by the White Marble Lime Company, founded by George Nicholson, Jr., in 1889. The kilns, which were fired by wood waste from the lumber industry, burned dolomite to produce quicklime for use as a building material and an ingredient in the manufacture of paper. As larger corporations were formed and the methods of producing lime were made more efficient, the company diversified; it established a sawmill and a shingle mill and became a dealer in forest products, as well as crushed stone, cement and builders’ supplies. In 1925 the company was reorganized as the Manistique Lime and Stone Company, and continued under that name until the Depression of 1929. And now the kiln towers are slowly depressing back into the ground.
Lime Kilns of the Past
Picture of the Day for November 19, 2015
I saw a yellow lily and a few brave Black-eyed Susans trying to hang onto fall but with the highs barely reaching the freezing mark, they may lose the battle as winter is taking over with snowflakes flying in the air. I don’t think the roses can’t hang on anymore either.
The Last Rose of Autumn
Picture of the Day for November 18, 2015
On a rainy November day, the sun peeked out for a short time to create a rainbow which I missed, but a sunny day viewing Rainbow Cave in the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore sounds much better to me after this wet day and dropping temperatures.
Rainbow Cave
Picture of the Day for November 17, 2015
The squirrels have been very active looking for acorns the past few days. I think they heard the chilly forecast. They have a different view of a tree as they climb up than what we normally would see.
A Squirrel’s View
Picture of the Day for November 16, 2015
This kitten is waiting for its mother to get in range again so he can attack and terrorize her as he had been the previous ten minutes.
Waiting for the Next Attack
Picture of the Day for November 15, 2015
On a knoll in Durward’s Glen, sit the St. Mary’s of the Pine Chapel, which was built by Bernard Durward, three of his sons, Charles, John and James, with help from neighbors in 1866. The nearest church at the time was 10 miles away so Bernard built it so his wife, Margaret, would not have to walk so far for church. The stone walls are 17 inches thick, which remained standing after a fire burned the chapel in 1923. The chapel restoration was completed in 1929.
Bernard and Margaret raised all of their 8 children at the glen and remained until their deaths. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in the chapel and two of their sons, John and James, celebrated their first priestly Mass in the chapel. All the family, except for Andrew, is buried in the family cemetery on the front side of the chapel.
The Durward family sold the land to the Roman Catholic Order of St. Camillus in 1932. The order established a seminary on the land, where it trained priests beginning in the 1930s. Many priests and brothers from the order are laid to rest in this peaceful spot behind the chapel.
St. Mary’s of the Pine
Picture of the Day for November 14, 2015
Tucked in an area near Baraboo, Wisconsin, Skillet Creek cut a 30 to 40 foot narrow canyon through the Cambrian sandstone, forming a series of potholes and waterfalls in an area called Pewits Nest. The name came from a mid-1800s eccentric mechanic who built his workshop into the cliffs using the creek to power a water wheel to turn lathes for repairing or manufacturing equipment. This dwelling resembled the nest of a phoebe (or peewit, an earlier name for this bird), hence dubbed by early settlers the ‘Peewit’s Nest.
On my visit to the ‘nest’ in the fall, the small flow of water wouldn’t turn a big water wheel as the average flow is .8 cubic feet per second (unlike Niagara Falls which is 85,000 cfs) but the gentle current caused fallen leaves to swirl around. There is no remaining evidence of the workshop and the state officially designated the natural area as Pewits Nest in 1985.
Pewits Nest
Picture of the Day for November 13, 2015
If there was some summer birds who haven’t hurried south yet, they might have needed to find a vacant birdhouse for the night to stay warm. The winter birds are visiting the feeder quite frequently this chilly morning with wind chills below freezing.
Charming Birdhouse
Picture of the Day for November 12, 2015
As Yukon Cornelius said in Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer, “It isn’t a fit night out for man or beast.” And I think any critter outside last night in the two inches of rain on a chilly night would agree, even water loving critters like frogs.
Trying to Stay Dry
