Picture of the Day for November 11, 2015

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Today is Veterans Days, which celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans. The federal holiday originally was called Armistice Day, marking the anniversary of World War I when the Armistice with Germany went into effect at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. Congress amended the bill on June 1, 1954, replacing “Armistice” with “Veterans” to honor all United States Armed Forces veterans and it has been known as Veterans Day since.

Today is also the 75th anniversary of the Armistice Day Blizzard (before the holiday was called Veterans Day) which impacted the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan. The morning of November 11, 1940 brought with it unseasonably high temperatures so many duck hunter took advantage of the nice day. When the weather turned quickly, most of the hunters were not prepared for the snowfalls of up to 27 inches, winds of 50 to 80 mph, 20-foot  snow drifts and the temperature drop of 50 degrees and many froze to death. A total of 145 deaths were blamed on the storm, which included crew from three freighters on Lake Michigan.

Today a strong Veterans Day storm is impacting the same area, 75 years later, but at least there is improved weather forecasting and the nearly two inches of precipitation will be in the form of rain and not two feet of snow.

Remembering Our Veterans

Remembering Our Veterans

Picture of the Day for November 10, 2015

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Forty years ago, the freighter SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior during the gales of a November storm. About 40% of all the Great Lakes shipwrecks have occurred in November.

The last contact with the freighter’s captain was at 7:10 pm, when Captain McSorley reported, “We are holding our own.” She sank minutes later. No distress signal was received, and ten minutes later, the freighter Anderson, who was following the Fitzgerald, lost the ability either to raise Fitzgerald by radio or to detect her on radar.

It was almost twenty years after the Fitzgerald sank before its 195 pound bell saw the surface again after being raised 500 feet on July 4, 1995. A replica bell inscribed with the names of the 29 crewmen was lowered in its place as a permanent grave marker. The original bell is displayed at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point.

The Edmund Fitzgerald Bell

The Edmund Fitzgerald Bell

 

Picture of the Day for November 9, 2015

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The freighter, SS Edmund Fitzgerald, left the port of Superior, Wisconsin at 2:15 pm on the afternoon of November 9, 1975 with a cargo of 26,116 of taconite ore pellets headed for towards Detroit, Michigan. The freighter sank the next day, with the loss of the entire crew, during a Lake Superior storm when she was about 15 miles from reaching the Whitefish Point Light.

Didn’t Reach Whitefish Point

Didn't Reach Whitefish Point

Picture of the Day for November 7, 2015

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Now that the summer birds have headed south again, the year round resident birds are more noticeable, like the cheerful Chickadee, who are visiting the feeders very frequently on this chilly morning.

According to Cornell Lab of Ornithology, every autumn Chickadees literally “allow brain neurons containing old information to die, replacing them with new neurons” so they can adapt to change in the next season. And with a fresh mind, which I don’t have, the Chickadee can hide seeds to eat later. Each item is placed in a different spot and the chickadee can remember thousands of hiding places.

Black-Capped Chickadee

Black-Capped Chickadee

Picture of the Day for November 6, 2015

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The brief thunderstorm yesterday may have stopped the combine harvesting corn next to me, but I’m sure the harvesting equipment will be rolling again soon as there is still a lot of acres to get in before the snow flies. This field has a double workout with both the harvest of the corn and then the corn stalks are baled for cattle feed and bedding.

Corn Stalk Round Bales

Corn Stalk Round Bales

Picture of the Day for November 5, 2015

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In the early 1830s, skilled miners began arriving from Cornwall, England to a small southwestern town in Wisconsin called Mineral Point, which was an important lead and zinc mining center during the 19th and early 20th centuries.  Half of the town’s population had Cornish ancestry and some of the original dwellings of these early Cornish immigrants have been restored at the Pendarvis Historic Site found on Shakerag Street. The street was supposedly named for the practice of the wives waving dishrags towards the hill were the Merry Christmas Mine was located to let their husbands know that their dinner was ready.

The Wisconsin Historical Society has tours, with costumed interpreters, through the different restored houses, cabins and even a pub. The Polperro House is in the foreground, with the Pendarvis and Trelawny houses seen just up the street to the right.

Pendarvis Historic Site

Pendarvis Historic Site

Picture of the Day for November 4, 2015

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If you weren’t outside raking up the fallen leaves, you may have been enjoying one last warm day out on the lake or climbing the bluffs around Devil’s Lake near Baraboo, Wisconsin. If you had more energy for more than a just scroll around the lake shore, you could hike the trails up on the bluffs to see some interesting rock formations like Prospect Point, Elephant Rock, Balanced Rock and the Devil’s Doorway as well as enjoying the view from the top.

Devil’s Lake

Devil's Lake

Picture of the Day for November 3, 2015

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With a sunny sky and above normal temperatures, it would be a nice day for a walk in the woods, but with the winds last week, the trees have been stripped of their colorful autumn leaves so the trees are mostly barren again for the long winter. So only memories of pretty autumn days are left as the leaves blow and scatter across the ground (and on my lawn where I have raked the leaves already) where they will eventually be covered with snow.

Autumn Walk in the Woods

Autumn Walk in the Woods

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