Eastern Swallowtail Butterfly by James Eye View Photography

The Eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly is the American Bug

The tiger swallowtail is thought of as the American insect, in much the same way as the Bald Eagle is thought of as the American bird.

Happy Valentine’s Day, Leelanau!!

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone & I hope you have a lovely & love-filled Valentine’s Day & weekend!
County Road Ends at Water by Glen Arbor Sun

County Road Ends at Water

A perfect reminder for everyone to pay attention to your driving & traffic laws as we head into the Labor Day Weekend.
Leland Blue Stone by Cortney Brenner

Ditch the (swimmers) Itch

These ducks may look pretty punk & cool, but they are the main culprit in the spread of swimmers itch!!

Petoskey is more than a stone

As a lot of you head to the beaches seeking Michigan's state stone, I thought it was an excellent time to re-share this essay.
North Bar Lake by Jeff Dehmel

Making of a Lake: North Bar edition

The name describes how the lake formed: it is ponded behind a sand bar. At times, the sand bar builds up and separates North Bar Lake from Lake Michigan. At other times, a small connecting channel exists between the two lakes.
Alewife Dieoff by Sleeping Bear Dunes NPS

Alewives return to Leelanau beaches

Some of Leelanau's beaches are currently littered with multitudes of dead fish known as the alewife. Learn about them here!
Sleeping Bear Point in Spring by Lisa Flaska Erickson

Spring on Sleeping Bear Point

Lisa shares, "It was a great beach day yesterday! We walked a 6 mile stretch at Sleeping Bear Point. Stunningly beautiful views in every direction."
Twilights Last Gleaming by Mark Smith

Twilight’s Last Gleaming

While Mother Nature almost certainly has another blast of cold in store, it looks like we'll have temps in the 50s again today & temps mainly above freezing ahead.
Sunny but Cold by Mark Smith

Sunny but cold

An awesome shot by Mark from Leland's South Beach.
Ice Cave Sunset by Mark Miller

Ice Cave Memories

Today a photo from back in 2014 of the massive ice coverage along the coast of the Leelanau Peninsula showed up in my memories today. While we've got nothing like that this year, I figured it would still be nice to take a look back.
Leland Blue Stone by Cortney Brenner

Leland Blue Stones

Leland Blue stones were born over 100 years ago in the fires of the Leland Lake Superior Iron Company.