Nature Pics

[RoseMorninStar]

So sweet narya!

I did NOT take these next photos (I hope that doesn't break protocol) but they were taken along the Lake Michigan shoreline (on the other side of the lake) and I thought y'all might enjoy them. I should take a drive to the shoreline & see if we have anything like that going on here.

Frozen, sculpted sand along the Lake Michigan shoreline. The shapes emerge when strong winds erode the frozen sand. Taken on January 8, 2022. Photographer Terri Abbott.

[Jude]

Wait, so those shapes are naturally occurring?

[RoseMorninStar]

Wait, so those shapes are naturally occurring?

Yup.

[Maria]

Wow!

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Rose, there is no protocol.

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[Inanna]

Wait, so those shapes are naturally occurring?

Yup.

Holy cow!!

[Dave_LF]

Those pictures were taken about 4 miles from my house. I could walk out there tonight and take some more for you .

(if they're still there, which they probably aren't, actually)

[Inanna]

Whatttt? Where are your lake pics then? Where, Dave, where??

[Dave_LF]

I don't know; I've got a few somewhere I guess. It doesn't seem like a big deal when it's there all the time.

[RoseMorninStar]

Dave!

[Dave_LF]

Tell you what; if weather and my energy levels allow it, I'll go walking down there during my lunch break tomorrow. I could stand to get out of the house for a while anyway (I'd go tonight, but it's dark by the time I'm done with work this time of year).

Edit: Ok, here's one a mile or so south of the sculptures on an out-of-the-way stretch of the same beach about 5 1/2 years ago. The lighthouse you can just barely see over the water on the horizon is the same one in the background of those photos (from the other side).

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Edit 2: Just to prove it, here's that section of the photo in all its undownsampled glory :

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[narya]

It doesn't seem like a big deal when it's there all the time.

I could say that about a lot of things Like the jaded feeling I get about fireworks, since I live 3 miles from a stadium, and have seen dozens of displays from my front porch. Ho hum, sounds like they are doing it again....

[Maria]

I'd like to see the Great Lakes some day. *wistful* The lakes in Missouri are all small enough you can always see to the other side of them.

We do have pretty rivers, though.

[narya]

We need another Chicago moot. Once it's OK to moot again. Here's a pic on the shores of Lake Michigan, with a bunch of people blocking the view. And another with Mrs. Ax attempting to change the lettering of the sign to "Tolkien Required". Sorry/notsorry for the osgilliation.

[RoseMorninStar]

Nice Dave! I had no idea you lived that close to the lake/that far South.

narya, that photo was taken before we got there. That was a lot of fun.. 2008! Where does the time go?

Not nature, but this was in Chicago in 2008.. not sure if it's still there.

[Dave_LF]

As promised!

It's been warm the past few days, and the "sculptures" have mostly melted. The pedestal bases are still there, though:

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The area's other claim to internet fame is pictures of the pier and lighthouse after a winter storm. It gets far more dramatic than this, but like I said, it's been warm:

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I didn't go out past the railings on the pier because the deck looked like this, and it seemed like a bad day for an unplanned swim:

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(to be continued)

[Dave_LF]

There were some interesting ice formations on the beach, even if the sand sculptures were gone:

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After that I thought I'd try to get back to "love me rock" (the site of yesterday's picture) so you could see it in winter. I almost let this terrain stop me:

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But then I saw what looked like it could be a body in the water ahead (not an altogether uncommon finding), and thought I'd better investigate. But it was just a tubing tube that had washed ashore.

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(to be continued)

[Dave_LF]

There's probably a story here...

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I was running out of time and the terrain was getting treacherous, so I stopped here. Not love me rock, but some related graffiti.

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Since I've got room for one more, here are some feathered friends who just don't give a duck (mostly mallards, but I spotted a Goldeneye? Bufflehead? too).

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(fin)

[narya]

The area's other claim to internet fame is pictures of the pier and lighthouse after a winter storm. It gets far more dramatic than this, but like I said, it's been warm:

Clearly a subjective term.

[RoseMorninStar]

Wow Dave, Thanks! How odd that I would happen to post photos that were taken so close to your place!