Melanie Hakala Rossi did some exploring UP towards the tip of the Keweenaw during one of our rainy days this past week. While the rest of us hunkered down, dry in our homes, she was out with her camera snapping Superior's shorelines under foggy conditions.

Also captured in her lens, was some neat shoreline growth. I want to say it's a type of algae, but I'm just not quite sure. Whatever it is in the third photo, it's nice to see the varying shades of green it's producing. Then in the fourth photo, Melanie zoomed in on some of the rock along the shore, showing there's some color there, too. And best of all (photo five), she spotted the beginnings of wild strawberries, some of the sweetest berries you'll ever taste when they come out and ripen. So many treasures on the shores of the Big Lake.

The last photo is a cabin called Club Superior. It's located between High Rock Bay and Horseshoe Harbor and Melanie says a 4-wheeler is needed to reach it. The Nature Conservancy of Marquette owns it and it is on a first come, first serve basis. Melanie said it's a pretty cool place and they were thankful for it, as they sought refuge from a downpour while they were UP there exploring. Only in the U.P., right?

Beautiful, beautiful photos! Thank you Melanie! I've
never heard of Club Superior before. Mary, the green
stuff in the third photo is lichens, and by the looks
of it, very lush and healthy -- a sign of clean air,
among other things. And you were at least 50% right
about algae; lichens are a symbiotic relationship
between an algae and a fungus.

I always think the fog brings some extra beauty to
photos. I certainly enjoyed each of the photos
today!

Nice pix and definitely U.P.! Reminds me of the rainy, foggy days spent at Sand Lake years ago, under a shroud of fog.

Mary,

As Dunerat points out, you are half correct
(algae plus fungus in the symbiotic
relationship). I believe this particular
variety is commonly called Reindeer lichen. I'm
not that much of a Botanist to know the
official name.

The main reason they are harbingers of good or
bad air quality is that they derive 100% of
their sustenance from the atmosphere. Water
vapor, rain, Carbon dioxide and of course the
right amount of Sunlight.

The most beautiful and most profound emotion one can experience is the sensation of the mystical......
It is the source of all true science.

Albert Einstein

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is
indistinguishable from magic."

~Arthur C. Clarke

This is ALL magic!! Thanks Mel~ And Mary!!

Fantastic Photos Melanie! Love that second pic, and course if anyone knows me, I grew up sleeping on that island on Lake Medora in the summer with my cousins. Thanks for the memories Melanie.

BTW... our old camp at Little Betsy is for sale again, Northern Michigan Land Brokers, ML listing #1095039. I was given first right of refusal, not in the immediate plans right now... someday MS. Vicki and I will have our own place in the North, she'll have to make room for MG (Martin Gerard)lol

JBuck, thanks for the kind thoughts on 5/31, it didn't go unnoticed. :=)

Calm + serene.

Very good, sometimes eerie, pictures. Love them!!

And Reindeer Lichen/Reindeer Moss grows all the
way from the Southern US to the Arctic Circle!
Really cool stuff.