How do these Branta canadensis know when to migrate? How far do they fly each day? How do geese know which way to go, since they obviously don't have maps? Just a few of the questions that come to mind. Brian Thomas caught a shot of them recently, while they were taking a break on their journey to warmer climates. The trees are all taking on that brighter tinge, starting the turn to yellow and if you look off in the distance you can see hints of the reds that are showing up now too. The colors in the Keweenaw are in different stages, depending on where you're viewing them at the moment, but they are definitely on their way, too.

Snow is mentioned in today's forecast, with some snow mixed with rain reported overnight in Marquette County. Maybe these birds better get a move on!

Good morning!

Good Morning...from Near Lansing..

Mornin'. We're waiting for them down here. Most just veg overnight and move on, but some stay for the winter.

NO, not the S word

Did Marquette get the flurries that were on tap for last evening?

Good Morning from Ann Arbor.

No snow down here yet just a bit chilly . I like it .

Joe

Got up this morning to snow on the ground in northern Wisconsin

forcast is for a record 29 degrees tonight in flint

Good morning from Mishawaka IN. 52 degrees here. Have a good day everyone!

To Audry in San Jose. A snow scoop is a term "non yoopers" use for a "yooper scooper". Us folks in the snow belt use it to move the snow off the sidewalk or driveway. See-with this snow coming I sure am glad I found this one, and at what a price $5. Perhaps someone will put a picture of the "yooper scooper" on the site so Audry can see what it looks like.

Good morning from North Carolina. Have a place in Big Bay. Keep us posted on that big S-word!!!

Audry in San Jose,

You can also go to the web site for "Silver Bear Snow Scoops". They have video clips showing their product in action. There's a link on Pasty Central's home page or you can go to

http://www.silverbear.biz/

with this link.

Suzanne- I beg to differ; "yooper scooper" is a term non-yoopers use for a snow scoop.

we think the same way frequent scooper. It seems that people out of the area call them yooper scoopers.

Updated news from Mohawk.
ground breaking starts today, for the new
Whitehouse bar & grill.
Tailgate party thursday starting at five oclock.
Hot chili, hot dogs, brats, bond fire.
See you at the parking lot.
Jim,
jim

Good morning from Mishawaka, IN.

Good to hear the Whitehouse bar & grill will start to rebuild this week.

My back porch was covered with ice this morning. Had to brace myself as I walked over it and down my back steps. Whew! I don't know if I am ready for this yet. Anyone share my feelings?

My porch and steps were iced over this morning also. When I went out to measure the rain from the weather station, there were snowflakes in the air, but none on the ground. Oh, the joys of living in higher elevations!!!

jim,mohawk,mi.

SUPER NEWS JIM - Can't wait until it's EVERY Thursday!

Have only seen a few lone families of Canadian Geese making their way to our wildlife sanctuaries here in Northern California. We generally get quite a large population of them in winter. Temps here have been mild, in the 70's during the day, but getting chilly at night. No snow tho'. Remember the old folk lore tales?:
Get down on all fours and check out the woolly-bear caterpillar in Sept. If the black markings on his back are wider than the brown ones, winter will arrive early and stay late. I saw some last week....their colors were fairly even. Another tale is: The later the first frost, the harder the winter will be. So, lovely yoopers, if you've had your first frost, perhaps the winter won't be so bad!

This is to Bec from Fond du Lac left over comment from yesterday's great page: "wallyworld" is just a name that my son gave Walmart. I think it fits, don't you? Sam Walton (sp?) was Walmart's founder, right?
Very cool today here in the mid mid-west. I always think that it is funny that Oklahoma is included in the "mid-west states". Being from so far north, something so far south is.....south!
Leaving on Wed to duh nord for a true yooper wedding. Can't wait to see my Lake, and smell the best air on earth.
Oh, info please: is the coffee shop in Hubbell, near the nursing home, still open? How about the bead shop in Lake Linden? I know Traditions is closed:( but hopefully I will get to the Harbor to shop. So many places, sooo little time.

Sorry to break your bubble but we've been calling it Wally World since the 80's in Colorado.

Good Monday Morning!

morning all. took a trip through the archives. what color. there is no other place that has the color of the u.p. it is so vibrant. I will have to be satisified this year with looking at pics.

Been calling it "wallyworld" here in Illinois for at least 10 yrs.

mornin, it was 20 degrees when i got up this morning here in grand forks...

We have resident Canada Geese all over the South now, thanks to an experiment in South Carolina a few decades ago. They are beautiful to look at but big poop machines, fouling beaches, golf courses, and parks. I liked them better when there were fewer of them, and they migrated.

The geese in the photo are not Canadian Geese. The proper name is, (CANADA GEESE).

I assume you are not talking to me, Goosey.

ert Ga. You are right, not you.

Good Morning from a homesick Michigander!!

Reply to all yoopers. Sorry I had the name of the scooper wrong. But I am still grateful that I found one!!!!!!!!!

Suzanne,
Don't forget to wax your scooper. It's a Fall ritual! I'm thinking of ordering those wheels from Silver Bear because we usually don't have a snow pack on the driveway/sidewalks. Don't know how the wheels will do running up the bank to dump the snow.
Jim: Congratulations.
Bambi season begins in Idaho tomorrow morning. No snow. About 75 during day low 40's at night.

Good morning from down below. 5 days til I marry my tech honey. Otherwise we would be up there on vacation right now. But we ran out of vacation time with the honeymoon. See you all at Carnival.

SUZANNE/WISCONSIN

These are the greatest tools in the world. Sure saves on the back. We brought one back to Chicago where everyone, who see us use it, wants one. Sorry, but we also nicknamed it a "Yooper Scooper" too.

c.j. milford/hancock
Jen is right gravy is spelled without a e.
How did she get so knowledgeable? I guess she was paying attetion in school.

Just chiming in on the Wooly Bear subject. Kate in CA and I in NJ have both noted the equal length of stripes this fall. If that is a reliable forecast, both coasts should have a pretty normal winter. How about the Great Lakes State? Has anyone found a wooly bear? Unfortunately, in New Jersey we also have to watch for Black Bears! How ironic, in the most densely populated state in the union. I'm actually afraid, every time I walk the dog at night, that we may come face to face with a 300-lb creature I'd rather not deal with.

Reminds me of the movie "Winged Migration". It really was interesting.

Good Morning!

Liz, Idaho

Oh no! Wheels on a snow scoop are sacrilegious.

You would never have done that on Mine Street.

Sheesh! May as well put gravy on it....

Just saw on the airport that Houghton's got 36°F. Way cool. Here in the so-called tuscany of Germany, it's more like 70°+! Yuck.

Old ME:
The neighbors complain of the screeching as scoop goes over bare cement...I wear earplugs!

Suzanne/WI... thanks for the response AND there IS a picture posted on yesterdays chat of the "yooper scooper". Funny, I had it pictured as a small, hand held thing. Don't ask me why!

Son of Yooper in Germany... thanks for the link, I'll go to take a look now.

Good morning!!

are they canadien geese in Canada?

Joanne in Wht Lk. I think it must have been the parenting. I think it sounds better w/ the e.

Beautiful sky today in the Flint area! Fluffy, white cumulus clouds, but with black on the bottom and the sun shining brightly through. If it was 20 degrees cooler, I'd be thinking "snow!". It's about 56 now, with a hard freeze coming tonight. This weather is getting me psyched up for the trek north Thursday!

Wave to Jacobsville when you get there.

I think they are Canadian Canada Geese until they fly over the border -- then they are American Canada Geese..........unless they overshoot, in which case they might be Mexican Canada Geese or even Cuban Canada Geese.

Oh, my, it's been a hard day already!

HEY...didn't anyone get pictures of Jeff Gordon's Nascar #24 Monte Carlo that spent the day in Lake Linden on Saturday? It went through the Homecoming Parade as well! Extremely awesome!~

Oh...and the LAKES beat the Cardinals...44-0!!!

WAY TO GO TEAM!!

Mary says: I'm hoping someone did, as I wasn't able to! If you have one and aren't sure how to post it here, send it to me at: gallery@pasty.com. Thanks in advance! :->

LIZ IDAHO What kind of wax do you use for the scooper and how often do you have to put it on?

Hey Roudy MI,

Where abouts in Jacobsville? I live there! Well, actually in a
suburb of Jacobsville ... White City.

Suzanne:
I use basic paste car wax. Only had to apply one time.

Congrats to Jim and the groundbreaking of the new White House!

Our family has called it Wally World ever since we saw Family Vacation with Chevy Chase and the whole movie they were heading for Wally World in California. Wal-Marts showed up in Minnesota about that time.

You remember Anita posting info about her dad being 91 and having worked on the Middletown last Sat? His Mother worked at the Pavilion at White city. Now there's a source of historical data. Some of it hysterical.

It's hard so say what street in Jake with all these address changes then past few years.

Yooper moniker for implement for erasure of
leavings from Canada geese: Yooper Pooper Scooper

Looks like my key board needs replacing. That should be "the past few years". Toivo and I are gettin' together at the Ol' Blue Goose Saloon downtown Sandstone lil' later. Se youse guys dere, Tip a few hei?

1961 Wakefield 70, Kalumet 6. It all komes aroumd. LL was mot im the pikture.

I was told by my better half that I shouldn't use the snow scoop unless we have a matting as I just scratch up the bottom of the scoop plus is harder to push (true), but, I still used it cause it is fun to see people drive by and look with wonder. I did notice the updated version with wheels and had to wonder if that wasn't made just for my situation living in the lower MI were we don't get quite as much snow and not as much of a mat to slide the scoop. HMM think I will have to get one of those.

Mary Ann, Winged Migration is quite a movie!
incidently, our friendly neighborhood volcano cleared her
throat again last night, and also around noon today. Just a
little 'throat clearing' as we say around here. And she
continues to rumble.

TK,
When you said matting, I was wondering if, instead of wheels, we tacked an old piece of in/out door carpet on the bottom...the plastic kind that snow could not stick to....we may be onto something!

Old MEChurch Boy:
Where did you live on Mine Street.
I lived on the McLaughlin Corner.
The Canadian Geese are coming in by the hundreds
and leaving a nasty trail behind them. Yuck!

Liz,

Ha... That just might work!! At least till I get one with wheels.

I built a scoop when we moved down here to the Davison area in 1976 that was 30 inches wide by 3 ft. front to back. Gave the Mail man confusing days for a while as he saw the slopes of my snow banks and footprints but no tractor tracks. He'd never seen the like. :-0 Called it a yooper scooper all along and as I used to give my sons(born in Calumet) rides in it and dump them over the snow banks it truly was a "Yooper Scooper." Small children love the ride! Reminds me of the time my older son had problems with the kindergarten assessment test when he called a wheelbarrow a whee barrow. Used to get rides there too, and jumping the curb made it a whee ride! He insisted there were five days in the week, too, and she never did ask him why - but with both parents working there were five days in the week and 2 for the weekend when we did fun stuff.

Talked to the wife up in Iron River this am from work back in Chicago. She's up there helping her folks move back down to civilization. Any who...it was snowing and there wwas ice on the back porch this morning. Our little black dashound, Hansel the Wonder Dog, wanted no part of it. Quick dash out side and right back in.

Two items, I think it is only two!: I KNOW that walleyworld is an old term, the writer yesterday had NEVER heard of it before, ok? The second, the term "yooper scooper" sounds like you scoop yoopers! I guess with the kids riding them, you do! I tried to use one where I live, it sat in the garage most winters, dragged it out once in a while.
I knew it, Roudy you DO live in Jake!

Here I am in NW Illinois trying to figure out what your "scooper" whatever looks like. Anybody have a picture to share? We don't need one while we're down south in winter, just curious. What I don't miss is the ice, fog etc. but do miss the pretty stuff.

Earlier today someone asked about a picture of Jeff Gordon's car that spent the day in Lake Linden, courtesy of Tammy Kus winning the Fan of the Year award. Robert Wetton sent me this shot taken by his son Rob. It was quite a thrill for Tammy and the whole town of Lake Linden, when they drove the car through the school Homecoming parade Saturday before the game!

Funny, I've been thinking this pond with the geese looks familiar. Then I saw the note about it being from Chassell. I think this is pond at the farm my Dad grew up on (my Uncle lives there now). If it is, there's a big white barn that is just off to the left of the shot and without that, I just didn't recognize it.
The geese have been hanging around there for a few years, but when I was a kid, it always had a lot of ducks in it. There used to be about 80 acres of strawberry fields behind the position where the picture was taken. I have to say I don't miss those!

Ms. Katie, see yesterday's discussion and pictures of scoops.

I'm sure that the pond in the picture is a bacteria-ridden polluted mess with the number of geese concentrated in such a small area.

would anybody like a christmas goose

Here's a question for the real history buffs! Does anyone have any information about movie theaters (nickelodeans back then) in downtown Houghton other than the Lode Theater? One may have been located adjacent to the Ambassador Bar or on the current site of Swift's Hardware. Please e-mail me at highspeed20002000@yahoo.com

Want to kill a downtown???....invite Walmart to the party just outside of town. Love the geese except when you see them at about 3000 feet. 27 pounds thru the windshield at 160 knots is not good. Congrats to the White House. My first Tech trip in 64 was to the Hut and then the White House. Shiny side up.

Roudy, sistah #1 and I have figured out who you are!!! Actually, she figured it out, I just said "Of course! It must be him!!" ;)

Karen; Started to worry about you..did not hear
from you in awhile. Glad you all are doing o.k.
Trip to Maine sounds good. Gets you away from all
the havoc you went through. Also happy to hear that you enjoyed your trip to the Copper Country.
Take care.

When I was in shop class at $BHS we made our own snow scoops. We used it for a couple or three years and then I left for the big "D" (Detroit) to get a job. The steel strike was on then so I ended up on da lakes sailing and when I got back I don't think it was there anymore. Those things work very well up on the roof, too. The 'Monkey Wards' store main floor opened onto Sheldon Ave. Not sure if the basement floor opened to the street. The service dept. was on the next block toward the lake. I think the warehouse was in the basement of the service dept. That was where we assembled the boat trailers, etc.

Hey, B (you cutie, you!), we lived near McNaughton's corner -- you've been gone too long! And the train tracks that ran along side your house are long gone, too, replaced by the 6th Street Extension. And remember those great trees that lined the streets? Gone -- now the view is of Burger King and Pat's IGA. Progress...

We always called our scoop a Yooper Scooper, too, and we lived there. Guess it's six of one, half a dozen of the other no matter what the topic is.

Ms. Katie, your wish is Silver Bear's command:

Hei, Joe, love that keyboard!! :o) Gotta get to our BLOOBS game. Cantankerous game that you love to hate. It's on one of the Millenium Gamepaks from WallyWorld.

Kim near Lansing. WOW! 1 minute off. Did you over sleep?

Hi Candy. So sorry. We have a McLaughlin Street
here in San Jose, and I guess I got carried away with the names. I remember the beautiful weeping willows that lined Mine Street that were so beautiful. Also the weeping willows that lined the train tracks in the field that bordered our house. How sad to loose those old trees. By the way, my mom loved your family. I remember Doc treating me after an accident on my way to my dad's funeral. Beverly

Good Morning to the U.P.~~~~~~~~~

Good Morning from sunny Florida

Good Morning from Escanaba,........where there is frost on the pumpkins........and the geraniums as well!!....don't tell me winter is coming... not again!!...Oh Well guess it could be worst....no hurricans....floods... or eruptions of volcanos in the UP...... Guess I'll count my blessings.

No Tuesday pic? I hope everyone at Pasty.net is ok! And here I was thinking I might be the early bird all the way out here on the left coast!

Ironic isn't it that WJR radio station in Detroit had their helicopter hit a goose Monday, cracked the windshield and will be out of service for a few days. Hope all is well in the U.P. and we had our first frost last evening here in the Monroe, Mi area.

Good morning from Copper Harbor. We spent the night here, after upgrading the wireless relay at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge yesterday evening. Unfortunately, I left my laptop power supply at home in Eagle River, so today's Pasty Cam will be a bit delayed.

I'm posting this note from the Copper Harbor School, which now has Pasty.NET wireless broadband. My thanks to Mrs. Trudgeon and her students for letting me use their workstation.

Check back later for Tuesday's picture.

Made it back to my favorite place on earth this weekend - Eagle Harbor. I'm a seventh generation Eagle Harborite - my distant relatives built the general store there. Spent seven glorious weeks there this summer with my kids (I work from a home office online so I am lucky enough to be able to take my work with me). As a kid, my parents brought us up to spend the entire summer and I'm so grateful I can do the same for my own children. They have freedom there they can't get at home. Drove through driving rain Friday night past Green Bay and then blizzard conditions between Iron Mountain and Crystal Falls. Not fun at 11 at night with four kids under twelve in the van. As soon as I stopped to buy a snow brush, the snow stopped! Of course then the deer started leaping at me. Really cold up there, but the wind calmed down enough to enjoy the chairlift color ride at Bohemia. Beautiful! Rode up and down twice before it started to rain on Sunday. Lots more color on that side of the pennisula than the Harbor side. Back to real life, but already planning my next trip.

G'morning from eternally sunny California. We're hoping for rain!
Lisa, lucky you! (even with the kids in the car).
Check this out -- TWO planes at the same time a the airport!

What happened to Tuesday's picture. Mondays picture is great but Monday is over, lol.And there will be more days to follow. This is the greatest site in the WHOLE U.P., keep up the great work.
Would love to see a few more fall colors pictures before the _ _ _ _ starts flying here. Everyone you can fill in the blanks.

Good Morning Everybody from Santa Clara, California. Wishing that I was anywhere but here. I spent a lot of my summer hauling in and out of the U.P. And loved evey minute that I was there. I even took a piece of the U.P. home with me. I met a wonderful woman from Calumet and took her back to Oklahoma with me. We will soon be married. But we will visit every summer, I am sure of that. I hope everybody is doing well up there. Have a good day and a short, dry winter.

Us Calumet ladies ARE a wonderful bunch!

Oops, guess that should be "WE"

Saw a wooley yesterday before the sun went down. Had a tiny squidge of black at either end, with a LOT of brown taking up the middle. If the buglet was two inches long, he had an eighth of an inch black at either end, with an inch and three quarters brown. What does that bode for the winter?

Weather Predictions

If a woolie worm was
black/brown/black then that meant that the winter would start off very cold,
warm up, very cold again.

If it thunders before 7:00 a.m.,it will rain before 11:00 a.m.
If the sun shines through broken clouds,there will be rain.
If a cow shakes its its leg backwards,it will rain within 3 days.
If flies gather in large numbers in dry areas (like porches,etc.)it will rain.
If you hear a crow calling in the morning it will rain.
If a silver maple shows its leaf lining it will rain.
If the sun is shining while it's raining,it will rain again the next day.
If a pig carries a stick in its mouth,there will be cold weather.
If animals seem busier than usual,the weather is going to change.
If a rooster crows after a shower,the weather will be clear.
If a locust is heard,clear weather will prevail.
If there is a green cloud and green lightning,there will be hail.
If a pig squeals in winter,there will be snow.
If the smoke from a chimney goes to the ground,there will be snow.
If the fire pops slowly and continuously, it indicates cold weather.

I always thought it was "Rain before 7 clear by 11"

I agree that Yooper Scoopers are great for shoveling off roofs! One particularly bad winter my dad and I snow-shoed out to the camp to shovel off the roof (about a mile trek). I had to either break trail or carry the scooper. What a workout! I remember that it was near zero and we were both sweating!

I'm afraid ALL the woolies I've ever seen are black/brown/black, so that particular old saying would then apply to ALL winters.

I thought I remembered hearing that the width of the brown had some significance . . . Oh well.

For a short while yesterday, snowflakes were falling lightly, but melted when they hit the ground. That got me in the mood to fire up the sauna. It was grrrreat!

Jim
Glad to hear everything is a go for you.
Jack J

A sign Winter's on its way. Good photo.