Babs at Mackinac again on a bright and breezy day

This is a pretty big image, and it takes a long time to download if you have slow dialup, but isn’t it bracing?  Babs wrote:

I found myself, once again, on Mackinac Island and although mighty cold, much of time it was sunny. I took over 250 photos.  Most have been deleted but a few made the cut. This was from the porch of the Grand Hotel with a rather large ship going somewhere. If you look even closer you might find Esther Williams in the pool below. The lilacs are blooming here, but have yet to bloom on the Island.

That “rather large ship” caught my attention.  It’s a laker, most likely an oreboat.  Those babies, for those of you unfamiliar with the Lakes, are as much as 1,000 feet long and quite impressive up close as they lock through the Soo or move majestically below the Mackinac Bridge. 

I once had a great weekend on Neebish Island, a largish dot of land set smack in the middle of the St. Marys River, where keeping tabs on the big boats is a hobby akin to birdwatching.  Every cottage has a dogeared copy of the Know Your Ships field guide and a schedule of passages.  Lakers are easier to watch than birds are.  They’re slower, have distinctive markings on their stacks, and send their booming call out ahead of ’em so you know they’re coming.  Addictive.

Update 6-11-09: Babs has posted a lot more Mackinac Island photos on her Flickr: Blue Heaven1 photostream.

Every week photographer Babs Young captures moments in northern Michigan, and every week she sends one to Torch Lake Views just for you. You can find more of her photos at the Babs Young Photo Archives.