It is good to walk through fresh snow under a full moon. The light is brilliant. Shadows move before us, stunningly sharp. The cloud blanket is rolled aside. The big lake is quiet under a clear sky. The cold goes all the way to heaven, or whatever is out there. We can breathe, and breathe, and breathe.
Tonight will be the longest night of the year in the North Country, and it is beautiful. If we can stay awake long enough, and if the sky remains clear, we will be able to see a complete lunar eclipse. That should be worth staying up for.
Happy holidays.
Posted in: Holidays in Torch Lake Township, Up North in Michigan
Torch Lake Views 
Anna
December 20, 2010
Oh my! I really, really like each photo! Beautiful and picturesque. I love that white house too. The moon here is full, frosty and bright. I am hoping to catch the lunar eclipse. Hello to North Country! 🙂
Gerry
December 20, 2010
Thank you, Anna. Hello to the Prairie! If I can see the eclipse I’ll think of you and Preston watching it too.
Anna
December 20, 2010
Oh by the way, I just love your header photo!
Thank you – Gerry 🙂
Karma
December 20, 2010
Your frosty header is really – shall I say it? – cool!
Let us know if you make it for the lunar eclipse tonight. I love astronomical events, but 2:40am doesn’t work for me.
Gerry
December 21, 2010
I’m glad you like the frost painting.
I fell asleep waiting for the eclipse, but Miss Sadie woke me up by breathing in my face. I’ve been out and looked at the earth’s shadow moving across the moon. It’s cold out there. I’m sleepy. Big deal, a shadow. I’m going to bed.
Fee
December 21, 2010
Oh! Oh! I saw a bit of the lunar eclipse this morning. It was below zero C, and I saw it from a nice warm bus, but only a little bit, I’m afraid. Didn’t think the boss would appreciate me standing outside the office til after 8am watching the moon go a bit dark. Not to mention even penguins have more sense than to stand outside when there’s a warm office and a nice hot coffee waiting!
Gerry
December 21, 2010
You saw as much as I did, then, and for the same reason. At first I was all excited about it. But as I stood there, breath steaming gently in the frigid air, I thought to myself, well, so what? It is a curiosity, not a Deeply Meaningful Event. The earth’s shadow will pass over the moon, and neither will be changed by the encounter. This is not the basis for a good short story.
P.j. grath
December 21, 2010
So sweet, Gerry! I only looked out at the beautiful full moon for a moment, so thank you for these lovely views. Your house looks cozy, too.
P.j. grath
December 21, 2010
And that frost is stunning!
Gerry
December 21, 2010
Morning, PJ. I’m glad you liked the moon and the frost. When it’s this cold and snowy the only way I can deal with it is to embrace it.
Nye
December 21, 2010
I love your moon shot, must be very cold in your area, the moon is still very pretty tonight.
I would have loved to do the time-lapse of the Lunar eclipse but it was cloudy and we didn’t see anything. I think a remote control would come in handy, can’t imagine standing out there for over an hour.
Gerry
December 21, 2010
Thank you. It has been cold, but nothing like what some others have had. I didn’t stand out there for an hour either. Too cold and my eyes wouldn’t stay open.
Giiid
December 22, 2010
Those are nice evening shots, it all looks very cozy. The name Friske made me curious, because in Danish it means fresh (in plural), so I looked it up and found out about their German origin. It seems that many different nationalities has chosen Michigan as the place to stay.
Gerry
December 22, 2010
Thank you. Most of them were taken in late afternoon, which on December 20 pretty much was evening! I confess I cheated on two. The picture of my house was taken a day or two before as we came back from our walk, and I thought it looked so welcoming. The Friske’s photo is from the archives, but the market looks exactly the same this year, and is filled with excellent treats. Grandma Friske, who came here as a young mother, still comes to work every day. Her balaton cherries in cider are one of my favorite treats.
Waves of immigration brought French fur traders to the Great Lakes and miners from Cornwall and Finland to the Upper Peninsula. Loggers from Sweden and Norway filled the north woods. Dutch farmers brought dairy cows. Poles settled in Hamtramck and on the east side of Detroit to work in the auto plants. More auto workers came from Yemen and Lebanon. All of those people were here 100 years ago, and that’s just scratching the surface. (And there were Danes, too, although I do not know exactly when they started coming to Michigan. There was a Danish American Club in Detroit when I lived there. The first time I walked in I was astonished to see all the faces that looked like people in my family.)
I love this stuff. Can you tell?
Scott Thomas Photography
December 22, 2010
Ah, I enjoy a nice walk in the snow late in the day. When the air is still and boots make a soothing sound with each footstep. Happy Holidays to you, Gerry.
Gerry
December 22, 2010
And to you, too, Scott.
Carsten
December 23, 2010
Merry Christmas Gerry.
I like your “Full moon n snow show” it looks very Christmas-y – (Michaela’s expression)
The word “Friske” caught my eye too. Birgitte has triggered all the answers so I do not have to ask. I like it when someone touches your area of interest. It gives many good stories.
Gerry
December 23, 2010
Merry Christmas, Carsten.
It is worrying that I’ve given the impression that history is my only area of interest. Other than excellent treats, it is my only current obsession, but I am deeply interested in many other things. I can see that my New Year’s resolution must be to bring some of those other interests into Torch Lake Views. There might be good stories.
Carsten
December 23, 2010
Sorry for my incomplete and untrained knowledge of the English language. It is obvious that I should have written: “Areas!
Gerry
December 23, 2010
Oh dear. I was making a little joke about my obsession with my Civil War veterans. I can see that I must have another New Year’s resolution. So much room for improvement, so little time . . . 🙂
flandrumhill
December 29, 2010
We missed the eclipse totally in Nova Scotia due to an overcast sky. Not much snow here either. Maybe by January, we’ll have enough of it to walk on under a full moon. I really like your slide shows.
Gerry
December 29, 2010
Thank you. I enjoy doing the slide shows. I like full moons very much, and hope that you’re able to have a nice snowy walk under one in January. I suppose the main thing that makes astronomical events magical is that we can’t order them up like a movie on Netflix. They happen on their own good time – we see them or we don’t – the best thing of all is to be surprised by something lovely.