Global Warming a Threat to Northern Michigan?

When we think about the dangers of global warming, images of shrinking icecaps, starving polar bears (or penguins like this one photographed by Kris Busk), flooded coastlines and other far away perils most often come to mind. But could the next images from Al Gore's video presentation feature our local landmarks? A recent study indicates that our Northern Michigan lifestyle may be in danger.

According to an article in this month's online edition of the University of Michigan publication Michigan Today, climate change is driving Michigan mammals farther north.

Researchers at the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Ohio's Miami University, in findings published in the June issue of the journal Global Change Biology, have concluded that some Michigan mammal species are rapidly expanding their ranges northward, apparently in response to climate change. In the process, these historically southern species are replacing their northern counterparts. The researchers analyzed distribution and abundance records of opossums and eight species of small forest rodents.

The Michigan Today article reports that the data shows:

Of the nine mammal species examined, four have established strongholds or increased in abundance, while five have declined. The increasing species—white-footed mice, southern flying squirrels, eastern chipmunks and common opossums—all are southern species, while the declining species—woodland deer mice, southern red-backed voles, northern flying squirrels, woodland jumping mice, and least chipmunks—are all northern species.

While many local Northern Michigan residents and disappointed visitors who have come to the area in the last few weeks expecting to put in some quality beach time and return home with tans scoff at any mention of global warming here in the Frozen North, researchers point to some evidence of a warming climate. (Stained glass sun by Michael Myers.) Michigan Today reports:

The researchers downloaded maximum and minimum daily temperatures from the National Climate Data Center for 16 weather stations in the Upper Peninsula, where changes in the small forest rodent community have been especially pronounced. They then calculated monthly averages for minimum and maximum daily temperatures for each year between 1970 and 2007 for each station and for the region as a whole. Across all 16 sites, average annual minimum daily temperatures increased significantly over the 37-year period.

I have been giving some thought to the dangers that these results may foretell for our way of life here in Northern Michigan, and in particular for our tourism and resort industry. Lets see. Southern rodents migrating to Northern Michigan. Is it possible . . .

Celebrate the Pasty

One of the best things about Northern Michigan is all of the festivals. Every town with a history or a favorite vegetable, fungus or fish has at least one every year. (And what N Mi berg doesn't have something to brag about?) We occasionally point out some of the more notable of these events here.

This month the historic mining town of Calumet salutes the venerable miner's meal with its annual PastyFest. The pasty is, of course, one of the indigenous hallmarks of Upper Peninsula life and well deserves this honor.

As with all good Northern Michigan festivals, there will be a lot going on at PastyFest. The excitement kicks off Friday night with a community service awards ceremony. Saturday features the Pasty Parade, free horse-drawn wagon tours and a pasty bake-off in the park. There will also be most of the normal Michigan festival standards like vendors, artist, crafters, live music, kids games, food and refreshments of all sorts including the star of the show, pasties. PastyFest will be topped off by a Richie Havens concert in the Calumet Theater.

Calumet is a great town to visit. It was established in 1875 and is filled with the history of the UP's mining boom days when then town had more money for civic projects than it knew what to do with. While you are there, be sure to see the historic Calumet Theater. The Theatre opened on March 20, 1900 with a touring Broadway production of Reginald DeKoven's The Highwaymen. All the great stars of the era performed there including Madame Helena Modjeska, Lillian Russell, John Phillip Sousa, Sarah Bernhardt, Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., Lon Chaney, Sr., Jason Robards, Sr., James O'Neill, William S. Hart, Frank Morgan, Wallace and Noah Beery, and Madame Schumann-Heink, to name a few. Also don't miss the Coppertown USA Mining Museum and the U.P. Fire Fighters Memorial Museum.

Take this opportunity to travel through the Upper Peninsula and celebrate the UP's famous and humble pie by relishing in its history and eating as many pasties as you can.

TRAVEL TIP: If you are going to Calumet for PastyFest, leave soon. Calumet is a long way from wherever you are and the festival takes place on June 26-27.

Karen Kubovchick Painting on Cover of the Dining Guide

We love to brag here when one of our fine Artists Market artists receives an honor or some press coverage. Watercolorist Karen Kubovchick just scored big in both of those categories. One of her watercolors was chosen for the cover of the Summer 2009 edition of the Northern Michigan Dining Guide.

The watercolor is a beautiful still life of fruits and flowers. You can pick up a copy of the Dining Guide for free all over Northern Michigan. It was just released and is available now.

Here is another example of Karen's watercolors, River Bridge, showing the Bear River and the US 31 Bridge in Petoskey. See much more of Karen's work at the Northern Michigan Artists Market in Downtown Petoskey or online.

Tom Jacobson Featured in The Graphic

Northern Michigan Artists Market wood turner Tom Jacobson was featured in the May 28th issue of The Graphic, the local Petoskey weekly.

In the interview, Tom explains how he creates his beautiful turned wood pieces including burl bowls, sculptural pieces like this vase of tulips, wooden pens and pencils and pierced wood marvels. The article includes a photo of Tom hard at work at his craft and shots of many of his excellent creations.

You can read the article online or pick up The Graphic at locations all over Petoskey and the surrounding area. Of course the best thing to do is to come in to the Artists Market and see many of Tom's works in person, touch them and, if you wish, buy one to take home or for a gift.

Thanks and kudos to The Graphic's Maggie Peterson for another revealing article about a local Northern Michigan artist. By the way, Maggie says Tom does not consider himself an artist and feels more comfortable being described as a wood turner. He certainly is an outstanding wood turner but visit us and judge for yourself whether he is also an artist.

Work Begun on Petoskey Breakwall

As we reported here a couple of months ago, The Army Corps of Engineers is going to repair Petoskey's damaged breakwall this spring and summer.

Well, work has begun. The work barges are in place in the Petoskey harbor and the damage done by the ice storm a couple of years ago and by years of wear and tear is about to be fixed.

The Corp of Engineers will conduct Phase One of reconstruction this spring. The 300-foot outer section of the wall from the lighthouse in to the end of the damaged portion will be replaced first. Construction is expected to last the rest of the year.

You may remember a couple of summers ago when the breakwall looked as it does in this pastel by Artist Market artist Jan Vandenbrink. The gap was temporarily filled in later that year.

People's Path Update

This week we found out that the Powers That Be had a different plan for the People's Path across Pennsylvania Park. Rather than coopting the will of the people by paving over the natural, foot-worn diagonal, as we suspected in our previous post, they have resorted to repressing the rightful and democratic will of the people by resodding that venerable trail worn by the feet and the perseverance of the masses.

I note that even the mighty Powers-That-Be were unwilling to provoke the public ire further and wisely did not take any additional futile measures like roping off the fresh sod or posting Stay off the Grass signs.

In the end, these misguided tactics will be defeated as the people continue to vote with their feet. Before long, the People's Path will rise again in all its revolutionary and muddy glory!

The People's Path

One of the many purposes of this blog is to help keep you up to date on the major and trivial goings on in our town, particularly for those of you who only spend a part of the year in Petoskey but still feel a spiritual connection to our special corner of the earth. I'm not sure where this event ranks on on the trivial-to-major scale but it meant something to me so I pass it along for whatever it is worth to you.

This week they have been repaving the pathways through Pennsylvania Park in the middle of Downtown Petoskey. Today I walked by on my way to lunch and saw that, at long last, they are paving the long, diagonal path that cuts across the park from northwest to southeast.

If you don't spend much time walking in Downtown Petoskey, you may not instantly appreciate the significance of this. That diagonal is, without a doubt, the most common route people take across the park. It goes roughly from American Spoon Foods across the park to Meyer Ace Hardware (an then on to the Northern Michigan Artists Market). Until today it has been one of those natural routes that, despite all the plans of the experts, never gets officially established but is the creation of the people literally voting with their feet.

Over the years the grass along this path has been beaten down by thousands of feet in all sizes that refuse to follow the establishment guidelines and instead strike out on their own spontaneous, leaderless people's revolution. It is a meek, humble path, in some places little more than a size double-e flip-flop in width and often deep with mud. Grass seed has not conquered this path. Mud puddles have not kept the people away.

I must say, I have some mixed feelings watching all this spirit paved over. But in the end I will not miss the mud. Thank you to the powers-that-be for giving in to the will of the masses by officially sanctioning, and paving, the people's path!