Steampunk or wood punk old-fashioned Saw Mill running at the Upper Peninsula State Fair

I took these videos of the saw mill that they usually have running at the Michigan Upper Peninsula State Fair in Escanaba, Michigan, when we were there on vacation this past August. The saw mill runs using a power take-off (PTO) from an old steam engine driven tractor. All day long these guys cut huge tree trunks into usable lumber. I heard that people with lumber from their property sometimes wait until the fair so they can cut sawn boards from this mill, for authenticity's sake for their cabins or old buildings.




The circular saw is huge, it looks three feet across. The mechanism holding the lumber cleverly moves the lumber another board thickness after each pass of the saw so that many boards can be cut from a log of the same set thickness.




If the apocalypse came tomorrow, I think these guys could still be running their saw mill and getting your boards for your new back country cabin to wait out the coming troubles.




You can see the resulting in the video above as well as a a view of the steam engine.

I tried to get a closer view of the actual engine running the saw mill here:




Looked like a coal fired steam engine.

Lascivious Croatian Chicken beckons to you from the spit

A picture didn't do justice to the lascivious movement of the chickens slowly turning on the spit at the Michigan Upper Peninsula State Fair back in August, so I captured a video. Watch how the chickens turn and each flap of a wing or kick of a leg as they turn seems to beckon you to eat more delicious rotisserie chicken.




This booth had Croatian chicken, which appears to be spit rotisseried chicken, but with extra spices and a crispy skin and I am sure extra fat and butter somehow cooked into it. It was so good that we had it for lunch that day and then on the way home got another one for dinner.

The rotisserie was a hue mechanical affair, run by a motor. The tenders made sure that there was charcoal enough to keep the chickens hot and cooking and would move the big spits as appropriate.

Just thinking again of how delicious it was makes me want to get more. Just have to wait until next August and travel to Escanaba, Michigan again to get some.

Frogs of Escanaba and Lake Michigan

While on vacation in Escanaba on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan I saw and took more pictures of frogs than I have ever taken near my house on the creek in Delaware. Here is a sampling of at least two species that I saw and stood still long enough for photography before leaping away.



These frogs were in the marsh between Lake Michigan and the cabin. They were two or three inches long. I think this is a Northern Leopard Frog. (link for Northern Leopard Frog at Michigan DNR)


These tree frogs were hidden until pointed out living on leaves and trees right in the backyard of the cabin. They were about the size of a quarter. I think these are Gray Tree Frogs, (link for Grey Tree Frog at Michigan DNR) but they seem too small, perhaps they are immature. Are they any Michigan frog experts that can confirm this?



Tree frog sitting calmly

This one was interesting as it walked up the leaf, mostly because I was too close with the camera antagonizing it.

If you look closely at this (unfortunately blurry) video you can see the frogs throat moving. I couldn't hear anything, perhaps the noise was too high or too soft, or non-existent.

I spotted this frog at the tip of the peninsula at Peninsula Point Lighthouse. It also appears to be a Northern Leopard Frog.

What is this tree in Escanaba? Closeup of fruit.

A closeup of the fruit on those trees in Escanaba. What are they?

Update: Barbara Tiesch, librarian for the Harrisburg Patriot-News, has suggested (via Twitter) that these tress might be Mountain Ash. A quick wikipedia search reveals that these trees look like Sorbus americana. Thanks for your help Barbara, a several year mystery (to me) is now solved. The article says that in the United States they are distributed from the Appalachians from New York to Georgia and out to the Great Lakes.

Mario Paper Art at the UP State Fair

I hope Mason Wellman of Rock, MI, doesn't mind me posting a picture of his really cool Mario Paper Art 4H project on display at the Upper Peninsula State fair in Escanaba. It won a first place ribbon. This artwork is made entirely of colored, glued, torn paper. I think Mario looks suitable plumber like and the heroine looks worth saving. The colors of the sky, the brickwork and the shadows of the dangers that Mario faced to save her are almost surreal. I hope someone encourages this kid's artwork.

Creationist Museum Display at the Upper Peninsula State Fair in Escanaba

A local Escanaba Baptist church had this nice display of artifacts that seek to prove the Creationist theory of life on Earth. The display had replicas of artifacts purportedly showing footprints of humans next to dinosaur tracks and ancient human art showing that humans and dinosaurs lived together. I haven't ever seen a real life display like this one before.



A closeup of the footprints:


I took a picture and then I noticed I could get a peice of chocolate if I got 8 out of 10 bible questions right. I aced it and got my chocolate. I think they were recruiting and were unprepared for my "try to win a prize for knowing trivia" attitude. When it comes to winning chocolate bible facts are as good as any other for me.

Just for the record I think that the Young Earth Creationism depicted here is bunk. But the people seemed nice, if misinformed.