Scale Models of Ore Docks & Ships (the first 5 photos are of models built out of brass by Don Steffen):

Model Ore Dock 1 - HO-scale model of old Escanaba, MI ore dock
Model Ore Dock 2 - another view - Maritime Museum in Manitowoc, WI display
Model Ore Dock 3 - overhead view of this spectacular model
Model Ship - Steelton - Mr. Steffen also scratch-built this HO scale model of the Steelton
Model Ship - Steelton - the model ship also has fully detailed interior! (even though you can't see it)

2 More Ship Models - Also at the museum, models of the Edward L. Ryerson and American Republic
Another view of the 2 Models - American Republic & Edward L. Ryerson models at the Manitowoc Maritime Museum
William A. Reiss & a Passenger Ship - Two more models at the museum
Great Lakes Freighter - Yet another model at the Manitowoc museum

Belle River - Almost 16-ft.-long model of the 1000-footer Belle River inside the Valley Camp Museum Ship in Sault Ste. Marie, MI
Belle River - Stern view of the same model

International Bridge - separates Sault Ste. Marie, MI & Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Administration Bldg. - Operations center for the American Soo Locks
Lighted Fountain - at the east end of the Soo Locks park grounds
Soo Sunset - taken from park east of Edison Soo building in Sault Ste. Marie, MI

New Marinette Fuel & Dock sign - Located at entrance to dock in Marinette, WI
Logging Museum - Located on Stephenson Island in Marinette, WI
Menominee Sunset - Sunset on the Menominee River
Another Menominee Sunset - sunset on upper Menominee River
4-6-2 Steam Locomotive - "Pacific" class locomotive on display at Gladstone, MI along US-2
4-6-2 Steam Locomotive - close-up of the engine at Gladstone, MI - built in 1911

4-6-2 Steam Locomotive - close-up of the tender where coal and water were carried
4-6-2 Steam Locomotive - another view from toward the front
4-6-2 Steam Locomotive - close-up view of the engine from the opposite side
4-6-2 Steam Locomotive - Presentation plate from Soo Line Railroad
4-6-2 Steam Locomotive - Detail plate - this engine logged 3,612,000 miles in its lifetime!

Peshtigo Reef Lighthouse - Work began on this lighthouse, located off Peshtigo Point 3-miles from the entrance to the Peshtigo River, in 1934 and was completed in 1936. It was originally serviced by lighthouse keepers from Sherwood Point in Sturgeon Bay, WI; but was later automated by laying an underwater power cable.

Swan - This bird showed up in the Menominee River above the first dam in late October 2001.
Swan - Found on Menominee River on March 6, 2002.
Swan - Back on the Menominee River on Jan. 18, 2003.
Swan - ...And back again on the Menominee River on Dec. 26, 2003.
Swan - Another view on Menominee River on Dec. 26, 2003.
Swan - ...and another on Menominee River on Dec. 27, 2003.

Swan - ...and one more on Menominee River on Dec. 27, 2003.
Swan ...Back on the Menominee River for another winter on Dec. 14, 2004.
5 Egrets - At Red Arrow Park Boat Launch area on Sept. 29, 2003
Chappee Rapids - Historical Marker along the Menominee River outside of Menominee, MI
Cormorants - These voracious diving birds have invaded the Menominee River...

More cormorants - ...and the bay of Green Bay also; this is just part of a flock of about 200!
Common Mergansers - (at least the six in the middle "row" of the photo) ... and other species, too
Tern - (This photo is not "original, it is put together from two photos for effect; the smaller image was imported from another photo.) I love this shot. The "original" photo was of the larger (closer) tern shot at full zoom.
Tern - Here is the "original photo" that the smaller image in the last photo was taken from.
Tern - These birds will be flying 20-30 feet in the air and then, when they spot food, will dive absolutely vertical into the water.

Great Blue Heron - These birds are usually found in the marshes; this one alighted on our marina.
Egret - These wading birds are also usually found along marshes; shown here at the base of a bridge at our marina.
Egret - Close-up with its neck tucked in.
Sandhill Crane - This one wasn't along a waterway, but out in a field in Menominee County.
Pelican - Found on the Fox River in Green Bay, WI on July 15, 2004

Swan & Goose - I found an old friend today ... "our" swan was found in the lower Menominee River. This is the latest in the year that I have seen it, and the first time it has been this far down-river.
Swan - A nice pose on Mother's Day (May 8)
Birdwatching while boatwatching - A swan and a goose pose in front of the Virginiaborg on May 8
Egret - This is the first egret I have seen this year. It was off Harbor Town Marina in Marinette on May 9, 2005.
Egret - A closer view of an egret on May 11.

Tern - A very acrobatic bird to watch; these birds will fly over water, spot something from 30-40 feet in the air and then plummet straight down into the water to nab its prey! This one was seen on May 11, and is the first one I have seen here this year.
Tern - Getting ready to take a dive
Tern - Searching for a snack at Red Arrow Park Boat Launch on May 16, 2005
Tern - A pair of terns rest on the parking lot the same day
Deer - This deer is one of three we spotted near Red Arrow Park on May 27.

Deer - Here are the other two.
Deer - Looking right at me
Deer - Two of the deer in the wooods with ears straight up
Great Blue Heron - On the Marinette side of the Menominee River between the Hattie Street Bridge and the dam on June 16, 2005
Egret - An egret is seen between parts of a new retaining wall on the Interstate Bridge Project on June 21

Egret - Close-up of the egret near the Interstate Bridge
Great Blue Heron - In flight near Stephenson Island on June 26, 2005
Great Blue Heron - Standing on the northeast side of Stephenson Island
Rock Sculpture - Found at Henes Park on July 19, 2005
Beautiful Sunset - Looking west (up-river) at the Menominee River from the Ogden Street Bridge

Rock Sculpture - More art at Henes Park on Sept. 5, 2005
Eagle - Flying high over Menominee on Oct. 25, 2005
Swan - Our swan "Homer" came back to Menominee for another winter somewhere around Dec. 29, 2005. Hurray!!!
Swan - This is the first time I have seen it this winter; and believe me I have been looking!
Swan - Close-up of this magnificent bird
Swan - Look at the size of my favorite bird standing on the ice

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2006 Photos:

Swan - A beautiful shot of my favorite bird (from about 25-feet away)
Swan - Homer says, "Helllooooo, Dick!" :O)
Swan - A rather "classic" swan pose
Swan - Finally! Blue skies (and water), sun and my favorite bird!!!
Swan - A nice close-up of an old friend

Winter Wonderland - Snow clings heavily to trees and brush on Jan. 30
Winter Wonderland - A winter landscape
Winter Wonderland - Fir trees are heavily laden (and beautiful) with the new snow
Winter Wonderland - A single snow-laden tree across the road from NWTC in Marinette, WI

Eagle - Finally! A good close-up photo of one of the eagles that frequent the Lower Menominee river! What a majestic bird!
Eagle - This view is cropped from the previous photo and enhanced with a photo-editing program.
Duck - This is a cropped and photo-edited photo of a mallard taken in Marinette, WI a couple years ago. (The duck is original, just the background is modified ... there was a boat ramp in the original photo)
Egrets - Spring must be here, our Egrets have returned! Here, two of them fly into the sun on April 5, 2006.
Egret & Gulls - Rest on the dock at Red Arrow Park boat launch on April 7, 2006

Egret - Check out the neck on this one
3 Egrets - Check out the leg on the middle bird
Egret - Looking for a meal
4 Egrets - At Red Arrow Boat Launch
4 Egrets - As night falls, the 4 of them are still there

Egret - Sentry duty???
Blue Herons - The herons have also returned to Marinette on April 7, 2006 (along with gulls, ducks and geese).
Blue Herons - A few more herons in a different part of the lagoon at Red Arrow Boat Launch
Snowy Owl - A beautiful surprise awaited me when I went chasing a ship today, this bird along the shores of Green Bay off Menominee!
Snowy Owl - Still hanging around the shores by the lighthouse on April 11

Snowy Owl - Keeping an eye on me
Snowy Owl - ... and now with the other eye
Snowy Owl - "Oh! Hello!!" ... Both eyes are wide open now
Snowy Owl - No, I didn't get quite this close! This is a "cropped" version of the previous photo.
Snowy Owl - After flying to a new location ... I think it got tired of posing for me :O)

Tern - As of April 22, 2006 our Arctic Terns are back!
Tern - An older friend and I went down to watch them today ...
Tern - We spent about a half hour just watching them ...
Tern - They really put on quite an aerial show ...
Tern - And they are a real challenge to try to catch on camera ...

Tern - Especially at full 14X Optical Zoom (about 525mm in a 35mm camera) - Hand-held ... NO tripod!!!
Tern - This photo ended up with a "blotchy" sky because of a small (23KB) file size, but a great close-up of the bird, so I cleaned up the sky a bit ... yes, the sky was actually this shade of blue (I didn't alter that)!
Tern - Check out the fish in this one's mouth
Tern - A higher quality photo on an overcast day
Tern - Wings spread against a beautiful blue sky

Tern - Framed against a partly cloudy sky
Tern - In flight over Red Arrow Beach in Marinette, WI on May 6, 2006
Tern - Same tern, another view
Family of Ducks - Found swimming near the Sixth Avenue Boat Launch in Marinette, WI on May 22, 2006.
Goose Family - I hope all of these "kids" don't belong to just the pair in the photo!

Egret - At Sixth Avenue Boat Launch in Marinette
Egret - A little different lighting conditions the same day.
Egret - In flight over Sixth Avenue Boat Launch in Marinette, WI on June 5, 2006
Egret - This is one of the biggest ones I have ever seen (taken June 7, 2006 in Marinette, WI)
Egret - Found behind the library in Marinette on June 14 - look at the length of the beak

AFLAC Duck - This white duck was found with a flock of other ducks on the Menominee River on July 12, 2006
Ducks - Dinner time ... or are they trying to tell me something? - LOL
Ducks - Another view swimming up-river
Egret - Coming in for a landing on the Menominee River on July, 12, 2006
White Duck - Chowing down on Aug. 12, 2006

White Duck - As I was photographing a ship at KK Integrated Logistics (Formerly K&K Warehousing) on Aug. 18, 2006 look who showed up from under the dock
Swan - An old friend arrived in town recently; our swan returned for its sixth straight winter on Dec. 22, 2006.
Swan - Welcome back old friend!! Notice how it dwarfs the Canadian Geese in the foreground!

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2007 Photos:

Swan - Taken on a cold (near zero), blue-sky Feb. 2 day (I love this photo)
Eagle - In a tree on the Menominee River on Feb. 4

Swan - "Hi, Dick! Beautiful day, but I'm kind of tired..." (Photo: Feb. 7, 2007)
Swan - Sweet dreams, old friend!
Tern - Spring is here, the terns have come back (Photo: April 27, 2007)
Blue Heron - At Red Arrow Park Boat Launch on May 2, 2007 WITH a large fish jumping between a cormorant (left) and a goose!
Blue Heron - Another view of the heron

Blue Herons - A second heron flies over as the other one takes off
Ogden Street Bridge - Overhead view of the bridge known locally as the "Menekaunee" Bridge
Egret - The egrets have been back in Menominee/Marinette for several weeks now and I finally got one in my viewfinder on May 17, 2007
5 Cormorants - Sitting atop a tree along the Menominee River on May 20, 2007
Cormorant - Fanning its wings atop the tree

2 Egrets - One comes in for a landing while another watches on June 5, 2007 in the Menekaunee harbor
Egret - Looking for a meal on June 5, 2007
Egret in flight - Flying over Marinette Fuel & Dock Co. on June 5, 2007
Family of Geese - 2 adults and 6 young geese in the Menominee River on June 13, 2007
New dock at Waupaca Foundry - Landscaping has been added along the Menominee River on the foundry property

Egret & Geese - An egret takes a leisurely stroll in front of a family of geese on the Menominee River on July 26, 2007
Pelican Patrol - Three pelicans claim their territory on the Fox River in Green Bay, WI on Aug. 5
Pelican - Close-up of one of the birds
Gold Finches - 2 Gold Finches frolic near the 6th Avenue Boat Launch in Marinette, WI on Aug. 6
Gold Finch - Close-up of one of the small, but pretty birds

Egrets - On Aug. 30 I found 12 egrets along County T in Marinette County; here are 10 of them
Egrets - 6 of the birds in the front part of the large pond
Egrets - 6 more in the back part of the pond
Egrets - Close-up of a pair of these beautiful birds
Egret - This wading bird was found behind Stephenson Public Library in Marinette on Sept. 1

White Duck - This good sized duck was also found behind the library on the same day
Sand Point Lighthouse - The lighthouse is now a museum in Escanaba, MI (photo from Sept. 12)
Low Water! - Looking up the Menominee River between Stephenson Library parking lot and Stephenson Island on Sept. 16
River Park Campground - Wide view of a popular place to camp along the Menominee River in the city of Menominee, MI (Sept. 17)
River Park Campground - Close-up of a pavillion and some of the wooden decks with a great view of the river

Egret - Gets ready to fly away from the Menominee River on Sept. 17
Deer - Walking in the woods (still spotted) along Cleveland Avenue in Marinette on Sept. 9
Deer - Another young deer joins the party
Deer - Another view of the first deer
Deer - ... and the second one

Deer - The first deer checks me out as the other feeds
Deer - Both deer grazing in the grass
Deer - The second deer checks on me as the other feeds
Deer - I think this one is tired of "posing"
Deer - Both ears straight up and attentive

Ducks - A flock of ducks in the snow at the Sixth Avenue Boat Launch in Marinette on Dec. 17
Ducks - Close-up of some of the flock

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2008 Photos:

Ice Shove - The ice is breaking up in the bay of Green Bay and piling up in places (Photo: April 9 Red Arrow Park).

2 Mute Swans - Found these two beautiful birds at the Red Arrow Boat Launch in Marinette, WI on Sunday, April 13
2 Mute Swans - After "Homer" was killed, I wondered if I would ever see any of these gorgeous birds around here again
2 Mute Swans - I hope the Wisconsin DNR doesn't come and kill these birds!!
Mute Swan - Close-up of one of these magnificent birds
Mute Swan - One more close-up ... DNR - STAY AWAY!!

Egret - Monday, April 14, No swans today at Red Arrow Boat Launch; just this beautiful egret
Egret - Close-up of our first egret of the season (its been around for almost 2 weeks, just couldn't catch it on film before now)
Blue Heron - ... and later that evening, this fine bird showed up almost in the same place where the egret was earlier
Blue Heron - A more classic Blue Heron pose
Blue Heron - Another heron across the river from the Mystery Ship Boat Launch in Menominee the same evening

Blue Heron - ... and a second one was also there (there were others that were out of camera range)
Egret - Another egret at Red Arrow Park on April 16 standing on the dock
3 Egrets - At Red Arrow Park Boat Launch in Marinette, WI on April 18
3 Egrets - "Hey! what's going on over there?" (LOL)

Turkeys - 1 Tom and 9 hens in Marinette on May 2 ... I think he likes those odds {GRIN}
Turkeys - The Tom struts his stuff in front of the females
2 Turkeys - I wonder if she is interested? ... Whataya say, babe?
Tom Turkey - Side profile
Egret - Stalking dinner (in a great setting) at Red Arrow Park Boat Launch on May 8

Terns - The first terns I have seen this year were in front of Schloegel's Restaurant in Menominee (on the bay of Green Bay) on May 7
Terns - Close-up of these beautiful water birds
Pelicans - These birds were far away from the boat launch at Red Arrow Park on June 15 (shot at 91X Zoom handheld!)
Pelicans - These pelicans were shot at 18X Optical Zoom and then cropped from a larger photo

Sunset - Sunset over downtown Menominee from the lighthouse pier on June 15
Sunset - A wide angle look a little later on

Egret - In flight over the water near the Stephenson Public Library in Marinette, WI on Aug. 8
Egret - Taking a "stab" at lunch
Egret - I just liked the lighting in this photo
Egret - The bird just took another try at lunch
Egret - Close-up of a beautiful bird

3 Gold Finches - At the 6th Street Slip Boat Launch in Marinette, WI on Aug. 13
3 White Ducks - In beautiful deep-blue-colored water behind Stephenson Public Library in Marinette, WI on Aug. 13
3 White Ducks - The same three ducks in a group
Gold Finch - On Aug. 15 this little bird wades into the water at the Sixth Street Slip Boat Launch in Marinette, WI

Menominee River sunset - A beautiful red sunset greeted me at Riverside Cemetery on Aug. 17
Menominee River sunset - Another view
Menominee River sunset - A jet streaks through the reddened sky
Pelican - This bird was on patrol at the Metro Boat Launch in Green Bay, WI on Aug. 24. Talk about a "territorial" bird! It chased away any bird that landed within about 100-feet of it!

3 White Ducks - Looking for chow behind the Stephenson Public Library in Marinette, WI on Nov. 28
3 White Ducks - Looks like they found it ... bottoms up!!

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2009 Photos:

Lake Sturgeon - A good-sized fish swimming in the Menominee River along Government Pier in Marinette on April 12
Tern - I saw my first tern of 2009 at Red Arrow Park Boat Launch on a beautiful April 24 afternoon
Tern - Another tern at Red Arrow Park Boat Launch area on April 29 (what beautiful birds!)
Tern - Flying low at Red Arrow Park in front of a flock of ducks on May 1
Egret - The first I have photographed this year was found at Red Arrow Park on May 1

Egrets Nests - (May 1) Super close-up: check out the number of egrets in the trees!!
Egrets Nests - On the large island east of Stephenson Island (shot from Mystery Ship Boat Launch in Menominee on May 3)
Tern - This tern was standing on the parking lot at Red Arrow Park Boat Launch on May 2
Tern - I drove to within about 30-ft. of it, and it never moved; it just kept an eye on me and "yelled" at me
Tern - Another tern was flying in the area

Pair of Terns - Both terns on the gound in the parking lot
Pair of Terns - Check out the length of the bill on the bird to the left
Pair of Terns - "Why is that guy taking pictures of us? Do we get any royalties from this?" - LOL
Cormorants - Unfortunately they are back in force this year; you can hardly be along the river or bay without seeing them!
Blue Heron - The first blue heron to cross my viewfinder in 2009 was on May 3 near Waupaca Foundry in Marinette, WI
Blue Heron - Cropped photo to give you a close-up of this magnificent bird

Menominee Fire Dept. - Testing out their equipment at the marina on May 12 (impressive)
Menominee Fire Dept. - Another view as they shut down the water supply
Menominee Fire Dept. - Letting it fly!!
Menominee Fire Dept. - Wide view shows how far the water shoots out into the bay
Pelicans - Two (of a flock of 6) pelicans which were found in the bay of Green Bay near the Menominee Marina on May 13 (the first pelicans I have seen this year)

Egret - Looking for an evening snack near River Park Campground on June 5
Egret - ... GOT ONE!! ... Down the hatch!
Egret - Perched on a log near Harbor Town Marina in Marinette
Egret - Close-up