There is a Presque Isle on the northern border of Wisconsin, and another in Maine.
The pictures here are of a third place with the same name, and the only one I’ve visited – – in Lake Erie, west of Erie, Pennsylvania.
The name was popular with French explorers, because Presqu’île means “Almost an Island” – – this is actually a long, sandbar peninsula.
Kind of like the character called Nearly Headless Nick, in the Harry Potter stories. (More formally, Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, played by John Cleese in the movies.)
Both Presque and Nick kind of drift along – Nick, because he’s a ghost, who died after a botched beheading, hence the “nearly,” and the peninsula, slowly moving eastward, as the sand is redistributed by the lake.
UpState & Away - - - - Waterlooseneca.com 
You’ve certainly found the feel of fall in these photographs.
Are those stacks of wood on the shore intended as markers, or to be burned, or set up for some other purpose?
Do you know how the people who live in any of the American places named Presqu’Ile pronounce its last syllable? I’m guessing they pronounce it like the English word isle that’s derived from it, but there’s some possibility people stay with the French pronunciation that’s like English eel.
Thank you, Steve. I’m not really familiar with the area, but I’m pretty sure they weren’t using the French pronunciation. Perhaps in Maine, where they’ve had so many immigrants from Quebec.
I also don’t know the purpose of those woodpiles. Wreckers? Celtic bonfires? Fall clean-up? If they’re to be burned, it would be quite a sight, wouldn’t it?
Fires aren’t allowed in the state park at Presque Isle, but they do have large bonfires from time to time that are supervised by park personnel. If this was in the park, they probably were preparing bonfires. The stacks reminded me of the Christmas bonfires along the levee in Louisiana. These days, really phenomenal structures are built and burned, but traditionally the pyramid stack was common.
This is the second time I’ve been reminded recently of the corn shocks that dotted the fields when I was a kid. Today, they’re most common at ranch and farm gates, and they’re purely decoration.
Some of the small Amish farms still do corn shocks, but even for them, it’s pretty uncommon. Just as once in a while, you’ll see them in a small field, pitching loose hay onto a wagon, instead of bales or rolls.
In Michigan, they go both ways. The town of Presque Isle pronounces it isle, but Presque Isle county is pronounced eel. I have no idea why there’s a difference, and the Michigan friend who explained it to me doesn’t know either.
Maybe it’s time to add a new line to the Gershwins’ song that already has:
“You like potato and I like potahto,
You like tomato and I like tomahto….”
Wonderful fall colours, Robert. And the coast looks very moody under the grey skies.
Thank you, Mick. The Great Lakes region is definitely prone to gray skies and moodiness.
Great photos that bring out the mood of fall and the atmosphere at the beach so well, Robert! Are you using a new lay-out for your pictures or did you switch to another theme. The pictures look great against the burgundy background.
Thanks very much, Mr. K! It’s the same layout/theme, “Ryu” – – you can use just a regular white background, or select “image” and then WP automatically selects the background color, based on the first photo. So you just change the first picture, until you hit a background color that looks good. Sometimes the colors are awful, and I have to go find another photo that works. It’s surprising how very different the colors look, when I move from computer to computer, so sometimes I wonder if people are seeing a pretty awful color, on their particular monitor.
Thanks for the info on the theme you are using, Robert! I might give Ryu a try for my own blog one of these days.
I love those colourful autumn leaves, but my favourite picture is that of the stack of wood at the beach.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Pit
Thanks, Pit! You too. We’ve had rain too, not an inch in one day, but quite a lot, tomorrow should be a good autumn day though.
We have a wonderful autumn day here, cool, but bright sunshine.
What a beautiful and natural Autumn, Robert. Great job capturing the essence of color
Thank you! There’s so many beautiful trees, but it lasts a very short time.
Nice job on these pics, they really do capture the color and feel of the season!
Thanks Dale. I wish all these leaves would stick on the trees just a bit longer, they’re coming down already.
Your pictures are stunning!
Thanks so much, Robin, glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Your photos have an entirely satisfying autumnal feel. I like the muted colors of the first two, and the contrasts in the next pair. I looked and looked at the white bird in the third photo. At first, I thought it was a great egret, but the neck looks too short. In any event, it’s a nice addition to the scene.
I like the way you’ve combined those interesting grasses with the trees, too, but I think I’d have to say the beach scene is my favorite: partly because of that weather off on the horizon.
Thank you, Linda. I didn’t have a telephoto lens, so the birds aren’t as sharp as they should be, and I’m no birder, as you know. We have been seeing egrets a lot more the past couple of summers, and they get a huge variety of birds at that park. We always have a lot of Great Blue Herons in the Finger Lakes/Lake Ontario area, and my sister saw some Little Blue Herons at this park, and she thinks a Green Heron, which I’ve only seen once or twice.
The green herons are so common here that I don’t have a single decent photo of one. I keep thinking, “Oh, I’ll do that later…” and then I don’t. Your mention just now made me realize I haven’t seen one in a couple of weeks. Some come in from farther north, but some migrate from Texas to points farther south. There’s a lot of coming and going right now.
I think of herons as having long necks, and those green ones kind of hunch up, and look like they’ve got no neck at all. But still, kind of a cool-looking bird. I’ve been walking around Milwaukee in my spare time, haven’t been to any woods or marshes in Wisconsin yet
They do hunch up, like the black crowned night herons. The green herons are our smallest heron, too.
Great shots dude!
Thanks Kevin!
Interesting set of fall pics. The colors are nice, but I look the beach shot the best. Those clouds really set the mood…
Thanks, Dave, it did look a little moody that day.
Beautiful fall colors! I was wondering about the stacks of driftwood too. If it was a beach in England coming up to Nov. 5 it might be for Guy Fawkes day. But it’s not so…. ‘keep the home fires burning’…. for Remembrance/Veterans day? Anyway, great photos.
Thank you, Anne. The park does have bonfires for special events, so it may be for Armistice Day, I didn’t find any notices about it at the park. Guy Fawkes Day always looks like fun!
Very nice, Robert, and as always, informative, entertaining…. 🙂
Thanks, Lynn! 🙂