Welcome to SCHOCK MCCOY PRODUCTIONS by J.H. McCoy. This website is named in honor of my mother,
Gloria (Schock) McCoy, and dedicated to her memory. Since it was founded in 2015, her JOURNAL and ALBUM have always been prominent features, but now some of her recipes have been added to the website (RECIPES).
The HOMEPAGE is "seasonal" and changes during the year when the seasons do. It contains some of my articles from my hometown newspaper. The NEWS section features recent photographs and comments on the local scene.
PHOTO-ESSAYS is a record of my trips to iconic locations in the U.S. A short history of the Schock family, written over 50 years ago (1970) by my great-uncle, Edward D. Schock, is presented in HISTORY. I edited it in 2020.
I hope that you will always find something interesting on this website and that you will tell others about it.
Thank you for stopping by. Please sign the Guest Book, and come back soon!
J.H. (John Herbert) McCoy
9636 Roberts Rd., Harbor Beach, MI 48441 // [email protected] // (989) 551-9487 (cell)
FOUNDED
JANUARY 30, 2015
SCHOCK MCCOY
PRODUCTIONS
***CLICK ON THE NAME FOR A SHORT VIDEO***
(Nobel Speech)
"TEMPUS FUGIT"
(Click on small "pics" to enlarge)
Canada geese fly by.
TODAY
YESTERDAY
SAND BEACH TOWNSHIP
&
MICHIGAN'S THUMB
J.H. MCCOY
+++SPRING 2023+++
NEW
NEW
NEW
"THE SCHOCK FAMILY TREE" by Edward D. Schock (1970) edited by J.H.McCoy
Read it in HISTORY
"Where flowers bloom so does hope"
Lady Bird Johnson
(1912-2007)
REST IN
PEACE
CLICK
ON
PIC
"I enjoy the spring more than autumn now. One does, I think, as one gets older." Virginia Woolf (1882-1941)
"The flowers of late winter and early spring occupy places in our hearts well out of proportion to their size."
Gertrude S. Wister, Horticulturist (1905-1999)
JOHN MUIR (NATIONAL PARK SERVICE VIDEO) "A GLORIOUS JOURNEY" - 22 MINUTES
"Nature gives to every time and season some beauties of its own.
Charles Dickens (1812-1870)
Born 100 years ago, Jan 30, 1923
FROM THE MINDEN CITY HERALD BY J.H. MCCOY
NIGHT-FLYING MONARCH
from The Minden City Herald, 9/2/21
At first, I thought a large, colorful moth was fluttering around the back porch light. I soon realized, however, that it was a monarch butterfly. Surprisingly, it continued to buzz the light and bang off the screen door. I got my iPhone and tried to take a picture.
When I stepped out on the deck, the butterfly circled and brushed by me in its erratic flight. Occasionally, it landed on a nearby object: the screen door, the top of the light, a deck chair. But each time, darkness and shadows made it impossible to get a good photo.
Eventually, it landed on my foot… then my pant leg. I took a few pictures from above, but its wings were closed.
At one point, I noticed that it was resting on the deck. I reached down, and the butterfly crawled up on my fingers. I slowly maneuvered it into the light, eliminating the shadows and documenting what I consider a very strange and unusual event.
After putting the monarch down on a cushion and taking a few more pictures, I turned off the porch light; and my “unexpected and unexplained visitor” flew back into the darkness.
*********************
Photo by J.H. McCoy, Sand Beach Township, August 26, 2021
AWARD WINNING ARTICLE - MICHIGAN PRESS ASSOCIATION
BETTER NEWSPAPERS CONTEST - 2022
"The Michigan Press Association’s annual Better Newspaper Contest allows member journalists, photojournalists, columnists, designers to show off their best work. Each year, a state press association reviews thousands of entries submitted by Michigan newspapers and Individual members. The increased competition inspires all journalists to produce better work, which in turn, nurtures stronger communities."
from www.michiganpressassociation.org / Check the website for a list of all 2022 winners.
THIRD PLACE - "PHOTO-STORIES" - 2022
(SMALL WEEKLY NEWSPAPER, UNDER 3,000 CIRCULATION)
J.H. MCCOY - THE MINDEN CITY HERALD - NIGHT-FLYING MONARCH
EAGLES NESTING IN SAND BEACH TOWNSHIP
(a welcome sight on the first day full day of spring, 2023)
March 21, 2023, Sand Beach Township
Scanning the nest from the road with my binoculars, I thought it was empty. Then, I saw an adult bald eagle flying toward the nest from the north. I snapped a few hurried shots from the passenger side window as it flew by the nest and landed in a nearby tree. When I looked at the photos afterwards, I was surprised to discover a second eagle in the nest. The camera "saw" what I could not.
CROCUSES
SAND BEACH TOWNSHIP - FIRST FULL DAY OF SPRING
"A single crocus blossom ought to be enough to convince our heart that springtime, no matter how predictable, is somehow a gift, gratuitous, gratis, a grace."
David Steindl-Rast
"David Steindl-Rast, OSB (born July 12, 1926) is an
American Catholic Benedictine Monk, author, lecturer. He is committed to interfaith dialogue and has dealt with the interaction between spirituality and science."
MALLARDS - VERONA STATE GAME AREA
MARCH 28, 2023 - EAGLE REPORT: Checked the eagle nest in the
Verona State Game Area. It is active again this year as is the nest
on M-19. Currently, I know of 5 eagle nests within 22 miles of my house : 4 in Huron County and 1 in Sanilac County. (Two nests are within 3 miles of Harbor Beach.)
ACTIVE EAGLE NEST ON M-19
EAGLES ELSEWHERE -- DECORAH, IOWA, EAGLE WEB CAM
SNOWY OWL AT THE HARBOR BEACH MARINA
APRIL 3-4, 2023
ARTICLE IN "THE MINDEN CITY HERALD" - 4/13/23
THE SNOWY OWL'S "SPRING FLING" ENDED ON APRIL 5!
NOBODY HAS SEEN IT SINCE.
SNOWY OWL IN HARBOR BEACH
THE MINDEN CITY HERALD
APRIL 13, 2023
A Snowy Owl was seen and photographed at the Harbor Beach Marina on Monday and Tuesday of the first week of April. It was sitting among the boulders in front of the rental cabins at the north end of the harbor. The heavily streaked “Snowy” was extremely tame and ignored cars and traffic. It even tolerated pedestrians, walking by on the sidewalk.
I took pictures on both days from a parked vehicle. I left the car only once. On Tuesday morning, I pulled up to the line of boulders without seeing the owl. I was going to check the rocks for signs of a kill. The photographer who took pictures on the first day said that the owl was feeding on something.
I got out of the car, walked around the back of it, and then suddenly froze when I saw the yellow eyes. The Snowy Owl was sitting quietly among the boulders about 50 feet away, watching my every move. I retraced my steps, climbed back into the car, and once again snapped some pictures. (The owl photo was one I took that morning.)
Later, I began to wonder if the owl was sick or injured. After all, I had never seen it fly, and it was in the same general location for two days in a row. But it looked healthy and moved normally.
Then on Wednesday, it was gone - nobody has seen it since. Evidently, the springtime Snowy Owl decided that it was finally time to end it strange sojourn
in Harbor Beach and return to its home on the Arctic tundra.
*********
More pictures of the Snowy Owl can be found on the Homepage of my website, Schock McCoy Productions. www.schockmccoyproductions.com
After the owl disappeared, I posted several iPhone pictures of it on “Birding Michigan,” a Facebook site for people interested in Michigan birds. I also
reported it to eBird, the electronic birding website of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. www.ebird.org
Out of sync with the calendar, a Snowy Owl seems at home in the boulders at the Harbor Beach Marina.
SPRING TURKEY SEASON OPENED - APRIL 22, 2023
RUBICON TOWNSHIP - HURON COUNTY 4/26
HURON COUNTY .... IN THE SETTING SUN
REARRANGING AS THE SUN GOES DOWN
EARLY MAY AND NEW LEAVES BEGIN TO FORM
SOON, THEY WILL BE HARD TO SEE
