Sisters Welcoming Spring Wins Week 5 of Patch of Michigan Photo Contest

Michiganians love their four seasons, but after a long cold winter most of us are ready for the warmth of spring.

Leah and sister Kiera's snow fort was melting on "on one of those March days that lets you know that winter is almost done," said their mom, Janet Raymond of Rochester Hills.

"I looked out and saw they had put the beach chairs in the snow fort and thought it was so funny, so I took a picture of it."

Raymond's photo captures the prize for  of our . It was was selected out of more than 100 photos submitted for the . It wins a $30 gift certificate from . 

You, too, can share your visions of Michigan in photos in our Your Patch of Michigan photo contest. Every week through Sept. 17 we'll have a new photo gallery and a new winner chosen by a panel of Michigan Patch editors. Each weekly winner will get a prize. 

After Sept. 17, we'll pick a grand prize winner from all of the weekly winners. The grand prize winner will receive a certificate for a two-night stay at Mission Point Resort on Mackinac Island (to be used before Oct. 31, 2012, and blackout dates and other restrictions may apply). The approximate retail value of the Grand Prize is $500.

Do you need to be Ansel Adams to win this? No. The single qualification for photos you send is that they say "Michigan" to you. 

How to enter Patch of Michigan contest

First, become a registered Patch user if you aren't already; just sign up at the top right corner of the homepage. Then add your photo(s) to the .

Be sure to include your real, full name and the place where the photo was taken, as well as any other relevant information about what the photo shows. The email address you use to register must be a working one so we can reach you should we have questions — or should you be selected as a winner.

All photos must be posted each Saturday by midnight to be judged for that week. The contest is open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 and older. And this wouldn't be a contest without a complete list of official contest rules; you can read them . Please, no more than three (3) entries per person per week. The winner will be selected each Monday and must respond to notification within 48 hours.

If you aren't quite sure how to upload a photos, check out our  to uploading photos to Patch. If you still have trouble or have questions, email Associate Regional Editor Beth Valone at beth.valone@patch.com.