November 6

Thursday, Remi & I hiked at the 25-acre, Williams-Blackburn Preserve in Isabella County. This Chippewa Watershed Conservancy property is located 4 miles northeast of Mt. Pleasant off from Leaton Rd. The early morning weather included thick clouds, spotty light rain with a temperature of 40 degrees and no wind. I hiked north through a dense stand of evergreens including pine and spruce. Since there was no trail, I entered a mature woodlot where the leaf litter revealed nothing but oak. I continued north, descended a steep bank to the edge of the Chippewa River where I stopped to once again look and listen to this local natural resource that I've come to know and appreciate. While exploring a small peninsula formed by the river as it made a sharp turn, I noticed a few American Bladdernut trees with their dried fruit pods shaped like Chinese lanterns. Also, still displaying green Chlorophyll were some patches of sedge and leaves of Wild Ginger. Following the river as it turned south, I stopped to barely make out a Chipmunk from a distance. On the far shore, bank erosion had exposed the complex root system of a large oak that is destined to topple over in the near future. Next, I was intrigued by a mature maple tree with several burls on its trunk. A burl results from a tree undergoing some form of stress that maybe due to injury, mold or insect infestation. Nearby, a few decomposing logs were covered with colonies of small shelf fungi. Climbing back up the bank toward the car, I could see, in the litter, several oak leaves with a fungal disease called Tubakia Leaf Spot. Finally, we made it back to the car to warm up and head home.

Gone from the fields

The luster of gold

Sunshine of summer

Has now turned cold

Gone are redwings

That ruled the marsh

Winds of November

Blow wild and harsh

Gone is the green

Of leaves and vines

Revelations of nature

Mid autumn signs

D. DeGraaf