November 12

Thursday, Remi and I traveled 18 miles south of Alma to hike once again at Gratiot County’s 100-acre, Reed Park. The early morning weather was very overcast with a temperature of 46 degrees and a strong gusty wind out of the south. Leaving the car, we quickly headed north and entered a dense, leafless forest to escape the cold wind. Soon, I came upon a sign indicating I was on the “Beech Maple” trail. This was confirmed by a scan of the surrounding tree trunks as well as the leaf litter. Also, in this mostly green-less landscape, I spotted a few green Christmas ferns. Continuing north, I paused to look through the now open canopy and see 1 of the 187 huge wind turbines in operation though out the county. As the path circled back to the south, I spotted some tiny lacy white fungi on one decaying stump and lemon disco fungi, also called yellow fairy cups on another. Another look at the leaf litter indicated I was passing through a stand of Red Oak. Further along, I came upon a large, 3-4 foot granite rock covered with moss and lichens. These ancient rocks (mostly igneous and metamorphic) that appear occasionally on my weekly hikes are called glacial erratics. Most were removed from the Canadian Shield and carried south by that last glacier some 11,000 years ago. Heading back toward the car, I was amazed to discover an 8-ft decaying log totally covered with whitish fungi. Upon closer inspection, I could see they were Turkey Tail. Finally, as the temperature dropped and rain began to fall, we jumped in the car and headed north to Alma.

Nature quiets down

Autumn of the year

Music of the marsh

No longer hear

Peep of the Sora

Cluck of the frog

Squirrel’s chirp

Have left the bog

Sounds of summer

Tunes to remember

Solitude of the season

Morning in November

D. DeGraaf