July 26

Tuesday, while Remi remained at home recovering from a broken leg, I drove 35 miles northwest of Alma to hike in the 100-acre Bundy Hill preserve, a new acquisition of the Chippewa Watershed Conservancy. The early morning weather was mostly sunny with a temperature of 63 degrees and no wind. Leaving the car, I followed a two-track south through rolling terrain of hardwoods to a small meadow colored with patches of Knapweed, Trefoil and Alyssum. Wandering through the meadow, I spotted several large, bee-like insects pollenating the flowers. Upon closer look, I saw they were Cicada Killer Wasps. A female wasp will capture a much larger Cicada by paralyzing it with her stinger, dragging it into her sandy burrow and depositing eggs on it. After the eggs hatch into larvae, they feed on the Cicada carcass. Leaving the meadow, I followed the ridge trail as it began to ascend Bundy Hill. Along the way, reflection from the morning sun allowed me to clearly see a well-formed, 1-foot diameter spider web stretched between trees. On the ground nearby, I came upon a yellowish slime mold on a decayed stump. Because of its color and texture, it is also called dog vomit slime mold. Not only is this stuff harmless to people and pets, it is edible. Native people in parts of Mexico scramble it like eggs. Continuing to climb the ridge trail, I saw several large boulders, called glacial erratics including this one that is estimated to weigh 20 tons. Also, I found a few stalks of Indian Pipe poking up through the leaf litter. Finally, I reached the 1270 ft. summit and gazed at the hazy landscape far to the south. Assisted by gravity, I retraced the half-mile trail down the hill to the car and headed east to Mt. Pleasant to do some shopping.

Bouquet of Milkweed flowers

Inhaled in the summer hours

Or aroma of needles of pine

Scent that’s pleasing to find

Smell of a Bergamot bloom

Native prairie’s perfume

Or nectar of wild rose

Wafting to my nose

Fragrances of some worth

Only from Mother Earth

D. DeGraaf