November 29

Tuesday, Remi and I traveled 10 miles west to Lumberjack Park to hike on the west section of a nature trail that I’m in the process of constructing for the park. The early morning weather was mostly sunny with a temperature of 45 degrees and a slight breeze out of the southeast. Leaving the car parked just north of the Pine River off Lumberjack Rd., we headed east through a wooded area of mixed hardwoods & pines where I spotted a tree trunk whose barked was recently stripped away by a gnawing porcupine. Continuing east, I was amazed by the number of tree trunks displaying fresh Foliose Lichens. These often-overlooked organisms are colonizers of tree bark, decaying logs, rocks, soil, leaves and manmade structures. A symbiosis of algae and fungi, they serve as food and nesting material for many birds and mammals as well as habitat for small invertebrates. Next, as the trail approached the riverbank, I paused to admire the extensive growth of Oyster fungi on a large tree trunk. Also, I noticed water from recent rains had filled the river channel as it flowed rapidly to the east. Further ahead, I gazed across the river to see an adult deer lying dead near the far edge. Without examining the carcass and since this was firearms hunting season, I wondered if it was fatally shot and wandered there to die. Spotting the morning sun peaking through the trees, I continued east before turning north through a narrow corridor of conifers with reddish trunks of Red Pine on my left and blackish trunks of White Pine on my right. Glancing skyward, I noticed wind blowing the needles in the evergreen canopy. Climbing a gradual slope, I turned east again and came to Mud Creek where one day we hope to construct a footbridge and continue the trail on the far side. However, at this time, I turned around and followed my shadow west through another corridor of conifers toward the trailhead where I spotted a tree trunk covered with Whitewash Fungi. Finally, we got back to the car and headed home.

November lets go

Autumn holds on

Nature’s panorama

Ice glazed pond

Once green canopy

Now open and bare

Once singing birds

Now songs are rare

Once lush meadow

Now drab and dry

Once a season to live

Now a season to die

D. DeGraaf

November 22

Tuesday, Remi and I traveled 20 miles north to Mt. Pleasant to hike in the 30-acre Chipp-A-Waters Park. The early morning weather was sunny with a temperature of 21 degrees and no wind. Leaving the car, we hiked directly south to the edge of the Chippewa River where I paused to observe the swift current flowing east. Following the paved trail west, I noticed a major change in the landscape since we visited in March of 2015, that being the placement of large boulders along the outside bends of the meandering river to mitigate bank erosion. Also, I saw evidences of a hard freeze overnight including a small pond glazed with ice and frosty margins on leaves of invasive Garlic Mustard. Continuing west, a colorful male Cardinal perched in the pale, leafless underbrush caught my eye. Turning south, I walked across the river on the Brandell Bridge, paused to scan the scenic Veits Woods and gazed through the leafless canopy at a clear blue sky. Leaving the paved path, I followed a dirt trail west where I noticed patches of Winter Berry whose colors are a portend to the Christmas season. This shrub is a species of holly native to eastern North America and Canada. The berries attract and provide a significant food source to native birds and wildlife. In fact, over forty species of North American birds rely on these berries as part of their food source. However, they are poisonous and extremely toxic to humans. Back across the bridge, I turned west again and circled a wooded area where the leaf litter revealed it contained mostly oak and beech with a few maple. Also while scanning the landscape, I noticed a major change since I was here before as several large ash trees that had been killed by the Emerald Ash Border were cut down. Heading back toward the car, I looked up to see and hear a male Hairy Woodpecker searching for food. Similar to the Downy Woodpecker, this bird is larger and has a thicker beak. Following our shadows, we made it back to the car, turned the heater on and headed home.

Lifeblood of earth

What you bring

Your current calls

Your waters sing

Autumn treasures

Many you take

Colorful leaves

A Mallard drake

Vistas of beauty

On banks bestow

Chippewa River

I long to know

D. DeGraaf

November 11

Last Friday, accompanying my wife to Grand Rapids where she attended a conference, Remi and I hiked nearby at the 100-acre, Calvin College Ecosystem Preserve. The early morning weather was partly sunny with a temperature of 43 degrees and a stiff breeze from the north. We left the car and headed east across a footbridge into a forest of mature oak and maple trees. Gazing up, I was pleased to view mostly blue sky through a leafless canopy. Turning south, the trail took me to an observation platform above a 1-acre pond covered with an invasive pondweed called Watermeal. From there, I watched a pair of Mallards swimming and feeding on this green surface. Most likely, these ducks are not residents but have stopped here to rest before continuing their migration to a southern state. Migrating Mallards are quite hardy and have been known to cover 800 miles in a single day. Greeted by the morning sun as I turned east, the trail took me into part of the forest dominated by American Beech trees where I spotted a smaller one that still retained its leaves and a large one that had late Oyster mushrooms still clinging to its trunk. Further ahead, I paused as Remi had a stare-down with a perching Fox Squirrel. Arriving at a 5-acre lake, I noticed colorful Red Oak leaves floating close to shore. Near the end of our half-mile loop while scanning the understory, I came upon one of nature’s anomalies- a small Sugar Maple tree displaying green leaves of summer. For some unexplained reason, unlike the millions of other leaves in the forest, they had not yet responded to the cues of autumn by changing colors, dropping and decaying. Finally, we got back to the car and returned to the conference center to pick up my wife before heading to Alma.

Peaceful forest realm

Leafless oak and elm

Twigs and branches reach

Barren maple and beech

Brown litters the ground

Makes a crunching sound

High in a naked tree

Call of a chickadee

Blast of a thirty aught six

Hunter getting his kicks

D. DeGraaf

November 10

Thursday, Remi stayed home while I drove 17 miles west of Alma to hike a scenic section of the Meijer Heartland Trail between Edmore and Cedar Lake. The early morning weather was mostly sunny with a temperature of 46 degrees and a slight breeze from the west. Leaving the car parked alongside Deja Rd, I hiked east on the paved path where a familiar sign of the season caught my eye; white feathery plumes from the seeds of Old Man’s Beard. Continuing east, I walked over a thick layer of fallen oak leaves. Once in awhile the asphalt path provided a nice contrast for identifying individual leaves, including this Pin Oak. A little further ahead, I spotted several proximate Tamarack trees whose needles had turned brown and were beginning to blanket the path. Also called Larch, this tree is one of a few deciduous conifers found in North America. Nearby, I paused to observe a narrow creek flowing from west to east. According to the map, this un-named stream flows into Wolf Creek and then continues east to the Pine River. While most of the shrubs I saw were green or leafless, some displayed a few red leaves including: Japanese Barberry and Maple-leaf Viburnum. After about ¾ mile, I turned around into the teeth of a strengthening west wind and began retracing my steps when I noticed a large (2’x3’) Pudding Stone just off the trail. The name of this conglomerate rock is derived from its resemblance to old fashion Christmas pudding. Continuing west, I came upon a patch of Maidenhair ferns whose fronds were losing their color as well as a leafless Sumac shrub with its deep red “staghorn” fruiting bodies. Near the end of the hike, I paused to observe a gust of wind trying hard to dislodge and disperse milkweed seeds. Finally, I got back to the car and headed east for home.

Pregnant stem in chill of spring

Birth of green, shade you bring

Facing the sun in summer skies

Supplying food, the tree relies

Autumn canopy, colors astound

Floats down, adorns the ground

Red to brown with veins of gray

Shriveling edges, signs of decay

Forest time was much too brief

Life and death of a Maple leaf

D. DeGraaf

November 3

Thursday, Remi stayed home while I returned to Forest Hill Nature Area for my weekly nature hike. The early morning weather was cloudy and foggy with a temperature of 50 degrees and no wind. Parking the car next to Brady Cemetery, I followed the trail west through a green-less field where thicket willows still displayed some of their yellow leaves. Up ahead, I spotted a couple of crows perched on a tall snag as they announced their presence. Continuing west, I got off the trail and walked through the wet grass to the edge of Sora Swale where I paused to look at and listen to the peaceful surroundings. Turning north, I passed Artist Overlook where the trail leaf litter was dominated first by maple and then by aspen. Turning south into South Woods, I paused as a breeze blew down a few more of the remaining leaves. Exiting the woods, I turned west through Birch Row and then turned north where the leaf litter indicated I was walking under mostly oaks. Continuing east around Succession Field, I turned north and hiked through North Woods where a few maple and beech trees still held their leaves. Exiting the woods, I headed south to Willow Wallow and turned east where I followed the trail to the top of Reflection Hill just in time to watch a formation of noisy geese fly overhead. As a chilly north wind picked up, I looked down on Grebe Pond where I counted a couple dozen floating geese honking nervously at my presence. Also, on the north end of the pond, a crab apple tree with its yellow leaves and red fruit caught my eye. Next, I headed south down the hill and walked over to the cemetery where the leaf litter showed lots of needles shed by the large White Pine trees. Finally, I jumped in the car and headed home.

Nature opens November

With much to share

Leaves of the litter

Capture my stare

Crimson and orange

Amber and gold

Adorn the ground

A thousand-fold

Part of the mix

Needles of pines

Brown and brittle

Mid autumn signs

D. DeGraaf