August 22

Tuesday, Remi, weakened by cancer, stayed home while I hiked another section of the Heartland Trail between Edmore and Alma. The midday weather was mostly cloudy with a temperature of 73 degrees and a stiff westerly wind. Parking alongside Derry Rd., west of Vestaburg, I hiked west on the asphalt path where I immediately noticed a Whitetail deer far ahead and a Northern Green Striped Grasshopper near my feet. Continuing west into a cooling breeze, the blossoming Flat -Topped Asters lining the trail attracted a Bubble Bee and a Potter Wasp. Looking to the south, I spotted a healthy patch of Joe-Pye Weed and the tall, invasive reed, Phragmites. Further ahead, I paused to look at a Goldenrod Soldier Beetle on Canadian Goldenrod blossoms and a Red Meadowhawk Dragonfly on a branch. Nearby, colorful blossoms of Jewelweed and Blue Lobelia caught my eye. Next, I stopped on a footbridge to observe a small stream gently flowing to the southeast though the Vestaburg State Game Area. Still hiking west, I came to a water-filled ditch covered with a mixture of invasive Purple Loosestrife and native Cattails. This observation illustrated the problem with Purple Loosestrife as it will continue to multiply and push out the cattails. After a mile or so, I turned around and headed east where I paused to look at a Silver-spotted Skipper butterfly resting on a blade of grass and a beautiful Indigo Bunting perched on a branch nearby. Continuing east, I picked and ate the ripe fruit of a May apple that somehow the deer hadn’t eaten. Also, I picked and ate a few ripe berries of Autumn Olive that somehow the birds hadn’t eaten. Just ahead, I spotted a Wild Yam vine growing up a Tag Alder tree. Near the end of my hike, I caught a glimpse of some Maple foliage that had changed color and reminded me of the season to come. Finally, as the sun broke through, I returned to the car and headed home.

Pair of fawns

Mother deer

Rhythm of life

Beating clear

Meadow thistle

Showing seed

Finches of gold

Ready to feed

Cycle of nature

Continues to flow

Days of summer

Come and go

D. DeGraaf