September 20

Wednesday, I continued where I left off last week, hiking the Meijer Heartland Trail between Edmore and Alma. The early morning weather was hazy with a temperature of 66 degrees and no wind. Leaving the car parked alongside Vestaburg Rd., east of Vestaburg, I walked around the edge of a cornfield to the trail and began hiking east where I noticed the asphalt surface allowed me to clearly distinguish between varieties of leaves that had fallen from nearby trees, including: Big-tooth Aspen, Basswood, Sassafras, Bur Oak and Chinquapin Oak. Continuing east, I walked through a tunnel of leaning Boxelder trees while listening to nature’s late summer sounds. Nearby, I spotted blossoms of Small-flower Aster and New York Aster as well as Bluestem Goldenrod. Also, I recognized the orange fruit of American Bittersweet vine. After about 1½ miles, as the sun made a brief appearance, I reached Douglas Rd. and turned around where I came upon some Clematis that was beginning to seed out. As these seeds multiply and the white floss turns gray, they’re called “Old Man’s Beard.” Continuing west, I gazed up at the tree canopy to see that is was still dense but showing some color changes. Suddenly, a familiar pecking sound drew my eyes to a Downy Woodpecker perched in a nearby cherry tree. Continuing west, I spotted an unfamiliar vine with globular clusters of blue berries. Later, I found out the plant is called Smooth Carrion-flower and the fruit is edible for both humans and wildlife. The name refers to the flower that precedes the fruit and smells like decaying flesh. Further ahead, the seed heads of Bottlebrush caught my eye as well as a noisy Red Squirrel perched in a nearby tree. Near the end of the hike, I came upon a few acorn caps on the path with their unique bur-like edges and remembered why the tree’s name from which they fell is Bur Oak. Finally, I made it to the car and headed home.

Welcomed your warmth

After the spring

You lit up the morning

So the robin could sing

You shaded the woods

With a dome of green

You flowered the field

So Monarchs were seen

I’ll miss your days

When wildlife were near

Farewell summer

See you next year

D. DeGraaf