August 6

Last Wednesday, I drove 23 miles northwest of Alma to hike in the two-acre, Hagen Preserve owned by the Chippewa Watershed Conservancy. The early morning weather was partly sunny with a temperature of 66 degrees and a gentle southerly breeze. Leaving the car parked alongside Winn Rd, I hiked east into an open field along the southern boundary of the preserve where I spotted lots of Spotted Knapweed and Sweet William as well as an early sign of autumn- reddening leaves of Virginia creeper. Without any groomed trails to follow, I trudged northeast into wooded wetlands where the pink blossoms of Joe Pye Weed dominated the scene. This plant is named after a Native American medicine man from Salem, Massachusetts who earned his fame using it to cure colonial settlers of typhus in the late 1800’s. Also, I noticed a few blossoms of Canadian Goldenrod, another early sign of autumn. While plodding through the dense growth of reeds, grasses and sedges, one of my arms came in contact with some Stinging Nettle that resulted in a brief rash and inch. Nearby, I spotted a Black Swallowtail Butterfly hidden in the lush vegetation and a Pearl Crescent Butterfly resting on a leaf. Arriving at the edge of the gently flowing Chippewa River, I paused to look and listen. After turning around to begin retracing my steps, I came upon a patch of Motherwort and Bed Straw mixed in the tall grasses while seeing Virgin’s Bower vine winding up the side of a large tree trunk. In the fall, this plant produces white, wavy seed floss referred to as “Old Man’s Beard.” Continuing back toward the car, I once again stopped at the river’s edge where I observed a large aggregation of fast moving Whirligigs. This tiny, 1/8-inch long beetle is well adapted for life on the water. It has a split compound eye allowing it to observe objects both under water and on the surface. When disturbed, it exudes a disagreeable-smelling milky liquid, which protects it from predators. As a carnivore, it uses its antennae to locate food sources such as a fallen insect by sensing the waves it generates. Also, it can fly to escape predation and seek new habitats. Finally, I made it back to the car and headed home.

Once again

A welcome retreat

Away from town

With nature I meet

No noisy cars

Or smoggy air

No concrete jungle

Or lights that glare

A forest trail

Points the way

Nothing disturbs

But a call of the jay

D. DeGraaf