October 29

Last Thursday, I drove 33 miles northwest of Alma to hike in the 5-acre, Fox Run Preserve, another property of the Chippewa Watershed Conservancy. The early morning weather was sunny with a frigid temperature of 23 degrees and no wind.Leaving the car parked off Fox Run Rd., I proceeded east through a mature plantation of Red and White Pine Trees where the ground was covered with needles and cones. A short distance ahead I came to a clearing that was part of a power line easement where I noticed how the hard frost had glazed the blossoms of Goldenrod and Yarrow as well as a basal rosette of Mullein. Continuing east, I came to the edge of a small pond blanketed with green vegetation. Upon closer inspection, I could see that the green layer consisted of millions of tiny duckweed plants. Besides being a food source for waterfowl, duckweed is also edible by humans. It has traditionally played a role in Asian cuisine, where the Thai, Burmese and Laotians use it as a nutritious vegetable. Exploring the area around the pond, I spotted some turkey tail fungi on a decomposing tree trunk. Also, I spotted a birch snag with several oval-shaped bracket fungi attached, both fresh and aged. Commonly known as birch polypore, birch bracket, or razor strop, this fungus, as the name suggests, grows almost exclusively on birch trees. The fruiting body that emerges from the bark can last for more than a year. Technically, it is an edible mushroom, with a strong, pleasant "mushroomy" odor but a bitter taste. The velvety cut surface of the fruiting body was traditionally used as a strop for finishing the edges on razors. Nearby, I noticed a frosty coating on seeds of a Joe-Pye Weed plant sticking up from a patch of reeds. A short distance further east I came to the shore of the 56-acre Hall’s Lake where I paused to observe the sun rising over the water. Looking skyward, I observed a flock of noisy geese flying in formation. Winding my way back to Fox Run Rd, I followed it a short distance northeast to another section of the preserve that abutted up to the boat launch on the south side of Bloomfield Township Park. While scanning this area, I noticed lots of invasive Autumn Olive shrubs. Finally, I found my way back to the car, turned on the heater and headed for home.

On the trail ahead

Squirrel in my site

Darts over logs

In dawn’s early light

Up the maple trunk

Through the frigid air

Scampering skyward

Toward its leafy lair

Long bushy tail

Thick fur of gray

One of nature’s finest

Late October day

D. DeGraaf