December 17

Last Thursday, I stayed close to home and hike on some private land just east of Alma. The early morning weather was sunny with a temperature of 17 degrees and no wind. Leaving the car, I headed north along a 2-track, accompanied by a small flock of Juncos that darted through the leafless underbrush where I couldn’t help but notice the huge wind turbines off in the distance. While looking more closely at the underbrush, I spotted the colorful seeds and husks of American Bittersweet. Since, there was a thin layer of snow on the ground, it was easy to spot some fresh coyote tracks. Following the trail as curved to the west and then south, I entered a forest of mature hardwoods and conifers where the leaf litter showed evidence of oak, maple and pine. Continuing on the trail as it ascended a steep slope and meandered westward across a high narrow ridge with wooded wetlands below, I marveled at what appeared to be glacial type terrain, a rare sight indeed in the predominately flat landscape of Gratiot County. Suddenly, a large raptor flew over the trail ahead and landed high in a nearby tree where I could see it was a majestic Barred Owl. Continuing west, I noticed a few green but frozen leaves on an Autumn Olive shrub beside me and a few fresh opossum tracks on the snowy path at my feet. Next, I paused to watch a family of wild turkeys cross the trail in front of me. Descending the ridge, I wandered over to the edge of one of several large wooded wetlands to scan the landscape. Near shore, I spotted a few fresh rabbit tracks on the snow-covered ice. Turning around, I began retracing my steps to the east when I came upon an unusual site- a healthy looking maple tree whose leaves had turned brown and had not fallen off. While this phenomena is common in oak and beech trees, it is rarely seen in maple trees. Continuing eastward, I exited the forest and came to a gravel pit surrounded by large pine trees where I spotted a set of deer tracks crossing the ice covered surface. Finally, I returned to the car and headed home.

Outer edge of fall

Thin layer of snow

Creatures hunker down

Grasses cease to grow

Farewell sun of autumn

Winds from the north

Sweep the icy pond

Reeds sway back and forth

Gone, flowers of May

Gone, birds of June

Nature takes a break

Winter is coming soon

D. DeGraaf