November 18

Even though there is 5 weeks left before winter begins, already the air is frigid and the ground covered with 5 inches of snow as I begin hiking south into the 200-acre, Alma College Ecological Station, east of Vestaburg. The landscape looks quite different from when I hiked here in the summer of 2015. Turning east, I take in both the scene and solitude of the forest where towering Red Oak trees have surrendered some of their leaves to the path below while others continue to fill the canopy above. Along the way, a rare sighting of Chlorophyll is noted in the leaves of a thorny Greenbrier vine. Further ahead, fresh evidence of a Pileated Woodpecker shredding tree bark in search of insects catches my eye. Turning south, I descend a moderate slope onto a boardwalk, the same one I was on back in 2015. This walkway accesses a unique wetland called a peat bog. The soft, spongy ground under my feet is composed largely of Sphagnum moss. When decayed and compacted this plant is known as peat and is often used for fuel or a soil additive. At the end of the boardwalk, I pause to scan a 20-acre lake from the same vantage point I used back in 2015. This open water feature is also part of the bog ecosystem as it continues to shrink as the moss mat grows out over the edges. Gazing off to the west, I observe a stand of yellow Tamarack trees often seen in peat bogs. Unlike most conifers, the needles of these trees change from green to yellow and soon will fall to earth. On the nearby shore, I see a red colored fruit often associated with bogs, cranberries. This wild fruit has been growing in Great Lakes bogs for thousands of years. During much of that time, Indigenous peoples harvested them for food and medicine. Also, their antioxidant and vitamin C content were helpful in the winter months. Wild cranberries were one of the foods offered to early American colonists by the Wampanoag Tribe, making it part of the Thanksgiving holiday menu as we know it today. Turning around, I begin to retrace my steps while stopping to look and listen to a small creek draining from the bog. Finally, I get back to the car and skid my way back home.

November winds rise

Air temperatures fall

Leafless shrubs short

Naked Aspens tall

Lacey flowers close

Canopy opens wide

Chickadees are seen

Frogs and toads hide

Maple leaves descend

Oak’s cling and hang

Earth ever in balance

Nature’s Yin and Yang

D. DeGraaf