April 19

I’m a little southeast of the village of Blanchard off Ward Rd. preparing to hike about ¼ mile through dense woods to encounter another section of the south branch of the Pine River. The mid-day weather is mostly sunny with temperatures in the upper 50’s as I head north over undulating terrain to the edge of a small pond as a westerly breeze stirs up the young willow leaves. Continuing downgrade to a broad floodplain, I arrive at the meandering, 10-ft wide, south branch channel where a few minnows are visible in the clear, slow-flowing water. After pausing to take in the serenity of the landscape, I proceed to explore the surrounding flats where I come upon the skeletal remains of a Whitetail deer. Climbing up into a wooded area, I spot several emerging Trout Lily leaves among the leaf litter. The name "Trout Lily" refers to the similarity between the leaf markings and those of the brown or brook trout. Soon, lovely, but short-lived yellow blossoms will appear (stock photo). Trout lilies have a symbiotic relationship with ants known as myrmecochory. This means that they exchange a lipid-rich appendage on their seeds in return for an ant seed dispersal that spreads the colony and protects the seeds from predation. Trout Lilies are edible as well. The leaves have a very mild flavor and the flowers have a slight sweetness due to their nectar. These plants are an emetic (makes you throw up), therefore it is recommended not to eat mass quantities of these in one day. You can add them to a salad or eat them as a trail snack. You can also make a tea with the flowers and leaves. Also, scattered in the leaf litter are the tiny, showy flowers of Pennsylvania Sedge. One of the most common sedges in Michigan, they are also one of the earliest blooming woodland plants of spring. Proceeding back toward the car, I come across a pine tree trunk leaking sap as a result of an insect, called the Mass Pitch Borer. The adult is a wasp-like, clearwing moth (stock photo) whose larvae bore into the outer and inner bark of pine trees. Their feeding stimulates the tree to produce copious sap that forms large, drippy masses on the trunk. The larvae (stock photo) will also feed within the mass of pitch. Near the car, another attractive sign of spring catches my eye, pink wild apple blossoms.

 

Past fertilized farms

Water tainted, water knows

Past septic drains

River foes, river woes

Past flooded fields

Water lowered, water rose

Past muskrat kits

River pose, river shows

Past greening banks

Water speeds, water slows

Past hens and drakes

River goes, river flows

 

D. DeGraaf