December 26

Under mostly cloudy skies and temperatures in the mid 20’s, I head west on the paved Meijer bike trail through a snow-covered landscape, just west of Vestaburg. On the path, I recognize tracks of a Cottontail rabbit and a Fox squirrel while off to my right in the underbrush, I catch a quick glimpse of a perching Dark-eyed Junco. Further along, I’m surrounded by Tag Alder shrubs, displaying their reddish male catkins and dark female cones. Nearby, I come upon a willow shrub displaying 1-inch Pinecone Galls. These galls are produced by the Willow Pinecone Gall Midge to house, nourish, and protect a single fly larva (maggot) located deep within the gall (stock photo). Galls are formed when females use their sharp ovipositors to insert an egg into an apical bud. The females also introduce chemicals into the wound that turn plant genes on and off in the bud tissue at just the right time to direct gall formation.  It is highly directed growth specific to the gall-maker. In this case, the improbable-looking willow pinecone galls are formed; they never develop into any other type of gall. Proceeding west, I enter the northern section of the 3000-acre Vestaburg State Game Area (stock Photo) where I notice some red fruit of a type of Viburnum called High Bush Cranberry. These berries will soften and sweeten over winter to provide food for Cedar Waxwings and other winter birds. Other fruit that catch my eye are clusters of shriveled-up Wild Grape. Next, I come by a dense patch of Phragmites (Common Reed) with their feathery flower-heads swaying in the breeze. The sight of a few cattails within the patch reminds me how this invasive species can takeover wetlands leaving less habitat available for other native species such as cattails to live and thrive. Phragmites form thick stands up to 12 feet high that easily shade out native species. They also clog waterways and negatively impact the expansion of desirable wetland habitats. Soon, I pause to watch the water of Wolf Creek flow slowly northward under the trail. From here it veers slightly west for about 2 miles under M-46 near Cedar Lake and then turns northeast for about 3 miles where it empties into the Pine River about 2 miles due north of Bass Lake (stock photo). Turning around, I face east and retrace my steps where I spot some Crust fungi on a branch and a colorful Northern Cinnabar Polypore mushroom on a decaying log. Near the car, I scan a woodlot where several of the tree trunks display blotches of mosses and lichens.

 

Robe of colors drops

Mighty oak stands bare

Creature scampers up

Toward his leafy lair

Hightailing skyward

Filling his cache

Over furrowed bark

Along branches gray

Perched in a crotch

Mate lingers near

Through barren twigs

Snow clouds appear

 

D. DeGraaf

December 19

I’m a short distance east of the village of Vestaburg, hiking in the 200-acre Alma College Ecological Station where the morning temperatures are in the low 30’s and skies are overcast. Soon, I come upon a lifeless, football-size, Bald-faced Hornet’s nest hanging from the branch of an American Beech tree. Last spring, a single queen hornet found this spot and began chewing up rotting wood to mix with her saliva to create a papery cellulose material for nest construction. She then, laid eggs in newly built brood cells (stock photo). After hatching, these offspring assumed the duties of nest building, food collection, feeding, and guarding the nest. By the end of summer, this nest may have contained over 300 offspring that had built a nest as large as this one. As summer turned to fall, the queen gave birth to the next generation of queens who then left the nest, finding their overwintering spot and beginning the process over again. Hornets in this nest all died during the first frost. However, the nest continues to provide food for birds who will tear it apart over the winter consuming dead insects. After passing through a dense, leafless woodland where some Turkey-tail fungi are seen, I make my way down grade onto a leaf-covered dock across a wetland covered with a thick layers of Sphagnum moss. Carefully, stepping off the dock, I’m not surprised that my boot sinks down into a spongy, squishy layer of this moss. Although, it’s possible to walk on this stuff, there is a risk of getting stuck up to your knees. Following the dock to the edge of the moss layer, I scan the open water of an ice-covered, 30-acre lake whose water is moderately acidic. This ecosystem, referred to as a peat bog is rarely seen in this area. Along the shore, I spot a patch of dormant Pitcher plants, an insectivorous species typically found in peat bogs. These plants consume insects by luring them into their colorful, hollow leaves that resemble hooded vessels. These vessel-shaped "pitchers" are filled with digestive enzymes that transform the insects into nourishment for the plants. As winter approaches, these leaves will wither and die. Come next spring, new leaves or pitchers will sprout from rhizomes in the soil.  Continuing to explore the lakeshore, I spot a few, edible bog cranberries still on a bush, so I pick and eat one. Nearby, I see the bare branches of a Tamarac tree, one of only a few conifer trees that is not evergreen, shedding its needles in the fall and growing new ones in the spring.  Leaving the bog and heading back toward the car, I notice fresh scat, most likely from a fox and a large, 1/2-ton glacial erratic boulder covered with moss.

 

Late December

I remember

End of the year

Solstice near

Sun shines low

Reflecting snow

Shadows long

Winds strong

Trees undressed

Nature at rest

 

D. DeGraaf

December 12

A noticeable south wind and temperatures in the upper 20’s greet me on this partly sunny morning as I begin my hike at Forest Hill Nature Area, a few miles north of Alma.  After ascending Reflection Hill, first I notice a field of Wild Carrot plants with their seed heads swaying with the wind and then I turn eastward to look down on Grebe Pond. Nearby, I come upon a tree filled with ripe, 1-inch crabapples. So, I pick one to eat and enjoy its tart flavor. After passing by a few fluffy seed heads of Phragmites waving in the breeze, I come to the edge of Grebe Pond where I spot 2 juvenile Muskrats on the end of the dock eating corn, put there by a caring human. Following the trail west toward North Woods, I spot a pair of male House Finches perched high overhead. Native to the Southwest, these birds are now well established throughout the US. In 1940, New York pet shop owners, who had been selling the finches illegally, released them into the wild to avoid prosecution. Over the next 50 years they spread eastward across the continent, meeting their western kin on the Great Plains. During the winter, groups of these non-migratory birds can be seen on feeders, foraging on the ground or perching in tall trees. Making my way through North Woods, I’m surprised to see the large vernal pond is empty with only the base of nearby tree trunks marking where the water was when full. Up ahead, I come face-to-face with a dead Ash tree displaying the meandering channels where Ash Borer larvae girdled and killed the tree. While walking through White Birch row on my way to South Woods, I notice the leaf litter consists mostly of birch mixed with a few oak, maple and beech. Moving quickly through South Woods, I see a Witch Hazel tree displaying flower buds. This plant is exceptional by flowering in the dead of winter. Soon these buds will open to reveal a fragrant yellow flower (stock photo). Leaving South Woods, I pass by Sora Swale where a Muskrat lodge is easily seen. Turning east and making my way toward the car, I notice the recently-melted snow reveals a 1-inch-wide tunnel excavated by a tiny mouse-like Meadow Vole (stock photo). These tunnels provide voles protection from the wind and cold and keep them hidden from predators. Nearing the car, I pass a clump of pinkish Switchgrass and a clump of Indian Grass, swaying in the breeze. 

Outer edge of autumn

Now and then snow

Creatures hunker down

No tall grasses show

Warm sun moves south

Cold 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’s coming soon

 

D. DeGraaf

December 5

It’s in the upper 30’s and overcast as I start my morning hike at the Lumberjack Park Nature trail. After crossing the boardwalk through a green-less landscape, I approach the bridge over Mud Creek where I stir up a Black-capped Chickadee, darting through the underbrush as it gives out a warning call that sounds just like its name, “chickadee-dee-dee”. These non-migratory birds have many different calls, communicating information on identity and recognition of other flocks. Their summer diet is mostly caterpillars and other insects, spiders, snails and berries. In winter, Chickadees feed on insects (especially their eggs and pupae), seeds, berries and small fruits. These birds hide seeds and other food items to eat later. Each item is placed in a different spot and they can remember thousands of hiding places. Standing on the bridge, I gaze west as Mud Creek flows slowly through its stark surroundings toward a confluence with the Pine River. After passing through a mature plantation of Red and White Pine trees, I make my way to the edge of the Pine River where I’m pleased to see the flowing water is clear enough to see the sandy bottom. Heading west, I cross the Lumberjack Rd. bridge, turn east along the riverbank where I notice a patch of snow remains from last week’s storm. Up ahead, I watch a melanistic Eastern Gray Squirrel scamper across the river on a downed tree trunk. The squirrel’s black color is due to a variant form of a specific gene that produces more dark pigment. The range of the Gray Squirrel stretches across the eastern half of the country extending well into Canada. Several studies have shown that the dark morph squirrels had lower heat losses and lower basal metabolic rates compared to the regular gray squirrels during winter. The dark-morph squirrels have lower energy costs for living in cold and wintry conditions compared to the gray ones. Not surprisingly, there are more of them sighted as you move north from here into Canada. Just ahead, I pause to listen as river water flows over some embedded rocks. Turning south onto the Campground trail, I come upon a healthy patch of moss growing on the south base of a tree, debunking the myth that moss only grows on the north base. Nearby, in the crevice of tree bark, I spot an old egg mass of a Sponge Moth (formally called a Gypsy Moth). While making my way back toward the car, I spot several patches of Christmas fern whose sterile fronds accumulate carbon compounds, mostly in the form of plant sugars that act as a natural antifreeze and keep them green throughout the winter.

 

She whispers to me in the wind

Beckons with calls of the wild

She displays profound beauty

Makes me curious as a child

She surrounds me with life

With death and life anew

She shows a delicate balance

Harmony through and through

She teaches me lasting truths

Joins me to the cosmic whole

She feeds my body and mind

Nourishes my earthly soul

 

D. DeGraaf