August 26

It’s early morning. The air is still and chilly with temperatures in the low 50’s. Under sunny skies, I begin hiking through the 14-acre Stearns Preserve, making my way past white blossoms of Queen Anne’s Lace and yellow blossoms of Canadian Goldenrod toward the Pine River.  After pausing on the lush bank to watch the water flow slowly past, I glance down at the muddy shore to see a couple of ½-inch resting Water striders. The legs of these insects have tiny hairs that repel water and capture air. By repelling water, they stand on the water’s surface and the captured airs allows them to float and move easily. Proceeding along the bank through dense vegetation, I first approach red blossoms of a Cardinal flower and then stop to observe white blossoms of Queen Anne’s Lace where some are folding into nest-like cups. Looking more closely at one of them, I notice a ¼ inch Carrot Seed Moth Caterpillar encased in a web. Eventually it will pupate within the webbing and emerge as an adult moth (stock photo). Moving up unto the Meijer Bike trail, I head east and pause on a high bridge to observe the Pine River flow gently south through a corridor of green florae. Descending to the water’s edge, I spot dozens of Whirligig beetles (stock photo) gathering and swarming midstream, using a motion called “flash expansion” to escape predators. Back on the bike trail, white blossoms of Wild Cucumber and blue blossoms of Lobelia catch my eye. Turning around and heading west toward the car, I notice red berries of Maple leaf Viburnum and blue berries of Virginia Creeper. Creeper berries contain tiny needle-shaped crystals that are so small they cannot be seen without a microscope. If chewed by humans, these crystals can poke the tongue, mouth and throat, causing irritation, drooling, and redness. On the other hand, these berries are eaten by a host of animals, including birds, mice, skunks, squirrels and deer. Approaching the car, I examine a patch of Milkweed where I spot a Milkweed Bug resting on a leaf. This insect is often confused with a Boxelder bug because they are similar in size and share some colors, but their patterns differ (stock photo). On another Milkweed plant, I observe a bristly 1-½ inch Milkweed Tussocks Moth Caterpillar. The hairs on these caterpillars can cause a very itchy rash, especially in children who are more likely to be playing and handling them. These fascinating caterpillars feed all day long on milkweed plants and store ingested toxic cardiac glycosides in their bodies to make them repulsive to predator, such as birds. After pupation they emerge as adult moths (stock photo).

Pair of fawns

Mother deer

Rhythm of life

Beating clear

Meadow thistle

Showing seed

Finches of gold

Perch and feed

Cycle of nature

Continues to flow

Days of summer

Come and go

 

D. DeGraaf

August 19

The early morning sky is sunny with temperatures in the mid 50’s as I enter a wooded section of Lake Steven Preserve, a one-acre, CWC property fronting an outflow channel of the lake, not the lake itself. Suddenly, I look skyward to hear a noisy flock of Redwing Blackbirds flying and perching as they gather and fatten up for their southerly migration. Proceeding east toward the shore, I pass a patch of blossoming Goldenrod and pause to observe a small grove of young, healthy White Ash trees. Over the last 10 years, most mature Ash trees in Michigan have been killed by an insect called the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB). However, since the USDA has identified and released four species of wasps that kill this insect, more ash trees are surviving. Reaching the channel shoreline, I notice an overgrowth of pond weeds and lily pads covering the surface. Turning around, I re-enter the wooded section where I pass through a grove of Paper Birch trees while hearing the loud call of a Pileated Woodpecker. Arriving at another part of the channel, I come upon a patch of Woolgrass bulrush. Despite its name, it is not a grass nor a rush, but a type of sedge. Many species of ducks feed on its seedheads, Trumpeter swans and Canada geese eat the foliage and muskrats eat the rhizomes. Insects that feed on this plant, include weevils, aphids and caterpillars. Native Americans, including the Ojibwe used the long leaves to make baskets, mats, and bedding while the Potawatomi used the “wool” to stuff pillows. Near the shore, I see a two-inch Spread-wing damselfly clinging to a stalk with its wings spread open, hence the name. They are known only to close their wings under conditions of poor weather, nightfall, threat of predators or male harassment of females. From the far shore, I spot a perching Northern Cardinal and hear a trio of birdsongs from a Catbird, Mourning Dove and Robin. Nearing the car, I first spot blossoms of Boneset and Joe Pye Weed and then a 3x4 inch cobweb on the dewy grass. Not to be confused with the dust-covered webs found in unused rooms or in the corner of your ceiling, this tangled, irregularly designed flat web is made in less than an hour by a tiny ¼ inch spider, called a Sheetweb Weaver (stock photo). The main sheet is a mess of silk threads that looks like someone scribbled with a white crayon. The second part are non-sticky threads that will knock an insect onto the sheet. Before it can escape, the spider rushes from below and bites and immobilizes its prey through the web.

Midst of August

Living things abound

Fledglings from trees

Blossoms from ground

Nature fills the senses

Smell of carcass decay

Taste of ripe fruit

Sound of a noisy jay

Warm season grasses

Grow dense and tall

Some crimson leaves

Harbingers of fall

 

D. DeGraaf

August 12

The mid-morning temperatures are in the low 70’s, under mostly sunny skies as I’m joined by Caroline, Riley and our good friend, Brenda to begin hiking the Old Growth Trail in Hartwick Pines State Park, eight miles northeast of Grayling. The paved trail leads through a remnant of Michigan's original forest, dominated by tall white pines that were mostly logged off in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Along the way, I spot large trunks of not only White Pine, but also Red Pine and Hemlock. Also, some Hemlock branches reveal both young male green cones and older brown cones. The green cones are edible when boiled. Up ahead, I gaze skyward at some very tall white pines, both dead and alive. The trail brochure states the tallest ones are between 150 and 160 feet tall and have a girth of around four feet. Walking along, a cluster of one-inch wide, edible common Puffballs catch my eye as well as the unripe, inedible fruit of White Baneberry. If ingested, the toxic berries have an almost immediate sedative effect on the human heart and can lead to cardiac arrest. Following the paved path, I see different types of bracket fungi, including Mossy May Polypore, Artist’s Conk and Tinder Conk. Along the edge of the trail, I notice tiny pink blossoms of Heal-all. Also called woundwort, heart-of-the earth, carpenter's herb, brown wort or blue curls. This plant is thought to be native to Eurasia but it was widely distributed before European exploration began and is found in every state and all Canadian provinces. Though the herb has been used medicinally for centuries and all manner of heal-all products are sold on the Internet, there is little in the way of scientific research to support or repudiate its effectiveness. Continuing on the trail, I spot other ground fungi, including small, orange Pixie Cups and Horsehair Parachute mushrooms. Nearby, I observe some Sugar Maple leaves with small, projections on the leaf surface. Called spindle galls, these growths are the homes of tiny garden mites. This condition has little to no effect on the health of the leaves or the tree. After getting a close up view of some Wrinkled Crust fungi on a tree trunk, I look down to spot a non-edible, 3-inch, Yellow-staining Milk Cap mushroom. Sources of green on the forest floor, include Wood fern and Woodland Sedge. Near the completion of the 1.25 mile hike, I pause to watch a feeding Black squirrel. More accurately called an Melanistic Eastern Gray squirrel, this species is a common color morph in Michigan, making up about 56% of the Gray squirrel population. 

August days unfold

Meadow trail, I trod

White & yellow blossoms

Aster and goldenrod

Atop a milkweed flower

Monarch butterfly

Gentle north breeze

Partly cloudy sky

High in the heavens

Turkey vultures glide

Wildlife of summer

Nature hits her stride

 

D. DeGraaf

August 5

It was the first week in May when I had my initial encounter with Honeyoye Creek at its source, just north of Jefferson Rd. This morning, under sunny skies and temperatures in the low 70’s, I’m near the mouth of the creek as its water flows gently toward a confluence with the Pine River. Hiking along the water’s edge, I spot blossoms of Swamp Milkweed, Purple Loosestrife and Sow Thistle. Closer to the mouth, I notice the clear creek water is very shallow and barely flowing due to extreme sedimentation. Over the years, Honeyoye creek, beginning at its source, has transported excessive soil from unregulated agricultural runoff to the mouth where it formed sandbars, islets and a dam-forming deposits in the main channel. Proceeding south on a small peninsula formed by some of this sedimentation, I first notice dainty blossoms of Blue Vervain swaying in the breeze and then the head of a perching Green Heron among the leaves of a willow tree. From the tip of the peninsula, hoping to see the creek finally flow freely into the Pine River, instead I see it continue slowly past additional sediment- producing landforms as well as through an expanse of pond weeds and water lilies. This overgrowth of aquatic vegetation is caused by too much fertilizer in the water from too much cow manure spread on too much cropland, upstream. Also, this manure adds excess organic material to the water which decays, depleting the water of oxygen which can kill fish and other aquatic life. In one of the shallow pools, I observe several swimming female Mallards where one of them quacks at me before taking off. From a distance, I spot a Lesser Yellowlegs and then watch it swing its head back and forth with the tip of its bill in the water, foraging for aquatic insects, small fish and crustaceans. Like many other shorebirds, the Lesser Yellowlegs rebounded from hunting in the early 20th century but has declined again from losses of wetland habitats. While still observing the Yellowlegs, I notice another Green Heron wading nearby and catching fish. Turning around and heading back, I trudge through tall, wet grass where I see a Stinging Nettle plant displaying chains of green flowers as well as Green Bulrush displaying dark brown flower clusters. After passing a Shagbark hickory tree with its “shaggy” bark and husk-covered nuts, I approach the car just in time to see a Monarch Butterfly land on a willow branch. Before leaving for home, I take one last look at Honeyoye Creek, an important natural resource for Gratiot County.

Greetings I give

As you arrive

Nature in her glory

Verdant and alive

Finches of gold

Build their nest

Seeking thistle

No time to rest

Summer month

With no peer

Welcome August

Glad you’re here

 

D. DeGraaf