With noontime temperatures in the low 30’s and partly sunny skies, I’m hiking on a snow-dusted earthen trail in Harris Nature Center near Okemos, Michigan. Right away, I notice on the ground, some white Crust fungi growing on the cut-end of a downed log and a dark, thick, convoluted woody vine of Wild Grape. Up ahead, I watch a Gray Squirrel scamper up a tree and then walk over to check out its tracks in the snow. Soon, I come to the bank of the Red Cedar River where I see its water flow quietly from upstream before flowing rapidly past a pile of dead Ash trees. This watercourse has traveled some 40 miles from its source south of Howell and will continue another 10 miles west to Lansing where it converges with the Grand River. Back in the middle of the 20th century, the Red Cedar River was very polluted, flowing through a stark and barren landscape. After much effort, the river landscape is now scenic and the water is clean. However, a recent risk downstream, is pollution caused by E. Lansing residents dumping abandoned electric scooters into the river where toxic lithium from their batteries leach out. Walking along the snowy bank, I come to a sandy shore where I spot a ¾ inch shell of a Marsh Ramshorn snail. These snails are the intermediate hosts of a parasite that's the most common cause of swimmer's itch in Michigan's lakes. This condition is an allergic reaction to a blood fluke released into the water by infected snails that burrow into human skin, causing small, itchy bumps. Near the snail shell are several ¼ inch Fingernail Clam shells. Also known as pill clams or pea clams, they are filter feeders that remove organic materials from the river. Turning away from the river, I continue through a woodland where I see the mottled trunk of a Sycamore tree, a scaly trunk of a Swamp Oak tree and a moss-covered trunk of a Hop Hornbeam tree. On the ground, I spot tiny heart-shaped green leaves of Ground Ivy (Creeping Charley) and recall the purple blossoms displayed on this ground cover during the spring (stock photo). Before returning to the car, I stop by some bird feeders behind the Center’s classroom where I notice some usual visitors, including a Tufted Titmouse and a Downy Woodpecker. In a nearby tree, I spot a perching Northern Cardinal and White-breasted Nuthatch while on the ground I see a foraging Dark-eyed Junco. Next to the feeders, in a large cage, I watch two, permanently injured, Red-tailed hawks that were rescued years ago and now live in captivity where they are cared for and put on public display.
Late autumn woodland
Mighty oak stands bare
Squirrel 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
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