September 8

The early morning sky is sunny with temperatures in the low 60’s as I stand on the edge of Gratiot County’s Harrison Rd to see an overgrown drainage ditch that marks the beginning the Bush Creek. This watercourse (stock photo) flows NNE for about 15 miles before merging with the Pine River in Midland County. For the first few miles, I watch the creek as it makes its way through cropland confined to drainage ditches with limited buffer strips. After it flows under Jackson Rd, I hike along its bank where I spot a large Banded Garden Spider in the middle of its web. When a victim becomes entangled, the spider will wrap it in a thick shroud of dense webbing. Then it will jab its fangs through the exoskeleton of its prey to deliver a venomous brew containing neurotoxins that halts its struggling. Up ahead, I can barely see an adult Raccoon feeding near the water’s edge. Nearby, I spot a perching red dragonfly called a Carolina Saddlebags, an insect that I’ve never seen before. The name comes from the large dark patches on their hind wings that seem to straddle their abdomen like the pack on a horse. Further along, I pause to notice a Chickweed Geometer Moth. This small insect with its wavy wings, I’ve never seen before. The caterpillars (stock photo) are known as "inchworms" and are often found in grassy areas where their host plants, like Chickweed, grow. Moving along the bank, I come upon a small moth called a Soybean Looper, feeding on Yellow Toadflax blossoms. Also called Butter and Eggs, this plant, native to Europe, can form dense patches that out compete native species. The caterpillar of this moth (stock photo), named for its looping movement while in motion, is a significant pest of soybeans crops in the United States though less so in Michigan, consuming large amounts of foliage and occasionally the beans. On the far bank, I observe white blossoms of Queen Anne’s Lace and yellow blossoms of Canadian Goldenrod. Turning around and heading back toward the car, I stir up a couple of yellow butterflies, fluttering from the ground ahead of me. Soon one of them lands on a Dandelion blossom where I can see it’s a Cloudless Sulfur. It won’t be long and these butterflies will begin migrating south to warmer climates. Their caterpillars look different depending on their food source. The ones feeding mostly on leaves are green to yellowish green with a yellow line down their sides, and black dots all over. (stock photo). The ones feeding mostly on flowers are yellow with scattered black dots all over. (stock photo). As with many of the watercourses I’ve hiked over the years, this creek is a living landscape for blossoms, insects, wildlife and people who pass along its banks.

Throughout summer
Green had its way
Grasses and shrubs
Meadow’s display
Splashes of white
Queen Anne’s Lace
Milkweed pink
If only a trace
Along comes yellow
To blanket the sod
Autumn approaches
Behold! Goldenrod

 

D. DeGraaf