June 22

Under partly cloudy skies, a gusty wind off Lake Michigan and temperatures in the low 60’s, my dog Riley and I leave our rental house on the west side of Beaver Island and I begin our morning hike. Right away, I spot several large vernal pools teeming with thousands of ½ inch American Toad tadpoles. Most of these baby amphibians will be eaten by aquatic insects, fish, salamanders, birds, snakes, and mammals. Others will die from diseases or when vernal pools dry up or overheat. Ultimately, well under 1% of the original tadpoles will reach breeding age as adults (stock photo). Walking along the beach, I’m surrounded by swarms of ½ -inch Midge flies. These clouds of non-biting insects are mating swarms where males gather and dance in the air before females enter. After mating, females return to the water to lay eggs. Adult flies (stock photo) usually live only a few days. Most do not feed at all as their primary purpose is reproduction. Up ahead, I pause to watch five Eastern Swallowtail Butterflies perch on the sand close to each other while fluttering their wings or taking short flights. Called Puddling, males use their proboscises to sip moisture from wet sand, mud, animal tracks, decaying vegetation, or even areas enriched by bird droppings. The water provides sodium and other minerals that are scarce in nectar. Working my way down the beach, I can’t help but notice a variety of large boulders scattered about. Called glacial erratics, these rocks were carried south by glaciers from the ancient Canadian Shield during the last Ice Age. First, I spot a metamorphic rock called Banded Gneiss, then a sedimentary rock call Tufa Limestone and finally, out in the water, I see an igneous rock called Red Granite. Arriving at my destination, called McCauley Point, I pause to honor the life of a dear friend who passed a few years ago and whose ashes are scattered nearby. While scanning the landscape, I spot High Island, 12 miles due west. This 3466 acre land mass is uninhabited and surrounded by sandy beaches, dunes and dense forests. This island was famously home to a "Kingdom of David" Mormon colony in the 1850's and later an extensive King Strang associated settlement, followed by an Israelite House of David agricultural community in the early 1900's. Turning around to retrace my steps, I observe some yellow blossoms, including Hoary Puccoon, Silver Weed and Stonecrop. Nearby, I see both a 16-inch Garter snake barely visible in the tall grass and a Killdeer standing near the water’s edge. Back at the rental house, I pause to reflect on another nature hike. For me, I feel less like a visitor and more like a small part of a much larger story—one that has been unfolding on Beaver Island for thousands of years and will continue long after my footprints have disappeared from the sand.

 

Sandy path along a beach

Butterflies within my reach

Lake water’s cool and clear

Breaking waves I mostly hear

Cirrus clouds, a rising sun

Up ahead, Sandpipers run

Back dune, sedges & ferns

Overhead, gulls & terns

Just another quarter mile

Barefoot on Beaver Isle

 

D. DeGraaf