February 25

Thursday, Remi and I stayed in Alma to hike at the Pine River Park and Outdoor Center. The mid-afternoon weather was sunny with a temperature of 32 degrees and a stiff north wind. With blue skies overhead, we left the car and trudged west along the river's edge through 10 inches of new snow from last night’s storm. Gazing north at the river, I noticed a dozen Trumpeter Swans swimming in open water near the far shore. An early sign of spring, these birds have returned from wintering in western Canada and Alaska. While this swan’s population has made a comeback, they were nearly extirpated as a result of over-harvesting and widespread destruction and degradation of wetlands. In 1932, fewer than 70 trumpeters were known to exist worldwide. Continuing west on virgin snow while overlooking the frozen river, I was admiring the shadow patterns on the snow when I came across fresh squirrel tracks. Next, I turned south away from the cold wind and looped east through a stand of mature spruce and pine heavily laden with snow where I paused to scan the snowy landscape. Also, I was reminded of seeing another sign of spring earlier this week when a male Cardinal, perched high above was singing to establish his territory. Finally, after Remi stopped to roll in the snow, we returned to the car and headed home.

February’s finale

Lingering chill

Creatures hiding

Sounds are nil

Out of silence

A song is heard

Morning music

Nature’s word

High in the pines

Message to bring

Cardinal of winter

Beckoning spring

D. DeGraaf

February 17

Wednesday, Remi and I ventured 16 miles west of Alma to the small village of Cedar Lake to hike a section of the Meijer Heartland Trail. The early morning weather was partly sunny with temperature of 23 degrees and a light, variable wind from the north. We left the car and headed due west where a couple inches of fluffy overnight snow covered the trail while some of it decorated cattail seed heads as well as Old Man’s Beard's seeds. Further along, I spotted some leafless Tag Alder bushes with their cone-like female catkins and caterpillar-like male catkins. While a few Mourning Doves flew overhead, some Chickadees fluttered through the underbrush. Continuing west, the trail passed through wetlands that included ice-covered puddles and narrow streams that contained green duckweed, a portent of spring. Next, I paused to enjoy the sights and soothing sounds of one of these streams. Overhead, I noticed the naked branches of a Tamarack tree that unlike most conifers, drops its needles in the winter and grows new ones in the spring. After turning around and welcoming a warming sun, I paused to admire the surrounding wooded landscape. Continuing east toward the car, I could barely make out a network of subnivian tunnels made by small mammals including shrews and voles. Finally, we continued east to the car and took off for home.

Depths of winter

Hidden by snow

A racing pulse

Runs to and fro

Mouse is caught

Venom is spread

Minute or two

Cold and dead

Tunnel creature

Consumes its prey

Short-tailed shrew

Lives another day

D. DeGraaf

February 11

Thursday, Remi and I traveled 13 miles southwest of Alma to the small village of Sumner to hike at the 35- acre, Centennial Park where yesterday’s dusting of snow whitened the landscape once again. The mid-morning weather was partly sunny with temperature of 16 degrees and a light, frigid breeze out of the north. We left the car and proceeded west to the edge of the Pine River where I spotted a mating pair of Canada Geese that were getting an early start staking out their spring breeding territory. Hiking north, I paused to observe the swollen river as it flowed from north to south carrying small pieces of ice. Next, I started down the walking trail and remembered the time we were here last April. Continuing north along the riverbank, I paused and heard two birds: first, the mating call of a Cardinal, one of the early signs of spring, second, a Nuthatch. Fresh tracks on the trail revealed the movement of a variety of creatures including: coyote, rabbit, house cat and weasel. Further along, I stopped to gaze at the snow covered flood plain where last April the Skunk Cabbage was beginning to sprout. As the trail looped around toward the south, I thought about how it looked compared to last spring. Finally, we returned to the car and headed home.

February forest

Meandering flow

Carving the earth

Onward you go

Current speaks

Clear and concise

Scouring rocks

Sculpting ice

By snowy banks

Waters confine

Nature’s creation

River called Pine

D. DeGraaf

February 3

Wednesday, Remi and I returned to Forest Hill Nature Area. The mid-day weather was partly sunny with a temperature of 34 degrees and a blustery southwest wind. Leaving the car, I headed west and paused at the crest of Energy Hill to scan the landscape where much of the snow cover had melted from heavy overnight rain. Descending the hill, I passed Mallard Marsh and walked through Bobolink Meadow where deer and pheasant tracts were easily seen on the trail. At the entrance to North Woods, I spotted some colorful British Soldier lichens on a stump. Following the trail through the woods, I noticed a half dozen deer running ahead before I paused near the exit where the forest floor was littered with an unusually large number of downed trees, large and small. Next, I looped west around Succession Field through Birch Row and hiked into South Woods where I paused to take in a favorite winter scene from remote Swanson Swamp. Leaving the woods, I proceeded to Artist Overlook to check out Sora Swale before following the south trail where a hole in the snow cover revealed greening of ground vegetation, a subtle sign of the season to come. At Frog Fen, I turned north and climbed to the top of Reflection Hill where I gazed down at the flooded ice on Grebe Pond. Descending the hill to the north, I spotted a Red-tailed hawk soaring high above the pond. Arriving at the classroom building, I noticed a few Mourning Doves flying away from the bird feeders. Finally, we returned to the car for our journey home.

No gathering geese

Or mallards in flight

No croaking frogs

To welcome night

Nestled in mud

Turtles aren’t seen

Beige and broken

Cattails aren’t green

Winter wetlands

Covered and sealed

Front of February

Nature revealed

D. DeGraaf

January 27

Wednesday, Remi stayed home while I hiked at Lumberjack Park, located10 miles east of Alma just north of M-46. The early afternoon weather was cloudy with a temperature of 28 degrees and a few snowflakes falling through calm air. I exited the car, walked north across the Lumberjack Rd. bridge over the Pine River and turned east into a seldom-used, 20-acre wooded area of the park where an overnight dusting of snow whitened the landscape. I continued east through a woodlot of mature Maple and Oak mixed with young White Pine including some small saplings. Up ahead, it was easy to spot a grey squirrel scampering on the white ground as well as some exposed caches and lots of fresh tracks. I proceeded to the edge of a steep riverbank and paused to look and listen to the scenic Pine River as it meandered through the park. Continuing east, I entered a dense stand of mature Red and White Pine growing in rows that appeared to be the result of an old reforestation program. In the shelter of this area, I noticed lots of deer and turkey tracks. Unfortunately, I also found evidence of human littering. Continuing east, I hiked down a slope onto an expansive flood plain of shallow ice-covered pools as well as a scattering of trees and shrubs that were either alive, dead or some stage between. Among the trees, I spotted a few snags with woodpecker holes and a buck rub. Working my way east through dense brush including Prickly Ash, I arrived at the edge of Mud Creek. This 20 ft. wide tributary of the Pine River drains from Half-Moon Lake to the north and agricultural land to the east. Exploring the bank, I saw a few fresh Raccoon tracks. Finally, I turned around, retraced my steps back to the car and headed for home.

Stately bird of prey
Early morning search
Still as a statue
In a leafless perch
Scanning a barren field
Carpeted in white
Small shrew scampers
In the raptor’s sight
Swoops fast, kills quick
Mother Nature’s way
Red-tailed Hawk eats
Lives another day

D. DeGraaf

January 20

Wednesday, Remi and I traveled 18 miles north to just east of Mt. Pleasant off Leaton Rd. to hike the 25-acre, Williams-Blackburn Preserve, one of 19 acquisitions of the Chippewa Watershed Conservancy. The mid-day weather was partly cloudy with a temperature of 18 degrees and a slight breeze out of the southwest. We left the car parked in a cul-de-sac, hiked south and then east next to a fenced boundary of private property before entering the preserve where I paused on a bluff to admire the scenic Chippewa River landscape. Since there were no trails to follow and only 3 inches of hard packed snow on the ground, I easily made my way along the bluff where Remi sniffed out the tail fur of a Melanistic Gray Squirrel lying on the ground. Descending the bluff to the riverbank, I paused to take in nature’s river wonderland. Continuing south, I walked to the end of a peninsula where the meandering river flowed rapidly south and made a sharp turn to flow north. I turned around, walked back up the slope and hiked west along the bluff where I saw a tree trunk that at one time was worked on by carpenter ants followed by a woodpecker feeding on those ants. Also, nearby on another tree trunk was a familiar oval-shaped nest hole of a Pileated Woodpecker. After gazing fondly one more time at the river, I turned north into a dense stand of evergreens consisting of mostly Red Pine and White Spruce. Finally, we made it back to the car and headed home.

Tell me your story

Watercourse of worth

Shrouded by ice

Caressed by the earth

Your current speaks

Flow, waters flow

Washing the rocks

Muffled by snow

Nature’s treasure

So much you deliver

Riparian wonder

Chippewa River

D. DeGraaf