Spirit of the Woods Hike- April 2026

The monthly hike for April had to be tweaked twice! The plan was for Silver Creek Pathway (not NCT), last week, but it's been mostly underwater for weeks. Still underwater this weekend. So we went north from Timber Creek again.

Even with all the changes, we had about 25 people and three dogs show up.

Most of the group did 6 miles or fewer (to 8th St and back). My goal was to do 8 miles again. One other hiker, Eric, wanted to go farther too, so we did! Notice the NCT emblem with black around the central star. That is a really old sticker and it still looks good. I can't even remember when that was changed to have a lighter color. Before 2005 for sure.

So, this is the section I hike ALL THE TIME, and the woods isn't turning green yet, so I struggle to get photos of anything remotely new. But Eric and I went north of 8th St, and then we decided to bushwhack over to the Ward Hills Fire Tower site. That is a favorite place of mine to visit.

Here's the foundation for the keeper's house, again.

And the view west from the top of the hill (toward Scottville and Ludington). The trees are all grown up, and the only times you get any view at all is when there are no leaves.

It warmed up nicely by mid-day, and we ended up in shirtsleeves. The sun at least made the green moss glow.

We did a total of 8.2 miles. I feel pretty good, but didn't get a lot more done this afternoon.

Miles walked in 2026: 137.2
NCT Hike 100 Challenge 2026: 39.1

North Country Trail, Lake Co. Michigan, north 3.5 miles, then bushwhack to Ward Hills Fire Tower site, back to NCT via road, back on NCT to Timber Creek. NCT 6.5 miles, other 1.7 miles.

See Eight Miles for Spring

A Returning Regular

I looked out the kitchen window and saw two pale shapes on the ground. Couldn't decide what they were.

Before I got back with the camera, one of them was gone. But the other was still there. What is it?

Did you know? It's a flicker. This is a woodpecker, but one that spends most of its time on the ground. This is a male- note the black moustache. It was probably a pair, but the female flew away.

Lots more flicker info through the link below if you want. I really love the way they look. And you can't see the yellow undersides of the wing feathers here, but it's stunning when they show it off.

I hunkered down and worked hard today. Got stuff done on all current projects. Did errands. Silver star for me (I should be doing a couple other things too, so no gold).

See Northern Flicker

More Rock Garden Surprises

I'm going to start right out with the big, big surprise. You might remember that I managed to dig up the pasqueflower that came up in the yard and move it back to the rock garden. Took me two years. I marked it in 2024, but then it died back and I couldn't find it, but I got it last year.

I had originally purchased three varieties of pasqueflower, Pulsatilla vulgaris: the common purple one, one called 'Papavera' which has a variety of colors, and 'Rubra' with red flowers. Well! The one I rescued from the yard is one of the two that isn't purple! I'm guessing 'Rubra,' but will see if all the flowers are red. Big smile from me, either way!

And the regular purple one is blooming now too.

Now back to more about the 'Gold Nugget' Sempervivum. Patch 2 is still really red. Picture from a different angle.

And the other patch (1) that wasn't red before is getting a deeper color.

And here is the status of the space that I was really hoping would come back after winter. This is the 'Black' Sempervivum with the Lewisia at 4 and 9 o'clock. All alive! I was pretty confident of the Sempervivum, but I've killed Lewisia before, so that was a concern.

I edited, I worked on all my projects (although not enough on the taxes), I cleaned up the yard a little, blah, blah

In disappointing news, I could be the owner of the 'Topaz Jazz' Heuchera. For $30. That's not going to happen Ha! I need to be saving to finish my dental work.

See TRock Garden Surprise

Eight Miles at Bowman

Got in a good hike with Cathy and here is the selfie to prove it!.

We had planned to hike in the warmer part of the day, but then I found out I had a meeting right after lunch, so we went earlier. Temperature was hovering right at 32° and it snowed on us for a while. But it did warm up a bit before we finished.

The red morning sky really didn't live up to its reputation. I don't think a few snow flurries counts for much in the way of storming. But it was very pretty.

My goal was to walk eight miles. We started at the north parking area and walked south for four miles on the NCT. I usually do the loop, half of which is not NCT, but I wanted miles that would count for Hike 100 today. This took us south of 56th St for an additional mile. Then we had a snack and turned back.

Bowman Lake is one of my favorite places on our trail. It's a glacial kettle lake. Looks a little hazy with the snow flurries.

This is a sight you don't really see in the summer. This is the ridge of hills on the northeast side of the Pere Marquette River, across the river from where we were.

Then we ran into a trail crew! Jack was out cutting downed trees, and Sue and Kathy were swamping for him. Dumb me, I didn't take a picture of them working. We had been thinking that the trail was pretty clear without too many things to step over, but now it's completely clear between 56th and 40th Streets!

We moved one of their vehicles for them so they wouldn't have to backtrack, and I made it to my meeting on time.

I'm trying to stretch my mileages. We did the full eight, and my hips and knees were a little stiff but OK. And I was tired, but I did manage to work on a few things in the afternoon. I wasn't totally done in. Elevation max and min were only 125 feet apart, but there were numerous ups and downs, so this was a good workout.

Miles walked in 2026: 129.0
Hike 100 Challenge 2026: 32.6

North Country Trail, Lake Co. Michigan, 40th St south four miles and back for 8 total.

See Bowman Lake 2024

Adams Flower Show 2026- Around the World

I've been saving the Adams Flower Show pictures (also from time in New York). This show is put on every year by Adams Markets. This is Marie's primary produce store. They also have meats, organic stuff, a deli, and a garden department.

Well, what we found out this year is that they actually do five of these shows, one at each of their locations, all at the same time. I really don't know how they can pull this off. And it doesn't cost a thing to attend. They fill a greenhouse with the exhibit each year. This year's theme was "Around the World."

At the entrance were suitcases filled with plants and flowers.

I'll tell you up front that the pictures aren't as crisp as I thought they would be. The central waterfall was putting out a lot of mist, and I didn't realize that was making everything a little foggy. But it was awesome.

The first section was tropical plants.

And around the corner, you arrived in the Netherlands.

The Orient was across the way.

And there was a desert section.

You'll see some more individual plants from this show. It's always stuffed with bright flowers! Maybe another year we'll go to more than one location. We like how it's not so crowded as the Philly show, and although there are not contests and big sweeping themes, you can get really close to the plants.

This is the show we've usually taken Selma to, but she wasn't really up to it this year.

Today was busy with the usual tasks, errands, bell choir, and a walk.

Miles walked in 2026: 121.0
Methodist and Ludington School Forest trails, 3.5 miles.

See Adams Show 2025