From the Woods

I got myself out to my section of trail today to do some general cleanup. What I did was very easy- flicked sticks off the trail and clipped some encroaching branches. No problems to report. I have a few pix of interesting things from today, and a couple from the other day.

This is the bottomland hardwood swamp along one section of my trail. I know I've showed it to you when there is lots of water, and also when it is dry. But here it is in between all full of mud. The plants love it.

This small paper wasp nest must have come down in the wind we've had the last couple of days. Oddly, when I flipped it over, it's completely hollow- no hexagonal cells. I don't know if they somehow broke out, or the wasps never finished the nest.

This is wintergreen, Gaulthera procumbens, in bloom. Usually you see the red berries which last for months, so finding the flowers is nifty.

I found yet another blue/purple mushroom. I'm NOT a mushroom expert, but I think with the white gills and smooth stalk in the second picture that is has to be Purple Brittlegill, Russula atropurpurea.

Finally, this is just fun. Every once in a while a plant will produce variegated leaves. This is an oak sapling. I love it! Once, before digital photos, I found a variegated poison ivy. I wonder if I have a picture of it somewhere.

The trail work took all afternoon. I got some editing done in the morning, but didn't get out of bed fast again, so other things slipped through the cracks.

My dad would have been 122 today, and he died 50 years ago yesterday. I can hardly believe that.

Miles walked in 2026: 238.2
Hike 100 Challenge: 86 miles
Onekama Challenge: 50 miles.

North Country Trail, Lake and Mason Counties, Freesoil TH to Koenig Rd and back. 6 miles.

See Beauty in the Details

Four-Toothed Mason Wasp Again

I showed you this wasp once before, in 2019. I guess I have a local population because here is another one. The females can sting, and the males can jab, but they have no venom.

I tried to find some new piece of information about them, even though I shared quite a bit last time. I did find one source that says this is a female because it has no white at all on its face.

These are not aggressive wasps. She would only sting if you tried to grab or swat her. They are beneficial, pollinating flowers and using a lot of harmful moth caterpillars as incubators (and thus food) for their own babies.

In other news: Loretta and I went to an outdoor church service this morning. Then I did a few things I was supposed to and not some others.

See Halloweenish Horror

What Would Do This?

  Remember the space I showed you in June that was one of the few places in the rock garden that actually looked nice? Here's what it looks like today! I hadn't really walked down the outside stairs (which is right beside this) since I got home. Look closer. It's the remains of a yellow jacket nest. There were a few of the insects nosing around in the combs. But it's been broken up for a while, because it was also covered with ants. What would do this? I certainly didn't go digging up a nest of things that sting! I can't think of an animal that would dig into a yellow jacket nest. Here's the hole the nest must have been in. What you can't tell in the picture is that the hole in the ground behind the wall is at least a foot deep. Very strange. I've left town for the weekend now, but I'm sure going to make sure there are no more wasps hanging around before I clean this up.

I'm with Chuck and Sylvia tonight, then on to the vendor event tomorrow.

See Rock Garden Report

Bristol Branch - Wood and Italy Hills

  Up, down, up. That was today on the Bristol Branch. First we climbed 1000 feet up Wood Hill. Most of it was on the abandoned road that we couldn't drive yesterday (turns out we could have driven some of it). It was a little steeper than we had in mind, but not terrible. Then we headed into the woods on single-track trail. This tree attracted our attention, with the interesting bark pattern around the dead limbs.

From the top of Wood Hill we could look down on County Rd 18 at the junction where County Rd 34 goes off and angles up the far hill to the left. We had just driven up that road to spot the second car, and we recognized it. We began descending again. Saw these fresh chicken mushrooms on the way. We stopped for a break on a log, and read some of the description on the back of the map. It said to pay attention to the markings in that area because the landowner had created trails of his own with yellow, red, or blue blazes. The red was very similar to the orange of the Bristol Branch Trail. Actually, our trail was marked with two shades of orange. One is a great, easy-to-see, Halloween orange. The other is a darkish red-orange. So the map said to watch for Finger Lakes Trail round disks, to be sure we were on the right trail. When we started up again, none of the next five blazes was a disk, or the bright orange, so we walked back to the last disk, and verified we were on the right trail. It really wasn't a very long project, but it was a litte adventure.

The trail dropped back down 1000 feet. This grade was a lot steeper. Although going down that steeply isn't too much fun either, we were glad we weren't climbing that side. When we got down to County Rd 18, we could see Italy Hill across the road, our next goal. This climb was 1000 feet again, but it was very gradual, and we decided to try to make it to the shelter at the top for lunch, even though it was going to be a 2 mile climb. We made it! This is the cute, rather new, Outback Inn Shelter. Three miles to go after lunch. Saw this active wasp nest, but we didn't have to pass close enough to be worried. We reached the car just as the rain was starting. It wasn't very heavy, but we were thankful to not get wet. Total for the day was 9 miles.

On the way back we stopped to see if we could see the cut in the trees above the road junction where we had looked down from on Wood Hill. Yup! It's easily visible as a notch in the trees on the hill. Tomorrow, we mostly stay up on Italy Hill- along the top of the ridge we saw from the overlook. We won't complain about less topography.

However, yesterday we played tag with a backpacker in the afternoon, and talked with him several times. He was really complaining about the big uphill. Then he complained about the hot downhill on the road. I find this confusing. Who goes hiking in western NY and thinks they won't encounter hills? You can't really even stand still and not see hills. We like to think of them more as a challenge. Sure we get hot and tired, but it's all part of the package. If that's not what you want, you probably shouldn't hike here.

Anyway... we are planning for another 9 miles tomorrow.

See Bristol Branch- East Hill

Another Halloween-ish Horror

 
This picture is actually from this summer, but I've been saving it till I had time to do an identification. It's another insect I don't recall seeing. Nothing unusual... this probably says more about my observation of things that can sting.

Good Halloween color, although I saw it in the summer. They could still be out at this time of year, however. They are found across eastern North America.

It's a Four-toothed Mason Wasp, Monobia quadridens. (The species name is quadri-four, dens-teeth). I couldn't find out what the four teeth actually are.



It's actually quite handsome. All my searches for black and white wasp came back with bald faced hornet, but the pictures didn't match. So I went hunting on Bugguide for other choices, and this is a certain ID.

The four-toothed mason wasp is solitary. The female finds an abandoned carpenter bee tunnel, or other narrow chamber (even wind chimes) in which to lay eggs. Each egg is placed in a cell with a caterpillar-- something small, like a leaf-roller. I wonder if the abundance of those I've seen this year is related to seeing the wasp.

So, this is considered a beneficial wasp because it reduces the number of harmful caterpillars. The female can sting and inject venom about as painful as the bald-faced hornet, but the male can only jab you with its pointed abdomen-- about like a pin prick. He has no actual stinger.

My picture isn't really good enough to tell if this is male or female. I tend to be skittish about getting close enough to take macro pics of unfriendly bugs.

The adults also pollinate flowers, as they eat nectar. Very peaceful wasps, unless annoyed.

In other news: I mowed the entire yard--the last time for this year, I think-- and did another load of laundry. It's supposed to rain tomorrow.

	See a lot of leaf rollers this year See German Yellowjacket
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Day Twenty-Four - Midland to Mackinac

 
The proof! Here I am in Mackinaw City at the sign where the Midland to Mackinac Trail heads south. It was eight years ago that I stood in this spot (older signpost then), having reached it from the North Country Trail side and first thought about hiking this trail.

Just go to the next sign, and you can keep going on the NCT- either direction you want! (toward New York or North Dakota)

My timing was perfect- perfectly wrong! I sat indoors all day yesterday in warm and beautiful weather, and today I hiked in rain and wind, the entire day. Well, I'm not complaining. I wasn't too hot, and I really needed some rest. Gumby II did the job. And the water enhanced the colors of the leaves.



Can't stop taking pictures of the beautiful stretches of autumn color along the trail.



It was pretty windy too. Look what came down from somewhere. Glad it's late enough in the year that the inhabitants have died off.



First view of the Mighty Mac from the trail! Made me realize that I've walked a long way!



Today's trail angel that made these 12.5 miles possible in one day- Janice Dillaha, a new trail friend who is also interested in the North Country Trail. Thanks, Jan! And I hope our paths continue to cross.



Saw one other walker- a woman out with two Malamutes. They sure didn't mind the cold and wet, the dogs that is.

One other hilarious incident. As I was just coming into Mackinaw City there were some construction guys putting a roof on a new shuttle bus waiting pavilion. They had their radio playing loudly. Suddenly I heard the announcer say (you can't make this stuff up), "Is the trail calling to you?"
"Why, yes," I thought, "but I don't think they've perfected interactive radio yet."
"Do you wish you could hike, but you're just afraid to?"
"Not so afraid, but certainly curious what you have to offer."
"Visit our orthopedic clinic...."

Forward progress on the trail today: 12.5 miles, which is the same number of miles walked- Hooray! Total trail miles: 198.5

Tomorrow I'm hoping Nancy K and I can get to one of the places I need to connect, and that she won't have driven a bunch of miles to help me for nothing. We shall see- then home.

	See Day Twenty-Three
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German Yellowjacket- It's What's for Dinner

 
These wasps have been building a nest inside our kitchen wall since August. Wasp spray doesn't seem to deter them hardly at all. We've been operating under an uneasy truce whenever I open the kitchen door. So far, I haven't been stung.



I've been waiting for a freeze so they will be slowed down and I can seriously bomb that space with something stronger. They are really fast, and I haven't gotten a good focused picture of a live one.



There are enough dead ones lying around the house that I can look at under magnification to tell you that these are (what else?) alien, invasive wasps. It's Vespula germanica, the German Yellowjacket.

I'm not sure we'll get rid of them without professional help, but I'll give it another try after a freeze.

Meanwhile, someone is happy to have German Yellowjacket for dinner. I don't think he or she is going to eat fast enough, however, to really help.





Accountability Report:
Read a book.
Worked a bit on sorting stuff around the house.
Started Chapter 51 of Dead Mule Swamp Druggist.

	See Monsters and Fairies
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