Little Signs of Spring

 A big sign of spring is trail work. Of course northern Michigan is going to have to do trail work in spades after all their ice. We have a lot of trees down on our 80-mile section, but nothing like north of us. The people who are chain saw certified will get those soon.

One thing we do have is a short section that is being selectively logged. And the trail blazes were pretty faded. I went out today and re-blazed that section so hopefully no one will get confused and follow either a skid track or the logging marks. Big diagonal slashes are logging marks. New rectangle blaze is for the trail.

The buds on the silver maple trees are getting big.They are so distinctive because they are very spherical.

I forgot to show you that Cathy and I scared up a couple of sandhill cranes last week. You can see two of them flying away between the trees.

And I stopped at Lowe's because they were saying their garden center is open. They don't have much in stock yet, but I confess that I've started looking at plants for the season.

Mini health update on the neuralgia abatement. I'm down to 2 ibuprofen a day. The sore spot and itching are still an issue, but getting less.

Editing, other computer stuff and stuff accomplished.

Not much walking even with the trail work because the blaze painting takes a lot of time, but I got in 1.5 miles

Miles hiked in 2025: 105.5 Hike 100 Challenge: 40

See Hunting for Spring

Spirit of the Woods Hike- April 2025

 It seems to be one of our standard chapter hikes, to start at the Udell Trailhead on M-55, hike south 3 miles, and then do the short bushwhack across to the Udell Fire Tower. Today we had 19 people and a dog. Several new-to-us hikers!

Once you cut across a short swath of woods, you are on the Fire Tower Road and can see the tower ahead of you.

The day started chilly and damp after the overnight rain, but by the time we got to the tower there was sun and blue sky. Still in the 40s, but that is nice for hiking. Just a view up the tower.

This is a nice find, even though it's not the right season to see when it's most pretty. This is violet-toothed polypore, last year's. When it gets old, it fades to cream and brown. top side:

And the underside. I should have taken a close-up of the teeth on the underside. I could see them enough when I blew the picture up to make the ID, but it's not good enough to bother to show you. I wonder if I go back later in the year if the same log will have it in full color.

Just a glacial erratic that's quite pretty.

And, you know how I'm always saying it's hard to show the hilliness of the area in photos? This one does a pretty good job because of the tree shadows streaming down the hill. But you can also see that there is not even a hint of green showing up yet.

I hiked 6 miles with a 15-pound pack. I left it at the turnoff to the bushwhack and picked it up on the way back. It was another half-mile to get to the tower and back.

Miles hiked in 2025: 104. NCT Hike 100: 38.5.

North Country Trail, Udell TH, Manistee County, MI. South 3 miles, then bushwhack to Udell Fire Tower and back. Total 6.5 miles

See SPW Hike- Nov 2023

Hunting for (but Not Finding) Spring

 Cathy and I hiked four miles this morning, and I was determined to find some signs of spring. Well, not much success there.

This is Pennsylvania Sedge, and if you squint, you can just see the stems starting to come up in the middle of this clump.

This picture is terrible, but the blackberry canes have just the tinyest leaves starting.

The best evidence is swelling buds on the red maple, but they haven't even erupted in flowers yet.

But when I got home... there are primroses in bloom. So there's that!

After lunch, Cathy and I did a jigsaw puzzle. It's called "Dog Days," and it was a lot of fun. 750 pieces and just the right level that we managed to finish in one afternoon.

I did manage to get two loads of laundry done and dried on the line as well.

Four miles with 22 pounds. That is great because I believe I can do a two-day one-night backpack with only 22 pounds. So, now I just need to work on the mileage. My back is sore, but not too bad.

Miles hiked in 2025: 97.5. Hile 100: 32.5.

NCT, Timber Creek south to Wingleton and back. 4 miles

See Leitch Bayou

Philadelphia Flower Show- Shining Through

  I haven't shown you any of the miniature arrangement categories of the Standard Flower Show yet. This one was titled "ShiningThrough." Each is displayed in a lighted cubical niche that is about 8 inches on each side. The exhibitors provided their own background.

This was just about my favorite, but the judges didn't like it- giving it 4th place. They said the piece of pumpkin was strong and unusual but the poppy seed and the blade of grass were out of proportion.

Third place used only one plant, safflower. The judges liked the colors, but noted that only one plane within the niche was used. I thought that was a good point.

Second place also only used one plant, Stella guacamaya, the inirida flower. (I'd never heard of it) The judges said it had style and flair, but the background interfered with the design. Hmm.I would have said the background was part of the design. Very creative, I thought.

I can certainly see why this one took first place. I thought it was the best interpretation of the category. This uses three plants: shitake mushroom, midollino (which are simply dyed rattan sticks), and palm.

The judges said, "powerful gallactic concept." And it also took a special ribbon from the Philadelphia Horticultural Society.

There are other miniature categories, and I hope to show you those also. But the next couple of days have hikes! There's sure not much to see that's spring-like yet, but I'll try to find some interesting pictures to take.

I edited, I worked on projects, I went to the store. Ho hum.

See PFS 2012- Small Themes

Philadelphia Flower Show- Welcoming Wildlife Home

 This was a great display, but it was hard to get good pictures because it was mobbed with people. It's one of the commercial displays, sponsored by Bank of America. It won five awards from groups like the Philadelphia Horticultural Society and the Pennsylvania Federated Garden Clubs.

The idea was to symbolize human interaction with nature and immersion in a rich tapestry of plants. From one side, you are looking at the end of a house with rich gardens.

... and nice window boxes.

But what was inside the house was the spectacular part, and that side had so many people clustered around that I really couldn't get close.

In a somewhat Alice in Wonderland style were huge animals all made from plant materials having dinner at this gorgeous table.

I can get you closer to some. The bee and turtle are on the left. You can just see a butterfly behind them.

Fox (I think... that fluffy tail seems to belong to it) and Frog.

And a huge robin perched on the back of a chair.

I should have fought the crowd a bit longer to try to get pictures of more of the plant material. It was truly rich and immersive.

A pretty good day. I did some things I was supposed to. I tried to get all my backpacking equipment located and in order. One thing is missing, but if I can't find it, replacement is not too difficult. In the process of looking for it, I found three other things I had thought were lost!

Nasty weather day. We started out with ice, but thankfully that did not last. Maybe spring will start to show up soon. No walking happened.

See PFS- Good Friends Enter Here