More from the School Forest

 I did a few errands in Ludington this afternoon, and then took a walk at the School Forest before bell choir practice. I had hoped to get in more miles, but the trails were sloppy and slippery. This was about the worst, but even so, I couldn't hike as fast as I wanted.

The weather was really nice. In the 40s and very little wind. I'm trying to get tracks of all the bike trails there. You aren't supposed to walk them when they are groomed for fat tire bikes, but there's not enough snow for that now.

There's one of these teepees built of sticks that you find in forest from time to time. I don't know if this one was just built by kids for fun, or if it might be part of some ongoing school activity, since this is the school forest. Also, the forest is right beside the new elementary building. To be more accurate, they built the new building in part of the forest. Sigh. I understand this is called progress, but...

At this time of year, interesting things to take pictures of aren't much in evidence. Here's a stump. I'm pretty sure it's hemlock since it's reddish and broken into blocks.

One section of the forest has a grove of Norway Spruce, Picea abies. There are a couple of species of spruce with bark that forms these little round scales, but around here, it's likely to be Norway. These are not native, but are often planted.

One really special thing on one of the trails is the Telephone of the Wind. This was installed to honor first responders who "work tirelessly to help your loved ones when they are at their worst." The larger print says that this is a safe place to talk to loved ones you have lost, to tell them things you never got the chance to say when they were alive.

I also did editing and writing.

Total miles hiked in 2024: 105.7 of which 18.7 is North Country Trail.

Ludington School Forest, 3.0 miles

See Pepper and Salt