Roadside Blooms

Needing to keep walking to get those miles in for the Onekama Challenge. Going to be hard to do, but the weather/ air was better today, so I got in a walk. Just one of my roadwalk loops, but I did it.

Here are some plants of note along the way.

This was the first time I've noticed Elecampane, Inula helenium on this route. It's not native, and it's more of a prairie plant. But here it is! I'm going to report this to the MI Herbarium.

A nice native shrub to find. I see a little of this each year. This is Meadowsweet, Spiraea alba. It likes to have damp feet, and this is in a ditch.

Always a fun find is Swamp Milkweed, Asclepias incarnata. Definitely a wetland plant although some people are putting them in gardens with some success if they water often. This one isn't very full, but you can see the color.

Here's one that I'm not happy to see. It's False Chervil, Anthriscus sylvestris. This is becoming increasingly spread from east to west in the US and it's horribly invasive and everywhere. Not happy to see so much of it here.

Not a flower, but I caught a great blue heron flying over.

Worked my little job in the morning. Did some volunteer stuff. Walked, Zoom meeting.

Miles walked in 2026: 227.7
Miles for Onekama Challenge: 39.5

See Familiar Places

Heron Art from the Paddling Excursion

 My friend, Bruce Micinski, drew this picture from the photo taken on September 27 on Round Lake. He does great work, eh?

This is the reference photo.



This, and some other artsy things going on around me make me want to practice drawing again, but I really have way too many other things to do.

I wrote my column for MCP, interviewed someone for my LDN column, contemplated another issue in my own book, answered a bunch of questions for other people, did some work around the house. It just chews up the time.

See What a Perfect Morning

Paddling, Playing (Bells), Perfect

 Bruce and Jenny invited me to go paddling with them again today. Well, I had planned to get a lot of work done, but with the weather so gorgeous... you know I went paddling.

There were a lot of water lily pads, and the sun was making the underwater stems glow with an amazing neon red color, but I was not able to capture a single picture of this. You'll have to settle for the pads floating.

We saw a fair amount of wildlife, but I didn't get many pictutes. there were painted turtles sunning themselves (I got pictures, but they are nothing special), little fish (Bruce thought maybe bass), two kingfishers, a hawk, and another heron. I got a couple of pictures of it, but was shooting into the light, so they aren't great.

No frog on a lily pad, but how about a snail?

Love the reflection of this floating log.

The low hills surrounding the lake are in full autumn color. What lake you ask? Shhh. I promised I wouldn't share too loudly. It's a very special place. Gooseneck Lake.

I'll end with my two favorite pictures of the day. The color of this pattern on the water, and the stong horizontal and vertical lines just makes me want to dance.

Maybe this is my favorite: floating leaf.

I have so many good pictures, I can't even share them all.

We paddled some out toward the middle, and not that going along the shore is a bad thing, but I discovered that I really like being out in deeper water. We spent 4 hours, and it just didn't seem that long at all.

And, I at least got one of the handbell videos processed. Sorry, these take a while to do.



What I had hoped to do today was re-read the part of Vacation from Dead Mule Swamp that I have written and see if it's really going to work. I have been doubting that it was worthy. After the long break from writing on it, it's easier for me to assess how readable it is. I'm up to chapter 20, and still feeling good about it.

Got some sad new today that a good friend has had a serious stroke. Of course, no one gets guarantees in life, but at our ages, there are certainly fewer good days left than previously. I am extra thankful for the perfectly wonderful day today.

See What a Perfect Morning

What a Perfect Morning!

  Believe it or not, I haven't been paddling since 2017. That's hard to get my head around, but true. Well, I was doing a little hiking, and I have an issue with no rack for my car again. Pretty sure that date is accurate.

Anyway, friends Bruce and Jenny invited me to kayak on Round Lake, and they said they would bring all the equipment on their trailer. Can't turn that down!

The north side of Round Lake is not developed and we all enjoyed the "wild" feel. The quiet was wonderful. There were a couple of small boats on the lake, but it wasn't noisy at all. We loved the eroded roots of trees. This was the best. It looks like it's trying to climb out of the lake.

The colors of the day were blue...

and green.

We did see a couple of kingfishers, but getting pictures of them is nearly impossible. However, this blue heron let us get pretty close.

Got a decent picture when it took off.

But it didn't go far. There are quite a few dead trees along that shore, and the birds love to perch in them.

The trees are just starting to turn colors. This reflection catches the peaceful mood of the morning with hints of red.

I spent the rest of the day on my current pet project. I thought I might be sore becuase it's been so long since I've paddled, but not a bit. It was a lovely, lovely time.

See Kayaking the South Branch

Summer of 1993 - Critters

 You have to know that the habitat Wetlands Research, Inc created, even though it was for an engineering purpose, was great for wildlife. This is just a sample. The Great Blue Herons loved the shallow water.

Birds were everywhere! Two of my favorites that I have no picture of were a Golden Eagle that liked to hunt over the ponds, and often in the evenings, Nighthawks would gather and fill the sky. They were catching insects. I actually thought that was more interesting than the eagle.

My other favorite was the Yellow-headed Blackbirds. This was the first time I'd ever seen them, and they were everywhere. My pictures aren't very good. The camera I had then had no zoom capability. I got a much better picture of a male in North Dakota on the big hike. But here's what I do have.

And his Mrs.

Now, let's go back to those nodding thistles. They may be alien, but the Goldfinches sure loved the seeds.

Birds ruled, but there were plenty of other representatives of the animal kingdom. I've already mentioned the beavers that I never saw! This garter snake got himself into one of the culverts. They can swim, but I'm not sure s/he would have liked the steep sides. I don't remember if I helped it out. Pretty sure it's just an Eastern Garter Snake.

Here's a Soldier Beetle. Probably a Goldenrod Soldier Beetle. But it's teasing you, by being on a teasel. They are pollinators, and supposedly prefer yellow flowers. I guess this one didn't get the memo.

Now for a test. Where is the wildlife in this picture?

Did you find them? Mama Killdeer chose the middle of the driveway for her nest. Fortunately, they hatch and start running in just a few days. Thankfully, we found these, and blocked off that area until they were hatched.

You know I have to end with my very favorite critter. This is one of my all-time favorite puppy pictures of Chips.

In other news: I edited/formatted, I worked on my own book (working on the campsite section), I went to bell practice. It was a nasty, cold rainy day outside.

See Prairie Plants

5 Mile Walk - Another New Route

 
Drove two miles and was able to do a different five-mile walk today. I thought it was going to be six miles, but when I was back at the car in 90 minutes, I said, "don't think so." Measured it, and it's five. Actually, that's perfect because most days I don't have time for a six-mile loop. This is LaSalle Road. Not bad, eh? It turns into a mudpit when wet, but not today.



This is a loop I would definitely do again. Although I came home with fewer pictures, there is potential for interesting things when spring gets going. Lots of woods and wetlands. There were a fair number of little hills and dips to give the surface variety, and it's not a square, but more a Z, so there are no forever long stretches.

I had no idea there's a little lake tucked in there, Vogel Lake. All private.



This house is looking sad. It's too bad. There was someone living there not too long ago, but the nice brickwork is all falling off. It's probably beyond repair now.



What you can't quite see is a purple bicycle hidden by the grass and leaning against the porch. I'm thinking there was a kid there exploring. Could have been me X years ago!



I heard sandhill cranes both yesterday and today. And I have to wonder if this is the same heron as yesterday. I was only a mile west of yesterday's walk.



The weather was really nice. Maybe about 50 degrees in the sun. We are supposed to get rain tonight. That would be good since there is a burn ban in the county until we get some.

In other news: I wrote my monthly column, worked on e-book formatting, record keeping, and did some more stuff around the house. More would have been better, but I accomplished enough that I'm not kicking myself. PS. I'm still loving my vacuum cleaner.

	See 5 Mile Walk- New Route
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