Spirit of the Woods Hike- December

 
Six of us met for the hike today, with three dogs. We did about five miles. The mild weather (for December) made it easy going, and we enjoyed seeing the contours of the land which are more visible with the leaves off the trees.



The sun even came out and threw interesting shadows across the valleys.



Partridgeberry displayed its berries.



Both of these are (I think) varieties of polypore. There are always little gems in the woods if you take the time to notice.






Nothing profound today. Being outdoors and walking is profound enough. We walked out and back, north from Timber Creek on the North Country Trail.

	See A Hike Too Early
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Mullein Forest

 
Just walking my path at home today, but I hadn't realized how many common mullein plants, Verbascum thapsus, are growing up in one area.



I think the seed pods are more interesting than the flowers.



And those big velvety leaves still look soft, even when they are droopy, dry and crunchy.


It's a biennial, and nearby are the leaves for next year's flowering stalks.



I'm off to work in about an hour.

	See Common Mullein
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Frigid!

 
I had to go do a case right on Lake Michigan today and had hopes of taking some interesting pictures. What I got was nearly frozen! There was a wind coming off the lake that was like icicles on a bulldozer. I got out of there fast.

The sun hasn't broken out yet. Now they are saying tomorrow. So the lake just looks gray.



The best I can offer is a badly matched panorama looking at the Ludington shoreline and lighthouse. I wasn't wearing a heavy enough coat to search for pretty pictures!

	See Two Lighthouses and a Trail
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Breaking Up is Hard to Do

 
Rainy morning, then sun, then more clouds, then more rain, then....

This is not the sunset. This is light trying to shine out and break up the clouds at about 4 pm.



It wasn't having very good luck, but the clouds were moving around a lot a half hour later.



The rest of the week is supposed to be clear and mid-forties! We'll see if the sun or the clouds won when the sun comes up again. One more spin around!

	See Yesterday's Storm
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It's Snowing Somewhere

 
I'm still having fun with my Train Station game. I like how I decorated the streets for fall.



But, it's started snowing there... not enough to collect, but we all know what happens next.



I've managed to continue to keep the small town farm community feel to my city, even though I'm on level 305 now.

In the real world... we are supposed to have a warmer than usual, dry week ahead. Maybe I'll get some more outside work done.

	See Spring Comes to Halls Crossing
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