2018 Snowy End of November at Hofma Preserve to Sunny Texas in Early December

 

Today is December 28th 2018.

 

This adventure in the snow is from a month ago,

November 27th 2018. 



 

Hofma Preserve

 

 

 

 

 Witch Hazel in the snow

 

 
 

 

From this beautiful but cold weather, I flew to Texas for a visit with our oldest son and his family.  It was sunny in Texas, and warm. 

 Michigan - on the way to the airport.

  Still Michigan, still snow.

 Up in the air, blue sky and sunshine!

 Flying into Dallas, no snow.

Busy Dallas airport, no snow.  All by myself.


 Flying into Midland passed bedtime!

I had a fun visit with the grandkids, son, and daughter-in-law.  With the nice weather, we were outside much of the time.  We went for walks, went to a Christmas play, played and worked in the yard.  One night we went out to eat at the Midland Beer Garden.  They have a huge tortoise that you can feed and pet.  And while we ate outside, we got to paint ceramic gnomes. Seriously.  Great place for the younger kids to be able to run around and dance to the music.

 That's our granddaughter Finley who just turned 4 years old and grandson Harrison 22 months.  Two major reasons to take myself out of my comfort zone at home and travel all the way to Texas!

Next time the (almost) snowless adventures from the month of December!

Ottawa Sands and Saugatuck Dunes State Park in November

        November 15, 2018                  Ottawa Sands with Marie

   The Sag     

      Grand Haven Board of Light and Power along the Grand River

Walking along a trail I could just see the top of the county building in Grand Haven, about one mile away.  From the same spot I zoomed in with the camera and got the photo below.  The county building through the BLP power lines.

 Goldenrod was still blooming even though there was some snow on the ground.

 From Ottawa Sands looking east to the U.S. 31 drawbridge and the railroad bridge.

   We saw the eagle nest. We also saw the eagle flying high in the sky.

November 19 2018  Marie and I hiked at Saugatuck Dunes State Park, the north end.
"A day-use park along a secluded strip of Lake Michigan shoreline, Saugatuck Dunes State Park offers 1,000 acres of land with two and a half miles of shoreline. The Lake Michigan beach is a two-thirds mile hike from the picnic parking area. In addition, the park has fresh water coastal dunes that are over 200 feet tall. The park's terrain varies from steep slopes to rolling hills. The park, located in Allegan County, is relatively undeveloped."

 These mushrooms were growing in the sand, one had been broken off and the cap flipped over.  The top was edged in purple and underneath was all purple.

Then we arrived at Lake Michigan!

In this photo you can see Big Red the Holland lighthouse approximately 4.4 miles to the north of where I was standing at the beach at Saugatuck State Park.



 

High up in a tree, I could see a dark shape.  A bird?  A Walmart bag?  In the picture above you can just see it on the dark hill....center of the picture then a bit to the right.  I zoomed in (photo below) and I think it was an osprey. 



 

Here I circled the bird (with red) in the tree...



 That same day we also walked at River Bluff Park.

      Kalamazoo River

Some of the trail here is down from the Gerald R. Ford Freeway!  As long as those trucks stay up on the road! 

 Dandelion Blooming!

Witch Hazel blooming!

Some neat lichen?

We drove to Wade Memorial Nature Sancutary, no walk here....

We drove through New Richmond Bridge Park.

And we drove down 133rd Avenue, where in the spring we see so many of the early blooming wildflowers.

Then home past farms, and barns, and through a tunnel.

A wonderful day, I am so glad we went!  Thanks for stopping by the blog.