Sunday, November 4, 2018

End of October - More Fall Colors?

A new Ottawa County Park named Ottawa Sands.  Betsy and I took a three mile walk here on October 18.  "The 345-acre property sits between green space owned by the cities of Grand Haven and Ferrysburg and North Ottawa Dunes Park. The site has long been used for sand mining, but has been inactive in recent years. The property includes forested dunes, an 80-acre inland lake, and riverfront land with wetlands."


October 20 - My sister Sugar, and two of her granddaughters, and I went for a quick walk at Hofma Preserve. It was the girls' idea to go for a walk, and that makes it much more fun.  The sun was shining that morning but when we were half way through our walk big dark clouds developed and we started to hear thunder. 


 


Marie and I took a trip to northeastern Kent County to Pickerel Lake Park.  The leaves were changing color but not actually at peak.  Still it was a great day to be outside!






 We found Marsh Marigold blooming!  This is the third year we have found Marsh Marigold blooming here in October.  It usually blooms in April and May.
 On the Larch Loop trail we always find liverwort.  What could be better than larch and liverwort!


We took our time and enjoyed the trees, water, and fresh air.  We were out walking for hours.  Nice!
 
October 23 - A trip to Hofma Preserve with Betsy on a partly sunny day!






The next day it was a walk around Conner Bayou Park.
 
 



 October 29th  Marie took me to Aman park, we walked and enjoyed the woods for four hours.  The leaves were very yellow, golden, beautiful.  We walked from one end of the park to the other, some of the time along Sand Creek.
 
 
 




 
 
Sycamore Leaf



So many Paw Paw trees!

 And Hepatica leaves!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 There were more walks and adventures but some times I don't bring my camera.  If it is dark and cloudy I leave it home.  So here were some of the walks I enjoyed. 

There is some thing about this time of year, in the woods, that I just totally enjoy being out there.  Putting aside all the things that need to be done at home for a few hours.  I think it is the best time of year.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed the walks.

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4 comments:

  1. AnonymousNovember 5, 2018 at 7:35 AM

    Love all the trees!
    That Witch Hazel is so pretty.
    Pickerel Lake Park has the best reflections.
    Oh, wow, your photos do make Autumn the best time of year.
    And Spring and Summer and even Winter!
    I can enjoy a walk in the woods anytime, right here on my computer.
    Amazing! Thanks for posting. M :)

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  2. Plants Amaze MeNovember 5, 2018 at 1:21 PM

    The trees are beautiful, I'm glad we went to Aman. We were in the trees! I think that was almost better than having a view of them from across Pickerel? Both are nice. I'm glad you enjoyed the photos. We should put your account with my photos, some day, maybe when we are old.
    Thanks!

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  3. Allen NorcrossNovember 5, 2018 at 4:59 PM

    I've never heard of sand mining, so I learned something!
    The fall colors are beautiful and I see that Aman park is beautiful at all times of year.
    Strange to see marsh marigold and hepatica though!
    I've heard that liverworts will grow on the ground but I've never seen them do it until now.
    I can't help saying it one more time: you live in a very beautiful place!

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  4. Plants Amaze MeNovember 8, 2018 at 10:56 AM

    Sand Mining, we are pretty much sitting on sand dunes here in Ottawa County. When I was a kid we would dig holes, deep holes, after the first half foot of black dirt it was all sand. When we built our house and dug for the basement it was all sand. For awhile we had a big sand pile in the yard, the kids spent much of there time playing on the sand hill.
    Most of the time I see liverwort growing on the banks of creeks, at Pickerel Lake we find them growing on dead branches and on the base of trees.
    It is beautiful here and tomorrow the forecast is Lake Effect Snow. I'm not quite ready for snow. Thanks! :)

    ReplyDelete