The Colorful Month Of October!

Fall has been an amazing season in Michigan, the color of the leaves have lasted all the way through October.  There have been many cloudy days but the golden glow from the trees seems to brighten up everything around them.  I visited many parks and places in October, here are a few highlights.  I hope you enjoy them.

Hofma Preserve in Grand Haven Township, Ottawa County - October 10, 2014.
Hofma Preserve has 324.77 acres with approximately 4.5 miles of trails, an 885 foot floating bridge, 17 space parking area and a restroom.

Next, Long Lake in Kent County, October 13.  It was very foggy the day we were here.  The trees were colorful if only you could see them through the fog.  It did clear up a bit later on in the day.

Marie found Partridge Berry (Mitchella repens Madder family) blooming!  This small vine is slightly woody, forming a low mat of evergreen leaves up to 4" tall and 1' or more across. The blooming period occurs from late spring to mid-summer.  This plant was blooming , October 13!

The same day we also went to Pickerel Lake.  The fog had lifted some, the colors were great even on a cloudy day.

    I found this guy near the boardwalk at Pickerel Lake.

Along a trail at Pickerel Lake Park.

October 17th Betsy and I went to Kirk Park in Ottawa County along Lake Michigan.  The wind picked up and we had acorns almost the size of golf balls (well they seemed that big at the time!) raining down on us!  There are many stairs at Kirk Park so we really got some exercise.

October 21st, it was Aman Park in Ottawa County with Marie.  Again it wasn't sunny but still very yellow gold everywhere.  We walked the trail to the north, and then all along Sand Creek to the southern bridge.

 We also stopped at Bass River Recreation Area that day.  The trees at Bass had lost most of their leaves, so it was brown and gray there.  Except for the few wildflowers hanging on - like this Red Clover.

October 23rd, I had a long walk with Betsy at Pigeon Creek Park in Ottawa County.  There are many American Beech trees (and maples) here and their leaves were golden!

We also saw um, ah, well dinosaur legs?

 Mike and I made a trip to the cabin in Manistee County for our 37th wedding anniversary.
We took a ~7 mile hike on the Manistee River Trail.  Starting at Red Bridge on Coates Highway, going north to the Slagel Creek bridge and back.  It was an absolutely perfect day!

 Driving home there was much oohing and aahing from me over the beautiful trees.  It isn't easy getting a shot out the car window but this one is kind of nice. 

And probably the last outing of October, Saugatuck Dunes State Park.  A day-use park along a secluded strip of Lake Michigan shoreline, Saugatuck Dunes State Park offers 1,000 acres of land with 2.5 miles of shore line.  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.

Marie and I walked the southern part of this park, the South Trail and Livingston Trail.  The day started cool and cloudy, then changed over to blue sky and sunshine.  Here is our walk.

This walk leads you to Lake Michigan...

We walked south along the beach to the trail back up through the dune sand high above the lake.  The sun came out and the lake turned a beautiful blue.  The trees brighten with the sun.

  Then back through the woods to the car.

We walked at Macatawa Greenspace in Ottawa County this same day.  " This 122-acre park encompasses the union of the Macatawa River and the Noorderloos Creek. The restored wetland is a birders delight, home to many waterfowl including Great Blue Herons. The bridges, boardwalks and observation decks take you beside the river, offering treasured, scenic views of the natural world within the City of Holland. Enjoy a game of disc golf or explore the park via foot or bike on paved and natural surface trails. During the winter months, appreciate winter serenity in snow shoes or cross county skis."

We saw 20 different types of plants blooming today October 28, 2014!

 I hope you enjoyed the photos from these outings as much as I enjoyed being out there!   

Cabin - Up North

Early in September Mike and I were able to get up to the cabin in Michigan's Manistee County for a couple of days.  We left on a Thursday after work and stopped for dinner on the way.  So it was getting dark as we drove, and the clouds and wind started to build.

The sun was low and the light from it hit the clouds.  Then a band of very dark clouds moved in.  See at the top of this next photo the dark band.  It rained that night.  Record rain for the area. Twenty miles away - 6.5 inches of rain in 12 hours was reported!  And there was wind, some straight line winds in the area.

It rained into the morning, but around noon it started to clear up.  We planned to hike the Manistee River trail, so we got ready and hoped we could get to the main road.  We did make it to the main road but had to stop several times to clear branches from the seasonal road.
We tried to start our walk from Red Bridge along Coates Highway.  A half mile from the bridge an officer was parked in the middle of the road and told us there were trees and power lines down near the bridge.  So off we go to find a different starting point.  We decided to drive up No. 1 Road to the Hodenpyl Dam.  Soon we came across a pine tree down across the road. It looked like a dead tree, probably not heavy, we both jumped out to move it.  We gave the tree a good pull but it wasn't budging - not even an inch.
So back in the car and we made our way to the dam on another road.  We parked near the Hodenpyl Dam and started down the trail.  The sun was out but it was also raining.  We saw more trees down too.

                                        Hodenpyl Dam

                                        Trees down along the trail

This is suppose to be the trail not a stream.  Where are my boots when I need them!
Then Mike made an exciting discovery.  White gentian.  Bottle Gentian.  And a bumble bee was working to get inside the flower.

            Bee half way in...

    Now the bumble bee is all the way inside the flower!

 It isn't long before you come to the pedestrian bridge when you head south on this trail from the dam.  And it isn't long before you are up high looking down at the Manistee River.

Each time there was a low, flat area near the river, we would go and check it out for wildflowers.  Here are a few that we found.

              Nodding Ladies' Tresses  Spiranthes cernua  Orchid family
This native perennial orchid is usually 4-12" tall.  While rather small in size, the bright white spike of flowers provides a striking contrast with the background vegetation and is fairly easy to spot. This one is just starting to open.

                    Bottle Gentian Gentiana andrewsii Gentian family
This native perennial plant is 1-2' tall.  The blooming period can occur from late summer to early fall, and usually lasts about a month. There is no noticeable floral scent.  Bumblebees are the primary pollinators of the flowers, as they are one of the few insects that can force their way past the closed corolla. Bottle Gentian is a beautiful plant with a striking appearance. The adorable flowers are often deep violet, although other shades also occur, even in the same cluster of flowers.

            Grass of Parnassus Parnassia glauca  Saxifrage Family
This one was a little roughed up, still a very pretty flower.

 We walked to the waterfall.  Then up through the pines back to the car.

It is difficult to get a good picture of the waterfall.  The edge is unstable so I wasn't getting any closer.  At the top of the picture you can see the footbridge.  
On Saturday we headed for home, that way we still have Sunday at home and makes the weekend seem longer.  We stopped at Ludington State Park in Mason County.  We did the same walk that I was on last month, around on the islands.  Since it was a Saturday and beautiful weather, the park was packed.  It was still an enjoyable walk. 

                       Hamlin Lake at Ludington State Park

                           From the trail at Ludington State Park.  
We went south after Ludington, and made a quick stop at Gale's Pond in Oceana County.  

                           Gale's Pond

                                Barn along the way.
On home we go, enjoying the blue sky, no more rain.