Friday, January 18, 2019

Adventures in Michigan from December 2018

Some walks from December 2018 

 December 6  2018    Southern section of Hoffmaster State Park with Marie. The same day a walk around Black Lake Park.  We saw just a bit of the sun, and it was a nice day for a hike.

Lake Michigan

 .

     Little Black Lake

December 10 2018 Out for fun with my sister Marie, again.  This time we went to Grand River Park in Ottawa County, Michigan. 

Grand River

    Bambi Tree at the parking lot

We saw deer tracks going up this tree.  Must have been the rarely seen Tree Climbing Deer! 

 Some clouds, some sun.  Great day for a walk!

December 17 2018 Southern trails at Saugatuck Dunes State Park
This walk according to the map is 5.5 miles.  You start in tree covered sand dunes and end at Lake Michigan!  It is a beautiful walk, especially when the sun is shining. 

     Cloudy

    Sunny

Turkey Tails


 


  Beautiful Lake Michigan
  
 
 
 Part of the South Trail is a large loop, so going back we were on different trails than earlier.  Marie remembered a bunch of stumps that we came across last time we were here. (probably 2014)  And sure enough it wasn't long before we started to see stumps, lots of stumps dotting the dunes.
 
They are the stumps of Austrian Pine. "Around 2012 the DNR burned the pines to remove the Austrian Pines that were planted by a previous owner of the property to control erosion .  It is an invasive species.  The problem with Austrian pine is that it blocks the sunlight from the ground where native species are trying to grow, there presence tampers with the natural process of succession."


 
 
 It is a long uphill sandy climb on this section of the trail.  Whew!

 
Then back through the woods to the parking area.  It was a good hike!

December 19  My sister, Sugar, met me at Ottawa Sands, the new park in Ottawa County.  We also had a nice walk.  It is always good once you get out there.  Sometimes it is the getting out there, that is the hard part.
 

December 23  We were lucky enough to entertain our granddaughter, Vivienne, for the day.  We took her for a walk at Hofma Preserve.  Look more blue sky!


Christmas Day 2018   Our daughter, Betsy, and her husband Aaron joined us for a walk at Crockery Creek Natural Area. 

 
    Crockery Creek

So that wraps up 2018, well except for a trip to Big Bend National Park but who knows if I will get around to that post.  Hopefully more posts coming soon.  Thanks for stopping by!













Saturday, January 5, 2019

2019 Ottawa Sands and a pair of Eagles

It was the first day of the new year and we met up with my sister and brother-in-law at Ottawa Sands in Ottawa County.

 The eagles were sitting in the top of a tree.  In the photo below, they are just two dots in the center of the picture.

 
 Eagles nest along the trail, it looks much bigger in person than in this picture.
   Man-made lake, dug to mine the sand.

A great start to the new year, 2019!

Friday, December 28, 2018

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!