April 3rd, 2015 Harbinger-of-Spring at Grand River Park!
We started the day at Minnie Skwarek Nature Preserve in Spring Lake Township, we weren't expecting to see wildflowers yet, except for Skunk Cabbage. And we did see plenty of Skunk Cabbage, also two snakes, liverwort, waterstriders, robins, and we heard frogs. There was snow in a few places along the trail.
We spent about an hour and a half wandering this preserve before moving on to the next park. I wanted to check the Harbinger-of-Spring at Ottawa County's Grand River Park in Georgetown Township. It was very muddy at this park but the trails were passable with our boots. Soon we were in the Paw Paw patch and found Harbinger-of-Spring! It's a small plant so you need to step carefully and look closely.
Do you see the flowers? There are four plants near the log.
This is what the Paw Paw bud looked like. There were many Pussy Willow in the fields, and the dried grasses looked like a flowing river.
We walked for a couple of hours then sat and listened to the frogs, and birds. It was a good day.
Spring will be arriving in just a few minutes here in Michigan. To make the day special, we honored it by visiting several parks in Muskegon County. And we found the first blooming wildflower of the year!
Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) Arum family
Happy New Year, tomorrow is March 1st - 2015! It has been winter here in Michigan for a long time, cold and snowy. Our computer is in a very cold room of the house so I don't do much blogging this time of year but here are a few adventures from January.
Marie and I had to wait until the middle of January to get together because of the weather and road conditions. First outing of the year Rycenga Park located in both Spring Lake Township and Fruitport Township along Hemlock Road. We walked at Coast Guard Park that same day.
January 23rd we went all the way to Hudsonville Nature Center in Hudsonville Michigan.
That same day we stopped at Hager Park, an Ottawa County Park.
We tried to visit a few new parks but they were snowed shut or closed for the winter.
The end of January we walked at Crockery Creek Natural Area in Ottawa County.
No sunshine but we came to a piece of farm equipment that we hadn't noticed before. I'm not sure what it was used for.
So that was January, no wildflowers. And this is what it usually looked like when I would back the car out of the garage.
Into February things didn't change much, except it got colder. Several mornings the temperature was well below zero (Fahrenheit). But mid February held a warm added adventure?!
But first my sister Marie and I got out early in the month to Hoffmaster State Park.
We walked the north end of the park first. That's Lake Michigan in the picture below, a whole bunch of white and gray. Still fun to see and no crowds!
We walked the very southern end of the park and saw this Pileated woodpecker far off in a tree. We had a nice walk, it's always good to get outside if you can.
In the next post, which won't be out until March I'll fill you in on the rest of February and the added adventure. And it will include a few blooming wildflowers!
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