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 repensMadder 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!   

Ross Coastal Plain Marsh and Farview Park

Ross Coastal Plain Marsh in Van Buren County, Michigan is where Marie and I were able to go for a long walk, through the woods, on the first day of October 2013.  I had my eye out for Autumn Coralroot, which is an orchid and blooms into autumn, I have seen here before.

Parking on 44th avenue it is about one and a half miles  to  Mud Lake which is the largest lake at Ross Coastal Plain Marsh.  There are some house foundations here from the previous owners.

Remnants of a house at Mud Lake.

 At first I thought this vine was Poison Ivy but a closer look showed it was Virginia Creeper.

Then we saw an odd tan pile of something on the ground.  Directly above this pile we noticed hundreds of aphids on the branch of an American Beech tree.  Closer inspection told us it was a big pile of  aphid secretion.  We saw these piles a few times always under American Beech trees.  I guess these aphids are even called Beech Woolly Aphid or Beech Blight Aphid. I wonder why I never noticed this before? 

  

 We did find some nice looking Beechdrops.

We walked more than 3 miles, got back to the car and drove north.  In Allegan County, Laketown Township, we visited Farview Nature Park.  Another couple miles to walk, bringing our walk total to ~five miles for the day.

 Farview Nature Park

 That was it for this adventure, another fun time.