Rabu, 29 April 2015

Happy Boots

April 25 2011 We got an early start with Marie arriving at 7 a.m., we were on the road at 7:10. Driving all the way to Warner Sanctuary in Barry County Michigan. Gas/gallon $4.14. The first and last time we visit this sanctuary was in January of this year.

It was 50 degrees and 8:52 when we parked at the Warner parking area off Erway. It was also raining lightly. We didn't see much blooming here, Spring hadn't sprung here just yet. We walked for three hours, all the way to Hart Road then turned around and walked back. Marie did find her binoculars case that she had accidentally left here last time.

Here is Warner Sanctuary.

Glass Pond

Trail at Warner Sanctuary

Nice Group of Skunk Cabbage, easy to see no circles needed.

Foot Bridge over Glass Creek

You want to wear boots at Warner
Located in an area of glacial moraines, this sanctuary contains rounded ridges, seasonally flooded ponds, a stream, and lake. Most of the 108 acres is wooded and contains old-growth beech, oak and tulip trees. Large evergreens provide additional woodland habitat. The sanctuary is botanically quite diverse and includes a number of threatened and endangered plants. The sanctuary is adjacent to the Barry State Game Area Global Important Bird Area and is home to Cerulean Warblers. This is from http://www.michiganaudubon.org/conservation/sanctuaries/index.html/title/ronald-h-warner-sanctuary.

Old bridge over Glass Creek

Glass Creek

After Warner we went west into Allegan County to our favorite intersection, M-40,M-89. Ahh nice wet woods.

Happy boots

We could see the Marsh Marigold before we got out of the car! Wow.

Marsh Marigold

Spring Beauty

Hispid Buttercup (Ranunculus hispidus) If I identified this one wrong let me know.

False Rue Anemone

So this was great, wildflowers blooming finally. We saw trillium here but it had only a bud. One more stop before home, 133rd Avenue still in Allegan County. Here we found many spring wildflowers blooming.

White Trout Lily

Yellow Trout Lily

Yellow Violet

Spring Cress

Large-Flowered Trillium

Squirrel Corn

Dutchman's Breeches

Spring Beauty

Round-lobed Hepatica

We left here happy, it was a good day.

133rd Avenune train bridge built in 1908

Through the Holland tunnel to home.

Rabu, 01 April 2015

Van Zoeren Woods to Happy Boots

2012 03 27 Van Zoeren Woods, a Zeeland township park (34 acres) was our destination for this very cold windy, morning. To get to this park we traveled through some beautiful farmland, this barn picture was taken along the way.

We found the park with no problem, but where to park was a bit of a question. We just parked near the sign.

It was 9 a.m. and 36 degrees with a brisk wind blowing. We started to see wildflowers as soon as we got to the trail.

Yellow Trout Lily

False Rue Anemone

Then a surprise! Marie found Large-flowered Trillium blooming. This is about 6 weeks earlier than average for this plant to bloom here in west Michigan.

Large-flowered Trilllium

Then she spotted this Jack-in-the-Pulpit fully open! There were many, many, Wild Leek leaves everywhere. The leaves show first on the Wild Leek then the leaves die back and the plant blooms later in the spring.

Wild Leek leaves

Mayapple was up but not yet blooming.

Bloodroot done blooming.

Blue Cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides)

Close up of the green flower of the Blue Cohosh plant.

Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) Fumitory Family. Each flower is about 3/4 " long and has the form of a pair of pants upside down on a clothesline.

Dutchman's Breeches

Squirrel Corn (Dicentra Canadensis) Fumitory Family. Squirrel Corn flowers are heart shaped.

Here I lifted my head up from the flowers and took a look around the woods. It's a nice little woods, they are planning on making a paved trail, some paths were being worked on.

Bug

This I think is a fungus called Scarlet Cup.

We also saw Cut-leaved Toothwort blooming for the first time this year, lots of first here in Van Zoeren Woods.

We visited Van Zoeren Woods for about three hours then went down to Allegan County to Happy Boots Corner. Oh the Marsh Marigold, beautiful.

Marsh Marigold like a burst of sunshine.

More Marsh Marigold

Marsh Marigold is usually one of the early bloomers and they are so pretty. Then we found a flower blooming that again surprised us, Golden Ragwort (Senecio aureus) Aster Family.

Golden Ragwort blooming

Golden Ragwort buds The first year we came across this plant we couldn't figure it out because we would see these purplish buds, but out comes a golden flower!