Mrs. LeValley's Woodpeckers

Part of a phone conversation that I had yesterday...

Shara (Mrs. LeValley):  "There's a giant thingy... a giant woodpecker... on one of the thingies!"

Me: "A Pileated Woodpecker?"

Shara:  "Yeah!"

Me:  "Well, go take a picture."

Shara:  "Okay, I have to put the phone down."

            a minute or so of silence

            " Okay, I got it."

(In her defense, Shara is a 2nd grade teacher and it was a very long day...)

Pileated Woodpecker outside a classroom window (#1) - photo by Shara LeValley

Pileated Woodpecker outside a classroom window (#2) - photo by Shara LeValley

A teaching highlight

Testing the properties of pyrite and quartz

Last Friday while teaching about the different properties of rocks and mineral, I had a 3rd grade student exclaim "I feel like I'm in college!"

I told him that I learned the same stuff when I was in college.

His response, "Cool!"

It totally made my day

Favorites

When it comes to nature, I have many favorites.

I have a favorite place place to hunt for rocks.

I have a favorite place to watch the stars.

I have a favorite wildflower.

I have a favorite season.

Of all of the many photographs that I have taken, I have a favorite.

I had a favorite wildflower patch.  Before the paved trail was put in at Chipp-A-Waters Park, there was a patch of Dutchman's Breeches, Squirrel Corn, Large-flowered Trillium, Bloodroot, and more that was the best kept secret in Mt. Pleasant's park system.

Perhaps it wasn't such a secret, I told all of my wildflower loving friends and acquaintances about.  I even led people there on wildflower walks.  It remained beautiful.

Unfortunately, over the last few years, this patch has degraded.  Cutting trees to put in the paved trail opened up the canopy and let fore sunlight down to the forest floor.  Invasive shrubs began to pop up.  A very aggressive patch of Lily-of-the-valley marched across the woodland and encroached on the patch.  For the past two or three years, i have been fighting a battle to keep Garlic Mustard from overrunning the patch.

This wildflower patch still has its moments.

Unfortunately, with all of the challenges, it's days seem to be numbered.  I still love it - this patch of woods did more to kindle my love of wildflowers than any other place around.  I still get excited to go their during the spring bloom, but it's not the same as that original "secret" patch.

I have a new favorite wildflower patch.  Unlike the mixed patch at Chipp-A-Waters Park.  This 'new" patch is composed of only one species.

It's an enormous patch of Mayapple.  It's in one of Mt. Pleasant's parks, but it's off the beaten path and will probably always stay that way.  If you ask, I might tell you how to get there.  If you are really lucky, I might show it to you...  If you can keep a secret.

Scenes from Chipp-A-Waters Park

Yesterday, after finishing a school program for fourth grade students at Vowles Elementary, I went down the road to Chipp-A-Waters Park for a short early-Spring walk.  Chipp-A-Waters has long been my favorite place to look for spring ephemeral wildflower.  While I was not realistically expecting to find any flowers, I was hopeful.

To make a long story short, I didn't find any wildflowers.  However, I did find a few interesting things to photograph.

Much of the back end of Chipp-A-Waters park is covered by floodplain forest.  One of the dominant species in this habitat was the Green Ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica).  I say was, because most of the ash trees have died over the past few years - killed by Emerald Ash Borer larvae.  Over the past two years many of these trees have begun to blow down.

Wind-thrown Green Ash trees at Chipp-A-Waters Park

Although I did not find any flowers, I did find several patches of Wild Leeks (Allium tricoccom) poking through last year's leaf litter.  Wild Leeks, which are also known as Ramps, are a highly-sought-after edible plant.  Both the leaves and the underground bulb can be eaten.  They have a mild "onion" taste.  I highly recommend trying them.  If you plan on harvesting any of these to eat, make sure that every plant has an onion smell.  There are many look-a-likes, some of which are extremely toxic.  Unfortunately, it is not okay to harvest this plant from any of Mt. Pleasant's parks - it is against park rules.

Wild Leek leaves

Wild Leek - leaves and last year's flower stalks

Wild leeks and Red Oak leaf

Besides the patches of Wild Leeks, the only green to be found was in patches of moss growing on logs and tree trunks.

Moss on a Green Ash log

Even though there was not much new growth to be found, there was still plenty to photograph, such as these oak leaves and acorn.  I really liked the dark, monochromatic look of this photo.

Leaves and acorn

Another subject that I found to photograph was the fertile fronds from last year's Cinnamon Ferns (Osmunda cinnamomea).

Last year's fertile frond

Many of these fronds can be found in low-lying areas of the park.  It was cold enough overnight that the water standing in many of these pools had developed a skim of ice.

Fern fronds in an icy pool

I didn't spend much time in the park, only about thirty minutes total, but I was happy just to get out into the woods.  I hope to be doing a lot more of that in the coming weeks as birds return and wildflowers begin to bloom.

Nature Happens - In the Home Depot parking lot

Yesterday I stopped at the Mt. Pleasant Home Depot store to purchase materials for a woodworking project - more will follow on that.  As I loaded things into my truck, I looked up and saw a flock of birds on one of trees planted in the parking lot planters.

The tree was an ornamental crab apple.  The birds were Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) taking advantage of the remaining fruit.  Cedar Waxwings are both insect and fruit eaters.  During the fall and winter they will often gather in large flocks (often with other species) to feed on berries and other fruits.  By now they have eaten much of the good tasting and easily accessible fruits and they are searching out finds such as Highbush Cranberry and these parking lot crab apples.

To learn more about Cedar Waxwings please check out this species profile from 2013.

Upcoming Event - Atlatl Competition (09 April 2016) UPDATE

The atlatl competition that was scheduled for this Saturday (09 APR) at the Ziibiwing Center has been cancelled due to weather/field conditions.  Bummer.  I was planning on going to try it out...

Native Species Profile - Common Blue Violet

It is not unusual to find a few wildflowers blooming in Mid-Michigan during the month of March, but now that April is upon us the wildflower season can begin in earnest.  One of the earliest wildflowers that I can expect to find is the Common Blue Violet (Viola sororia).

It is almost impossible to miss the blooming season for this species.  The Common Blue Violet often begins blooming in Mid-Michigan as early as March and continues flowering until June. It can be found growing in a variety of habitats including moist woodlands, the edge of wetlands, and gardens.   Because it spreads both by seed and rhizomes, Common Blue Violet can be fairly aggressive and often takes over patches of lawn.

Common Blue Violet plants grow 4 to 10 inches tall.  Flowers and leaves grow on separate stalks.  The leaves grow in a basal cluster with flower stalks growing in the center of the cluster.  The leaves are roughly heart shaped.

Common Blue Violet flowers vary in color from deep violet to a pale lavender.  There is also a white form.  The flowers consist of five petals - a pair of upper petals, a pair of lateral (side) petals, and a single lower petal that acts as a landing pad for insects.  The five petals form a narrow throat that forces insects along a specific path to reach the flower's nectar - being pollinated in the process.  The two lateral petals are often hairy near the flower's throat.  The petals also have dark lines called nectar guides that direct pollinators through the flower's throat.

Common Blue Violet can be found in every state east of line running from eastern North Dakota down to Texas.


Basic Information

Common Blue Violet
Viola sororia

Height:  4-10” tall 

Habitat:  moist woodlands, gardens, lawns

Flower Color:  deep violet to lavender, white

Bloom Time:  March – June