An Alphabet of Michigan Plants (A through M)

Back at the beginning of the school year I mentioned a project that I was working on.  I wanted to make an alphabet book of native plants to distribute to the 3rd grade classrooms that I work with on a regular basis.  A few weeks later I completed the project and began distributing copies of the pages to classrooms.  Because this alphabet book contains pictures of native plants (with the exception of the letter K) and I am attending the Wildflower Association of Michigan 30th Annual Conference, I thought now would be a good to time to share the book.

Here are letters A through M.  I'll share the rest of the alphabet tomorrow.

Thinking about wildflowers

On Sunday and Monday (05 - 06 March), I will be attending the Wildflower Association of Michigan Annual Conference in East Lansing.  While this is one of several conferences/symposiums that I will be attending in the next few weeks, the WAM Conference is the one I make sure to never miss.  If you are a regular reader of this blog you have probably already guessed that I love wildflowers.  If you are a new reader, let me state right now that I love wildflowers.

In honor of the conference, I want to share a half dozen of my favorite photos of wildflowers and other native plants that have appeared on this blog since 2013.

Skunk Cabbage - my favorite native plant

More Skunk Cabbage

White Trout Lily

Wild Blue Phlox

Large-flowered Trillium

Dutchman's Breeches

A tiny (but perfect) Bloodroot flower

I can't wait for spring to get here so I can start my annual wildflower search!

A lone tree

There is a tree that I admire.  This tree stands in the edge of a field, completely alone. You can tell this tree grew up in the open, away from other trees, by the symmetry of its shape and the wide spread of its branches.

Trees like this are rarely left to stand.  They become victims to progress.  As farmers buy larger equipment, they remove the fence rows that divide fields and the trees that grew up along the fences.  Trees that once stood in the middle of fields to shade cattle and other livestock are cut down and their stumps pulled up. 

I don't begrudge the farmers for doing this - larger field make sense and trees in the middle of a tilled field don't make sense.  I wonder why this tree has managed to survive?  Does the owner of the field keep it there for sentimental reasons?  Or do they, like me, simply like the way the tree look.

I have passed by this tree dozens of times.  Yesterday I stopped for a few moments to photograph it.  I like how it stands out above the horizon and how it fills most of the frame of the picture.  I also like how the mist/fog adds a softness to the trees in the background and to the sky.  This is already one of my favorite photos of the year.

How to photograph a wildflower for identification

I have spent a lot of time over the past few years on wildflower identification.  I completed "wildflower big years" in both 2014 and 2016.  I also frequently identify wildflowers and other plants for coworkers, friends, and members of the public.

By now, I can identify most of our common local wildflower species by sight.  Many other species I can narrow down to genus before resorting to field guides for a final identification.  I often carry my field guides into the field with me and identify plants on site.  On other occasions I photograph the plant in the field and use the photos to complete my identification later at work or home - maybe I don't have a field guide with me, maybe I have the wrong field guide (such as wildflowers instead of wetland plants) , or I simply lack the time to make a field identification.

When taking taking photos for identification there are several things you can do to make yourself more successful.

First, back up and take a picture of the plant in its environment.  This may seem like a strange first step in identification, but it gives you a couple of pieces of information.  This photo will show the habitat that the plant is growing in and other plants in that habitat.  Knowing the habitat is often important when trying to make an identification.  This is especially true when you are trying to identify a plant within a large family such as Buttercups (Ranunculaceae) or Goldenrods (Soidago) that have lots of similar species.  This picture also important because it helps give a sense of the size of the plant.  In portrait photography an image like this would be referred to as an environmental portrait.

An environmental portrait of Marsh Marigold

Second, take a picture showing the entire plant if possible, or as much of the plant as you can reasonably photograph.  This is like a taking a full body portrait of a person.  It gives you an overall sense of the plant.  It it bushy?  Lanky?  Does it sprawl?  It is upright?

Not the greatest photo of a Yellow Trout Lily, but it shows the entire plant with its distinguishing features

Whitlow Grass is so small it was easiest to pull a sample to get a good image - note tiny flowers and basal leaves

Next, photograph the leaves.  In fact take several photos of the leaves, including at least one that shows the bottom of the leaf.  Note how the leaves are arranged on the plant's stem (alternate, opposite, whorled, clustered at the base of the plant, or a combination).  Are the leaves simple (all one piece) or compound (made up of several smaller pieces).  Try to make sure you have a picture that shows the size of the leaves - I often hold leaves in my hand while photographing them.  Your photo should clearly show the margin of the leaves.  Are the leaves lobed?  Do they have smooth margins or are they toothed.  Make sure your photo shows the arrangement of the veins on the leaf.  Make sure to show how the leaf attaches to the stem of the plant.

This image of Feathery False Solomon's Seal clearly shows leaf arrangement, leaf margins, and vein pattern.

Field Sow-thistle - note prickles on leaf margins and clasping leaf base

Photo of Choke Cherry leaf - clearly shows vein arrangement, leaf margins, and size

Take a picture that shows the plant's stem/stalk.  What color is the stem? What shape is the stem in cross-section - round/square/etc.Is it round?   Is it smooth?  Does it have grooves?  Is it hairy?  Are there thorns or prickers?  If there are thorns/prickers, how long are they and are they straight or curved?  Take pictures of any unique features such as wings and sheaths.

This picture of Purple Loosestrife clearly shows the square stems (and the way the leaves are arranged/attached).

Finally take pictures of the flowers.  Make sure your photos show a frontal view of the flower and a side view.  You want as much detail as you can get.  Take several pictures of several different flowers if possible - there may be variation in number of petals that an individual flower has as well as color.  Get a picture of the base of the flower so you can see the sepals and/or bracts that support and protect the flower petals.  It the plant has prominent pistils and stamen make sure they show up in your picture.  Show how the flowers are arranged on the plant - in a spike, in open clusters, at the leaf axils (place where a leaf crows from the stem), individually at the top of long stems, etc..

This photo of a Chickweed flower clearly shows the size of the plant and important details such as number of petals

A side view of a Spotted Touch-me-not flower

A frontal view of the Spotted Touch-me-not flower. 

Remember, you are not trying to create art here.  The purpose of these photos is to help with identification.  You want to have as much detail as possible in your images. 

What bird signals spring?

People have been telling me about American Robin sightings all week.  Robins are not a reliable sign of spring.  Many robins stay in Mid-Michigan all winter.  I have regularly seen flocks ranging from 10 birds to more than 50.  They are just easier to see now.  During the coldest weather they were keeping to wooded areas where they fed on berries and other fruit.  Now, with no snow cover and most of the ground thawed, they are beginning to appear in lawns and other grassy areas to search for worms and other invertebrates.

If Robins are not a true sign of spring what bird is?

Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) - photo from March 2016

To me it's the Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus).  While driving home yesterday (23 February) we saw three of them along US-127.  This is ten days earlier than my first sighting last year.  All of the Blackbirds that we saw males.  They are busy trying to impress each other and jockeying for territory.  It may take a couple of weeks to sort out which bird ends up with the best places in the landscape.  In the meantime, the females should find their way north to Mid-Michigan.

Females will then set about choosing their own territories (within those of a male).  A dominant male bird may have several females living in his territory and will mate with each of them.  The females select a mate based on territory - a male with a good territory will more likely have good genes to pass on to his offspring.  So it doesn't bother them that their mate may have other mates. The females are also likely to mate with more than one male. 

Logging Images

During the winter, in addition to the science programs that I present at schools, I also spend a couple of months presenting two different programs on Michigan history.  One of these programs focuses on Michigan's logging history.

Logging was one of the first major industries in Michigan and products from Michigan's forests were used to build much of the nation's cities during the period after the American Civil War. For nearly half a century Michigan could lay claim to the title of the logging capital of the world.  While other a few other states may dispute this claim, it is hard to argue with a place where one river system alone produced over 22 Billion board feet of lumber during its run!

Recently I purchased a new lot of logging postcards.  Most of these are from Michigan, but unfortunately some of the photo locations are not documented on the images.


These postcards show vignettes of logging life. Most images are posed, with little action portrayed in the photograph.  One of my favorite images shows a crew of four with a team of horses (used to skid or drag the logs through the woods).  Two of the men lean on cant hooks used for rolling logs.  A third man leans on a double-bit axe.  I especially like the fact that two of the men in the picture have cut off the bottom of their overalls so they don't get soaked with snow.

A crew of men ready and equipped to move logs through the snowy woods. (Unknown location)

This next picture is a later image - it dates to probably the 1950s.  What I like about this picture is that it shows how teams of oxen (or horses) would be used to skid the logs.  A close look at the picture reveals the skidding tongs clamped onto each log.  The two sharp points of the tongs would bite into the log so it could be pulled through the snow.  Oxen were sometimes used in the camps because of their brute strength, but horse were both faster and required less feed so most camps preferred to use horses.

Oxen skidding logs (Newaygo County, MI)

I think this next picture is another later image.  The cleared land and fences give the impression that this photo was not taken during the early days of logging in Michigan.  I like that this image shows how multiple teams of horses would be connected in tandem to pull a load uphill.  When going downhill, a chain was often connected to the back of the sleigh and wrapped around a tree at the top of the hill where a team of horses would be used to help slow the sleigh down.

Three teams pulling a sleigh uphill (Oceana County, MI)

I have several pictures in my collection showing crews loading logging sleighs.  The men who stacked the logs on the sleighs were known as top loaders.  This was one of the most difficult and dangerous jobs in a lumber camp.  A good top loader would receive higher pay than many other members of a crew.

One common feature of many logging postcards is lumber camps showing off by loading the biggest sleigh-load of logs imaginable.  Sleighs loaded were not loaded like this on a daily basis.  Loads of this size are highly impractical.  They take too long to load and are really too large of a burden for the horses.

Loads like this were used to show off - they were not practical. (Wexford County, MI)

Despite the label on the postcard, this is not a "typical lumber scene".  While many lumbering images show full logs that would eventually be cut into boards, another side of logging was the cutting of railroad ties and fence posts.  Men who cut posts and ties were often paid by the piece rather than being paid by the day as they were in camps that cut large logs.

A forgotten part of logging was the cutting of ties and posts (Alpena County, MI)

I think this is another later image (sometime in the 20th Century).  It would have been highly unusual to use a sleigh to haul a single log.

Hauling a single log on a sleigh (Location unknown)

The next photograph shows a crew of "river hogs".  Also known as "river pigs", these men would float down the river during the spring log drives.  Corked boots (boots with spikes on the soles) allowed the to keep their footing as they walked on the floating logs.  They used pike poles (the long-handled tools) and peaveys (the short-handled tools) to keep the logs moving downstream.

River hogs use pike poles and peaveys to control the movement of logs on a river drive (Antrim County, MI)

By the 1880s, railroads became an important part of logging operations.  Trains allowed lumber crews to work far away from rivers.  The first image shows a train loaded with logs.  At the back of the train is a steam jammer.  This steam-powered winch and boom, pivoted on a central axis and allowed crews to lift logs to load them on the train cars.

Logging trains allowed companies to efficiently log far from rivers (Location unknown)

In this image, train cars are being loaded by the simpler method of cross-hauling.  In this process chain attached to a team of horses (or a powered winch) is used to drag logs up a ramp onto the train where they would be chained in place.  If you click on the image, both the chain and team of horses can be seen in the photo.

Crosshauling logs onto a Grand Trunk rail car at the Coopersville Depot (Ottawa County, MI)

After World War One, gasoline powered equipment such as this Holt tractor became available for logging.  These strong engines could pull long trains consisting of ten or more loaded sleighs across the snow.  In this picture, a second tractor with an additional train of sleighs can be seen at the left rear.

Gasoline tractors greatly reduced the need for horses in logging (Location unknown)

The piles of logs waiting for sawing at mills are a common feature of many logging photographs.  Logs would be stockpiled at the mills after the spring river drives and remain there until thy could be cut up into boards and other products such as shingles, barrel staves, etc..

Logs at a mill in Alpena. The ship in the middle ground is probably a lumber schooner. (Alpena County, MI)

The amount of logs could be truly staggering (Charlevoix County, MI)

The development of small steam-powered circular saws allowed portable mills to be set up almost anywhere.  Boards sawn at these mills would often used locally instead of being shipped for use out of state.

Portable mills often sawed lumber for local use (Location unknown)

Information on the back of the next image identifies it as Phipps Mill.  It was sent from Henderson, MI and I assume the image was taken near there.  I like that you can see the steam engine to the left of the photo and the belt drives that would power the mill.  I love seeing how the men are dressed in those old photos - I only wish they were in color.

Portable mill - note the steam engine and belt drives (Shiawassee County, MI)

The next picture shows a group of men outside a mill - a circular saw can be seen in the building at the rear.  I am going to presume that they are sawing wood  to lengths that would later be split into shingles.  The wood could also be used to feed the boiler that would provide steam power to the mill.  I like this image because it shows a clear picture of a two-man bucking saw.  Bucking saws are used to cut logs into lengths.  A man to the left rear holds a single-bit axe over his shoulder, and the man to the far right holds the handle of a cant hook (or peavey) for rolling logs.

A crew processing logs into short lengths probably for shingles (Location unknown)

The final picture shows an area of land after logging.  The stumps, snags, and slash on the ground would do little to hold the sandy soil in place.  Later, during the Great Depression, much of this area would be replanted by members of the Civilian Conservation Corps.

Large areas of the Great Lakes State were completely deforested during the latter half of the 19th Century          (Roscommon County, MI)

For more logging images check out these four posts.

Logging Photos - Getting Logs out of the Woods

More Logging Photographs

Michigan Logging Photos

Days Gone By - Logging Photos