The Days of Summer - Day Thirty-one through Day Thirty-seven

This is installment five of my Days of Summer photography project.  (Click here to view the photos from part four.)  The intent of this project is to get outdoors everyday to photograph something in nature and to pick a single image to represent each day of the summer from the Summer Solstice (21 June 2018) to the Fall Equinox (22 September 2018).  Five weeks into summer, this has been a very rewarding project.  It takes time, but I think I am producing some of my best photography ever.  I am definitely learning more about my camera and lenses.

Enjoy.

Day 31 (21 July 2018) - Raindrops on Rosinweed

This image a raindrops on a Rosinweed (Silphium integrifolium) was photographed at home in our native pollinator garden during a lull between rain showers.

Day 32 (22 July 2018) - Monarch on Purple Coneflower

This photograph was taken at Forest Hill Nature Area during a very windy afternoon.  At one point this Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus) nearly blew off the top of this Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purperea).  Despite the wind, this was a great day for pollinator photography.  I was able to photograph five butterfly species, a couple moths, numerous bees, and several wasp species.  Picking a single image for the day was difficult, but I like the position of the butterfly facing into the wind and the grass blades blowing in from the left of the picture.

Day 33 (23 July 2018) -Early Fall Colors

This picture of Red-osier Dogwood (Cornus sericea) berries and leaves was also taken at Forest Hill Nature Area.  Many of the dogwood leaves were already changing color.  This is not necessarily a sign of fall, but a sign of stress such as too little rain.

Day 34 (24 July 2018) - Green Frog

This picture was taken at Chipp-A-Waters Park in Mt. Pleasant.  I heard several Green Frogs (Lithobates clamitans) calling from a small wetland area near the back of the park.  Most of the frogs dove into the pond when I approached but this one let me approach to about five or six feet.  This image has been cropped from a horizontal to a vertical image.

Day 35 - Yeah, Here Come the Rooster

This image and the next one were actually taken indoors.  I spent much of last week at the Isabella County Fair.  County fairs are an integral part of summer across much of the United States.  This rooster was one of the many animals entered in the fair by 4H members.

If you understand the title of this image, bonus points for you!  If you don't...

Day 36 (26 July 2018) - Charolais Steer

Another image from the Isabella County Fair.  Raising beef cattle is one of the most popular projects for 4H members in the area.  It quite something to watch a nine or ten year old kid weighing maybe 100 pounds walk a full grown steer around the arena and present it for judging.  I photographed the Charolais steer  in the beef cattle barn as it stared at me from its stall.

Day 37 (27 July 2018) - Stormcloud

The final picture of the week was photographed in southern Isabella County on my way home from work.  I watched this storm approached from the west and raced to try to intersect it in a place where I could get a good image.  Don't worry, I never went above the speed limit - the gravel road that I was traveling on would not allow for speeds much above 30 mph in most sections.  I like this picture because of the contrast between the dark water laden bottom of the cloud and the sun shining through the top.

Upcoming Event - Sacred Seeds Symposium (21 April 2018)

Join me this Saturday (21 April 2018) at the Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture and Lifeways for the Sacred Seeds Symposium.  This event begins at 8:30AM with breakfast and continues until 5:00PM.  This event will focus on preserving and maintaining tradition crops and foodways of the Anishinabe.  I will be manning a booth at this event and will have free posters, handouts, and information about pollinators (and probably some other stuff).  The Ziibiwing Center is located just east of Mt. Pleasant at 6650 E. Broadway Rd.

Upcoming Event - World Migratory Bird Day Celebration (12 May 2018)

Bineshiyag n'ganawaabmaanaanig! (We watch the Birds!)


Join the Isabella Conservation District, Ziibiwing Center of AnishinabeCulture & Lifeways, and Chippewa Valley Audubon Club on Saturday 12 MAY 2018 for our 7th annual World Migratory Bird Day Celebration.  Begin the day at 9:00AM with a Bird Walk at the Soaring Eagle RV Park (5514 E. Airport Rd, Mt. Pleasant, MI) for a bird walk hosted by the Chippewa Valley Audubon Club.  Later at 1:00PM join us at the Ziibiwing Center (6650 E. Broadway, Mt. Pleasant, MI) for an afternoon of educational activiites, arts and crafts, and give-aways.  Cap the day off with a live raptor presentation by Wings of Wonder from 3:30PM to 4:30PM.  This a great family friendly event!

2018 Isabella County Household Hazardous Waste/Clean Sweep and Tire Recycling Collections

The Isabella Conservation District is hosting two dates for Household Hazardous Waste/Clean Sweep Collection and two dates for Tire Recycling in 2018.  These event are open to all residents of Isabella County.

Household Hazardous Waste/Clean Sweep Collection dates are Saturday May 19th and Saturday September 29th.

Dates for Tire Recycling are Saturday June 16th and Saturday September 8th. 

All collections run from 8:00AM to 12:00PM (Noon) and take place at the Isabella County Fairgrounds (500 N. Mission Rd, Mt. Pleasant).  Tire collection may end early if the collection trailers are full before 12:00PM.

Items that are accepted during collection are listed below.  For further questions please call the Isabella Conservation District at 989-772-5927 ext. 3 or visit our offices at 5979 E. Broadway, Mt. Pleasant during normal business hours.

Please note that we cannot accept items early - we do not have a facility to store these items until collection.

Butterflies in Bloom 2018

Outside it might look like this...

But the inside of the Dow Gardens Conservatory is a tropical paradise.

Yesterday (11 March 2018) we made our annual trip to Dow Gardens to see the Butterflies in Bloom exhibit.  This annual event features thousands of (mostly tropical) butterflies from around the world.  These butterflies fly freely in the Conservatory.  Visitors to the exhibit are encouraged to interact with the butterflies - in other words, touching the butterflies is okay at this exhibit.  This means that some of the butterflies are a bit haggard due to mishandling and many of them are extremely skittish.

Butterflies in Bloom is open until Sunday April 15th.  The exhibit is open daily from 10:00AM to 4:00PM.  Extended viewing hours will be available on Wednesdays starting this week - on Wednesdays the exhibit will remain open until 7:30PM.

Admission to the exhibit is included with admission to Dow Gardens.  Daily admission prices are $5.00 for adults, $1.00 for children aged 6 - 17, and children aged 5 and under free.  I highly recommend getting the annual membership; at only $10.00 this allows unlimited visits throughout the year.  The best thing about the annual pass is that you can loan it to a friend or family member and they can enter the gardens under your name!

I don't try to touch the butterflies, but sometimes they land on me. (Photo by Shara LeValley)

If you go, be prepared for crowds (especially on weekends).  Sometimes the crowds can be a bit overwhelming and can definitely make it difficult to take pictures.  Many people will try to grab butterflies that are sitting still, even as someone else tries to photograph them.  The butterflies are most active on sunny day, but sit best for photographs on overcast days.

Here are some more of my photos from the exhibit.
 

 

 
For a better photographic experience, I would recommend visiting the Grand Traverse Butterfly House and Bug Zoo which opens for the season on May 1st.  Touching butterflies is not allowed at the GT Butterfly House so the butterflies are often in better condition and less skittish.