Late October afternoon (27 October 2017)

Yesterday, late in the day, I headed out to retrieve the memory cards from my trail cameras.  I had planned to leave them out until after November 1st, but given the opportunity I decided to retrieve them a few days early. 

This also gave me the opportunity to get a few pictures of the fall leaves.  Mid-Michigan is well past prime color.  Most of the trees have already changed color and dropped their leaves, but there are still opportunities to be found.

It was rather a dreary day, with overcast skies and flat light; not the best conditions for photography.  Add in the fact that by the time I got into the woods the sun was already getting low in the West.  Lower light levels meant longer exposure times.  I wasn't using a tripod so there was the good change that many of my pictures would end up being blurry.  Despite these challenges I was happy with my results.

Looking down into the swamp.

A black-phase grey squirrel.  These are becoming more and more common.

Sugar Maple leaves in the swamp.

A deer trail cuts through this edge of the swamp.

Ferns change color in the fall too.

A pop of red sticks out amid the many shades of brown.

Maidenhair ferns can be found along edges of the swamp

The park is surrounded on three side by private land.

Sugar maple leaves floating in a puddle.

Some maples are still hanging on to their leaves.

High-bush Cranberry adds its two shades of red to the swamp.

These berries will probably persist into the winter - birds eat them but only when other foods are gone.

Lichen adds its own shades of color to the swamp

Sugar Maples flank an Eastern Hemlock

Paper Birch bark and Sugar Maple leaves

The canopy around this large Sugar Maple is definitely thinned out.

Most leaves are now on the forest floor.

Harvest

Covered hopper cars being loaded with grain - Shepherd, MI (October 2017)

Fall in Mid-Michigan means different things to different people: leaves changing color, deer season, apple cider, and the fall harvest.

Michigan produces over 300 different agricultural commodities, making it the second most diverse agricultural state behind California.  Michigan is the nation's leading producer of several crops including dried red and black beans, tart cherries, and pickling cucumbers.  Overall Michigan ranks 22nd in the nation (in US dollars) for agricultural production.

According to USDA data from 2012, agricultural products from Isabella County sold for over $119 million.  Gratiot County farms contributed even more to the economy, with products valued at over $345 million!

Here in Mid-Michigan, most farms are currently harvesting corn, with a few fields of soy beans and dry beans remaining to be harvested.  Sugar Beets also have yet to be harvested.  Harvest has currently stopped due to the heavy rains earlier this week. 

Red Oak leaf (May 2009)

Red Oak leaf and beach rocks (07 May 2009)

I took this photograph on 07 May 2009 at the mouth of the Platte River in Benzie County, MI.  I came across this picture yesterday while backing up files to an external hard drive.

Sometimes I look at pictures that I took nearly a decade ago and those that I took this year and I wonder if my photography skills have improved at all. 

It's a wet wet wet wet world!

Foolishly, or hopefully, I scheduled several outdoor programs for this week.  Predictably, it rained and I had to cancel those programs. This meant I was stuck in the office with nothing planned for the day.

What do I do in such a situation? 

Go outside.

A very wet walk at Mill Pond Park ensued.  In order to keep my camera somewhat dry I kept it hidden in my raincoat and only brought it out when I wanted to take a picture.  Even with these precautions I noticed that several images are obscured by water on the lens.

Chippewa River weir at Mill Pond Park

Rain dappling the surface of the Chippewa River

Pedestrian bridge at Mill Pond Park

Maple leaf

A trail through the woods, covered with leaves and underwater

Silver Maple and American Basswood leaves in the Chippewa River floodplain

There is still a bit of fall color to be seen

Some maple trees are just changing color now

Poison Ivy berries

Silver Maple leaves in the Chippewa River

One of these things is not like the other...

Over the course of the year, several different White-tailed Deer bucks have appeared on my trail cameras.  While looking at the pictures last night I noticed several sets from September that seem to show the same buck on multiple dates.  These  two sets of pictures date from 06 September and 16 September.  There is one major difference in the photos.  See if you can spot it. (Click on each photo to see a larger image.)

Set #1 (06 September)

Set #2 (16 September)

 

Did you notice the difference?  Here are two of the images cropped down to show it.

In the first picture, the buck's antlers are hung with tattered bloody velvet.  He is in the process of rubbing off the soft velvet that fed blood to his antlers as they developed.  By the end of August or beginning of September the antler is full developed and hardened.  At this point the deer will begin to rub off the velvet on small trees.  The velvet is still soft and peels off the antler.  The shedding velvet may bleed, but it is not painful for the deer.

An autumn walk at Forest Hill Nature Area

The weather yesterday was absolutely beautiful.  After arriving home from work, we decided to head out to Forest Hill Nature Area for a walk.  Here are a few of the sights.