I was taught early in my life to love trees. I have been called a tree hugger many times and I have found a few occasions to actually hug trees. My love of trees led easily to a love of long uninterrupted forest. Forests, being...
A winter visit to Saul Lake Bog Nature Preserve There aren’t many bogs near Grand Rapids and Saul Lake Bog has everything a good bog needs. It has insectivorous plants, those fantastical species that lure insects with their sweetness and devour them for their nutrients. It...
Growing up on one of the lower Grand River bayous, the day the ice went out in the spring was always an exciting event, with a riot of circling gulls fighting to scavenge pickings released from the ice. A sudden change in the wind direction...
In the game “Six Degrees of Separation” players are challenged to find the links between two seemingly unrelated people or things with the fewest steps possible. [caption id="attachment_5140" align="alignright" width="225"] A piping plover at the mouth of the Kalamazoo River. (Photo credit: Rick Brigham)[/caption] In west Michigan,...
[caption id="attachment_5109" align="alignright" width="200"] Barred Owl (Source: www.outdoor-michigan.com)[/caption] “Who cooks for you?” This was the sound I heard last week when I was out in my backyard. (It was somewhat ironic since I was grilling at the time!) The question was actually coming from a Barred Owl. Of...
[caption id="attachment_5105" align="alignright" width="450"] The root system of native plants are far deeper than usual turf grass. They provide stabilization of the soil from erosion and runoff, thus improving water quality. (Illustration source: www.vanburencd.org.)[/caption] The reasons to incorporate native plants into your yard are numerous: Supporting...
Like a teenager who’s partied past curfew, nature preserves need tough love, too. [caption id="attachment_5097" align="alignright" width="300"] Pete, Dwight, Vaughn, and Justin pause while working to protect the oak-pine barren at Maas Family Nature Preserve near Rockford.[/caption] That’s why a group of us found ourselves in Rockford...
[caption id="attachment_5047" align="alignright" width="300"] Paul the Beetle[/caption] “Your pet has escaped and it’s somewhere in our house.” This was our younger daughter, calling my office on the day before Christmas. I was avoiding the holiday crowds by hiding at work. She sounded agitated even before we heard...
[caption id="attachment_3560" align="alignright" width="300"] Flower Creek Dunes Nature preserve along the Lake Michigan shoreline in Muskegon County.[/caption] One of Emily Dickinson’s poems begins: “I dreaded that first robin so…” That first robin cannot come soon enough for me. I love the four seasons, including winter, and love...
[caption id="attachment_4608" align="alignright" width="300"] Coming 2015 to Anderson Woods Nature Preserve: The Sandy Hansen Birding Trail.[/caption] We recently announced that we reached our fundraising goal for the new Anderson Woods Nature Preserve in Muskegon County’s Fruitland Township. Community response to this project has been gratifying, helping...