May 11, 2013

Just in time for Mother's Day, mother nature is decorating Lake Wicwas with beautiful flowers of all sizes and colors.  In addition to the Painted Trillium I posted earlier, there are violets, both white (Canada Violet) and blue (Common Violet), Fringed Polygala, Goldthread, and Wild Strawberry.

Common Violet

Fringed Polygala

Goldthread

Wild Strawberry

Some trees are flowering, including the Hobblebush Viburnum and what appears to be a cherry tree , though it doesn't look like a native cherry tree.  It is right along the side of Chemung Road just north of the Wicwas boat ramp.

Hobblebush Viburnum

Cherry Tree?

Various specious of ferns are unfurling all around the lake as well.

While I was in the Hamlin area, I found a dead Ringneck Snake right in the middle of the trail. 

Ringneck Snake

It is black on the top with a bright orange belly, and its markings show how it got its name.  It had no wounds or other signs of a battle, rather it appeared to be lying right where it would have been sunning itself.  It hadn't died very long before, as its body was still pliable and its eyes were clear.  Another mystery....

After a long stretch of beautiful weather, we finally had some needed rain on Saturday.  I was walking along in a light rain early in the morning and saw an animal swimming in the water.  It was immediately recognizable as not a beaver, as it didn't have the straight, bee-line path of the determined beaver.  Soon there was a second, and I watch two Otters playing in the lake for several minutes.  They were chasing each other, splashing and romping around, and generally enjoying themselves.  Eventually they disapeared along a shoreline, probably climbing up on the island.  It was too dark and they were too far a away to get any good pictures.

River Otters

And, just now, as I'm sitting here writing this at 8:10 pm, Linda said "look out the window"!  There, standing right in front of the house amid the blueberry bushes was a good size Moose!  Being a dark and rainy night, again, no hope for a decent picture, but here's the proof.

Moose

I hope it wasn't eating all those new blueberry blossoms!  It soon wandered off along the shoreline, sometimes moving very quickly, then just standing and watching - my guess is it detected our motion in the house.

Rainy days might not be much fun for us, but they seem to bring out the creatures.

May 8, 2011

A lot has changed at Lake Wicwas over the past two weeks while we were in Ann Arbor for Dustin's graduation from the University of Michigan (congrats again Dustin!).  All the snow and ice is gone, and spring has come.  It's one of my favorite times of the year, when the first flowers start to bloom.  As usual, the Trailing Arbutus (Mayflower) is always the first, with its sweet fragrance. I wonder if this is how Arbutus Hill got its name.

Trailing Arbutus

 The other small flowers follow quickly, such as the violets.

The Canada Mayflowers (Wild Lily-of-the-valley, confusing, isn't it?) have also sprouted;  I'm always amazed at how they punch holes right through the leaves on the forest floor.

Canada Mayflower

The Downy Serviceberry (Shadbush) is flowering all around the lake, providing bright splashes of white along the otherwise still-drab shoreline.  This plant got its common name because it blooms when the Shad are running.  Since it grows along water edges, it was probably omnipresent for the fishermen.

We have a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers spending time nearby by; they frequent all the stumps and snags around the area, and I was able to get some good pictures even though they like to hide out in protected areas.

Here's and example of their handi-work:

Maple Leaf

The trees have also started to bud out, with tiny, delicate leaves emerging.


The buds of this year's blueberry crop are formingtoo.

Blueberry Leaf Buds

 I took my first kayak trip of the year around the lake.  There are lots of signs of a growing beaver population - new lodges are popping up all around the lake, there are lots of cut trees, and many de-barked branches on the bottom of the lake.

Painted Turtle

I saw a few turtles sunbathing, getting their first warmth from the sun, and a pair who swam right beside my kayak for a bit before realizing I was there and darting down into the mud.  The water is still extremely clear, and it is warming up.










Ferns are also sprouting, with their fiddleheads starting to unfurl from their webs.

Fiddlehead