Library Springs Nature Walk 10/29/11

The poke berry stems are brilliant magenta pink right now.

 The milkweed plant fluff is everywhere.

  One huge 12 inch shell fungus on a tree that actually looked like a plastic step attached to the tree trunk.

 Beautiful groves of yellow sugar maples.  One tree trunk totally decorated with white fungus.
  The sensitive ferns have turned yellow and brown.  No birds to report, except one fox sparrow who stopped long enough for me to identify him.  Next Library Springs Nature Walk is Sat. Dec. 3, 2012 at 9:00am.  See you then!

Nature Walk Sightings 9/10/11

Beautiful sunny morning in Library Springs.  Many prairie plants over our heads including milkweed and Indian grass.  Fields full of goldenrod.  There were stands of bottle brush plant, and a few patches of poison ivy to teach the old adage, "leaves of three, let them be."  Black walnuts on many of the trees that have not fallen to the ground yet.  Thanks to the Stillman Nature Center newsletter, I know that black walnut trees attract luna moths, those large, eerie, light green moths.  Now we need to do a dusk nature hike...
  


 

Milkweed pods on 6 foot milkweed plants





Sumac leaves are just starting to turn red






 Barb Wilson, a botanist, taught us about wing flowers.  
There is an extra ridge of plant on the stems of wing flowers, like a wing on an bird.


Black Walnut tree with walnuts




Wing Flowers

 Thanks to all the rain we had this summer, everything is healthy, producing flowers, seed pods, nuts, etc. so it should be a good winter for wildlife.  The next Library Springs Nature Hike will be Sat. Oct. 29 at 9:00am.  See you then! 

Library Springs Nature Walk August 13, 2011

Five of us braved the ferocious mosquitoes to see what is new in Library Springs.  Lots of tree limb storm damage, but we saw a yellow swallowtail butterfly, a monarch butterfly, lots of thistle plants, goldfinches, robins, an indigo bunting, and fungus.  We heard blue jays and cardinals.  A deer stood motionless-still deep in the grass as we passed by.  The plants in the meadow were over our heads!  The next Library Springs nature walks are Saturday Sept. 10, Oct. 29, and Dec. 3, 2011.  Every walk is a new experience!


Fearless mosquito magnets



Motionless deer in meadow

Library Springs Nature Walk 6/18/11



Coreopsis

 Five families joined me for today's walk!  We saw and learned about monarch butterfly eggs on milkweed leaves, wild strawberries, poison ivy, ferns, and many other plants.  We heard and learned about the birdcalls of indigo buntings, red bellied woodpeckers, house wrens, and red winged blackbirds.  The worst part was the hungry mosquitoes, the best part was it did not rain!

Group photo

Orange fungus in the summer

Nature Walk Library Springs 5/21/11

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Jack-in-the Pulpit

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Ferns in Library Springs

Humid, mild morning with sprinkles of rain.  Heard and observed 3 indigo buntings, calls of red bellied woodpeckers, robins, song sparrows, and flocks of blue jays.  The ferns are up, including my favorite sensitive fern, and the largest jack-in-the pulpit plants I have ever seen- it's like they are on steroids or something.  Thanks to all the hard working Dundee Township local volunteers who "clean-up" Library Springs by planting, burning, weeding and  propagating the wonderful plants and trees that attract such a rich abundance of wildlife.  We really appreciate it!








Sensitive Fern with scalloped edges





March 26, 2011 Nature Walk

Very cold and windy, probably in the mid-20's, not an ideal weather day for nature.  We heard red belly woodpeckers, and saw a song sparrow (not singing.)  Lots of beautiful green moss, some of it reproducing with fruiting bodies so thick it looked like the moss had a head of hair.  More interesting fungal growths on dead logs along pathway, some of it orange and some of it white.  Shortest walk of the year!

Orange fungus on a dead log in Library Springs