By the end of March the thaw had begun. Temperatures were up and the vast piles of snow were diminishing rapidly. But we had SO much snow that the thaw was (and is) a long, ongoing process. Seidman Park, one of my favorite haunts, was more white than brown or green; but it was still a beautiful day, and a beautiful walk.

I get the sense that the animals in Michigan are a little stunned from the winter.

Some photos here, the rest in their own set over at Flickr.

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Seidman Park, out in the woods.

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Snow melt creates a temporary stream across the trail.

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Deer trail. I imagine the extreme winter and deep snow caused deer to concentrate along more established trails; thus the large amount of deer pellet trails in the forest. I expect that, come summer, there will be long intersecting lines of particularly healthy plants.

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One of several turkey feathers I found during my walk. Someone got lucky. Someone else didn’t.

On March 15 I visited the Frederik Meijer Gardens with my good friend Andrea, to take in the warmth and butterflies of the arboretum. If you have never been, I recommend the experience. After a winter like that of 2013-2014, any warmth is welcome, and a tropical rain forest is the perfect getaway. Only down side: more people than butterflies. If you can choose a time, go in the morning, preferrably on a weekday. No line to speak of, and fewer people in general. Afternoon on a Saturday is kind of crazy. Anyway: here are some photos. The full set is here on Flickr.

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Red Passion Flower butterfly. Good name.

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“Paper Kite” butterfly. And when you see them flying around…yeah, they kind of do look like they fit the name.

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This one fluttered a little too low.

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Emerald Swallowtail. I think this is my favorite of the butterflies on display.

 

On February 16, feeling like I just wasn’t cold enough, I drove out to Duck Lake State Park and wandered around the lakeshore for a couple of hours. It was a beautiful day, though very cold, and Muskegon County had at that point had a lot of snow. So the walk was also an adventure. Anyway; here are some of the photos. The entire set is posted here on Flickr.

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Duck Creek at Duck Lake State Park

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Lake Michigan at Duck Lake State Park

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Red Breasted Merganser

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Ice formation out on the water. This is caused by air pushing up through cracks in the ice. As water is warmer than the ice, it is continually added to the mound, like magma forming and shaping a volcano.

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Four weeks after my Christmas Eve walk around Kirk Park I returned to Lake Michigan to see what had changed, and to try out my new camera.

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The extreme cold of the past few weeks increased the ice cover dramatically, and now the lake is covered out to near the horizon.

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The large piles of ice roughly correspond to where the sand bars or shallow regions near the beach appear in the summer.

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I walked out to the first large piles. I am certain the ice would have held me out much farther, but it was difficult walking; slick ice interspersed with patches of snow which might also be deep holes.

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After an hour here I drove up to Grand Haven State Park, where many people (comparatively) were enjoying themselves on the ice.

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The mouth of the channel was apparently the only open patch of water in this area, and therefore there were ducks in abundance.

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You can see the entire set here on Flickr.

By Christmas Eve the ice had stopped falling and we had an inch or so of snow taking the edge off. This made it fairly easy to drive out to Kirk Park in time to catch the sunset over Lake Michigan. I have the entire set available for viewing on Flickr.

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The dune path leading to the water was covered by a shell of ice at least two inches thick. This was not obvious until I stepped on it and slid, feet out front like on a toboggan, to the bottom of the dune. Anyone on an actual sled probably could have easily made it to the waterline.

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The clouds came in from the west in two distinct layers; the higher ones which flowed to the horizon, and the lower ones which formed over the water and dropped lake-effect snow farther inland.

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On the beach the ice made for treacherous footing. Out in the water I could see some small chunks of ice floating and growing, and tiny ice crystals forming where the cold air pulled the heat from the water.

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On the shoreline the beginning of what would become huge piles of ice began to form.

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As they day wound down the sun came through at an oblique angle and created spots of brilliant color in an otherwise muted landscape.

The sky north of Grand Rapids looked blue, so I spent the late morning and noon hours wandering around Pickerel Lake. If you haven’t been, I recommend it highly. Pickerel Lake Park and Fred Meijer Nature Preserve is near the Cannonsburg Ski Area in the northeast part of Kent County.

I arrived at the park around 10:00; mine was the only car in the lot, and as far as I could tell, the first visitor of the day. There was some cloud cover, but it was thin, with the occasional shaft of light wandering across the lake. Everything was bright and shiny, but not blindingly so. And it was quiet. Barely any wind, and few cars to disturb the calm.

From the boardwalk the ice was so bright against the trees on the north shore that the pines looked black.

The only color to be had was that of the berries frozen to their branches and protected from the animals.

Many of the branches had ice coats so thick that the actual wood parts looked like imperfections in otherwise flawless crystal sculpture.

The lake itself was perfectly smooth; the only details the remnants of dead trees and places where the wind had swept the ice clean of snow.

About halfway around the lake the sun came out and turned the entire south shore to diamond.

In among the trees the sun began melting and cracking the ice in the trees, and it sounded like wind chimes and electricity.

Instead of darkening the sky, the ice contrast made it the most brilliant blue imaginable.

See the entire set here on Flickr.

This is a Great Horned Owl which was chased into my yard by a red-tail hawk. It stayed in a freshly-budded cottonwood tree from late afternoon until after dark.

Two crows periodically stopped by to harrass the owl, but it did little other than to flinch and hiss at its tormenters. I think it might have been injured by the hawk, but there was no evidence that I could see, other than its unwillingness to leave the tree until after dark.

Click either of the photos to see the rest in the set over at Flickr. Over on YouTube I also have a couple of videos of the crows and the owl. Video 1. Video 2.

Yesterday was beautiful, and for the first time in WEEKS I had nothing in particular to do, so I spent a good chunk of the afternoon wandering around Seidman Park.

There were many patches of green, growing things, taking full advantage of the unusually mild weather this season.

Photos follow. Each, when clicked, will take you to the full set on Flickr. Or you can skip all that and just start by clicking here.

Yesterday afternoon I drove out to Kirk County Park in Ottawa County, on the shore of Lake Michigan, to catch the last sunset of the year. Click any of the photos below to see the rest of the set. Or you can see the entire set as a slide show.

Photos taken the day after Christmas at Pickerel Lake in West Michigan. Click the photo above to see the rest of the set on Flickr.