Summer Storms.

Last night after dinner Leto and I wandered down to the dock to enjoy the cool breeze. The ruthlessly hot day afflicted even our very early morning rounds, leaving us panting and guzzling water. That late evening breeze was the breeze of salvation. Watching the hoards of tiny mosquitos attempt hopeless flights to my exposed skin was equally satisfying.

We enjoyed an interesting mix of soft hues stirring amongst patchy clouds for nearly an hour. I noticed an ominous block of gray coming in over the northwest corner of the lake. Dog seemed content to stay out all night, but I got him up for our last visit to the outhouse/grassy patch. In the time it took to walk to the outhouse and emerge, the clouds that had hung to the northwest already completely covered the sky.

The house was still uncomfortably warm. I opened the window, turned on the fan, and tucked in for the night. I barely made out the sound of the wind rustling leaves over the whir of the fan. I drifted off. I typically find storms in Saginaw to be calming. Like a tranquilizer. But at 1:30am I was cracked awake by thunder so immediate it sounded less like a rumble and more like two trucks crunching together head first. My tiny window was alive with light. The noise from the fan, right next to my bed, was so imperceptible that the only reason I knew it was still on was the soft, rhythmic brush of air against my face. My phone lit up with a tornado warning. Nestled as I am right at the base of a hill in the lake valley, the house isn't likely to see tornado damage. Nonetheless, the warning made me hyper aware of the wind, and I started running through the condition of the trees on the hillside just beyond the walls from me. I stayed awake, watching the lights.

It felt like an eternity, but eventually the sound of the fan started coming in to sharper focus. The thunder was becoming a distant rumble, the rain a soft patter. I fell back asleep.

The forest I woke up to was something entirely different. Sun blazed through the trees. The lake was brown from the flush of sediment. The flashy creek is down to a very gentle trickle, but I imagine at 2am the water ripped violently through it. A pine had come down across the trail to the southwest, jutting out jagged into the trail at waist height. Despite its size and proximity to other tree trunks, it was actually quite easy to simply lift and move. Another laid across the trail by the cabin. This one proved too difficult to shove aside, wedged as it was between tree trunks. I wasn't disappointed. It had been a while since I last broke out the ax. The last deadfall was back when we were still under snow and ice. It felt good to grip it in my hands again, and to get covered in rich smelling earth while lifting and throwing the cut tree.

Around the other side of the lake I picked up trash left by visitors who had likely hurried out. I grumbled a bit, but at least it was more time to enjoy the beautiful day before returning to my desk job.

The large old ash tree that fell last week is still down. It is low priority on my work list, being that it is easily skirted. I plan to get to it this weekend, chainsaw willing. I also plan to start hacking back growth crowding the trails.

Enjoy the day, all.

Work!

Campfire is coming.

The to-do list is long, and every day I seem to be getting an email requesting information for this or that. Earlier this week, I cut the perfect log for the cross-cut saw competition. Today I kind of ruined that log dragging it to the barn. Idiotically, I did not notice that it was being chipped away by the road. So now the back third of it is a smaller diameter. Alas, it will have to do. What is done is done. And my calves hurt. Many thanks to Bill, Oliver, and Lauren for the help!

Today was a full-on Saginaw day. In addition to the log dragging, I did rounds, attended a Properties Committee meeting, cleaned up the bonfire pit, and mowed down the zen meadow. I'm whipped.

Class use this fall has been extensive. Several ecology classes have been out in the woods, and a few others may be seen floating about the lake. My first year landscape architecture students have made several field trips out here (and will be out again tomorrow). As they research the site for their projects, a lot of interesting photographs and information have become available. One student in particular found some excellent old images at the Bentley Library. So much flannel!

Before.

After

Last weekend I cleared some deadfall from the driveway, and also attended the Native Plant Sale at the botanical gardens. I picked up a hefty load of my favorite perennials to plant around the cabin. My hope is that they will ultimately disperse their seeds throughout the wood. Saginaw, my gift to you.

The big witch hazel by the cabin is already blooming! It is lovely, but much earlier than anticipated.

Spider flowers.

Oh, you pretty.

Activity, activity.

Things amped up around here the last month or so.

"Amped up" by 80-acre forest standards,  I mean.

Between students coming out to do research and classes starting up, bodies have been busy here around the moss house. Some of you may have noticed this weird contraption out on Third Sister.

I refer to it simply as the "robot boat." But really it's an interesting project being tested by a group of engineering students. Their goal is to design a new and improved method of measuring evaporation on the Great Lakes (current measuring tools are land-based, not real-time). Different versions of Robot Boat have come and gone from our waters as they tweak the design (leaking seemed to be a problem).

A more permanent installation has been put in place to monitor the flash floods of Honey Creek, just behind the outhouse.

Classes are going to start using the site soon as well. Soil Ecology, Woody Plants, and even the class I'm the GSI for--the first year landscape architecture studio. I'm really excited to be working with a class taking on a design project out here. Talk about a perfect opportunity for all involved. I've been gearing up for the influx of activity with meetings, clearing honeysuckle/buckthorn, mowing, and collecting tools. This is an exciting fall.

The weather wreaked havoc on tree branches here last night, as I'm sure those of you in Ann Arbor can believe! But I do love this place post storm. It takes my breath away every time.

Enjoy the goldenrod.

High Summer

July is waning.

I've been bad about blogging. I spent two weeks in Alaska working on my masters project, and although I had many things going on in the woods before and after these travels, I completely failed with the reporting. I'll run you through a few of my activities.

Alaska, ooo baby.

Major developments prior to my departure can be attributed to the outstanding help I received from a friend of mine. Chris assisted with meadow mowing, porch enhancements, and clearing trees to the fence line of the berm road. Lots of work done in a short period of time! It was very exciting, and I'm eternally grateful for the time he put in out here. It was a hot week, too.

Zen meadow.

Cutting 'em back.

Other pre-trip activities included tool maintenance--chainsaw sharpening and cleaning and a lawnmower tune-up. Everything is working spectacularly, which makes my job much easier.

Right before I returned home, the drive-way was finally regraded! No more broken shocks for me. I can't tell you how nice it is to not have to hold my breath inching over the enormous chasms in the road.

Since getting back, I've been out and about mowing, pulling purple loosestrife, clearing back overgrowth on the trails and boardwalk, and telling people to stop fishing. I missed home, and have loved every minute of being back on the trails with my loving partner, Leto Little-Wolf.

Today I'll be up on Liberty clearing back honeysuckle obstructing the view of the road. See you all around...

Signs of Spring

Some nights ago I had a dream about my dog breaking out of the house into the night. He gleefully leaped about the "yard" snapping up frogs. The dream felt very real, as he a) loves eating frogs and b) loves to escape. Although he is a winter dog, he admits there are perks to the summer--eating frogs being the main one.

The following afternoon, I heard something I hadn't experienced in many months: a symphony of frogs. The dream was a premonition!

The week has been filled with interesting elements. It's been fun watching the snow and ice melt away from its final strongholds. There are still a few patches, but I imagine they won't last another week. On Monday I shoveled a dead raccoon off the trail along the berm. Today I removed a downed tree. The pup took care of the sticks. Team teamwork.

Selfie with dog turns into stick getting pushed into chin.

You are the cutest thing that ever happened to forest management.

I saw the first spring flowers opening up beside the cabin--unfortunately they are a non-native garden escapee (siberian squill). Lovely shade of blue, though.

And finally--the willows!

Spring.

Perfect Saturday morning: Up early. Toast. Tea. Hike. Ax.

Winter seems to have kind of come back this morning, but I rather liked it. The brisk air was the perfect temperature while I worked up a sweat hacking at a fallen ash, Leto singing his displeasure nearby. Pushing the log out of the way, the chilly breeze was refreshing.

The leaves have frozen on the ground, so as we made our typical morning rounds they produced a pleasant crunch beneath the feet.

Being "spring," I have a growing list of things to do, some done, some not. Carpenter ants have been making appearances in the cabin, so I laid out ant bait. Now dead carpenter ants are making appearances around the cabin. Debris collecting in the gutters from winter melts was cleared out this morning. Tools need sharpening.

Leto got giardia this week from his nasty habit of drinking out of muddy puddles in the driveway. This meant some unexpected items on the to-do list.

Two mornings ago, we saw a coyote precariously slipping around out on the ice, off to do who-knows-what.

The world just seems to be waking up. Myself included.

Water sampling today

The groundwater is being sampled today.

Mowed half the lawn

Ahead of the (inevitable) August, I decided to start cutting the lawn. Just mowed about 1/2 of it this evening to the maximum height; there's too much growth to cut it down too much without clogging up the mower. Saw a vole run out from the tall grass to escape the mower. I also uncovered lots of vole tunnels in the tall grass. Ah well.

Cleared massive fallen tree branch

Yesterday, there were bands of storms working their way across Michigan (and much of the Midwest). Yesterday, too, there was an Elderwise event: "Walk in the Woods," led by professor emeritus, Chuck Olson. Luckily, they didn't get rained out, but there was apparently a near miss:

The thunder shower that came through about 12:20-12:40 was over by the time we started. While we had a brief shower, later, most of the wet stuff was dripping of the trees. When we walked around the lake, I was surprised at the amount of windfall I saw, and especially by the very recent tree that dropped across the path just befoer we got to the side path to the board walk. We got around it (actually over it) and finished our walk without any real difficulty.

I went out there this morning and took care of the MASSIVE fallen branch.

BEFORE, there was a massive branch across the path, making it rather difficult to walk that route:


AFTER, apart from some debris and dug-up earth, the pathway is now clear:


I'm gonna miss this kind of work, even though I probably sweat several pints in the process. It's good, honest, physical labor, and it feels great.

Big, black ants in the cabin

I think that I've got carpenter ants in the cabin. There aren't swarms of them (yet), but I guess that I'll have to lay down some more ant bait (and also clean up the bread crumbs a little bit better. Happily, they don't seem to be going after my compost pile. Maybe because it's almost entirely coffee grounds.

Voluntary Pulling of Garlic Mustard

Spring sprung very quickly, and the garlic mustard has been LOVING IT



and - although I have been pulling garlic mustard for the past month - it sometimes feels like I'm playing a game to stalemate...

Last week, I got an e-mail from a long-time walker:

We have noted garlic mustard in the past in the Saginaw. ... We were wondering if we could get permission to pull some garlic mustard. We know to bag it and that the seed pods can continue to develop after the flowers are picked.

Yesterday, I received an update:

I have done some but we have had difficulty finding time to do a concerted effort. Today we pulled for 2+ hours and filled 2 large bags; we left on in the fire pit but carried the other one out expecting to find more which we did.

As of now, the path from the Parkland Plaza entrance that passes the two lakes and then the cabin to the boardwalk are relatively clear. We found 2 areas more infiltrated off the trail towards the cabin after the tree root steps up and more in one section near the frog pond. Unfortunately, we did not get there early after blooming so hopefully got some seeds; it was harder to get roots since the ground is dry. We did not go on the upper trail but will, possibly Wednesday. Otherwise, the biggest patch we saw was by the cabin although we did not take side trails.

We saw lots of rosettes that will emerge next spring so hopefully the effort can start sooner.

Indeed, there was a trash bag filled with garlic mustard in the fire pit. I took it to the trash can at the front gate, and it will go out tomorrow for trash day.

A big and hearty, "THANK YOU!" to this visitor-steward and to everyone else who has been pulling out garlic mustard whenever they've seen some. I know that pulling it up will help ensure that future years won't have large accumulations, and that - compared to last year - there are areas that are now completely garlic-mustard free.

Took care of a snagged branch

On about May 10th, winds helped knock down a rotten branch of an ash tree up on one of the paths.



I was a bit leery about doing too much close-in work in the area, since there is a lot of poison ivy growing in the area, but it needed to be taken care of, so today I pulled it down, chopped it up, and pulled it out of the way. Now all we have to do is wait for the rest of the ash tree to fall. :P

Heavy Rains Lead to Swollen Creek

These spring rains seem to have been heavier than the last years. Certainly, they're carrying away a lot of sediment from the creek.



As these rains get heavier, the structural stability of the pathway that runs along the creek will become increasingly compromised. Each time I see the sediment-stained waters flowing down from the culvert at the property line, I think, "If only the weirs were maintained or rebuilt. At least they would act as check-dams and not let all the sediment flow into Third Sister Lake..."

Cleared a Large Pine that Had Fallen

Way back during the ice storm, a whole bunch of trees fell in the forest, including one large pine, whose upper half split from its trunk, crashing onto the walking path. Today, I took an axe to the problem:


And finally, there was a cleared path.


I also threw the chopped branches over the detour path that visitors decided to make to get around the fallen pine. Even though it's only been about one month, the amount of foot traffic along that "detour" was really starting to cause soil compaction. (This is a reason why visitors need to stay on the paths.)

A very late spring

Back in January, it looked like this winter might not actually be very strong; a second warm not-really winter. I was wrong.

In February and March, the snows and ice storm brought down a number of trees and also took out the power. The downed trees were too dangerous for me to cut up, so a crew came out and took out a number of the cedars, maples, and oaks that fell across the main road. (Unfortunately, none of that damnable buckthorn was broken.) The box elder (Acer negundo that borders the east side of the grassy area may well have to come down this spring. It suffered heavily from the ice, and one of the major boles is broken, another is already dead, and with the trees behind it having been blown down, knocked down by falling trees, and/or cut away, the remaining boles and limbs are likely to break. More hardwood for campfires.

On the plus side, all the snow (and ice) has brought up the lake levels (although they are still lower than average) and returned water to the frog pond. Indeed, the "frog man" was out once again this last week, checking the fencing, anticipating the spring to come. It was, of course, late; one of the latest times that he's come out during his multiple decades of monitoring that pond.

Looking into the waters from the dock, I saw a few shoals of bluegills. They've started to emerge from the depths as the near-shore waters slowly warm up. Third Sister is one of the first lakes to open up (due to its groundwater source), but it also takes a while for the water to warm up (again due to its groundwater source). Still, even though the water vegetation is only just starting to poke through the muck, it's good to see the fish swimming around. It's another (also late) sign of the spring.

Finally, this Easter was one that came without any flowers to meet it. Even now, the bulbs are only just sending up green shoots, as the nights continue to drop below freezing five nights out of seven. However, last night didn't drop below freezing, and - as I went in for the evening - I heard the single *pweeep... pweeep* sound of a spring peeper. (Not in the frog pond, but in the nearshore wetlands of the lake.) Soon - hopefully - it will be deafeningly loud once again; a veritable amphibian ode to spring. (And at that point, I'll likely have to sleep with the windows closed.)

Returned to Find...

So I returned from a slightly extended "Spring Break" to find a wreckage of tree limbs



and blasted tree trunks:



Apparently, there was a massive ice storm that had hit while I was away, and UM grounds likely found the driveway blocked when they came in to plow it. Even if I were here, based on the sheer amount of chopped and sawed wood lying on both sides of the road, I wouldn't have been able to make much of a dent on it all.

Cleanup after the windstorm

Last night, there was a mother of a windstorm, and I was worried that I would lose power and that there would be tons of trees down. I woke up kind of late and noticed that the oven clock was showing the time, so there was still power, and (because it wasn't blinking) there wasn't any short power outage during the night. Nice.

Walking outside, I noticed that the forest didn't look like a wasteland of uprooted and felled trees, so good so far. Looking at the lake, I noticed some sharp lines in the ice, and I originally thought that someone had gone skating on the ice, but - looking closer - I noted that it was actually the ice cracking, for whatever reason...

Walking through the forest, I quickly recognized that there likely wouldn't be many downed trees, and so I merely brought along a rake for my rounds and used it to remove all the small debris that covered the main paths.

On my way back to the cabin, there were the only two newly downed trees, both dead ash trees, both along the berm on the western side of the property. Arse. I hate cutting ash trees. However, I pulled out the chainsaw and made some (relatively) quick work of them.

ALSO: When taking a little break on the boardwalk, I saw some movement under the ice. It looked like a snapping turtle, swimming through the water under the ice. I rushed to the other side of the boardwalk in anticipation of watching it cruise out the other side, but no... it must have turned back. Happily for the turtles, there is still some open water on the north side of the lake, so I doubt that they'll suffer from drowning.

The boats are not for public use

I came back from holidays to find that someone had taken out one of the row boats. They "kindly" left it in the then-water to then get stuck in the ice.



Luckily, the ice had set up enough for me to walk out on and pull out the boat.



It should be pretty obvious to most civic minded individuals that boats that don't belong to them on a property that isn't theirs should not be used. However, just to make it clear for everyone:

The boats are for class use or for approved research on Third Sister Lake. 

The boats are not for recreational use by the public.

That is all.

UPDATE (Feb 13, 2013): An e-mail was sent to me to explain how the boat ended up in the ice:

I am responsible for that. I was walking in the Forest (on a Sunday, I think) and when I got down to the dock I saw that two dogs had fallen through the ice about 200 feet west of the dock and about 75 feet from shore. There was a deer about 100 feet from the other side of the lake that was struggling in the ice to get to shore. I suspect the dogs (looked like two German shepherds) had gone out on the ice in pursuit of the deer and broken through. I tried the ice but it wouldn't hold my weight and I was alone so I didn't want to run the risk of falling through myself. I tried to find a branch long enough to reach the dogs but couldn't find one long enough. I called my wife and had her call the Humane Society to see if they could help out. Then I put the rowboat in, hoping I could scoot it along on top of the ice to get to the dogs (using a pole and snow shovel I got from your porch). That proved impossible and the pole I was using to move it broke. I used the shovel to get close enough to shore to get out. But I couldn't retrieve the boat so I left it.

The dogs drowned before the Humane Society got there. I called (or emailed, I forget which) the UM Security people to tell them that the boat was in the ice and why it was there. I wasn't sure who else to get hold of.

This explains what happened. However, I wonder if what this person saw was two coyotes. At a distance, coyotes and German Shepherds have a passing resemblance, sharing similar coloring and - in the winter - a thick coat. Also, in previous winters, I have seen coyotes running across the ice. That, plus the lack of any mention of dog owners nearby, makes me think that it was coyotes that went in after a deer.

I really do hope that no dog owner lost their dogs in such a tragedy. However, if you are a dog owner, it is your responsibility to keep your dogs on leash and safe (for themselves and to others).

Of course, if you do see something wrong in Saginaw Forest, and you cannot find the caretaker (because I'm not always on-property) please do get in touch with the UM Department of Public Safety at (734) 763-1131.

Raking the trails

Much of the trails in Saginaw Forest have been raked - by yours truly.





Why did I do all of this? After all, next year, it will all get covered again, right?

Well, each of the last few years, I've had to negotiate walking along the pathways in the springtime, with them in a treacherous semi-frozen, semi-slushed, semi-muddy mess. Over the year, the walking of the trails crushes the leaves, breaking them down. And then, when the snows come, the ground (and leaves and mashed leaves) gets saturated. When this starts to thaw, the leaves produce discontinuous layers of ice, frozen leaves, water, slosh, wet leaves, etc. In other words: a mess.

The idea is that - since most of the soil of the property is sand, and the majority of the paths are gravel laid atop this sand - if I rake the leaves, there will be greater amounts of infiltration in the spring. Furthermore, even in places where the leaf litter buildup and decomposition have accumulated a significant enough layer of soil, raking away the leaves will allow for this soil to be more easily washed away, revealing the gravel path below (thus improving the quality of the pathways - as pathways).

I even raked a trail out to Westview Way, so that it will be easy to stay off the untrodden ground (we don't like unnecessary soil compaction) while walking into the facility:

Massive leaf fall; more yet to come

I guess all the gusty winds on Thursday really helped shed leaves from branches, because the trees look far more barren than they did on Wednesday and my lawn is suddenly filled with lots of dried leaves (mostly oak it seems). The raking will likely continue for a few more weeks, though, since there are still a few trees that are cloaked with yellowing leaves. Soon, too, the buckthorn and the honeysuckle will be the only deciduous trees/shrubs that will have green leaves, making them a lot more easy to spot for potential removal. (In the spring, these plants are also one of the first woody plants to leaf out.)