Author Archives: makielb

The blueberries in the above photo were collected in the wild so to speak. At Whitefish Point we have tremendous access to several types of blueberries, both within close proximity to our cabin and on the state land across Whitefish Point Road. Before returning to Ann Arbor we picked blueberries wherever we found them. ThereContinue reading “Gifts from our gardens”

When I went to Panama a few years ago, besides vaccinations for yellow fever, hepatitis-A, hepatitis-B and typhoid I had to take malaria medications. That only left three major insect-borne diseases to be concerned about – zika, dengue fever and chagas disease. Chagas is caused by a parasite found in the feces of Triatomine bugsContinue reading “Malaria among other mosquito borne diseases”

The other night while checking our moth lights Susan found a rather friendly skunk, first in the garden, then on the deck. This brought back memories of conducting late summer field trips for the Michigan Audubon Society and the Whitefish Point Bird Observatory called “Botany, bugs and beasts.” This field trip was a fun twoContinue reading “Botany, bugs and beasts”

Angelo’s Restaurant was the first place that we ate in Ann Arbor in 1977, when I first moved to Ann Arbor. Amazingly it has changed very little since then. At the time, my first wife, Kathy and I lived lived on Island Drive, a short walk to the Medical School for her and the AnatomyContinue reading “Today’s photo and more”

For much of my life I have carried pencils, pens and watercolors where ever I was. In reality I had started drawing by 1956 – a very long time ago. Even while I was leading natural history tours in Mexico in the 1980s and 1990s I took some time to sketch. The above photo ofContinue reading “Drawing and painting”

Whether I am at home or at the cabin I am never sure what books I will be using or reading. Since it is summer I am always pulling out a but or two on insects or plants. Moths seem to be dominating our lives more than in previous years. Last year Susan became moreContinue reading “Books and reading”

For over 58 years I have worked on my family tree. But it grown well beyond a family tree into a family history covering my family in North America, Poland and Italy. This year I have been working on a mystery in Italy. My great-grandfather Stanislao Bellotti (died 1901) was described to me (by myContinue reading “Genealogy, the past that ties us together”

Little did I ever imagine living in a cabin on a sand dune overlooking Lake Superior. But now we are, since 2009. AT the cabin we are surrounded by pines. We are not only surrounded by pines, but also blueberries! Within feet of the cabin we are able to pick blueberries. The other day SusanContinue reading “Living on a sand dune”

Almost every day, when at our house or at the cabin typically starts checks the moths and other insects that are attracted to our lights. So far this year we have had over 400 species of moths that we have identified. Susan usually sees more since she will sometimes check the lights after I haveContinue reading “Our typical morning at the cabin with moths”

This afternoon we decided to head out from our cabin at Whitefish Point to search for orchids and other interesting plants. First we stopped just north of the mouth of the Tahquamenon River to show Dan Sparks-Jackson the large number of small purple fringed orchids in bloom. In a stretch of sone 20 meters thereContinue reading “Photos from today’s adventure”