Author Archives: makielb

Our first morning with Roger and Dawn started with seeing Painted Buntings. Both the male and female were quite cooperative. Susan, Roger and Dawn bunting watching. Two spider species in the genus Leucauge. L. argerobapta on the left and L. venusta on the right. Trichonephila clavipes, a large orb-weaver that had many insects trapped inContinue reading “A day with birds, spiders and more”

Heading out to find a rare bird we saw a ring-necked snake some twenty feet from Don and Loree’s where we’re staying. This cute little snake was some ten inches long. The we headed off in search of birds. Our first target was at Jetty Park. And we found it! The park has some interestingContinue reading “Searching for a rare bird”

We usually start our year finding Puttyroot leaves in January at Nan Weston in western Washtenaw County. Arethusa on the left, Grass-pink on the right. We find these at several sites, but one that is easily accessed is th Eddy Discovery Center in Western Washtenaw County, Michigan. Arethusa are most dependably in bloom in earlyContinue reading “Where and when to find orchids in Michigan”

A beautiful Moon before sunrise. Then in the late morning it was time to head off and look for plants and insects Hepatica, still a month away from budding and blooming. So there’s still a lot of time to get out and see these. Blue ash, now a fairly rare tree in Michigan. Skunk cabbageContinue reading “Nan Weston in February”

Charles Darwin was born on February 12 1809. He collected finch specimens in the 1830s on the Galapagos Islands. They were one of the critical species involved with his describing the process of evolution. The finches were first called Darwin’s finches in 1936 by Percy Lowe. One of the highlights of my teaching career atContinue reading “Charles Darwin”

Under our feeders we had a large flock of Pine Grosbeaks – here are 7 of the 17 that were here. Here’s a male Pine Grosbeak at a feeder. A clear warm morning meant that there were good views of the Moon. These photos were taken two hours apart. A poor photo of a SpruceContinue reading “A February morning in Paradise”

The Diego Rivera murals at the DIA are something that I always stop to see when I am there. They are truly amazing. Andy Warhol self portraits. I guess that there were an early form of selfies. A piece of art by Yoko Ono. It’s a metal reproduction of the shirt that John Lennon wasContinue reading “More art from the DIA”

This morning, well before sunrise we headed to downtown Ann Arbor to catch the D2A2 bus which would drop us off in Detroit. There we would catch the Q-line trolly to the Detroit Institute of Art to see the Van Gogh in America exhibition. We arrive in Detroit after sunrise and headed to the DIA.Continue reading “Van Gogh in America”

A poem to end the year: The Death of the Old Year Alfred, Lord Tennyson – 1809-1892 Full knee-deep lies the winter snow,And the winter winds are wearily sighing:Toll ye the church bell sad and slow,And tread softly and speak low,For the old year lies a-dying.       Old year you must not die;       You came to us so readily,       YouContinue reading “The end of 2022”

Starting our year in Florida in late January, 2022 meant that we had the pleasure of seeing lots of anoles. Another Florida highlight were gopher tortoises. We are now pretty good at knowing how to find them. Congaree National Park in South Carolina has a delightful boardwalk. We were able to look down on manyContinue reading “Some animals from 2022”