Author Archives: makielb

That would be us. The infamous “LBJs” (Little Brown Jobs). Oops, when a Venus fly trap goes vegetarian. We looked for Venus fly traps when we in the Carolinas. Beetles would never consider themselves “bugs.” As anybody who has taken entomology knows – true bugs suck! Dr. Who meets Dali! Be alert (see the firstContinue reading “Some humor from the north”

On our way north to Whitefish Point we stopped in West Branch for lunch at the Lumber-Jack where we hadn’t eaten in years. It really hasn’t changed much over time. With about a foot of snow on the ground, more in places, we are clearly back in the land of ice and snow. A freighterContinue reading “An Easter miracle”

For many years I have been interested in lichens. These little “critters” are a symbiotic organism. The contain both algal and fungal components. What really got me going with them are the members of the genus Cladonia. These are commonly referred to as the British soldiers lichens, pixie cups, funnel lichens and powderhorns. I usuallyContinue reading “Rainy day lichens and food”

I’m thinking that the “threat” of snow in southern Michigan has passed, but you never know. Darn, and thought everything that I read on FB was real. The way that the season has started for the Tigers makes me wish there were some salary disputes. An oldie, but still a goodie – a “corona virus.”Continue reading “Rainy day humor and more”

Going for a walk not far from our house we found a large tree down on city property. It was no surprise that we found interesting critters on it. I think that the spider is a Tuberculated crab spider. The beetle is a Red-banded fungus beetle. We then walked to the wetlands by Skyline HighContinue reading “An Ann Arbor spring afternoon”

What a beautiful day to start April, warm and sunny. Hardly, let’s just call that an April Fools joke. Thunderstorms, hail, rain and snow. But we did manage to start that day with a fun walk at Dexter Huron Metropark. A nice little moss with a lot of fruiting bodies was a real sign ofContinue reading “And now it’s April”

Pooh and Piglet nailed it. Too bad it couldn’t have happened sooner, before death went covid-bowling. But, as usual, Snoopy the writer summed it up well. More later…

Well, it appears that the three things that appeal most to visitors to Whitefish Point won’t happen this year. For the first time since 1979 there is no hawk counter. Here is the statement posted on the WPBO website- So, no hawk counter at one of the premier spring hawk-watching sites in North America. TheContinue reading “Bad new from the Whitefish Point Bird Observatory”

While I have seen, and even photographed many Harlequin Ducks, this is the first one that has occurred in Washtenaw County, Michigan, a mere 19 minutes from our home. This bird showed up on Ford Lake last month while we were in Florida. I had little hope that it would remain. However, here we areContinue reading “A cold day bird to warm my heart”

Physics, love it or hate it, it does provide a few laughs. Physics meets religion. All of our books were plants, insects. Oh yeah, I had a Game of Thrones book. It has a bunch of sex, but a lot of violence – so that made it OK. Not everybody is complain ing about David.Continue reading “Michigan Monday moaning”