Author Archives: makielb

I am attempting to not be completely engulfed by birds while we are at Whitefish Point. But, since it was rainy today until close to 4PM it was easy. I filled part of the morning making bread dough, half of which went to making these. These are bacon-wrapped bread sticks. We discovered these at theContinue reading “A rainy Sunday morning”

Yes, a Star Wars themed way of celebrating the day. But sometimes you have to have some luck with the day as well. The garden gave Susan a gift today – morels. We had morels appear when we once had an apple tree, but this is the first time we had the “pop up” inContinue reading “May the 4th be with you!”

We went to Nichols Arboretum this morning hoping for some spring migrants, of which there were very few. There were however some nice plants in bloom, like this swamp buttercup. We also found a number of jack-in-the -pulpit, which is always nice. There were also a lot of rue anemone. This was a particularly denseContinue reading “Cold May morning in Nichols Arboretum”

This showed up in my news feed the other day. As a person who has studied genealogy for many years I found it quite interesting. When I was born my mother had turned 26 the day before I was born. Her mother (my grandmother) was 43, her mother (my great-grandmother) would have been 66 hadContinue reading “May flowers in Ann Arbor”

All dogs go to Heaven Speaking of clouds. Clouds, religion, peace and war. The aliens are leaving. This is more like my version of the afterlife. What a cool riding mower. It happens to the best of us. It’s the start of insect season. But I’ve got to admit that I like late summer, earlyContinue reading “May Day humor”

Just back from two busy weeks of birding at Whitefish Point. Juncoes were abundant feeder visitors, but the Cardinal was a pleasant surprise. Fox Sparrows were moving through in small numbers. Flickers were abundant migrants, sometimes with 40-50 and hour passing through. On some of the warmer days we had a lot of dragonflies. WanderingContinue reading “A busy two weeks at Whitefish Point”

It’s always fun when the first Friday in April arrives in Ann Arbor because it’s time for Fool Moon. This is an early evening celebration of spring and there is always a theme. This year it was aliens. Kerrytown was filled with booths, performers, music and luminaries. People dressed up and everybody seemed to beContinue reading “Fool Moon in Ann Arbor last Friday”

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”