Author Archives: makielb

We crossed into Tennessee on I-75 on a foggy, rainy morning. It wasn’t especially good for looking for plants. But heck, we need to get out of the car and walk a little. This rest area has some great plants, but not an especially good day to find them, as our glasses, footwear and coatsContinue reading “Tennessee”

We found Ohio on our way south yesterday. We were headed to Corinth, Kentucky. Susan caught a quick picture of the sign as we entered Kentucky. Not far to go at this point. Our target for the night was The North Star Inn and Cafe a nice little independent motel. And, they had a FridayContinue reading “Corinth, Kentucky”

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”

The rain started yesterday afternoon and quickly turned to ice. It didn’t take long for all of the trees to be coated with ice, and starting last night you could hear branches falling. Out white pine lost several large branches and numerous smaller ones. Serviceberry branches heavy with ice bent way over, but not broke.Continue reading “A day, and night filled with ice”

There is currently an outbreak of Marburg Virus Disease (a hemorrhagic viral disease caused by Marburg Virus) in Equatorial Guinea, Africa. There is no vaccine for this virus, and it has a close to 90% death rate. Currently there have been nine deaths and eight suspected deaths. There are also 16 cases and 21 peopleContinue reading “Another day, another epidemic”

Darn pollution is everywhere. Sounds like he’s taking some White Rabbit. Oops. He should have checked the genitals first. My favorite piece by Bach. Staying with music – how about some sax and violins! I’d rather be in the test group. Oh-oh. I guess that they were caught in the act. I want my ownContinue reading “Some late February humor”

Since it was sunny and warm this afternoon we decided to head over to the Botanical Gardens. Walking the tails along Flemming Creek allowed us to find a lot of interesting plants. Fungi growing on a tree was quite attractive. Finding Vibernum lentago, Nannyberry was exciting. I hadn’t seen one of these in years. FindingContinue reading “Back to nature at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens”

Today was a day to get caught up, starting with doing battle with Comcast. So, we started the day going to the local Comcast office and complaining about the price of their service. Well, talking to real people, rather that trying to talk to somebody on line, was all the difference. By the time weContinue reading “Busy day away from nature”

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”

I hope that everybody got to spend the day with somebody special. I know that I did. Snoopy and Woodstock have such a special relationship. Our day started with breakfast at Village Kitchen. And went on from there. For a late lunch we went to Los Tres Amigos in Chelsea. Which was perfect since weContinue reading “Valentine’s Day”