We had a nice little blast of winter yesterday, keeping the snow plows hustling.  Cold morning walk along the Boardman reminded me of something my Dad used to say to us kids growing up:  “There’s no such thing as bad weather!  Just bad clothing choices”  He’s right you know.  Don’t be afraid of the cold.  Don’t teach your kids to be afraid either.  Dress properly and get out there.
A poem by Robert Frost:
The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree
Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued.

Get outdoors and make some memories…..and take a kid with you.  My best, Mike

For a two for one coupon kayaking or canoeing down the Crystal River or the Boardman next summer, name this little lake in the photo.  

Seems like the Beaver population in and around Glen Arbor has increased greatly. I called the DNR to inquire about live trapping them, it is legal, but they didn’t recommend it.  I was concerned about all the trees that they have dropped along the banks of the Crystal River as well as the Fisher Lakes, and Tucker.  Beavers build and economically maintain wetlands that soak up floodwaters from upstream, prevent erosion, raise the water table, and create an ecosystem that breaks down toxins and pesticides, purifying the water. For the most part, they are helpful to the environment, but man, I am having a hard time believing it lately.  Time will tell.
Gorgeous day here in Leelanau County, sunny and 50 on January 10th.  Crazy, but get outdoors, check out the improvements the Beavers are making and make yourself some memories.  Lemme know if you want to rent a kayak or canoe.  We are open year round at our liveries in Traverse City and Glen Arbor.  My best, Mike

And this, our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything.
William Shakespeare

I was able to get Michael and Finnegan out in the woods up on Miller Hill the other day.  They bounced around as hobbits and Indian Boys for a couple hours.  We got out on the ice at Tucker lake and discovered a very active Beaver lodge.  A bald eagle was working over Pyramid Point.   So incredible to see these boys do their thing out in the woods.  They notice things that I would never in a million years.  Gets me thinking about the time we walked to the Manitou Islands from Glen Arbor with my Dad and the younger Gillen Boys.  There was probably a football game or something on TV that we missed that day, but the memories instilled in that trip will be with me forever.  And that is the story of getting out into the woods.  It is so powerful and so essential in our spirit.  Turn off the TV and the computers and the gameboys, put on some proper clothing, get outdoors and make some memories.

 When walking through the forest we’ll often see decaying tree’s with particular shelf like growth’s brown in color protruding from the tree. Fungi, together with bacteria are the “decomposers” of
our environment and they are just as important as the “producers” green plants.

Bracket fungi lack the green pigment chlorophyll, the pigment that is essential in converting sunlight into plant energy, because they don’t have this pigment, fungi have to get their energy from other sources, from organic material produced by other plants.  Two hundred thousand
species of fungi have been identified worldwide and there are likely to be well over a million species.  Identification often requires very specific knowledge, although some fungi are
very characteristic and are readily identifiable such as the bracket fungi picture. Bracket fungi often grow in semi-circular shapes, looking like shelving growing out of trees or wood. The fruiting bodies are called conks and can weigh several hundred pounds.

Although quite leathery if cooked for long periods they can be a sustainable source of nutrition and have been used by the Chinese medicinally for centuries.

With all the discussions going on about the four dams being removed from the Boardman River and the controversy of removing the Pigeon River Dam at the Song of the Morning Ranch I wanted to shed a little light on the ecology of dam removal and found this document that Michigan’s DNR has made available:  ecology_of_dam_removal

Provided by the Grand Traverse Conservation District