Lupine

The Lupine is in full bloom on both sides of the driveway in the meadow. The phlox are opening, the Lilacs are almost done, the apples are done, the yellow cherry is done, the Rugosa is opening, the May Apples are blooming, the Wild Geranium(?) are open in the woods, Columbine is blooming, the Blue-Flag Iris' are budding, as are the Peonies. These are only the ones I'm vaguely familiar with - I still have so much to learn.

Fischer Creek and Lake Michigan

From the middle of February through the middle of April, I walked from our home on Point Creek to Fischer Creek almost daily. It was an easy walk in late winter, as the distance invariably kept my body warm in the cold weather. No bugs, very little stinky cladophora washing up on the shore. No people, ever. I can leave the front step, and proceed to hike over 4 miles - mostly along the beach of Lake Michigan, and never see a human soul.

The walk is still pleasant, but the warmer weather brought thousands of dead alewife minnows, chunks of stinky seaweed (cladophora). Unless you don't mind the crunching sound of walking on the carcasses of dead fish, you have to keep your eyes down - choosing your footsteps carefully. However, this takes your mind off of the beauty of the Lake and the bluff. Looking down during the walk is quite ugly - it's an hour and a half of staring at death of all kinds. It can be an enlightening meditation, but making the trip daily is no longer as desireable, though I still find myself drawn to the shore regardless.

Herons

There appears to be a Heron Rookery at Point Creek. I haven't dared to get closer than the mouth of of our path to the Lake, for fear of scaring them, but at least 3 are wading in the creek's mouth every time I wander that way. It looks like one is larger than the other two, but I can't be sure from this distance.

Woodchucks

A family of woodchucks has made it's home in the wood shed. We're still trying to figure out if there's anything we should do about it - but for now, we'll just let them raise the family in peace, and hope for the best. Thoreau describes a peaceful co-habitation with woodchucks in Walden. However, we will have to go without peas in the garden, since they eat the sprouts down to the root just as fast as they can grow!