exploring nature’s infinite connections
While on a recent hike in the woods, I came upon this Paper Birch (Betula papyrifera) tree that is rare enough to find in these parts of Southeast Michigan. It had its characteristic peeling, but perhaps moreso than I've seen previously, possibly assisted by some...
Like typical Michigan weather, after introducing us to Winter fairly early in December of last year, we had a sudden warm-up this week, where all the snow melted, and the ground started thawing just enough to create some very muddy dogs. I suppose the very warm Arctic...
These are photos I made in my backyard recently. Most of our trees' leaves have dropped, and our metasequoias are dropping their needles. It makes me think about what various people see when they not only see an image like this but basically how we've culturally...
Last night we were hit with a pretty big ice storm, just as forecasted earlier in the week. The weather folks can take the win on this one - they warned us well in advance. At first, it didn't seem like it would be so bad. But as darkness fell, I noticed the tree...
Mycologist Paul Stamets often refers to the mycorrhizal network within the Earth's soil as "nature's internet." Through these mycelial pathways, author/scientist Dr. Suzanne Simard explains how trees communicate with each other. Director James Cameron portrays...
We had our first good drop of snow here in Southeast Michigan this week. Despite some brutally cold temperatures we had prior to Christmas, winter around here seemed a bit delayed - at least visually. The lakes are behind in freezing over. And it just never feels like...
I've been finding pieces of blue spruce trees around my backyard a lot lately. I am not sure what animal is responsible for breaking off these healthy portions of the tree, but I wish they would knock it off. Blue Spruce trees here in Michigan have enough pressure on...
As a recap of "Season 1," I started a project photographing leaf creatures in my yard last year. It was an attempt not only to see the individual character of each of these leaves but to let your imagination run wild to see them as something else. I really wasn't sure...
Michigan has the largest concentration of freshwater coastal sand dunes in the world, spanning 230,423 acres. Approximately 32 percent of them are classified as "Critical Dune Areas" as designated by State legislation efforts. As defined in this legislation, Critical...