Elk Rapids Almanac-May 2020
May 2- Walking our woods, I spotted the Yellow Trout Lilly. This wildflower gets its name from the mottled leaves, which resemble the coloring of a brown trout.
The woods are filled with ramps right now. Ramps are a wild onion or leek. Potato and leek soup- yum! Sharp Lobed Hepatica are the first wildflowers to bloom on our property each year. The petals range in color from pale blue to white, lavender and pink. . _Diane Butler
Wednesday May 6- Walking across the Island House Bridge, I observed a muskrat exiting the river on the island side and taking a respite on the bank. Didn't take long for him to plop back in the water! Last week we also spotted a beaver behind the dam and heading towards the boat slips! _Dianne Richter
Thursday May 7-Not exactly sure what the critter was, but I followed it along the beach in Memorial Park as it wandered from the playground area to the river where it took a swim. _Terri Reisig.
Note: Spending more time indoors looking out our windows, and less time out and about, we are all noticing wildlife we haven't often seen. The fox trotting down the sidewalk with a rabbit in his mouth is starting to look slightly familiar, and hopefully local coyotes will not find the neighbor's lost cat before we do. The black bear is checking to see if we have filled birdfeeders (take birdfeeders in to avoid raids). Author Bill McKibben notes in his latest book, Falter, that there are now half as many wild animals on the planet as there were in 1970, a thought-provoking statistic loaded with ramifications. Wildlife watcher Cornelius Gati of Stanford University says wildlife worldwide has been largely out of sight and at the edge of communities. Now in urban areas they are making themselves more at home during the relative calm while we humans are stuck inside. But we are also becoming more observant, and hopefully that will bring us a little closer to nature and give us a better understanding and appreciation of how to co-exist with the world around us.
May 2- Walking our woods, I spotted the Yellow Trout Lilly. This wildflower gets its name from the mottled leaves, which resemble the coloring of a brown trout.
The woods are filled with ramps right now. Ramps are a wild onion or leek. Potato and leek soup- yum! Sharp Lobed Hepatica are the first wildflowers to bloom on our property each year. The petals range in color from pale blue to white, lavender and pink. . _Diane Butler
Wednesday May 6- Walking across the Island House Bridge, I observed a muskrat exiting the river on the island side and taking a respite on the bank. Didn't take long for him to plop back in the water! Last week we also spotted a beaver behind the dam and heading towards the boat slips! _Dianne Richter
Thursday May 7-Not exactly sure what the critter was, but I followed it along the beach in Memorial Park as it wandered from the playground area to the river where it took a swim. _Terri Reisig.
Note: Spending more time indoors looking out our windows, and less time out and about, we are all noticing wildlife we haven't often seen. The fox trotting down the sidewalk with a rabbit in his mouth is starting to look slightly familiar, and hopefully local coyotes will not find the neighbor's lost cat before we do. The black bear is checking to see if we have filled birdfeeders (take birdfeeders in to avoid raids). Author Bill McKibben notes in his latest book, Falter, that there are now half as many wild animals on the planet as there were in 1970, a thought-provoking statistic loaded with ramifications. Wildlife watcher Cornelius Gati of Stanford University says wildlife worldwide has been largely out of sight and at the edge of communities. Now in urban areas they are making themselves more at home during the relative calm while we humans are stuck inside. But we are also becoming more observant, and hopefully that will bring us a little closer to nature and give us a better understanding and appreciation of how to co-exist with the world around us.
Yellow Trout Lily. Photo: Diane Butler
Wild Ramps. Photo: Diane Butler
Sharp Lobed Hepatica. Photo: Diane Butler
Critter. Photo: Terri Reisig