Old Cabin In Spring

Tiny Flowers In The Wall

Belle Isle Conservatory - Detroit, Michigan

May Showers On May Flowers

More Spring Snakes

I have encountered more snakes this spring than in past years.  Mostly I find Garter Snakes like are pictured below, but I recently came across what I believe to be Northern Water Snake, as shown above.  It was very aggressive when I came upon it along the trail, which is a trait of this species of snake.

Cold Spring Mornings

The mornings at the cabin this past weekend were a bit cooler than back home.  The first morning we awoke to 11 degrees and the second was double that at 22 degrees.  This meant that there was plenty of frost and ice in places with some snow still standing in spots throughout the woods.

Whitefish Point Melting Ice

It is hard to believe that two months ago, Valerie and I walked across these same ice cliffs along the shore of Whitefish Point on Lake Superior.  That time the lake was frozen as far as the eye could see.  The cliffs were still over the past weekend, but they had shrunken significantly.  The sand that the winter wind had stirred up and had been captured in the freezing ice piles has now become exposed to the warming air and the ice is covered with a thin layer of sand and small stones.  In a month, all this will most likely have melted and the beach will return to its warm-weather appearance.

Daffodils

Red Winged Blackbirds

Springtime Frogs

The other night at Rose Lake State Wildlife Refuge, I happened upon a pond with thousands of frogs chirping away.  The sound was almost overpowering and I have never heard the frogs so loud.  Click the link below to hear some of the audio I recorded of the melee that evening.

Little Maple Syrup Factories

Not-Quite-Spring Blooms

Welcome, Spring

I realize that we still have a bit longer of a wait for the buzzing bees and blooming flowers of spring, but I felt it was appropriate to celebrate the vernal equinox with this photograph.  The longer days and milder temperatures will soon give way to buds and leaves and blossoms.

New Growth From The Old

Boisterous Buds

Reed Reemergence

More Spring Sprouts

Early Spring Butterflies

In Michigan, two butterflies herald the arrival of spring - the Eastern Comma (Polygonia comma) and the Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa).  Both of these butterflies spend the winter burrowed in tick brush piles or wedged between loose bark on trees.  While you may occasionally encounter both species in open areas, they generally live in wooded areas.  They often find sunny spots between the trees to soak up a few rays on cooler days.  Mourning Cloak butterflies (bottom picture) tend to be most prevalent during the spring and autumn.  They have a "hibernation" phase in the hottest part of the summer.

Spring Sprouts