Post #774927 by uncle trav on Mon, Apr 10, 2017 4:36 AM

The weather here in Michigan has finally started to become more agreeable outside. My wife and I have been taking some long day hikes during the past few weekends. We are trying to get ourselves ready for a trip to Isle Royale National Park up in Lake Superior this summer. Things are starting to come back to life after this past winter. The hummingbirds are back as well as the Tree Swallows and Sandhill Cranes. On our last hike I spotted these Skunk Cabbage plants sprouting up near a small trout stream. They are among the first spring plants to emerge and are about five inches tall. These plants have a decidedly alien look to them and are cool to see in the wild. Seeing the change of seasons always softens the blow of a hard winter.

We also saw this huge tree felled in a recent storm. The part of the trunk left standing was about fifteen feet tall and had been splintered by the force of the break. I thought it looked cool so I snapped a pic.