What's Happening in Your Area?

Signs of Spring!

2007-03-13T07:06:00.000-05:00

I'm quite certain there is a bluebird scoping out one of our houses set up along the backyard! And I've noticed the birds are singing happily outside the past couple of days. They are probably as thrilled as us humans are with nice warmer temps and longer daylight hours. I will expect to see a robin any day now...

If you just HAVE to get a dose of spring now, head over to the Frederik Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids for the annual Butterflies are Blooming" exhibit. It's an explosion of life and color. Here's a photo of my son delighting in a butterfly who decided to perch right onto his hand...

Oh...SNOW!

2007-02-26T15:56:00.000-05:00

In northern Kent County today, we woke up to some pretty amazing snowfall that happened quickly overnight - about 6 more inches!

Some schools closed. Our school went on a two-hour delay...I seriously wondered how the buses were ever going to make it through as only the very main roads were plowed. So I dropped my son off at school instead, and tooled around the back roads on the way home looking for photo opportunities.

I'm hoping to post a few images when I get them out of the camera as it really was very pretty as it draped onto the tree branches and shrubs. However, the sky was extremely dreary and gray, so it didn't make for postcard-perfect images I was hoping for.

Spring is Coming?

2007-03-02T18:51:00.000-05:00

What's happening in our area today?

Snow.

Lots and lots and LOTS of it. And high winds to blow it around. Some of the wind gusts have been clocked around 35-50 mph. We live up on top of a fairly high hill. I barely made it up and down the driveway. And the neighbor didn't make it up theirs - even with an SUV - which is now out there abandoned sideways on their driveway.

The poor birds are huddled together, looking very unhappy as they are blasted by the wind gusts. I had four male cardinals and a couple of females fighting over the last scraps of suet and seeds.

And the snowplow wiped out our mailbox. I'm ready for spring to arrive!

Exciting!

2007-02-27T19:13:00.000-05:00

Welcome everyone to our new blog! Share your special places, sightings and experiences with nature. If you'd like, you can also post your photographs, artwork, poems and creative writing in our gallery section. Come all again and again. We're glad to hear from you.

So Easy - it's a Finch!

2006-08-31T15:15:00.000-05:00

Here's a photo of a finch I took this morning. I was visiting the local farm market down the street. There were hundreds of these little guys having their breakfast in the rows of sunflowers!

It made my morning watching them happily flitting about the blooms.

Kent County, Michigan - Fall Color Report

2006-09-25T10:49:00.000-05:00

The leaves in some low-lying areas appear to have a hint of color. It’s a bit early for fall color in Grand Rapids - I find it usually is much better the second to third week of October.

However, many leaves seem to be falling off already - I suspect due to the tremendous lack of summer rain. The trees seem quite stressed as a result.

Sandhill Cranes

2006-09-22T09:18:00.000-05:00

Today as I was pouring my morning coffee, I could hear the calls of sandhill cranes. The day before, I spotted a pair in an open plowed field area near my home. Since I drive right past the field on the way to take my son to daycare, I made a point to see if I could spot the pair.

No problem spotting a “pair” - because there were approximately 35-40 sandhills strolling the field, along with a few wild turkeys mixed in for good measure.

Of course, I ran back to get my camera. I didn’t get many photos before another vehicle came along and scared them off. Since I’ve heard them over the course of a few days, I’m hoping they’ll stop back a few times before heading south.

Fall Color

2006-09-27T11:35:00.000-05:00

Last week I drove across northern Minnesota, coming home from paddling Boundary Waters, and the colors were ablaze. The UP should hit peak I predict, this week.

About Us

2006-09-03T08:05:00.000-05:00

The Great Lakes Nature Alliance is a network of nature organizations dedicated to instilling a love of nature and publicizing nature-based activities.

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