Spring: when the finches become golden again

For this American Goldfinch the molting process is just starting and there is a ways to go yet, but it is definitely a sign that spring has truly come to southern Michigan.  The male is the lucky one to lose the drab muddy color of winter.  For a much more exciting view of bird life in the spring, go to the Eagle Cam from Norfolk, Virginia: http://www.wvec.com/marketplace/microsite-content/eagle-cam.html

There are three little eaglets (born between March 11 and 13) and you can watch them and the parents as long as there is daylight.  It is addictive, believe me!

More signs of spring in southern Michigan: it was 22 degrees on Tuesday morning; the temperatures are predicted to approach 80 in the next two days.  These spring swings are hard on the budding trees and bushes.  

Last Saturday was the annual Volinia Maple Fest and the cooking shed was not operating as is usual at the fest.  It was a small harvest this spring because earlier warm weather had caused the maples to bud and "buddy sap" is no good for making maple syrup.  We learned this from one of the students who run the maple syrup business.  Volinia is about 13 miles west of us in Cass County.  For more about the Volinia Outcomes School, try this link:http://www.volinia.org/about_volinia.htm

Awfully good advice

the moon also rises, with apologies to Hemingway

A beautiful moon rising in the east about 5:45 p.m. last night -- the photo can just not capture the magic of the moment seeing it up there in the clear blue sky.  There is a little bird in the cedar on the right (the cedar is over 12' high to give you some idea of the perspective here.  The white pine on the left are quite tall (3 stories as buildings go) and about 16 years old.

Another view of the storied milkweed

Headed into the meadow again this morning and got this alternative view of a few seeds and floss hanging from the open pod.  Further adventures walking with Willow will be detailed tomorrow.  Got quite exciting for a few hours!

Potential

As a result of Willow's wanderings in the milkweed patch in the meadow, the two of us discovered the wonderful inside from one of the empty pods still standing.  Its form is so interesting, the soft white silk and the hard brown seeds which remind me of a cone from an evergreen.  How I wish I had studied a little more biology rather than running from any biology course after the mandatory frog dissection in high school!
In trying to learn more about this plant that I associate with attracting Monarch butterflies, I found an article from the Christian Science Monitor, October, 2008, entitled The Heroic Milkweed.  During World War II even children were involved in collecting the milkweed floss for use as a substitute for kapok in life jackets.  Japanese control of Java had cut off the supply.  And the fairgrounds in Petoskey, Michigan, became a drying and processing site for the silky floss.  Read more: http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Gardening/2008/1026/the-heroic-milkweed