Wildlife

A New Year of Nature’s Way — 2022 Almanac

Oakland County, MI Government Leave a comment
Pink sunset over frozen pond

WILDER SIDE OF OAKLAND COUNTY

“Each year, after the midwinter blizzards, there comes a night of thaw when the tinkle of dripping water is heard in the land. It brings strange stirrings, not only to creatures abed for the night, but to some who have been asleep for the winter. The hibernation skunk, curled up in his deep den, uncurls himself and ventures forth to prowl the wet world, dragging his belly in the snow. His tracks marks one of the earliest datable events in that cycle of beginning and ceasings we call a year.”  

Aldo Leopold’s words in A Sand County Almanac highlight the science of phenology: the observation and study of the timing of periodic life cycle events of nature’s way that are influenced by climate and seasonal change. With those thoughts in mind, this special edition of the Wilder Side of Oakland County explores the monthly phenology of 2022.

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Summer Solstice Solitude & Wildlife Adventure

Oakland County, MI Government Leave a comment
A red fox stands in tall grass

WILDER SIDE OF OAKLAND COUNTY

Summer is the season nature’s way may appear to slow, but that only holds true for those that do not venture out onto our trails or into our parks and wildlands. Walk alone in solitude in the dawn’s early light and the landscape will come alive with hidden secrets, or hike with your nature-embracing companion, and pleasures will increase through the art of sharing. Walk slowly, stop often, look, and listen, and a new world of nature will spring to life. I thought about and now share, some of my favorite creatures that thrive on the wilder side of Oakland County as the dawn of the summer solstice draws near.

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Wild Moments of May

Oakland County, MI Government 4 Comments
A 2x2 collage of photos that includes a yellow lady slipper orchid, an Eastern Bluebird, a shagbark hickory terminal bud, and a white trillium

WILDER SIDE OF OAKLAND COUNTY

“Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of each.” – Henry David Thoreau The Journal, 1837-1861 (Thoreau, 2009)

A park guide crouches down to show a young girl a bug on her finger
A man, woman, and two small children walk through a wooded area on an overcast day
A woman wearing a hiking pack stands near a small child who has discovered something on the forest floor.

Nature’s way springs to life in May with greening of the woodlands, the blooming of wildflowers, bird song at sunrise, and delightfully longer hours of daylight. It’s the month that not just every naturally curious child, but every adult, should embrace the joys of nature’s way. May is also a month of surprising finds and totally unexpected encounters in wetlands, woodlands, and along our trails.

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Nature’s Way Almanac 2021

Oakland County, MI Government 1 Comment
4x3 tiles in a collage of nature scenes

WILDER SIDE OF OAKLAND COUNTY

“January observations can be almost as simple and peaceful as snow, and almost as continuous as cold. There is time not only to see who had done what, but to speculate why.” A Sand County Almanac (Leopold, 1949)

We are two weeks into the new year, and with increased hours of daylight, we have more time to both observe and to speculate about the “whys” of nature’s way. For some of the answers, naturalists look to phenology: the study of how the life cycles of all animals and plants change in response to seasons and varying conditions such as temperature, length of daylight, soil moisture, and climate change. Here’s a look ahead to a new year of nature’s way in the world of phenology.

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