Redbuds along the river

Thornapple River

This is my 999th post!  I wonder how many of them have been about canoeing?  Any suggestions as to what I should write for my 1000th post?

Spring has been beautiful this year as all the flowering trees seemed to have peaked at the same time.  Last year, we had such unseasonable warmth in March and then after everything bloomed prematurely, which killed all the blooms and created an economic nightmare for apple and cherry farmers whose crops were wiped out.  This year, it stayed cold and the blooms came out at the right time and the past week we’ve been treated with lovely colors as the trees came back to life after a winter siesta.  Knowing that the magic time was here, it was time to get out in a canoe. 

Redbud Reflections

Last Friday was my first chance to get out on a river and it wasn’t looking good.  Rain had moved in Thursday night and the skies looked dreary.  Since the rain was supposed to diminish in the afternoon,  I decided to paddle a section on the river that I knew had lots of redbuds (which are more purple-like).  In the bow was an artist-in-residence from the Netherlands who is spending three months at a local nature center.   It was fun to be on the water and to watch this artist’s excitement at things like tree roots and the various hues of green.  We had a wonderful trip even though the weather forecasters lied and the rain continued.  But at times it would let up and fog would move over the water. 

Dogwood

I doubt anyone has been down this section of the river since the floods a few weeks ago and there were several tight passages as we squeezed through fallen trees and accumulated debris.  The only real problem was at the old trestle, one of five along the river.  The pilings had amassed all kinds of logs and brush.  We had to get out of the boat and work it over the logs and get back in on the other side of the trestle.    However, the banks along both sides of the trestle were dotted with trillium in bloom.   

Coffee shop parking

Another find is that the new Biggby Coffee shop off Michigan 37 is can be easily reached from the river. We were able to paddle up a creek a short ways, beach the canoe and climb up the bank, where we were able to enjoy a hot mug of coffee on a wet and cool afternoon.  

Redbud reflections

Trillum

Although there were many redbuds and dogwoods along the way, after the old railroad trestle, they became even more numerous.  Although the weather was lousy, the scenery made up for it.  We got to see lots of waterfowl and birds, several deer, two muskrats, and a beaver’s calling card.   

A beaver's handiwork