This darn crazy spring and summer weather we are having is making it frustrating for photographers. I went to Loda Lake this week on the only day it hadn’t rained and was surprised by how I was joined by other photographers and hikers doing the same thing.
School is out for most places, so people are itching to get out into nature. Loda Lake Wildflower Sanctuary, about six miles north of White Cloud on Felch Avenue north of Five Mile, is a great place to see birds and find unique flora and fauna (with it even numbered to help novices like me identify it).
Everyone I talked to lamented how the weather had thrown off the growing season of many wildflowers. The Pink Lady Slippers had come and gone. Other summery flowers were in the budding phase, which is perfect for those heading out in the next couple of weeks. The carnivorous Pitcher Plant is growing along the north side of the boardwalk near one of the numbers. It has a little bit of red veining in the green leaves to help identify it and should be fully developed within a few warm days. Then it will start collecting insects in its well of digestive juices.
The one place that had great flowers was the fenced-in pollinator garden, which is sure to bring more flowers in the next coming weeks. This is one of the few areas where summer flowers were visible like Wild Columbine, Lupine and others. Grazers like deer, rabbits, and others are not able to feast in this area like they have in other parts of the Manistee National Forrest. Other places that had flowers were breaks in the canopy, and the sun could warm the ground faster. As the temperatures heat up, flowers will be popping out everywhere along the mile and a half of trails.
The best way to see all the Loda Lake has to offer is to download the nature guide here: https://newaygocountyexploring.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Loda-Lake-Printable-Wildflower-Guide-Map.pdf.
Other information is available here: https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/regions/eastern/LodaLake/index.shtmlor here:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/hmnf/recarea/?recid=18706
By Wendy Sinicki
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