Why the Birch Tree has Black Markings...

Branch Scars on Birch

Well, if you want to be scientific, they are the scars from branches and wounds which have healed over. However, the native peoples have several stories which tell how the birch tree got its markings, one variation goes something like this:

Naniboujou, was a powerful spirit. He lived when the birch tree was the most beautiful of trees, clothed in pure white bark. When he was a child, he wished to kill the big fish which lived deep in the water below the rocks in the big lake. He made a powerful bow and arrow, and asked his grand-mother what bird would have the feathers powerful enough to make the arrows fly strong enough. She answered only the Thunder-bird.

So Naniboujou, turned himself into a rabbit, knowing that the Thunder-bird would capture him and take him to the nest of young birds. When he was left there alone, he killed the young birds and stripped them of their feathers. He then jumped down from the nest, and ran back toward the village.

The Thunder-birds, discovering what had happened pursued Naniboujou, with thunder rolling, and lightning flashing. Naniboujou, as they swooped down, took shelter in a hollow birch. In frustration the Thunder-birds marked the trees with their mark-- the flying thunder-bird-- in memory of their lost young.

Thunderbird marking on Birch tree

In thanks, Naniboujou blessed the tree, and said it would be ever more honored as a help for man. Do you see the flying Thunder-bird?

Moose at Trout Lake, MI

Close-up of Moose Track

We went away overnight and missed a big visitor. I was walking the dogs, and took them down to the beach to wade when I saw the tracks. BIG tracks. I looked closely, and saw that they came from and returned to the lake...

Moose Tracks on the Beach at Birch Lodge

The beach area is about 900 feet from the river which connects Little Trout Lake to Big Trout lake at the east edge of our property. Talking with our construction workers, one said he has also seen moose tracks around Little Trout Lake. That lake is a small lake, with limited development and is adjacent to wetlands which cross M-123 and continue north of town. I think the moose waded along the river-edge, and along our frontage passing the motel and lodge until it got to the beach and woods then returned.

Little Trout Lake

I told Bill, and we hunted about for more tracks along the river/wetland, but found no more. Our neighbor
to the west told me he has seen moose tracks while hunting north of town west of M-123. Although I was surprised, I guess most people around here are aware of the moose. We are only about 30 miles from the Newberry/Tahquamenon river area (as the moose trots-- longer by road), which boasts itself the Moose Capital of Michigan.

Although moose were extirpated in Michigan's Lower Peninsula, it is less clear if there were remnant populations in the Upper Peninsula before the DNR moose re-introduction program in the 1980's. While visiting the Newberry Chamber of Commerce I came across this great video of a bull moose north of town. Those moose tracks led to a moose, so we must have one somewhere!

Before and After: 2010 Restoration at Birch Lodge

We were going through the photos we took this summer, and thought you might enjoy the changes we made. I could go on about the changes that don't show, but we will leave that for another day. Enjoy!

Summer Renovations at Birch Lodge The Beginning...

Birch Lodge before Restoration

We closed on the lodge just before Memorial Day, and spent that weekend settling into the small log cabin which would be our base for the summer. A tree had fallen on the electrical mast of the motel, and repairs were needed before we were ready to house the workers for the work on the lodge. Trees were down everywhere, the lawn had not been mowed in quite a while, and the lake edge was sprouting tag alder. Junk and debris had accrued everywhere. (Over twenty truckloads were cleaned up this year, not counting construction debris.)
And the lodge....
Oh, the lodge, the poor lodge, it looked really sad. On top of needing paint, and a roof the foundation was crumbling in the front and it was sagging.

Work on the lodge itself finally began in July. Our objective was to get a new roof on, make the repairs to the foundation, restore the old windows, and give it a coat of paint so that it might be weather-tight, and stabilized until further work inside can be done.

Demolition

The worst area was in the front of the lodge, under the picture windows in the lobby, where the building had sagged. Before the foundation was repaired, this area was raised almost 5", and support beams were installed, until the new foundation work was installed. It groaned, and moaned, cracked and popped, and at one point, the men thought it would not lift, but finally it started to move and all was well. Surprisingly, this did very little additional damage to the plaster inside.

Bill in Protective Gear

Bill got to don a respirator, and tyvek suit to tackle the clean-up of the bat droppings in the attic. Oddly, no bats were found in the attic, just their calling cards... the attic was then repeatedly sprayed with a bleach solution before the window restorers set to work.

Roofing Birch Lodge

The re-roof involved stripping off the old shingle and felt, which exposed the old roof boards. Originally, the roof had cedar shakes, which were nailed on boards with gaps between them to allow the air to flow. Unfortunately, when they were torn off and re-done way back when, they did not add any additional fill strips in the boards, and the old shingles were only "nailed" to the roofing felt over much of the roof! The view outside from the attic looked like a planetarium--a thousand points of light!

New sheathing went on as the weather turned rainy, and sections of roof were done quickly as the rain allowed. This was a dismal process, the rain seemed to play tag with the workers. The only good thing about doing a roof in rainy summer is that it makes it easy to check for leaks! (The only areas which leaked were "in progress" spots.)

In the midst of the work, the visitors came, by car, boat, golf cart--and wheel chair. It was fun to watch the parade of boats, and kayaks, and even jet-ski's watching us. One morning as the black underlayment for the roof was up across the front a jet-ski screamed across the lake, paused at the shore, apparently saw that it was only black on the roof because it was in progress, and darted straight back!

I wish I had a dollar for everyone who told us where to put the dock in (straight off the front door!). But we did enjoy listening to the stories people shared. We were deeply moved when one of our older visitors actually came to tears, she was so happy that we were saving the lodge. It did wonders for our spirits to get such strong approval.

But in spite of the numerous requests, we have no plans at this time to re-open the Birch Bar. Eventually I hope if will be open for coffee, but it will remain intact pool table and jukebox, and the bar with all their initials carved in, just the same. I invite all with old photos of vacations at the lodge to send us a copy, I intend to frame groups of old photos along the walls for all to reminisce and enjoy.

Next the story of the windows....

Michigan Karst Conservancy's Fiborn Quarry

Fiborn Quarry

I joined about 30 other folks at the Michigan Karst Conservancy’s annual pot luck for members and neighbors. “Karst” is the term which refers to a specific limestone terrain marked by sink holes, caves, disappearing and underground streams. In Michigan this is rare because most of the bedrock is buried below over a hundred feet of glacial deposits.


The “picnic,” held at the Karst clubhouse, included hot dogs, hamburgers, brats, corn on the cob, side dishes and about a dozen pies of all makes and models – Delicious! Present at the gathering were several old timers who used to live at Fiborn when it was still a town prior to the Great Depression. I spoke with a couple of the Fiborn natives, Mary and “Shoe”, who had some great stories about the town, and brought along copies of old photographs to share.

Down cut from stream at Fiborn

Fiborn quarry is about 7 miles from Birch Lodge and Karst Conservancy members used to stay here during their monthly trips/tours of the caves. They gave free guided tours at the gathering, and I learned that at other times members charge a modest fee to act as “spelunking” guides by appointment. A nice historical display is set up at the quarry adjacent to the former town site There are trails to hike around and across the property.

The Michigan Nature Association also stewards acreage adjacent the quarry. . Deb and I returned to the quarry to do a bit of exploration and take some photos. We thought we would just have a short visit, but found it a really interesting place. The nature trails traverse around and through varied habitats, from beech-maple forest, through conifer stands, and even a beaver active swamp. We especially enjoyed viewing the down- cut from the stream from the footbridge. The various pools and ponds in the quarry contrast with the more moon-like landscape of the last mining activities. We were fascinated with the sink-holes, watching the streams endlessly disappear.

Cave entrance at Fiborn

Our short visit turned into several hours well spent, and we plan to return to take a cave tour.

Fall Wildflower Tour in the Eastern Upper Peninsula

I am always on the watch for wildflowers, and when I find a patch of something rare or unusual, it is a good day! We started off down the road to Kenneth, MI., about a 15 minute drive from Birch Lodge, to check on the Purple Coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) at the Michigan Nature Association's Fred Dye Sanctuary. This open field was once an area where the railroad would bring hay in from the prairies to feed the horses used by the loggers in the late 1800's. I believe the seeds for these plants came in with the hay, and managed to maintain a population to the present day.

Purple Coneflowers at Fred Dye Sanctuary

Although mid-August was late in the season, we found a few plants still in bloom, and plump seed heads bouncing in the wind.An additional surprise were the Ladies-Tress Orchids (Spiranthese cernua) blooming on the edge of the field.

Ladies-Tress Orchids

This made me think of another location I know a few miles away, and we set off to see what might be blooming there....

Fringed Gentian and Grass-of-Parnassus

The soils are limey and shallow, and not only did we find lots of orchids, but we found Fringed Gentian (Gentiana procera) blooming with the much more common Grass-of-Parnassus (Parnassia glauca) as well!
Not quite as rare a find here, but still interesting was the wild Clematis (Clematis virginiana) making a show of it's own in the trees along one side of the two-track trail. It's bloom was gone, but the feathery seeds were hard too miss

I will re-check these areas in the spring, I remember Blue-eyed Grass, and Yellow Lady's Slipper Orchids--check for a wildflower posting in the spring!