That trail takes me over Spring Creek where there are multiple hilly routes that will guide me towards trail marker #8, adjacent to one corner of that swamp. There are numerous entrance points and trail heads within that State Recreation Area, but I often enter from near the southeast corner of the Lake Orion High School parking lot off of Scripps Road in Orion Township. I call one of my favorites, “The Great Skunk Cabbage Swamp.” It’s tucked away in in the southeast unit of a section of the Bald Mountain State Recreation Area and is well within sound range of the DNR’s shooting range. Oakland County swamps, and the forested hillsides that cradle some of them, are amazing places with incredible diversity of flora and fauna. And sometimes our reclusive “swamp rattler,” the Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake, is found near the swamp’s edge, a good place for it to slither about on frogs hunts. In Oakland County, swamps are essentially forested wetlands that have water in them for at least part of the year, and unlike cattail marshes, they also have trees, shrubs and other vegetation that grow in the shallow water. National Geographic explains swamps in layman’s terms this way: A swamp is an area of land permanently saturated, or filled, with water. There are many definitions of, and variations as to the kinds of swamps that exist. I feel like a kid in a candy store when there, but situational awareness in that swamp is a must. I’ve wandered there under champion size bald cypress trees and encountered cottonmouths and invasive wild boars. One of my very favorite great swamps is now a national park, Congaree National Park in South Carolina. The world of the swamp was far more exciting to me than the black and white TV with rabbit ears, tucked away in dark room.Īny type of swamp ecosystem is an amazing place to explore. I doubt I understood much of what he said, but excitement is contagious and I was never told to stay away from the swamp, but just not to go walking into it. My Dad told me all about it and the cool things that plant did, like melt snow by its own internal heat when it first emerged through snow at the end of winter. That’s where I discovered my first swamp plant, skunk cabbage, the plant with the really huge green leaves that “smelled funny” when crushed. Down through the meadow I would run with our big black lab to be greeted by strange sounds and beautiful sights. Perhaps that’s because when I was a bare-footed four or five-year-old in rural Connecticut, I would play at the edge of our swamp, a magical place from which I was not forbidden. One of the symptoms is an uncontrollable urge to hike around swamps. I think I unknowingly accepted that 14 word sentence from Darwin long ago, way before I could read or write, for I grew up at the edge of woodland swamp and still suffer from incurable “swampatitis,” an ailment that draws me to swamps of every size and shape. Swamps remain sacred to me and lure me to their edge, and that’s where another quote comes to mind, a quote from Charles Darwin reprinted in the Book of the Swamp and Bog by John Eastman, “Nothing exists for itself alone, but only in relation to other forms of life.” We can thank the land-sculpting skills of the retreated glaciers for that gift. I prefer the words of Henry David Thoreau, “I enter the swamp as a sacred place.” This birthday stationery isn’t stationary though.Just the very word swamp can conjure up images of danger lurking behind every tree, venomous snakes slithering over logs, gators hungry for human flesh, monstrously large spider webs slapping against faces and squadrons of blood-thirsty mosquitos almost making the air too thick to breathe. Need help on how to write the perfect birthday card? Our writing guide is the perfect resource for you. Don’t forget to check out birthday cards from our own in-house design team. Our quality birthday cards are curated from small businesses as well as assorted vendors such as Rifle Paper Co. Don’t worry if you have a minimalist birthday card in mind or a fancy birthday card in mind, we have the greatest selection of happy birthday cards that make birthdays a slice of cake. Blow out the candles with trendy pop culture cards. Do you need the best birthday card for the hard-to-gift person? Do you need a belated birthday card because sometimes life gets busy? Why not get some birthday cards in bulk so that you are ready for the party? If you are seeking where to buy birthday cards, we can help you celebrate! A punny or funny birthday card for every person of every age. We are the Best Little Card Shop because we have cute birthday cards, beautiful birthday cards, and the most unique birthday cards both in store and online. No birthday gift is complete without the perfect birthday card.
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