Our Secret Bog

We go walking in this bog in Michigan that’s very hard to find.

It’s a true quaking bog, a concave shell of clay that fills up with rain water and supports a carpet of sphagnum moss, blueberries, leatherleaf, ferns, and other distinctive plants, like the tamarack pine.  Its acidic conditions nourish carnivorous plants—pitcher plants and tiny sundew.  What’s best, there are no mosquitoes (though there are dragonflies).

The bog is beautiful in all seasons.  We’ve noticed that it’s always ahead when it comes to fall.  There we see the first glimpses of autumn, in early August, when everything else is still green.

The bog is kind of a magical place, where you see rare tiny orchids, and the occasional rare snake.

© 2012 Susan Barsy