The Wind Farms of Gratiot County

Michigan's freshest farms aren't all organic.   Steely wind turbines are sprouting up like Jack's beanstalk throughout mid-Michigan.

These soaring white windmills reach nearly five hundred feet into the clear blue sky.

North of Lansing, as traffic quiets and the skies opens up, these graceful giants appear on the horizon just over the Maple River.  Row upon row of twirling turbines rotate at an individual pace, dipping gracefully in the breeze.

The propellers move without apparent regard to wind speed.  Some stand ghostly still while others spin slowly with the invisible breeze.  Towering over corn and bean fields, the wind turbines of Michigan are a clean yet prominent source of energy. 

Gratiot County is home to one hundred thirty three turbines spread over thirty three thousand rolling acres.  That's twenty percent of the entire state's wind crop.  Visible from Interstate 127, the towers are best appreciated via a detour down a quiet country road.

By 2015, power companies are required to rely upon renewable energy for at least fifteen percent of their source. 

The wind farmers of Michigan are keeping them on target.  Still, it's not perfect, there's some noise and environmental displacement during installation of the massive monuments.

Harvesting wind not only provides citizens with a clean source of energy--it helps feed at least two hundred fifty farm families. 

And that's not hot air!

More Articles of Windterest:

When to Plant Annuals in Michigan

Prehistoric Petasite and Other Native Plants of Michigan

Planting Pansies and Violas

Will This Winter EVER end? The Effect of Snow and Ice on Plants and Trees

Great Lakes Frozen Solid

Stunning NASA photos of Michigan show a frozen solid mitten.  A whopping eighty eight percent of the Great Lakes are ice covered as of February.  Ontario's deep waters and slightly southerly location have kept it flowing. Only a trickle of Lake Michigan remains.  In between, the state's icy white tundra resembles the Arctic Circle.  Penguins could happily belly flop down my driveway.

The Great Polar Vortex of 2014 (and now 2017).  What effect will this inverted Tasmanian devil of a weather phenomenon have on midwest plants and trees? 

This peninsula's not so pleasant this winter. 

Polar Vortex 2017

It's normally not tough to think up winter garden topics, but this frigid year it's hard to recall what the ground  actually looks like.  Heck, I can't even identify my patio table.   Winter interest?  The snow shovel's the only thing poking out of the yard, and there's NO interest there. 



The good news is that the thick snow cover will mostly negate any damage to most plants.  That stuff we've been shoveling will save most of the garden in the end. Deep snow insulates and protects the soil beneath and its plant contents. So pile it on.   Had this protracted cold snap taken place without the layers of snow, many tender plants would not have survived.

The problem's not with the heavy snow, but the extended cold.  Areas along Lake Michigan that supported more tender plant survival due to the abundance of lake effect snow are not seeing the insulating snowfall as the frozen lake simply doesn't give up the needed moisture.  It also doesn't evaporate, which bodes well for water levels in warmer times.

For native plants, consistent cold temperatures are good news.  It's the cycle of "freeze and thaw" that forces roots to the surface. Although warmth would be welcome, an interim thaw would only endanger the root systems of localized plants and shrubs. The deeper than usual frost line should cause no harm to plants that normally thrive in Michigan's zones.
Trees do not benefit from the warming blanket of snow, but their size, and the moist summer and fall
months will protect most mature arbors from permanent damage.  Of concern are newly planted saplings and trees introduced based upon the promise of warmer winters.  Lulled into a sense of false tropics, suppliers began to introduce trees and plants that did not consistently survive in our zones. The Eastern White Pine has adapted well to survival in Michigan, but past episodes of protracted near and below zero temperatures caused  some of the crop to fail.

Expect some white pine casualties in 2014.   This harsh winter may prove to be too much for my gentle green giant. 

Otherwise, once the snow thaws, look for lakes filled to the brim with stunning and sculptural ice flows, rushing rivers, and lush gardens. 

The beauty of summer and spring is only exacerbated by the brutality of winter.  This winter is not unique.  There have been others with colder temps or more precipitation--but not many. 

Motown had its snowiest January in recorded history.  Whether the cause is global warming, greenhouse gases, or simply the vagrancies of nature, this too shall pass. What will emerge will be spectacular. 

In the interim, curl up with those seed catalogues and enjoy the break. 

MORE ARTICLES OF FRIGID INTEREST:

Shrubbery Flubbery -- How to Clear Shrubs of Snow and Ice

Winter Porch Pots -- Greenery Containers

Hey! Look What Survived the Winter In My Garden

Colorado Western Pine Beetle Infestation -- Bad News Bugs

Rocky Mountain National Park

Will the bark beetle
disease that's desiccating the Rocky Mountain high country forests spread to other areas?  Pray for a very deep cold snap.  It's really the only hope of stemming the horrible destruction wrought on the beautiful Rockies by a beetle no bigger than the tip of a pinkie finger.



Whiskey Creek Trail Eagle Vail Colorado

The situation is grave, caused by five millimeters of buggy destruction. 

Colorado's recent extended deep freeze is likely not enough to stop these prolific insects.  Late fall is when these pests are vulnerable to extinction.  By December they're surrounded by an insulating blanket of snow.

Many folks east of the Rockies are unaware of the horrific destruction caused by the pine or bark beetle on the natural world west of Denver.

The attack on Rocky Mountain lodge pole forests began in 1999, but warmer winters have increased the winter survival rate for the pine beetle. 

Nearly seven million acres have been deforested in Colorado alone.  It's as if every single tree in the state of Rhode Island had been removed.

In August we ventured to our favorite scenic ridge overlooking the Rocky Mountain National Park.  The view from the top of the world was shocking.  Miles of grayish brown trees covered the steep slopes where a blanket of deep green had once created a breathtaking view.  At the western entrance, the slightly warmer city of Granby looked desolate--poles of dead trees everywhere.


There's nothing pretty about this infestation.

Scabs of yellow goo pockmark the gentle giants as a
first sign of disease.

Rangers and volunteers have rallied to stem the tide by felling dead and diseased trees but there's no effective means of obliteration or containment.    Pesticides aren't effective or safe in an infestation of this immense magnitude.

Three hours away, along winding Whiskey Trail, severed tree trunks littered the once lovely hiking trail.  Cutting down infected forests are calculated attempts by forestry experts to reduce the risk to healthy trees.  In nearby
Minturn, the blue sky above Two Elks trail buzzed with the beating wings of forestry helicopters engaged in the painstaking and dangerous task of chaining, airlifting, and trucking telephone pole sized tree trunks from the area.  The complex and costly logistics of removal make real progress nearly impossible.

Tigiwon Trail Eagle County

Aside from the environmental and aesthetic impact, tall spires of dead brush make for an unprecedented fire hazard of epic proportions.  According the United States Department of Agriculture Forestry Service, ignition of beetle-killed trees could cause wildfires of catastrophic proportions.  Now the rotting trees are falling without regard to life or lodging in their path.  Many campgrounds and hiking trails are closed indefinitely.

Aside from the inconvenience to bipeds, four-legged creatures are suffering from the direct attack on their environment.  The desiccation of wildlife habitat is unprecedented.  The lack of shelter and modification of food sources affects nutrition and breeding of scarce winged and hoofed forest creatures.

The risk remains acute as the hungry beetle has destroyed most of the pines in the high mountains.

Lower elevations are now at risk.

Humans can help reduce the spread by avoiding the transportation of diseased firewood and taking extreme care with anything incendiary like bonfires, barbeques and cigarette buts.  When the Emerald Ash Borer obliterated the Ash tree population in Michigan, the bugs made it across the Great Lakes to the upper peninsula in firewood transported via the Mackinaw Bridge.  In Colorado the destruction is more
global as forests there tend to be more homogeneous.

The only slight consolation is that understory Aspen trees are thriving, now that the shade canopy has thinned considerably.

Like any good parent, Mother Earth tries to compensate as best she can. 


More Articles of Interest:

Perpetual Poinsettia -- How to Care for your Christmas Flower

Colorado Wildflowers -- Tiny yet Tenacious

Rockery and Roll -- Xeriscape Gardening