Off to Michigan

Nice shot above from Barb C. of skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) poking up thru wetland soils with alien-like blossoms. She took this shot recently on one of her hikes. This is one of the first blooms to be seen in spring and what's interesting is that this plant will push up thru snow and ice by creating heat that is roughly 20 degrees F higher than surrounding air temperatures, thereby melting its way upwards.

I'm off to Michigan today but wanted to share some of Dr. Gredler's modern art below. These are both horizontal, plywood platforms (with rolling casters) that he'll place the obelisks on for repainting and be able to move and spin them as needed. The colors, of course, allude to many of our 2011 themes! These may be worth something someday....