Today, we have a guest post from Mr. Aaron K.

Memories are contagious.  That’s quite obvious as I return to Pickerel Lake and beautiful Pickerel Lake Park for the first time in many years.  Located in Cannon Township just off  of Ramsdell Road, its very sight brings me back to a more youthful time, a time when fishing with my father and brothers was the best time of the summer.

A picturesque (though not entirely sheltered) place, Pickerel Lake is accompanied by expansive trails for strolling and enjoying the Park’s natural beauty.   Near the main pebble trail I see my first Garter Snake of the season.  Initially his presence is made known by a faint brushing sound in the grass just off to my right as I walk by.  After noticing the Garter, I look up ahead on the trail and see a Northern Water Snake basking on the trail.  My approach scares her back to the brush.

Of course, I am not here for the wildlife alone.  Memories are another reason.  I knew I would be reminded of the fond past of my childhood and early teen years when I came here.  It’s what I wanted.  As soon as I hear the blackbirds cackling in the nearby rushes and walk down the boardwalk across the Lake, a reminiscent smile resounds in my heart.  This is our secret.  Inner joy shouts in these quaint memories quietly relived. 

Pickerel Lake and its adjoining Park bring me back several years.  It’s part of the gorgeousness and native peace of the place.  Though the water is dark from rain, and I see no fish today, it does not matter much.  There is much more wildlife to observe.  Chipmunks and rabbits and other animals will greet you along the trails.

Whether statuesque herons or flitting swallows, birds are also abundant here.  When you visit in the spring or summer take a moment to listen to the songbirds speaking in the trees overhead.  There is something memorable about those sounds that will stay with you forever.  Pickerel Lake is just a memory at times.  But today, it becomes a pleasant reality once again. 

Granted, ice is not normally the most compelling subject. I mean, in March, there is plenty of the stuff to be had, and here in Michigan we’re kind of eager for it to go away, right?

But this winter, the flooding produced by massive snowmelts followed by deep freezes has left us with entire landscapes that have been defined by ice. Not just lakes and rivers, but also acre upon glossy, glass-like acre of fields and forests, transformed into works of icy art.

At Pickerel Lake Park near Grattan Township in east-central Kent County, arctic winds have scoured the icy surface of the lake. You can find the same phenomenon all across Michigan: countless lakes frozen into vast, snowless mirrors reflecting the color of the sky above.

I ventured out onto the boardwalk to take a few photos of that looking-glass ice, shining glacial blue beneath the azure of the clear, late afternoon. I had an idea that I would continue from there to hike the trails and see what I could see. Pickerel Lake is a beautiful park and well worth exploring any time of year. But I hadn’t reckoned on how cold it was. The same frigid wind that had so effectively swept the snows off of the lake was now very quickly sucking the heat out of my hands. You’d think that by now I’d remember to wear gloves, but no, that lesson just doesn’t seem to penetrate, and it’s darned hard to take pictures when your fingers are numb to the bone. So I finally turned back, hopped in my car, and headed east.

Right about the time that my fingers were regaining feeling, it was time to pull off the road and take more pictures. A stand of roadside trees had grabbed my attention—or, more accurately, their present setting had caught my eye and required my response. So much of our appreciation of the natural world lies in exactly that: how we respond to it. Will we step off the treadmill of the day’s preoccupations when a moment beckons, long enough to slow down inside and look—really look, with all of our senses and our heart—at the beauty that surrounds us? Because that beauty is everywhere: a knobbly old oak; the linear silhouettes of reeds mirrored in lake water; the ratcheting of sandhill cranes from out over the marshes; a rosy sunset casting long shadows across a river valley; the scent of honey locusts filling the late spring evening.

Or a frozen, wintry grove glorified by the afternoon sun.

At one time, the road where I was parked had clearly been underwater. Remnants of the original ice field, clinging to the tree trunks, now stood transfixed by the light, gleaming like glass shelves and crystal plates suspended above the present, icy surface. It was an amazing and beautiful sight, and I did my best to capture it with my camera.

In this last, rather abstract-looking photo, if you look closely, you’ll notice that the right side of it shows a thin plate of ice suspended on a branch. You can see right through that plate, just like you would through a pane of glass, to the newer ice below. And no, that’s not water splashing around the branch. It’s all ice, nothing but ice.

And for all I know, with the temperatures steadily rising these past few days and on into the weekend, that ice may be gone by now. If it’s not, it will be shortly. Today’s treasures dissipate in tomorrow’s sunlight—true of winter, and true of life.

I’m glad I took a little time to capture some memories.

Pickerel Lake is one of those Michigan’s Lakes that share its name with so many other lakes in the state. The Pickerel Lake we are highlighting today is located in Garfield Township, Newaygo County, just north of the town of Newaygo. It is located next to Kimball Lake and within walking distance of Emerald Lake, Sylvan Lake and John Ford Lake.

Pickerel Lake is named after a fresh water fish that is in the Pike family, known for its pointed snout with sharp teeth. The lake has 319 acres of surface water and has various depths up to 70 feet.

This public lake can be busy as many people make use of the state boat launch on the southern side of the lake. The boat launch is a hard surface launch but is a somewhat tight launch site.  Restrooms are available, along with limited parking.

Pickeral Lake is home to Camp Newaygo, a popular summer girls camp.