Author: Phil Huhn
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Garlic Mustard Journal (May 10, 2026)
From: Judy S.: On Mother’s Day I enjoyed a long session in the woods checking up on the garlic mustard status and decided to put it in journal form with photos. It was an idyllic afternoon – weather just right, almost no one else in the woods and no traffic sounds. Mother’s Day – Session # 3(?)…
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Workday – June 6, 2026
Who: Anyone who’s willing and able to help. Scarlett students are welcome to participate but you must bring a parent. Where: Meet at the bench near the showcase at the main entrance to the woods. Why? spreading wood chips, trash cleanup along old Ellsworth and removal of invasive buckthorn and honeysuckle. What to bring: When: Saturday June 6, 2026 at…
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Boardwalk on West End of Pond
In spring of 2025 the pond was so full that the pond water covered the path on the northwest end of the pond. Michael B. acquired a $1,000 grant from DTE to purchase the materials to construct the boardwalk. Because this on the main loop trail a more extensive boardwalk was constructed. People should be…
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Take this swap and shovel it
From Ann Arbor News article on July 1, 1990 Nature lovers want parks department to dredge marsh for bird life Nature lovers Manfred Schmidt and Will Weber think there isn’t anything wrong with the Mitchell-Scarlett marsh that a huge shovel wouldn’t fix. Schmidt, a landscaper, and Weber, who has a doctorate from the University of…
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Just Duckie
From Ann Arbor News article March 30, 1981 Members of the Scarlett-Mitchell Woods Association were busy over the weekend erecting duck and goose nesting stations in a marsh behind Scarlett Intermediate School. They hope that next year some traveling feathered friends will take up residence in the marsh. The Association is also trying to raise…
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Manfred and Judy – Friends of Mitchell-Scarlett Woods
Friends of Mitchell-Scarlett Woods | A Conservation Mini-Documentary This short documentary gives a quick introduction to two conservationists, Judy and Manfred Schmidt, and the process that they went through to conserve Mitchell-Scarlett Woods, a nature reserve in the middle of Ann Arbor, Michigan, surrounded by a highway and developments. They had to stave off developers,…
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Chokecherry
Chokecherry (Prunus Virginiana – Wikipedia) is a species of bird cherry native to North America. Chokecherries’ is a shrub, native from mid-Ohio to mid-Canada. Chokecherry leaf is oval 1 to 4 inches long and 1/2 to 2 inches wide. The leaf is dark green above with a paler underside. Chokecherry flowers are small, white, 5-petaled blossoms…
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Yellowing Curtain Crust
Yellowing Curtain Crust (Stereum subtomentosum – Wikipedia) is a tough, leathery bracket fungus that grows on dead hardwood, identified by its velvety, zoned, often greenish-brown cap and a distinct yellow staining reaction on its smooth underside when bruised or cut. Found year-round, it commonly causes white rot on dead beech and oak wood.
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Crowded Parchment
Crowded Parchment (Stereum Complicatum – MushroomExpert) is a widespread, inedible saprobic fungus found on dead hardwood, particularly oak, in North America. It is characterized by small, orange-brown to cinnamon, velvety fan-shaped caps that grow in dense, overlapping, wavy clusters. These fungi cause white rot in wood and are known for being leathery when moist and brittle…
