Highland Recreation Spring Hiking

The butterflies are out on the lilacs...

The pumpkinseed sunfish are on their beds at the dam of Haven Hill lake...

The lilypads are ready to bloom on the water...

And the dogwoods are in bloom on the road sides...

Spring is in full-swing at the Highland Recreation Area! Hike by yourself, or grab a friend, or take your family on a hike today!

Posted by: Jay Fitzgerald is an avid hiker and a member of the Friends of Highland Recreation Area. Visit  www.fohra.org for more information.

Haven Hill Gatehouse Gets Much Needed Highland Recreation Area Friends Group Care

The Friends of Highland Recreation Area spent most of this last Sunday weatherizing and landscaping around the former Gatehouse of the Edsel Ford Haven Hill Estate. Since it's construction in the 1920's, the structure was originally the main entrance for Edsel's sprawling complex which now lies within the Highland Recreation Area. The building had been re-purposed as the park superintendents' home by the Michigan DNR who bought the entire estate in the 1940's.  Since the 1970's the building has been vacant and fallen into disrepair.

Above: The Haven Hill Gatehouse early Sunday morning prior to FOHRA volunteer work.

FOHRA members tarped a large hole in the roof and used heavy equipment donated by Dean Sutton to clean up the grounds and perform much needed landscaping. Years of debris and vandalism refuse was removed from the garage and breezway.

Above: The Edsel Ford Gatehouse after FOHRA and WWAM work this last Sunday, May 17, 2009.

The roof received heavy tarp material to stop rain and snow penetration. The tarp was secured and then clean-up of the structure and grounds-keeping were performed all day.  "It's amazing how much can be accomplished by a group working together in just one day", a FOHRA member said.

Above: The Haven Hill Gatehouse with new roof weatherizing tarps installed by FOHRA.

The Friends group was also supported by a "WWAM Team", a helpful source of skills and labor from Oakland County. The WWAM program benefits the community in many ways and is a truly successful Oakland County program.

Above: A rear view of the historic garage attached to the living quarters by a breeze-way. Walkways (front) were found and exposed from under years of layered sod and soil.

The Gatehouse is one of several structures within the park that are being targeted for revitalization by the Friends of Highland Recreation Area. FOHRA is a non-profit volunteer organization that works in conjunction with the MDNR to support the Recreation Area. Come on out and volunteer... check the FOHRA website at www.fohra.org for information.

Spring Green in Highland Recreation Area

Spring rains bring out the green... foliage and creatures.

I'm a big frog lover and they're all around in spring. Especially after a rainy night.

Watch your step while hiking in Highland Recreation Area after a rain - these little guys are everywhere!

Edsel Ford Barn Efforts Begin a New Green Season

FOHRA members with assistance from an Oakland County WWAM  team (Weekends and Weekday Alternative for Misdemeanants) resumed major sorting and reclamation efforts at the Edsel Ford Barn on March 28th inside the Highland Recreation Area. High winds during a June 8, 2008 storm dropped approximately 3/4 of the barn's rear structure into a large debris pile that FOHRA will now sort and salvage.

FOHRA members organized the material content into sorting locations that included metal, glass, wood, asphalt tiles, etc. The volunteers intend to reuse as much of the original materials as possible for the barn's restoration.

Heavy lifting equipment from volunteer group member Dean Sutton was used to begin dismantling the large debris field. The machinery makes short work of what seems to be an insurmountable task.

FOHRA's efforts within the Highland Recreation Area are guided with intentions to reuse and reclaim as much of the park's historic structure's materials as possible, whenever possible.  Discussion of salvage projects at member meetings, which occur on the 1st Wednesday of every month, is usually filled with "green" ideas for future efforts.

The green efforts are also financially smart. Salvaging valuable raw materials makes good cents (pun intended).

Seen below, even wood that is deemed unusable for now is being sorted and stored for it's final disposition.

Come join the efforts of the Friends of Highland Recreation Area to restore this barn and other historic structures from the era of Edsel Ford's Haven Hill Estate. See our website for membership info.... www.fohra.org.   The next meeting of the group is at the White Lake Township community building on Wednesday, May 6 at 7 pm.

Crown V Ranch Grand Opening

FOHRA members were ranch hands for the day on Saturday, April 18 at the Grand Opening of the Crown V Ranch equestrian facility at Highland Recreation Area.  TJ Sullivan and his wife and family enjoyed a wonderful day for the celebration of the opening of their new proprietorship.

A great time was had by all... it was truly an amazing Spring day with temperatures in the 70's and sunshine.

Members of the MDNR staff, FOHRA members, the Highland Trail Riders, other community organizations, friends, family, business owners, and lot and lots of children attended the event. The Crown V Ranch opened the facility with hay rides, horseback riding, and pony rides for the kids.

FOHRA members staffed an increasingly sophisticated display of the history of Edsel Ford's Haven Hill Estate, membership materials, baked goods for sale, and a cool collection of area finds that everyone really enjoyed.

To say the least, the Grand Opening of the Crown V Ranch at the Highland Recreation Area stables was a terrific event marking a new Spring and Summer season in the great outdoors. Come out and enjoy a horseback ride someday in one of Oakland County and Michigan's best natural resource areas. The Highland Recreation Area!

Learn more about the Crown V Ranch at www.highlandrecridingstable.com and always make sure to stop by the FOHRA Website at www.fohra.org.

Early March Haven Hill FOHRA WWAM!

While reading this posts' title you might ask yourself what's a "FOHRA and a WWAM"? Well FOHRA is the Friends of Highland Recreation Area and WWAM stands for Weekends and Weekdays Alternatives for Misdemeanants. WWAM is an Oakland County program that was created as an alternative for misdemeanor offenders wherein participants not only pay for the option to work, but the work itself is provided free to various community projects... On March 7, 2009 the FOHRA team met 12 to 14 WWAM participants and their Supervisor on Haven Hill inside of Highland Recreation Area. It was a dark and rainy day, but by the end of the work bee the group had transformed the Haven Hill area around the Carriage House back into the park-like setting that it once was years ago.

Above: FOHRA set up a tent for the WWAM crew during the rainy day at the Haven Hill Carriage House. Photo by Tom Slaga.

Years of forest debris had covered the wonderful pathways that surround the Edsel Ford Carriage House and the road leading up to the Haven Hill Lodge Ruins. WWAM support, FOHRA members, and a heavy excavator were used to clear the road and the pathways.

Above: The path to the old parking area before and after the volunteer efforts. Photos by Tom Slaga.

Above: FOHRA member Dean Sutton uses his heavy equipment to clear Haven Hill Road.

FOHRA has scheduled more Spring clean-ups at the Edsel Ford Barn, the Carriage House, the Lodge Ruins, and the Gate House for 2009.

Above: The circle of Haven Hill Road after FOHRA and WWAM clean-up on March 7, 2009. Photo by Tom Slaga.

We would like to sincerely thank the WWAM program organizers and participants for their work.

FOHRA will continue its efforts to improve and maintain the natural settings within the Highland Recreation Area. Look out for more announcements of upcoming events soon! Come and join us!

www.fohra.org

FOHRA and MDNR to Develop Haven Hill Stuctures Lease!

In a meeting on Wednesday, February 11,  the members of FOHRA were given a green light to begin developing a lease agreement with the Michigan DNR for the historic properties of the Haven Hill complex within Highland State Recreation Area. Parks Chief Ron Olson reminded all the attendees of our mutual responsibility to be custodians of our lands and historic places.

Discussions amongst key members of the Friends of Highland Recreation Area and the Michigan DNR will begin soon.

Winter Polypores

Today's hike through the Recreation Area found me photographing an unusual site - a fungus adhering to a tree in winter.

I wonder if they're dead or dormant or what? They were on a dead tree... near the arched beauty below.

Spring will be here soon and a whole new crop of fungi will sprout in the park.  Come out and enjoy the crisp clean air and the wonderful wintry sites in Highland Recreation Area! You might even find a fungus on a tree in the winter.

Winter Video Experiment

A new thing for the blog... video! [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbiVgjbXbx4&rel=0&fmt=18]

Just a test for now.

Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland

The Highland Recreation Area is a wonderful place to get outdoors in the winter! Beauty abounds in the form of amazing sites and sounds. The clean snow and skies left after the last few days of snow afforded me a great hike today.

The entrance road into the park this morning only had the tracks of one or two vehicles ahead of me before I made the westerly turn. It looked like maybe 3 - 4 inches of snow had accumulated the past night.

Looking west from the dam out over Haven Hill Lake (above) a snowy flat landscape caught my shadow in the morning sun...

The limbs of this large old oak tree stretched from right to left and formed an interesting pattern (above). The snow today was light and flaky. It glistened in the sun.

I think we're often guilty of looking "out" and "over" and "ahead" too much. Today I tried to look down more and found this neat scene of a tree stump covered with snow. If you look closely it has the appearance of a mountain scene I thought.

For my hike today I wore 2 pairs of socks in my boots, long underwear, jeans, and a warm shirt all covered by my set of winter coveralls.  Ear muffs and a beanie hat are my favorite to cover my head. This out fit allows me to "layer up" or "layer down" and adjust my body temperature as I hike. I was warm and comfy all morning. Dress appropriately and take a winter hike in the fresh air at Highland Recreation Area this winter. You'll get hooked as I am.